“Are you serious?” I held back my laugh at the fact that Jade managed to corrupt mybestsecurity detail.
“Yes!” She threw her head back and cackled, letting me soak in her happiness. “He helped me climb up there. And then he lied to you about it because I begged him not to tell you.”
Begged him not to tell you.
So she knew. She knew I’d come or…she planned it that way.
“Where’d you get the weed?”
My gaze slid down Jade’s bare legs, and God knows I tried; Itriedto stop checking her out, but I always failed.
“I had it in my purse. There’s a hidden compartment. Guess you didn’t see it when you sifted through my stuff.” She shrugged simply.
I had a staring problem. Couldn’t look away. I studied the way her lips touched the rim of the wine glass and the way her fingers held the stem.
And I just existed in the sudden silence with her.
But then Jade pulled her legs underneath her and pointed beside her.
“Come sit here.”
I almost jumped out of my chair. She watched me—the way I slowly,deliberately—moved to sit closer to her.
Was I a man? Or a thirteen-year-old boy? Because I sure as shit had never been this apprehensive.
A foot apart, we sat together, and I listened to the way her breath hitched in her throat.
“Can you tell me?” I looked down her body, the memory of the scar still raw in my mind. “You don’t have to, of course,” I assured her, “but I want to know how you got that scar.”
She visibly hesitated, and I instantly regretted asking. Maybe it was too traumatic, too recent, too dark for her.
I opened my mouth to retract my question when she reached over and placed the wine glass on the coffee table. Then, she put her hands in her lap and gulped, as if preparing herself.
“I’ll tell you.” She nodded, but it sounded like it was a condition. “If you tell me something too.”
I laughed quietly, very proud of myself for predicting Jade’s answer. “I’ll try to tell you anything you want,” I promised, mentally listing off every single question she would ask that Andrei and I promised each other we’d never tell her.
“Xavier..." she began confidently, “was upset that I came to break up with him so..." she wrung her fingers, suddenly lost for words.
"I'm sorry, Malyshka. You don't have to—”
"No, I'm okay,” she assured me, nodding quickly. "We argued. Obviously. And he just became more aggressive and—”
Jade stared into my eyes and I waited. Gave her all the space she needed. “He pinned me down. And ripped my dress, and…”
And there was more. There was definitely more, but she didn’t want to pronounce those words.
“I hit him with a bottle and he rolled off, but right before I ran off the deck, he kind of fell on me and did that…with his switchblade.”
It was subtle, but undeniable—she was trembling.
I was speechless. I could only stare at this beautiful and one-of-a-kind woman who gave me peace and elation, and wonder why life was so cruel.
Jade picked up her wine glass, taking a long sip. "It's just that it's recent, which is why I have this reaction." She laughed nervously. "I never thought that would happen to me.” She looked into my eyes, her words pure heartbreak. “Obviously. No woman ever thinks that can happen to her, but apparently…it can happen to anyone." She finished her story, and without thinking about it, I grabbed her free hand.
She stilled from the sudden touch, her big, beautiful eyes going even wider. “He was going to kill you,” I summarized and Jade nodded slowly, sliding her hand further into mine. “Do you want me to kill him?”
There really was no good way of asking that question. Jade sat frozen in front of me, but slowly, the apprehension on her face melted into a small smile until she burst out laughing, her joy emanating from her.
