How can I prove my love

If they all think 

I'm not good enough

✝ Chapter Twelve | Please Be Mine ✝

     You know that feeling you get when you try your best to avoid someone, but they find a way to talk to you?

       Yeah, that was exactly how I felt.

      Jack, having dropped me to my house multiple times, knew where I lived. But somehow, he got lost. He claimed he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. His lips twitched as he said it, and that’s how I knew he was lying.

    “Wrong turn, huh?” I asked him as I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head in disbelief.

       He shrugged. “It happens.”

     “Whatever.” I let out an exhausted sigh and glanced out of the window. He took us to some unknown road and I silently hoped he knew how to get us out.

       “I didn’t spread those rumors about you,” he said suddenly, keeping a steady gaze on the road.

       Yeah, right. “Then, who did?”

     He shrugged once more and ran a free hand through his tousled blond hair. I hated myself for thinking that action was attractive.

      I rolled my eyes at him, becoming more irritated at his lack of response. For someone who had a way with words, he was pretty silent now. And here I was, actually giving him the time of day. He did it, obviously. I shouldn’t be allowing myself to listen to any more of this nonsense. “You know what?” I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to face him. “Stop the car. Let me out.”

      Even though we were driving on a road I wasn’t familiar with and I probably wouldn’t find my way home, I wasn’t going to let Jack think he had control over me.

        He looked over to me, confused. “You told me to take you home.”

        “Yes, and-”

        He peered over the dashboard at the road. “You live at speed limit 40?” His brows pulled together as he glanced over at me again. “In front of the sign or behind it?”

       I tried to keep my laugh in, but it seemed as though my body didn’t want to obey me. When he saw me laughing, he chuckled along too. “I knew I could it.”

        “Do what?” I questioned, looking at him in curiosity.

       “Make you smile.” As he spoke, he stared down at me through his blond lashes, engaging me with his clear blue eyes.

      Unconsciously, my tongue swept over my lips as my gaze dropped to his own. Finally catching myself, I snapped my eyes back to his. I felt the rush of energy run to my cheeks and Jack noticed too, because he smiled. A real, sweet smile.

       Get yourself together, god dammit!

      “Jack,” I said softly, my voice was barely a whisper. “Did you really spread those rumors about me? Please tell me now. If I find out later that you did, I’m coming after you. And I’m going to cut your balls in half—no, in thirds.”

     Jack stifled a laugh at first but he realized I was serious when he caught a glimpse of my facial expression. “We don’t want that, do we?”

       “You don’t want that. I, however, do not mind.”

       He released a breath and slowly brought the car to the side of the road. “Look, I don’t know how all this shit is happening. But I can promise you, I had nothing to do with it.”

     I narrowed my eyes at him and let out a sigh as I rested my head against the window. The determination in his voice told me he was serious, but then again, he could be a really great liar.

       “Do you want to get something to eat?” he asked me.

       I gritted my teeth as I sat up straighter. “We can’t really get something to eat if we’re stuck on this abandoned road.”

       Jack lips tugged upwards into a smile as he started up the car again. “I think I know a way out,” he told me.

      It was then I realized Jack brought us here on purpose. I wanted to be mad at him but I just couldn’t. This feeling arising inside of me was going to be my downfall.

✝     ✝     ✝     ✝

      Minutes later, we pulled up to a book store and Jack’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. A myriad of emotions danced on his face, but I couldn’t quite decipher it.

      “I thought we were getting something to eat,” I blurted out.

      “There’s a coffee shop in there,” he responded as he turned the car off. In seconds, he jumped out of the truck and slammed the door, making his way to the entrance.

        I followed behind reluctantly, flashing him a small smile as he held the door open for me.

       The shop was large and it smelled like freshly-brewed coffee. The hardwood floors looked polished and there were huge glass windows that were designed to be looked out of. A marble bar sat in the corner of the shop and a few people were situated around it. Beyond the eatery portion of the shop, were wooden shelves. Each shelf must have held a hundred books.

    I glanced over to Jack. I thought he meant McDonalds’s, not something like this. But I didn’t complain because there was something about the shop that made me feel welcomed.

      Jack made his way to the counter with me trailing behind, and greeted the cashier. “Hey Ruthie!”

     An older woman with olive skin and large, fiery, red hair appeared from behind the corner, chewing harshly on a piece of gum. “Well hello there, Jackson. I haven’t seen you in a long time. Where have you been, fella?” Ruthie rested her elbows against the counter and stared at Jack with her bright marble eyes.

     “I know, I know. I’ve been busy with the motor shop and everything. Dad’s doing good. He asks about you sometimes. But, how are you?” A grin spread across his face and he looked genuinely happy to be talking to his woman.

       “I've been good. Just the same old, same old.” There was a slight twang in her voice and I could tell she was from somewhere southern. Her gaze slowly shifted from Jack’s to mine. “And who is this lovely lady? Is she your girl?”

