Chapter 6

JADELYNN

“Mom,” I called out once I got home from school.

I had completely forgotten to let my parents know that I had a date tonight. It was a date that I was thoroughly excited for. Thad and I were able to slip back into our normal routine as if there had not been a break last year at all. We were giving ourselves a clean do-over, and it was exactly what we needed.

I found her in the kitchen, furiously typing away on her keyboard. She worked her ass off to get where she was today, and I could not have been any prouder of her. I really looked up to her and longed to be even half of the badass woman that she was. Mom was a PR guru for a tech company. Most people expected her to fall on her ass, but that just made her work even harder to prove that she had what it took to get the job done properly. It did not take long before everyone was eating their assumptions.

“Hey, baby. What’s up?” she asked, pausing what she was doing to give me her undivided attention.

I grabbed a water from the fridge and took a seat at the table in front of her. Mom was gorgeous. I got my strawberry blonde hair from her. My greyish blue eyes came from Dad instead of Mom’s bright green eyes. She was a classic beauty that would have made one hell of a runway model. There had been times when she was asked to fill in for photoshoots for some of the local magazines because of how great she looked.

“I forgot to tell you that Thad is taking me to the movies tonight. I know you guys have the Pomphrey’s Gala, so I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be home until later on tonight,” I said.

There was a big gala every year that Mom and Thad’s father Troy got invited to because of their jobs. Our parents all loved going because they got to dress up and have a ‘magical’ evening as Mom always put it. I did not want to know what exactly made it ‘magical’ because we were all close but not that close. There were things that Thad and I never wanted to know about our parents, and that was certainly one of those things.

Mom offered to help me get ready for the date, but I told her to just focus on herself. I had enough skills to make myself look semi-presentable enough for a date.

I donned a casual off-shoulder silver dress that fell to my mid-thighs and hugged my body in a very fantastic way highlighting my assets, a pair of high heels, and the signature jade teardrop necklace that Dad got me for my birthday. My strawberry blonde hair hung down my back in ringlets. I finished the look off with a smokey eye, black eyeliner, and a light pink stain on my lips.

I thought that I looked pretty good, so hopefully he would as well. Every girl wanted to dress up for their man. Was I already viewing him as my man? Who was I kidding… he really was even if we had not been together that long and definitely not that long now. I would follow his lead on this now. I was his girl, so he was my guy.

There had always been a possessiveness when it came to Thad because I hated how fake all the girls were with him. I crushed on him hard for years, so I hated that they even tried to get with him. I would have been happy for him if he had chosen to be with any of them. It would have sucked, but I would have been happy if he was happy. His happiness meant everything to me. However, I was glad that it never happened.

The doorbell alerted me to Thad’s arrival, so I grabbed my purse, and headed downstairs. I was excited for this date. He still had not given me any indication as to what it was. Normally, I would have been peeved at being kept in the dark, but I could not feel that way in regard to him. Whatever it was bound to be a blast.

“Evening, Momma E,” Thad said as Mom opened the door.

Our parents had been extremely close since we moved here. His mother was Momma D for Dana and mine was Momma E for Emelia. They always hoped that we would get married when we got older so that they could officially be tied to one another as sisters. Would I be against marrying him one day in the future? No, because I knew for a fact that he would love me and care for me with all that he was. I could never do any better than Thad. He was perfect to me and for me.

“Good evening, Thad. My baby girl said that you are taking her out on a date tonight. What are your intentions?” she asked sternly.

I rolled my eyes as I stepped off the staircase. One thing about all four of our parents was that they would not beat around the bush and would take every possible opportunity to make someone feel uncomfortable. It was like they got some type of sick pleasure from making others squirm. Although, it was very amusing to watch them do it to others.

Thad smiled once he saw me join them. He was looking extremely sexy in his dark jeans, white button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up onto his forearms, and his hair tied back in his manbun. I did not know what it was about his manbun, but it just tied together his overall look.

You could even see his impressive underneath his clothes. He had muscles for days, and I always found it to be a huge turn-on. I loved the way his body looked. There was not a single flaw on it. What I felt for him was far more than just a crush. I did not know exactly how to categorize it which was why I had not tried yet. Since Freshman year, I had wanted to give myself to him, but I never had the courage to take that leap. I was not saying that we take it that far tonight, but I definitely wanted to explore some intimacy with him. They were all going to the gala tonight, so there was that. It was something I had been considering all week. There was a deep need inside of me that demanded that I find out what his body felt like underneath my wandering hands.

