Promise Me (26 page)

“This truck is awesome,” I told him. “And you deserve to drive something so cool.”

He glanced over at me. “It was a graduation present. I didn’t – I didn’t pick it out or anything. I know it’s really over-the-top, but my aunt and uncle, they have money, and they like to spoil us. I told them I didn’t want something so expensive, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I assured him. “No judgement here.”

I thought I saw Jack’s cheeks flush, but it was hard to tell. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “I just sometimes feel guilty for everything I’ve been afforded. I know not everyone has it this good.”

I looked at him pointedly for a few seconds. “You know
I
didn’t have it this good,” I said, saying what I knew he was thinking.

“Well, yeah,” he said sheepishly.

“And you feel bad for me?” I clarified.

“No,” he said quickly. “It’s not that. I just had so much growing up. I don’t always think it’s fair.”

“Yeah, well, I’d say it’s a pretty fair trade for what you dealt with for the first twelve years of your life. Sara and I might have been poor as dirt, but we never felt unsafe at home. I think it’s okay for you to let go of the guilt you have over getting a fresh start after being in such a bad situation. Besides, I like my Prius. It gets like fifty miles to the gallon, so I never have to get gas. What does this beast get?”

Jack smiled, and I watched him relax, my words sinking in. “Around sixteen.”

“Sixteen?! As in sixteen miles to the gallon!

He nodded and shrugged. “It has a big engine – lots of power.”

“So, I can drive four times as far as you before I need to fill up? Trust me, there’s no jealously over here.”

Jack grinned. “Yeah, but this thing is so bad-ass.”

“I like my car,” I told him definitely. “It’s lower to the ground. I don’t feel like I’m going to fall when I get out of it.”

He looked over at me. “Well, in Texas, we don’t let women get out of a car without opening their door and lending a hand, so good thing for you, you’ll never have to deal with that.”

As he said that, I remembered him opening my door, taking my hand, and helping me up into the truck. I also remembered the sparks I’d felt between us as he’d done that, and how I’d felt my stomach flutter at being so close to him.

Dammit.
I knew I had to reel in what I was feeling. If I didn’t keep my distance, I was going to do something I’d regret. Jack was a good guy, and he was with his girlfriend for a reason – even if I couldn’t understand it. It would be completely out of line for me to ever tell him what was going on in my head where he was concerned. I couldn’t let him know, and I had to keep things between us as platonic as possible. If not, I could ruin the good thing we had. That was the last thing I wanted. I really did love having him as a friend, and I wanted to keep it that way.

I smiled at him. “You Texans and your hospitality. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used it.”

“You will,” he assured me, and something in his tone told me it would do me no good to argue with him.

I guess I was just going to have to get used to polite guys who wanted to do things for me. In truth, it didn’t sound all that bad.

* * *

“Don’t forget to do your homework,” Jack called out of the truck as Charlie waved goodbye to us from his front porch.

His mom stood behind him, smiling at Jack. She’d come outside when we’d pulled up to drop Charlie off, so I’d gotten to meet her. Then she’d invited us inside for pie, to which Charlie had asked her very bluntly when she’d had time to make a pie. She’d given him a stern look and told him that one of the ladies from their church had dropped it off. We learned that Charlie’s mom had helped nurse the woman’s sick father back to health the week before, and that was her way of saying thank you.

And Jack and I got to reap the benefits, since it was one of the best apple pies I’d ever tasted. Not to mention that Charlie was thrilled that Jack and I could stay longer.

Jack had been right, he’d taken to me instantly, and when I say taken, I mean he smiled and flirted and essentially hit on me all throughout dinner. Jack kept laughing and trying to distract him by asking him about school and basketball and video games, which would work for a few minutes, but then Charlie would turn the conversation back to me and would make a comment about me having pretty hair or nice eyes. I wanted to think it was cute, but it was hard when I knew he was being serious. He had no qualms about hitting on a women nearly twice his age.

I did have a feeling that Jack might have told him to tone it down when I went to the bathroom halfway through dinner, because after I got back, Charlie seemed to be making an effort to keep things more casual. Although I did catch him staring at my chest a few times, which earned him a warning look from Jack.

“I like them,” I told Jack as we drove away from Charlie’s house.

“Yeah, they’re nice people. And they have a good family system with just the two of them.”

“So his dad’s not in the picture at all?”

Jack shook his head. “No, his story’s similar to yours. His dad’s never really been in his life.”

I nodded. “Well, his mom seems great.”

“She is,” he agreed.

“And I like Charlie a lot. He’s very . . . precocious.”

Jack smiled. “That’s definitely one way to put it. I’m sorry again for the flirting.”

I smiled. “It’s fine. I know it was harmless, although I did find it interesting that you didn’t threaten to rip his head off like you do every other guy who’s ever flirted with me. Are you not concerned about him hurting me?”

Jack laughed. “Not at all. I don’t exactly consider him a threat to your safety. Your sanity maybe, but that’s another story.”

“Oh, he’s just a kid.”

“But he meant every word he said.”

“I know, but he’s only eleven.”

Jack looked over at me. “So you’re saying you can’t have feelings for someone at eleven?”

“Not real feelings.”

Jack didn’t respond, but I could see that he wanted to.

“What? You don’t agree?” I questioned.

“I don’t know,” he said vaguely. “I think it’s different for everyone.”

“Well, either way, I’m not really concerned about Charlie asking me out and having to turn him down. I have a feeling he’ll forget all about me the next time he sees a pretty girl his own age.”

“Grace,” Jack said, and I looked at him in confusion.