       I felt the blood rush to my cheeks at the accusation.

      Jack shook his head. “No, she’s just a really good friend of mine. Her name is Lexus.”

       “Like the car?” Ruthie questioned.

      “Yeah,” I chimed in. “My dad named me after his first car. He had to sell it in order to take care of me. He always jokes that he traded in a Lexus for another one.”

      Ruthie smiled. “How cute.” She returned her attention to Jack. “Are you going to order something, or are you just here to say hi?”

       “Yes, I would like two red velvet cupcakes and two lemonades.”

       She nodded and disappeared behind the counter.

        I turned to face Jack. “Jackson?”

       “I knew you would make fun of it,” he stated as a short chuckle escaped his lips.

      Ruthie returned with our order seconds later and accepted Jack’s money. “Thanks, hun. You two enjoy.” She snapped her gum and sent us both a playful wink before going to assist another customer.

     Jack led us to an empty table and I waited until we were both seated in our seats to ask the question floating in my mind. “Who’s she?”

      “Oh,” he chuckled a little as he pulled down the wrapping of his cupcake. “That’s Ruthie. She’s like my Mom’s best friend.”

      “Where is she? Your mom, I mean.”

      “She died a few years back.” Not a flicker of emotion swept over his face. In fact, the carefree smile he was giving me seemed to be permanent.

     “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I wrapped my hands around my lemonade, feeling the frigidness tickle my fingers.

       “It’s okay.” He took a large bit of his cupcake and pointed towards mine. “Are you going to eat that? If you don’t like it, I’ll get you another one. You just seemed like a red velvet kind of girl.”

        I couldn’t fight the smile that was creeping onto my face. “No, this is fine. Thank you.”

        “What’s your favorite book?”

       My brows rose at the sudden question. “Uh…” I swallowed heavily. “I don’t really read.” I didn’t want to tell him about my dyslexia. No one else knew about my dyslexia aside from my parents and recently, Stephanie. I planned to keep it that way.

       “Is there a reason why?” Crumbs fell from his mouth as he spoke and I found it oddly adorable.

       “No, I just-” I tried to think of a reason that would sound plausible, “-I just don’t like to read.”

       Jack eyed me skeptically. “I love to read. The Bible is one of my favorites.”

     An amused scoff emitted from my lips before I could stop it. “The Bible? You like to read the Bible?”

      “Not for salvation purposes, no.” He took the very last bite of his cupcake and gulped it down with a few sips from his drink. “I like to read it because I like its meaning. I like how it makes people believe. I like how it gives people hope. Because really, hope is all we need in our lives.”

      I took the time to process the information. No one that I knew of read the Bible for the sole purpose of just reading it. Honestly, I didn’t think I knew anything about Jack. When I thought I had him figured out, he did something to change my opinion.

     He stood from his chair and a made a come hither motion, indicating he wanted me to follow him. Intrigued by the mystery that is Jack Addister, I gathered my food and followed him to the bookshelf section of the store.

     He led me down a vacant aisle and grabbed a book from the shelf. It was obvious he was already familiar with the store, because he knew exactly where the book was located. The thickness and genuine leather of the book led me to believe it was the Bible. He opened it up and flipped through the pages, until he found the one he wanted. “‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,’” he read aloud as his clear eyes met mine. “Proverbs, 4-23.”

      I stared back at him, speechless. No words dared to fall from my tongue because they were taken aback, too.

     “No matter how old this book is, it still holds an underlying truth. I don’t blame you for not trusting me, but I know your heart wants to. I can promise you, Lexi. I will never do anything to hurt you, okay?” He snapped the book shut and took a step closer to me. “Over the past few days that I’ve really gotten to know you, I can never hurt you. I wouldn’t want to ruin my chances with such an amazing girl like you.” He leaned down until our noses barely brushed against each other.

     I sucked in a breath as the brief touch sent a million chills down my spine. My whole body was yelling at me to do something, but I just couldn’t.

    Closing the space between us, Jack swooped down and pressed his soft lips to mine. My body stiffened under his touch and I stood there, completely frozen.

      It was a brief kiss. Jack pulled away only seconds later and I felt myself missing his lips. He ran a hand through my golden hair, letting it become tangled in between his fingers. “If there’s anything that you should believe, it’s that.”

       I found my common sense shortly after. “You know what’ll happen if you lie to me, right?”

      “I’ll have to check into a hospital,” he finished for me. “Got it.” With a slight smile, he flung his arm around my shoulder.

       I nuzzled up against his hard chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. And in that moment, I truly felt happy. 

✝

A/N: I apologize for taking so long to upload. Bleh. The reason why is because I'm working on a new story called The Human Project. I would appreciate it if you guys could take a look at that. But anyway, onto the question of the chapter...

Do you really think Jack is innocent? I don't know, he's kind of a softy. 

Vote, comment and do all that lovely stuff. Remember, dedications go out to random commenters. So, comment! 

~lara <3