Chapter 13
We worked through lunch, and although I was hungry, I didn’t complain, considering the sooner we were done with that particular room, the better.
After finishing, we moved the boxes downstairs to the office and then went our separate ways for a bit.
I folded and hung up my laundry before jumping in the shower.
I’d gotten sweaty going up and down those stairs, so it was definitely needed.
I stared at my phone screen, trying to work up my nerve. Pressing call, I put the phone up to my ear and walked over to the small window.
"Hey, everything good?" Jana asked.
"Yeah," I swallowed. "I know we just talked this morning, but are you back home from brunch?" I asked, watching a red bird pick at the grass outside.
"It's like four in the afternoon, Lib, of course I'm home," she said with a laugh.
"Right, my bad." I gripped the windowsill tightly.
"So, I wanted to ask you about something.
Um, Jade said that she had tried to call you a few times, but that you never responded.
And I guess I was just curious if that was true.
" I wanted to remind her of how she specifically said she didn't do that, but I just let silence linger as I waited for her reply.
"So, you guys were talking about me?" she asked, making me roll my eyes at her deflection.
"It wasn't like that, Jan. I just asked her if she'd ever thought about reaching out to you, and that's when she told me she already had. Which just confused me, but I didn't say anything about that to her. I wanted to talk to you about it." I sighed, feeling defensive.
"Look, I…I may have ignored a few phone calls from Jade.
Which is not what I told you previously, so I apologize for that.
" I crossed an arm over my waist as I waited for her to continue.
"But I mean, can you really blame me? Anytime I saw her number pop up, I'd get all clammy and nervous.
It felt like just hearing her voice would be a huge trigger. " She sniffled into the receiver.
"Okay, that makes sense. But why did you lie to me about it? That's the part I don't understand." I felt bad continuing the conversation when she was clearly upset, but I needed to know.
"Because you sounded so sure that she had changed for the better and all this crap, and I guess I just thought if you knew I'd been the one not responding it would make things look worse. It's like an instinct to make myself seem better than she is. I don't know, Lib, I'm sorry."
I huffed out a breath. I was still upset that she had lied to me, but I was also not being fully transparent myself with her. And besides, I don't blame her for not answering when they had such a troubled past. But it bothered me that she was trying to sway my view of Jade.
Once our call ended, I crawled into bed, snuggling into the cool sheets. It was only mid-afternoon, but I was emotionally and physically exhausted.
I woke up to a knock at the door. Jade let herself in, and I opened my eyes to see her smiling down at me.
“I was wondering where my princess ran off to,” she said with a teasing voice.
“Sorry,” I said while yawning. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, just wanted to close my eyes for a second.”
“No worries,” she said, running her fingers through my hair. It felt good enough to make me fall back asleep. She laughed, and I opened my eyes back up to see her pretty face.
“So,” she said, sitting next to me on the bed. “I was going to make some dinner, but our supplies are pretty low.” I sat up and leaned against the headboard.
“I was planning on buying some groceries since I knew you paid for what was already here. I did just kind of help myself.” I smirked at her.
“Well then, would you want to go grocery shopping with me? It could be our second date.” I rolled my eyes at her but couldn’t hold back my laughter.
“Sounds good.”
“Ready?” she asked.
“I guess, here let me brush my hair since it probably looks a mess from sleeping on it.” Walking over to the bathroom mirror, I untangled a few strands. I wasn’t wearing any makeup since I fell asleep after my shower, and it wasn’t like me to go out without it. Even if it was just for an errand.
“Would you be mad if I got ready real quick?” I asked. “It will just take a few minutes.” I looked around the doorframe at Jade. She was stretched out on the bed looking at her phone, and I did my best to ignore the surge of heat the image sent through me.
“No rush.”
When my makeup and hair were in order, I walked over to the closet to change out of my casual clothes.
“Just going to the grocery store, you know,” Jade teased, sitting up on the bed.
“Hey, you said you didn’t mind, and you said it’s our second date. What’s wrong with wanting to look good?” I asked, flashing her a smirk.
“You already looked good, but regardless, I don’t mind.
I just like to pick on you.” She made her way over and wrapped her arms around my waist from behind.
Kissing my cheek, she let go and walked around to my side.
“These brown pants look so good on you.” She pulled it off the hanger and handed it to me.
“Okay, and I need a top to go with it,” I said, letting her take the lead in picking my entire outfit. She skimmed her hands over a few blouses before handing me a pink one I’d yet to wear.