I was glad that he was my guy tonight because I would be very fucking jealous of any date he would have on his arm. However, I would still beat some of the hungry wolves off with a stick if any of the girls got handsy.

“My intentions are to take Jae to a good dinner before catching a movie. I promise to uphold the trust that you and Rick have placed in me when it comes to taking care of your daughter. I also promise to uphold the trust that your amazing daughter has placed in me,” he said smoothly.

Thad always knew what to say. Plus, he had that dimpled smile that could get him away with a lot of things. However, my parents fully trusted him. They knew that he would always have my best interests at heart. They also knew that I would never let him push any boundaries. They treated us more like adults than anything else. Not many parents would be willing to treat their children as responsible beings like ours did. We had never given them a reason to not trust us though.

“That’s what I like to hear,” she said as she patted his cheek and left to finish getting ready.

He did a very slow once over of my outfit and smirked when he met my eyes again. There was something sinful in that smirk, and it was enough to make me blush. I was no stranger to being attracted to Thad. I would die of embarrassment if I told him that he was a star in many of my fantasies…well all of them actually. The things that Fantasy Thad was capable of kept me entertained on my lonely nights. This summer had been very lonely indeed.

“Absolute gorgeous as ever, Jae. Shall we?” he asked, holding his hand out to me. I grabbed it and off we went.

He made a reservation for us for dinner, so I was curious to see where we were going to go. Many couples went to an Italian place for a romantic dinner. Thad knew me well because he pulled up in front of a hibachi steakhouse.

He even went the extra mile and walked around to open my door for me. It needed to remain my secret, but I swooned at the action. This was not him putting on a show either. This was my Thad through and through. I saw more of this type of behavior popping up over the past several years. That gave me pause.

He had always been very perceptive of my needs and wants. He knew me better than I knew myself much of the time. He had a knack for guessing what I was thinking about or when I was overthinking things. Thad was a gentleman who always took care of me in every single scenario we encountered.

He turned around to look at me curiously, but I simply pulled him off to the side of the walkway while looking at him as if I had never seen him before.

“Everything okay?” he asked, looking around to see what the problem was.

I placed my hand on his forearm to get him to focus back on me. Nothing was the matter. Quite the opposite actually. How had I never put it all together before? How had I been so damn oblivious?

“How long have you liked me?” I asked him curiously.

“Since we were kids, Jae,” he said softly.

I chuckled realizing that he misunderstood what I meant. Of course he liked me as a kid because we were the best of friends. I should have been more specific.

“Sorry. I meant how long have you liked me like you do now?” I clarified.

He smiled and cupped my cheek with his hand. His chocolate brown eyes looked deeply into mine as if he could see into my soul. In that moment, I felt that he could, that it was laid bare for him to see every little detail that made me who I was. Details that knitted Jadelynn Rae Murphy together.

“I know what you meant, Jae. And I stand by my words. Since we were kids. You and I have always been inseparable. I’ve never dated anyone else. I’ve never flirted with anyone else. It’s always been you. The reason I hadn’t made a move sooner was because I was afraid that you would never see me the way that I did you and would rather be in your life as your best friend than not at all.”

He watched me carefully to see my reaction with his declaration. His words seared inside me, branding them into my entire being.

I gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him to me until my lips claimed his. His surprise lasted all of two seconds before he pushed me against the building and kissed me back with all the passion that he felt. His lips sparked desire in me, causing me to simultaneously swoon and my core to clench. He was a fantastic kisser with sinful lips that could do many great things to me from one single kiss. There was no doubt in my mind that his lips could even better things on the lips that were currently wet from the arousal he always caused in me. His hand gripped my hair lightly to pull my head back so that he could deepen the kiss, and his tongue explored every inch of my mouth. It was the best kiss that we ever shared.

He pressed his forehead to mine as we both caught our breath. He looked completely relaxed and incredibly happy. I knew that my expression mirrored his.

“I’ve crushed on you so fucking hard for years, Thad. You’re my dream guy. I was afraid that you would never see me as more than your best friend. I thought I was alone in that,” I admitted shyly.

His expression was one of complete surprise. He had not been expecting to hear that, but I could see how happy my words made him. I was glad that he now knew my truth.

“Damn, Jae. That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard uttered from those sweet lips of yours. You’ve always been my dream girl. It’s always been you and will always be you. Perhaps we should promise to always be open and transparent from this point on. Sound good?” He suggested. I agreed with him, and we sealed it with another amazing kiss.