“Grace?”

“Charlie’s neighbor. He’s in love with her, even if he won’t admit it. She’s the cutest little blond girl, and she’s sassy as hell. She puts him in his place a lot, and although he complains about her, I think he really likes the attention. In fact, most of the time, I think he acts out just so she’ll chastise him.”

“Ah, young love,” I teased.

Jack laughed, but he looked introspective again, and I wasn’t sure why.

We were silent as we made our way back to our apartment complex, both of us lost in thought as we listened to the music emanating from the truck’s stereo system. It was an alt rock station, and I only recognized one song by Vampire Weekend, but Jack seemed to know them all, silently mouthing the words as we drove along.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye, amazed at how much he’d changed in the past eight years. His new life and his new family had shaped so much about him and how he carried himself. I knew he was a totally different person than who he would have been had he stayed in Indiana, and a part of me was so grateful that his life had turned out the way it had.

Not that he wouldn’t have been a great guy if tragedy hadn’t struck, but this version of him was so much better. He wasn’t carrying around the weight of his childhood, and the pain that had surrounded him the whole time I’d known him was gone. He was happy and content, and he was such a good guy. I was glad he’d gotten a second chance, even if it meant missing out on eight years of friendship with him, because the guy I got to know now was a really amazing person.

“Oh, good, Sara’s home,” I said absently as we pulled into a parking space in front of our building, and I noticed my sister’s car.

As I was saying it, Jack’s phone beeped and flashed in the cup holder between us. I didn’t mean to look, but I saw Alyssa’s name pop up on the screen and the words,
Can I come over?

Jack didn’t say anything. He ignored the text and turned to me as he shut off the engine. “So you’re going to hang out with your sister tonight?”

I nodded. “I’m sure she’ll want to tell me all about her weekend, and I sort of need to tell her about my new/old friend Jack.”

He smiled. “Well, tell her I said hi – the new me and the old me.”

“I will. She’s going to be completely shocked.”

“I’d assume so. Maybe we can all get lunch this week, and I can get to know her again.”

I smiled. “I’d like that, and I’m sure she would too.”

Jack and I walked up the stairs together, and we parted ways when he got to his door. When he turned to me to say goodbye, he surprised me by pulling me into a hug.

“I had a great weekend with you, Kate. Thanks for hanging out with me.”

“Me too,” I told him, forcing myself to ignore how his hug and his warmth and his clean scent were making me feel. It was all too easy to get lost in the feel of the hard planes of his chest and the strength of his arms around me.

“Lunch this week?” he asked again when he pulled back.

I nodded. “Definitely.”

He smiled at me before disappearing inside his apartment, and I worked to fish my keys out of my bag. When I opened the door, I expected to find Sara lounging on the couch in her pajamas watching TV, but instead she was standing just inside the door, leaning against the wall.

Both her proximity and the stern look on her face made me jump in surprise. “Geez, you scared me half to death. Why are you standing there?”

“What were you doing with him?” she demanded.

“Excuse me?”

“Jack Kinsley,” she said sharply. “What were you doing with him?”

“How do you even know I was with him?” I asked defensively.

Maybe it was her look or her tone, or maybe it was just the knowledge that I was hanging out with a guy who had a serious girlfriend, and I knew I’d developed some highly inappropriate feelings for him, but the guilt I’d been feeling grew even more palpable as my sister glared at me in accusation.

“Because I saw you get out of his truck when he drove up, and then I saw him hug you outside. What the hell is going on, Kate?”

“You saw him hug me? How?”

“I was looking through the peephole,” she said, like it was no big deal that she’d essentially been spying on me. “He smelled your hair.”

“You were watching us through the peephole?!” I asked, completely fixated on that fact and only realizing a few seconds later that she’d said more. “What do you mean he smelled my hair?”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb, Kate. I just had the weekend from hell, because you’re trying to steal someone else’s boyfriend – if you haven’t already.”

“Sara, what are you talking about? I’m not trying to steal anyone.”

“Oh, please. That is such a load of bullshit.”

“No, it’s not!” I insisted. “Not at all. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sara narrowed her eyes at me.

“Jack and I are just friends,” I insisted. “It’s not what you think. We had dinner tonight with his little brother. It was harmless.”

“He has a girlfriend, Kate.”

“I know he does. I’ve met her.”

And she’s a total bitch.

“Yeah, well, don’t you think it’s odd that a guy with a girlfriend wants to be your friend?”

“No, I don’t.”

But that was only because I understood the context of our friendship. Any other guy, and I would have been questioning the hell out of his intentions. I also would have assumed he wanted more from me, and I would have thought he was a complete jerk because of that. It wasn’t like that with Jack.

“Oh, come on, Kate. Even you’re not that dumb.”

I hated the chastising way in which she called me dumb. She had no clue what she was talking about, and her bratty attitude was just about the last thing I wanted to hear.

“Yeah, well, I met him first,” I said, giving her the same attitude right back.

“What? Are you kidding me?! I know how long he and Alyssa have been together, and there’s no way you could have met him before her.”

“Actually, there is.”

Sara rolled her eyes again. “I’m your sister,” she spat. “You’ve never lied to me before. Don’t start now.”

“I’m not lying,” I told her, trying to keep my voice level. “Jack’s not who you think he is.”

I figured I’d let that sink in for a few seconds before I elaborated. Sara just stood there looking confused, so I took the opportunity to set my bag down on the counter and pull off my ankle boots.

I looked up at my sister. “Oh, and so we’re clear. He and I really are just friends. We have been since we were kids.”