“Here you go,” she said, walking back over to sit on the bed. She looked over at me expectantly, raising an eyebrow as if I were going to change in front of her.
“No, ma’am,” I said with a chuckle, heading back to the bathroom.
“I just wanted to make sure everything fit correctly, seeing that I’m your stylist and all.” I snickered as I got changed in the bathroom. Sliding on a pair of flats I brought, I grabbed my purse and looked over at Jade.
“Ready?” I asked this time. She nodded, walking over to me.
“You look beautiful,” she said, intertwining her fingers with mine. I took in her loose braid and black jumpsuit. Albeit casual, she looked stunning without even trying to.
“So do you,” I stated honestly.
After a thirty-minute drive, we pulled up at a local grocery store. I grabbed a cart and pulled out my phone to look at my notes app as we walked through the automatic sliding doors.
“Why am I not surprised you made a list?” Jade asked, looking over my shoulder.
“Ha ha, I just wrote down a few things that we ran out of so I wouldn’t forget. It’s a pretty normal thing to do,” I said with mock irritation in my voice.
“Is my princess giving me an attitude?” She asked with thinned lips. The way she spoke sent chills down my spine. I thought about apologizing, but knew she’d have a field day with that, so I just let it go.
We grabbed the basics like eggs, milk, and produce.
I grabbed some chocolate chips for pancakes in the morning and some stuff to make Mexican food since I knew Jade liked it.
She mostly let me lead and just pushed the cart for me, smiling at me whenever I looked over at her.
Her intense gaze caused me to blush if I looked in her direction too long.
Pulling up to the register, Jade grabbed some sodas from the mini-fridge for both of us and then helped me place our items on the line. I went to pull my wallet out of my bag after loading some of our now-bagged items back into the cart.
“I got it,” Jade said, paying for our items quickly. “It’s the least I can do for all the help you’ve been at the house. Besides, I asked you out on this date, right?”
"Right," I agreed with a smile.
Jade and I ate dinner together before making our way to the living room.
We turned Pride it was my favorite after all.
We cuddled up together in the middle of the couch, the wool blanket loosely covering both of us.
Looking over at her, I saw her eyes were pinned to the screen.
Since she didn’t seem to notice me looking, I took in her messy bun that was barely holding up her heavy, long hair, the thick eyebrows that framed her light eyes so well, and her high cheekbones that blushed for me at the sweetest times.
I thought about other scenarios in which I could bring a blush to her cheeks.
“What are you staring at, princess?” Jade asked, still not turning to face me.
I looked away, kicking myself for being caught. I scooted away from her a smidge, trying to reposition myself to fill the awkward space.
Grabbing my thigh, she scooted back over to me and turned my face to hers. There was barely any space between our lips as she spoke. “Why are you trying to hide from me?”
It wasn’t necessarily what I expected her to ask, but it struck a chord in me regardless. Her breath filled my lungs and overwhelmed me. I couldn’t think of anything to say, not that my words would come out clearly.
Leaning forward barely an inch, I pressed my lips against hers. She pulled away quickly, placing a hand on my shoulder to hold me back.
“You need to tell me, Libby. It’s getting to the point where I can’t hold back anymore.
I want to kiss you everywhere, make you moan and squirm from my mouth and my hands.
I want to make you come while you say my name like a prayer.
But I don’t want to do any of those things until I know you won’t regret them.
And as much as I love your sweet kisses, they can’t cover up how clearly your thoughts show on your beautiful face. ”
She rubbed her thumb over my cheek while I panted from her words. They were so dirty, delicious, and true. I was in my head with her, always overthinking everything. It was just my nature, unfortunately, to over-analyze every situation, plan out things so they wouldn’t catch me off guard.
“Jade, I—” I swallowed, getting myself together.
“I wouldn’t regret anything we did. It’s just that I don’t want to hurt my best friend.
The pain I’d cause her would hurt me too.
But I’d never regret you. I care for you so much already, in a way that makes little sense to the overthinker my brain is.
” I smiled at her, hoping that she understood what I was poorly conveying.
She kissed my forehead, pulling away from me and turning back to the TV.
We didn’t speak as the credits rolled or as we both walked up the stairs to our separate rooms.
“Goodnight,” I called to Jade before opening Jana’s door.
“Night,” she returned without looking back at me.