All Chapters of Jaded: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

JakeJake walked into his small townhouse, the smell of spring flowers filling the air. He smiled at the sound of his brothers making fun of his cleaning habits somewhere in the recess of his memory. He needed to take a trip back to Texas soon. It had been three or four years, and though he talked to his mother and father every Sunday, he needed to see them. It was Bethany's fault... or maybe it was time to move past that. He pulled his shirt over his head and held it until he walked into his room, jumping and shooting it into the clothes hamper like a basketball."And the crowd goes wild... ahhhhhhh." He laughed and kicked off his shoes, bending over to grab them and throw them in the closet. He planned to go to the gym, but his mowing gig was only supposed to take an hour, and yet he'd been with Kari almost two. The gym would have to wait. Stopping in front of the mirror, he twisted, his muscles contracting. He ran his hands over his chest and yawned loudly."Getting soft, Isaac." H

KariKari's dream stayed with her as she got ready for another day of trying to figure out life while living it at the same time. She dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a silky blue shirt, taking the time to fix her hair and makeup just perfectly. She needed an excuse to stop by and see Jake because chances of them running into each other were slim to none - or were they?Her friends joked and laughed in the kitchen, her brother's grumble causing her to smile. She walked in and grabbed a mug of coffee to go, talking for a minute and then heading out. Kari sat in her car for a few minutes, digging through her camera bag to make sure she had everything she needed. Her new assignment at the paper was to take a few photos for a large centennial festival that would happen in late April. They wanted to show the historical parts of the town and feature the new growth in the last fifty years or so."Where is my lens cap?" She moved everything out of her camera bag and sighed. Not having the

JakeJake watched her walk away, her reaction to his hesitation stabbing him in the chest. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that. He was interested. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to learn every inch of her body, steal her heart, hear her call out his name in need or pleasure or love... He sighed and brushed his hands across his face.Fear shut him down and he had stumbled."Fuck," he muttered and walked toward the kids, looking over as she sped off much too fast from the small school parking lot. She was hurt. It had looked like rejection, but it wasn't - was it? Hell if he knew. He wanted her to move back, to leave him alone until he could heal, and yet life didn't work like that. His heart and mind wanted two different things, and yet every time he'd listened to his heart, he'd ended up emotionally jacked for months, not sleeping for weeks, not wanting to eat.Love sucked so badly, and even still, he ached to get in his truck and go after her. He looked up

JakeHe shouldn't have come. The way Kari's brother was eyeing him it was obvious that she'd come home and her emotions had spilled over. He felt like shit for doing anything that might make her feel any way other than what she was - perfect, beautiful, sweet, and kind. He took a scone as she spoke to him with falseness hanging on her that just didn't belong.He lifted it and smiled. "Good to see you, too.”He turned and caught the grimace on her brother's face. He needed to get to work. Why had he thought stopping by to apologize would be a good idea? He looked over at Lisa and smiled. "I just wanted you to know that I'll be stopping by on Tuesday afternoons from now on to deal with the yard.”She smiled and picked up her coffee. "Sounds great to me. I'll just give you our rent check on the Tuesday before the 1st then.""Perfect." He took another bite of the scone and turned to the dark-skinned girl wearing an apron. "This is delicious. You should open a bakery.""I am!" She beamed a

KariThe drive inland was beautiful, and she listened to her favorite playlist the whole way there. She was proud that Jake had only crossed her thoughts a million times and yet it was almost refreshing to have a new hurt to cover the old one. Frank wasn't part of her meanderings, but Jake remained ever present. The night at the hotel alone had been a treat as well. She'd curled up with a good love story and fallen asleep with a seed of hope for her own romantic life. It was void and painful, but whatever was down must come up.She woke up late and hurried to get herself together, slipping into a pair of jeans and a Bar Harbor Boys Basketball T-shirt that Martha had given her to wear. She pulled on her lanyard that read "press" and rushed to the car, driving like a bat out of hell and praying that she wouldn't get lost.Kari pulled into the large high school parking lot, the stadium much bigger than she'd expected. She grabbed her camera and got out, making sure her license and a few