I had never been to a hibachi restaurant before, but I loved steak. We were seated at our own personal booth that had the grill right in front of it. The menu looked very delicious, but I was not certain what I wanted, so I suggested that Thad order since this was his idea for dinner. The mischievous glint in his eye worried me a little, but I trusted him.

It was amazing to watch them cook up our medium Chateaubriand steak, shrimp, vegetables, and fried rice right in front of us. Boy, did they know how to put on a show too. When it came to adding the egg to the rice, they took a small piece of the egg to fling in our mouths. It hit Thad in the face, but I caught mine. As a reward, the chef gave me the final few pieces of steak. I simply stuck my tongue out at him which caused him to laugh at my childishness. He liked my childishness, so he could pretend all he wanted.

“This has already been an amazing date so far. Thanks, Mr. Boyfriend,” I said, leaning into his side as we walked back towards the car.

“My girlfriend deserves the best things in life. Why else is she with me?” he asked with a smirk.

“That is why she’s with you,” I said on a serious note.

He did not respond as he opened my door and waited for me to get in before he closed it and got into his own seat. He turned to me and smiled. It was one of his genuine smiles that crinkled the corners of his eyes. I always coveted those smiles because I was the only one who saw that particular one.

“I was kidding, Jae. You weren’t though. Do you seriously feel that way about me?” he asked.

I buckled my seatbelt while I thought of what I wanted to say to him. I needed to be honest with my feelings because he deserved to know. Knowing what I did now, I did not want to hide myself away from him because he deserved to see all of my truths.

“Yes, of course I do. I’ve always felt that way about you even when we were kids. I don’t know when I started seeing you as more than a friend. However, I do know that I’ve always felt that you were the best thing in my life. You were the best person in my life. You’ve always been what made sense to me and what gave me comfort. When I told you many years ago that you were my person, that’s what I meant. I could never imagine anyone better than you in my life, and I don’t want anyone other than you.”

I felt open and exposed after admitting that, but I would not hide it from him. He deserved to know. After the shit from last year, I vowed that I would not keep things from him. Was I going to tell him about Fantasy Thad? Hell no. Not right now at least. The rest of things regarding him and how I felt about him were there for me to share.

“Well, damn. That right there is the best thing I ever heard from those sweet lips. You just keep surprising me. I can say the exact same about you as well. You’re it for me, Jae. You’re what I want and what I desire.”

He started driving before lacing our hands together and kissing the back of mine. I could not believe that he liked me since we were kids. I was his dream girl which was a huge boost to my ego. Hell the fuck yes. He said that I was it for him... I felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. Oh, well. That was then, and this was now.

Thad had his arm wrapped around my waist as we exited the theater. Both of us were laughing over how epic that movie was. It was something we always agreed on. Action, Sci-Fi, and Comedies were the best genres. In that order and only that order.

I was listening to him mimic some of the accents, horribly mind you, but that had me laughing even harder. Thad was a natural comedian. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and that sense of unease washed over me again. I giggled at something that he said and pulled him in for a hug.

“I’m feeling it again. Will you take me home and stay with me until my parents get home?”

He trailed kisses from my shoulder and up my neck until he got to my ear. “Just play along,” he whispered.

Thad was taking this very seriously, so I knew that he understood something that I did not. This was not the place for that conversation though, but we would be having it. I had a feeling that the reason he could not say something the other day at the waterfall was because of me. This was that thing. It had to be.

He grabbed my waist and lifted me up off the ground bridal style. Despite the circumstances, I did always love when he held me like this.

“I can walk.” I laughed and smacked his chest.

I would play along as hard as I needed to because this was not the same feeling of unease again. This felt even stronger, and it terrified me. That sense of foreboding was even worse. However, I knew that Thad would take care of me beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“As can I. However, you’re the one in my arms, Jae. Not the other way around,” he said smugly, kissing the tip of my nose.

He got to his car and made sure I was strapped in before he went around to get in as well. He shook his head slightly, making sure that I understood to not say anything. His lead would certainly be followed on this.

I saw him shoot a text to his parents before getting on the road. Did he tell them about the feelings that I had been getting?

We made idle chitchat until we got to my house. He stopped me before I opened my front door. His fingers tilted my chin up. There was the utmost emotion in them. I felt safe knowing that whatever I was feeling, he not only believed me, but he also would ensure that I was okay.

“Mind if I come in? You can say no if you’d rather not. We just had such a great time and all…”

I raised up and placed a kiss to his jaw and nodded towards the door with a smile. I closed the door behind us, but not before a shiver went down my spine. I kept the reaction off my face though just in case.