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Or I could look for Jade.
I grab the manual and head out of my room, even before I’ve put any real thought into the idea. I make it all the way to her door before I remember she’s not there.
Rick was supposed to take her out shopping today. Considering he was looking for her just a few hours ago, I can only assume they’re still gone.
Damn.
Disappointment runs through me so hard that I have to take a breath and fight it off. This is a good thing. They need time together. Honestly, going to her when thoughts of her just had me hard as fuck probably isn’t a good idea anyways. I don’t ever want to pressure her.
I shake off the crappy feeling trying to take over and plaster a smile back on my face. I wonder how their shopping trip is going.
I head back down the hall to the stairs, but the sound of a door opening behind me has me looking back to see who it is. I assume it’s Spencer since we should be the only ones here, but I can’t make myself not look to know for sure. With our lifestyle, the need to be on our toes is so far integrated into us that even in our own home, we don’t let our guard down.
To my surprise, it’s not Spencer but Rick coming out of his office.
Huh, maybe Jade is here.
Rick looks up at me where I stand next to the stairs as he closes his office door. I can’t stop my eyes from darting to her door in a silent question, and because he knows me so well, he can easily understand.
“She’s not here.” He says with a shake of his head as he makes his way past her door to meet me. “I dropped her off on campus about fifteen minutes ago to study with Hazel and Trent.” He tells me. Trent’s name rolls off his tongue like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Yeah, things are rough with them, but at least he hasn’t beaten him up yet, and that’s something considering how bad I know he wanted to the night we found her. Not to mention he brought her there, so that’s progress.
I nod and head down the stairs after him once he walks past. Guess I’ll just head to the garage early after all.
I follow Rick into the kitchen and stop short as I look at the mountain of fresh fruits and vegetables that sit on top of the island countertop. I raise a brow at him in question as he moves to the sink, where I can see he was busy cleaning them to be put away before he went to his office for whatever it was he needed.
He doesn’t even look up to see my reaction, but he must know I have one. He sighs but explains. “Jade’s only ever had basic foods. She said she had tried a banana once and potatoes for dinner, but that’s about it, so we had no idea what she likes.” He says as he continues to wash the fruit. I swear I can see the slightest hint of red on his cheeks. Even though his words seem casual, I know it’s anything but.
Fuck, I want to call him out on this so badly.
Rick is a stickler for rules and the process. I can’t remember the last time he bought this much. Hell, I’m not sure I even know everything thats on the counter right now.
We have money to spare, we could easily have an overflowing kitchen every day, but he doesn’t like to waste. Fruits and vegetables don’t have a huge shelf life, so he usually just rotates out what he buys and shops often. I can’t even get him to buy oranges every time he goes, and I could damn near live on those.
Rick broke his own rule for Jade. The best part is she doesn’t even know it, but he does, and I do too. So, he can try for casual all he wants, but we both know I’m not buying it.
Too bad I still stand by needing to let him handle this one on his own for now.
I bite down on my lip to keep myself from commenting but try as I might, I can’t keep the smirk off my face.
He must have been waiting for me to say something, though, because he looks up at me in confusion after a moment of silence.
I shrug and head to the fridge to grab a water bottle for the ride. I can feel his eyes on me as I head to the door that leads to the garage.
If I wasn’t planning on leaving before, I am now. No way can I keep my mouth shut for much longer, no matter how much I know I need to. Nope, it’s better to just take myself out of the situation. I can laugh about it all I want on the drive over to the garage.
“Zander,” Rick calls me just before I reach the door. I stop and look back at him over my shoulder. He’s still at the sink, but his attention is on me, the water running over strawberries that sit forgotten in the strainer.
“Do you have a moment before you go?” He asks before he turns back to the sink, shutting the water off and grabbing a towel to dry his hands, still leaving the strawberries in the sink.
I look over at the clock on the wall, I still have forty-five minutes, and since the shop isn’t far, I should have more than enough time. Worst case scenario, I call Trent and tell him I’m running late. I don’t think he will mind a little extra time with Jade.
I turn away from the door and head to one of the stools at the island, pushing back the fruit so I can rest my arms on the counter. Rick’s posture is stiff as he pays very close attention to his hands, which I’m sure are not only dry by now but damn near rubbed raw with how intensely he’s wiping them with the towel.
“What's up, boss?” I say as I sit, hoping to lighten the mood a little. Nothing riles Rick up quiet like me not taking something serious and the nicknames. Man, does he hate the nicknames.
He finally looks up at me as if pulling himself from some deep thought. He doesn’t even react to my teasing. Maybe he didn’t hear me, or he just doesn’t care. Either way, it lets me know whatever he wants to talk about is more serious than I thought it was a moment ago.
He lets out a huff before taking a deep breath like he often does to settle himself. When he looks at me, I can see just how on edge he is. His face might be a perfect mask of indifference, but his eyes are swirling with so many emotions I can’t even begin to figure them out.
