“You okay?” I whisper in his ear, cuddling closer.
“Yeah,” he says unconvincingly, staring at the back of Brady’s head with a straight face.
I cuddle up to him some more, putting my head on his shoulder, and he reluctantly puts an arm around me. Despite where we’re headed and who might be there, at this very moment I’m at total peace with who I’m with and where I am.
Chapter 1 5
Grant
If I thought the hills of Pennsylvania were steep, the mountains of Colorado are just plain scary. Brady weaves through the large masses with ease, while I white knuckle the sides of the car. Peering outside the window, my stomach feels sick as I stare down at the slope of the mountain with a metal guardrail that wouldn’t keep a dog from falling over. Trucks speed down the hills and crawl up the inclines. The fact that they have steep gravel inclines for the trucks to go up if they can’t stop scares the crap out of me. The two-hour drive feels more like eight, and I know I’m sweating like I just ran a marathon.
“Relax, it’ll be fine,” Jessa leans in, kissing me on the neck.
I look at her nervously and she belts out a laugh.
My hand hurts from gripping the doorframe by the time we make it to her house. Jessa’s parents walk out to meet us, and this is the first time it crosses my mind that I’m here as her boyfriend, not as a friend. The sweat from the car ride starts dripping down my face with the fear of meeting her parents as her boyfriend. They could hate me and want her to stay away from me. Shit, how did I not think about this before? I should’ve brought flowers or candy to sweeten them up.
Jessa runs to give her mom a fierce hug, then turns to her dad and does the same. The relationship she has with her family is completely foreign to me. She’s such a loving person; I wonder what I did to deserve her.
Her parents hug Brady and Sadie and, following a little behind, Trey and Dex move to shake hands with them. Brady tosses the keys to Trey so he can drive Kailey to where she needs to go, and Jessa gives Kailey her cell number, instructing her to call her during the week so we can all hook up. Trey slyly gives Jessa a thumbs up behind Kailey’s back. I think he really does have something for this girl because I’ve never seen him like this before.
“Dad, Mom, you remember Grant.” Jessa wraps her hand in mind and brings me closer to them, clearly displaying the fact that we’re together.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison.” I offer them my hand and they each take it in turn, looking at me skeptically as though they had no prior knowledge we were dating.
“You too, Grant,” her mom says, nudging Jessa’s dad with her elbow when he doesn’t say anything.
“Yeah, Grant, nice to see you,” her dad finally states while his eyes remain on our entwined hands.
I grab our bags and we all venture into the house. It’s amazing, with high, vaulted ceilings and breathtaking views of the mountains. Mrs. Harrison leads us toward the bedrooms so we can drop off all of our stuff. After we leave Brady, Sadie, and Dex to their rooms, Mrs. Harrison turns down another hallway.
“Here you go, Grant,” she says, opening the door to a nice room with a queen bed. Jessa plops herself on the mattress.
“Thanks, Mom,” she tells her, and I continue to stand in the middle of the room, caught between Jessa on the bed and her mom in the doorway. I know from the glare across her mom’s face that this isn’t going to happen.
“Jessa, may I speak with you?” she asks, giving me a curt smile.
“Sure,” she says and kisses me on the cheek before hopping off the bed and walking over to her mom. Mrs. Harrison shuts the door behind them and I take the time to unpack my bag.
A few minutes later, Jessa comes back in the room, clearly distraught.
“What did she want?” She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my waist.
“She doesn’t think I should stay with you.” She buries her head in my chest and I place my hand on her head, holding her.
“That’s okay, we don’t need to sleep in the same bed,” I inform her, but meanwhile it feels like I’ve just been stabbed by a knife. Is it even possible for me to sleep without her next to me?
“I don’t know why she’s acting like this. I think maybe it’s because I’m finally back home. She’s being protective,” she informs me.
“Hey, I have no problem with her protecting you. I just need to convince your parents that we’re on the same team.” I bring her face up to mine and bend down to kiss her.
Jessa helps me unpack my bag, saying she’ll finish with hers later when she’s alone in her room, pining over me. I smile and take her hand, leading her out of the safe confines of my room. I guess I know one thing I have to do this week and that’s talk to Mr. Harrison, explaining my intentions.
We wander into the intimidating great room, with its lofty ceiling and large brick fireplace that travels from ceiling to floor. Even more unnerving, however, is the man who is currently sitting in the room, sipping a dark liquor and reading a magazine.
Jessa’s father looks up at us and I can’t ignore the falter of his smile when he sees our hands clasped together. “Hi, Dad,” Jessa says, directing us to the couch. “What are you reading?”
“Sports Illustrated,” he says and gives her a small smile before returning his attention to the magazine.
This is my chance, I think to myself. Sports are definitely my thing. “Do you think the Rockies will make it all the way this year? I heard Jack Colton from ESPN predicts they might have a chance if the trade goes through,” I inform him, making it known that I’m an avid sports fan.
He picks his head up and glares my way for a second. I continue holding my breath with the anticipation of his response. “Even without the trade, they’ll win. But we aren’t fair-weather fans in this family, Grant. Win or lose, the Rockies are our team.” I’m thankful he said something, but also feel like there’s some hidden message in that comment.
“I love Ryan Yolks!” Jessa spouts and her dad and I chuckle.
“You like Yolks, huh?” I ask her and she beams over to me, grabbing my hand. “What was his batting average last year?”
“It doesn’t matter, but I imagine with an ass like that, he hits a lot of home runs.” She cozies up to my shoulder. “Not as many as you though,” she whispers in my ear, and I shift uncomfortably, not ignorant to her dad’s prying eyes.
“Jessa’s never been one for sports,” her dad chimes in.
“I gathered that. When she comes to my basketball games, she plays with her phone every second I’m not on the court,” I tell him and Jessa giggles.
“I’m only there to watch you. You should be happy I don’t care about those other frat boys,” she jokingly remarks and her dad quickly picks up his head. His eyes bore into me, but I’m not sure what I did.
“You’re in a fraternity?” he hisses. Jessa quickly squeezes my hand harder.
“Yes, he is, Dad,” she answers for me and I detect the newfound worry on her face.
“Hmm…” He stands up and walks out of the room.
“What was that about, Jessa?” I ask her.
She starts nibbling on her bottom lip, which usually drives me crazy, but now I just want her to tell me what the hell is going on. “My ex was in a fraternity,” she reveals and my mouth drops. Holy shit, this just got a whole lot more complicated.
“You never mentioned that,” I say.
“What did it matter?” she asks, starting to take a more defensive stance.
“It didn’t until I came here. Of course your parents hate me. I probably remind them of him,” I say to her, still not able to say that asshole’s name.