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To be honest, I never would have thought that it would be like this when Jackie and I finally connected, but it didn’t matter. I poured all that I felt for him into that kiss, letting my tongue fight with his, feeling the desire in me come flooding through to the surface.
He reached up and cupped the back of my head, and I imagined him wrapping his hands in my long hair. A pang of regret shot through me. I missed my hair, but that that would come in the future, I had no doubt. Jackie was mine, and I was his, and there was nothing that could come between us now.
Chapter 3
“That was…wow, Rosita.” Jackie finally pulled back from me when we were both almost panting. Biting his lower lip, he reached out like he was going to tuck my hair behind my ear, but his hand fell to his side. “You. You have no idea how amazing you are, do you?”
Even though I heard his kind words, my stomach dropped with the motion of his hand. I didn’t have any hair for him to brush back from my face any longer. The motion that I had grown so fond of was gone, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever get it back. At least, not until my hair grew back, and everyone knows that that can take forever.
It was just one more thing that the harpies took from me. They may have only meant to shave my head and take way my gorgeous locks, but they took much more than that. They took away a beautiful connection that I had with Jackie, and I hated them for that.
It just made me more sure that Jackie and I had to find other ways to connect. I wasn’t about to let something like this drive a wedge between us, not when he was so special to me.
“Jackie, I can’t thank you enough. You mean so much to me. You always make me laugh and know just what to do to make a bad day better. Knowing that you want me makes me…” I faltered for words, trying to find ones to tell him exactly how much he meant to me. There was something amazing about Jackie that I’d never be able to put into words, but all I could hope was that he felt the same way about me.
Now that I had him, I couldn’t imagine ever living without him, so I needed to make him understand. Taking his hands in mine, I gave them both a tight squeeze. Kaleb was the one out of us who was good with words, and I wished that I had his talent right then. Being able to explain to each of my rogues what they meant to me would allow me to hang onto them without fear.
Clearing my throat, I tried again. “I just don’t know how to make you understand how important you are. You’re just…you mean so much to me, Jackie.” Everything I said sounded lame, but he just laughed and looped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him again.
“You don’t have to act like you know how to tell me how you feel, Rosita. You mean the world to me and the fact that I get to have you is incredible. I think I understand what I mean to you, too.”
“You do?” My heart soared when he said this. If he really understood what I felt for him and I didn’t need to explain it then this could work. He could accept me like I was and we would be fine.
“I promise. We’re fine.”
I swear, sometimes it felt like Jackie read my mind, even though I knew that was impossible. “Good.”
But it was better than good. Jackie and I had a connection that I’d never imagined we could have. From the first time I saw him, I’d wanted to get to know him better, and suddenly he was mine. It was a great feeling, and one that I knew I’d need to hold onto if I were going to make it through my senior year without going crazy.
Right before I was going to say something else, his watched beeped and he scowled at it, a dark look flitting across his face that disappeared when he looked at me again. “Bad news, Rosita. Kaleb wants to spend some time with you this morning, too. As much as I’d like to keep you to myself, I have to let the other boys spend time with you before we go back to school.”
Taylor Prep. I couldn’t believe that we were really going back today, but at least I wasn’t going to be alone. I had my rogues, and my friends, and I knew that this year was going to be worlds better than the last. It just had to.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Leaning up, I kissed his cheek and then squeezed his hand. We walked back to the clearing together, neither one of us talking. Normally, Jackie had something to say in every situation, but we were both too happy to speak.
In the clearing we paused for a moment then continued down the path, Jackie walking behind me as I led the way. All too quickly, we were back in the parking lot. Kaleb and Brett were leaning on the trunk of Brett’s car, and they both looked up when we walked onto the gravel.
Immediately, Kaleb pushed off of the car and walked over to his, his green eyes fixed on me. I shivered under his gaze and let go of Jackie’s hand as he got closer.
“Rose.” My name was breathy, like a prayer on his lips. When I didn’t respond right away, he looked at Jackie. “Did you two have fun? Did you talk?”
“We did. She’s amazing, Kaleb, just like you already know. I’m glad we talked.” This was directed at me, and I turned back to smile at him.
“Me too, Jackie. Thank you.” Jackie grinned at me and brushed my cheek one more time before walking over to stand by Brett. I watched him go for a second before Kaleb pulled my hand.
“I think that Jackie showed you the waterfall, am I right?” His voice was soft and soothing. Ever since the first day that I heard it, I knew that I could easily get lost in it, and today was no exception. There was something incredible about Kaleb, and getting to spend time with him after he sent me all of the poetry was…amazing.
“He did. You have something else planned for me?” I tried to keep my excitement from my voice, but I couldn’t, and he turned to grin at me.
“Let’s just say that I’m glad you’re a sneaker girl and not one who parades around in stilettos all the time, although I have to admit that I do like it when you do. We’re going somewhere different, and you’re going to have to do a little more work to get there. That okay?”
Putting in more work to see Kaleb’s surprise was something I was willing to do, and I nodded, but when we walked up to the trailhead marked with a red tag, I paused. “Are you sure that I’m up to this? A red marker means that it’s really hard, right?”
He squeezed my hand. “Yeah, but I know that you can do it, Rose. And if you run into any problems, just know that I’m right there with you and I won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay?”
I believed him. A few months ago, had he told me that, I never would have thought that he was telling me the truth. The rogues scared the hell out of me, made me terrified to even leave my room. But now, with them on my side, things were different.
Even so, I stared at him for a moment. I wanted to see his face. Feel the words that he spoke. For some reason, it felt like I could gauge how much I could trust him just by looking at him. Finally, I nodded, relief coursing through my body.
