“Wow! I am starving!” I said, a bit too loudly.
Jared and Claire both looked at me with their typical polar-opposite reactions. Jared was amused at my attempt to avoid bloodshed, and Claire appeared to be contemplating a way to choke me to death before Jared could stop her. I sat down and opened the flip-top box Jared had placed in front of me.
I watched him rummage through the other sack, pulling out boxes of appetizers, and I tried to mimic his casual demeanor. Claire stood there for a moment, glaring at both of us, and then sat down to her meal.
After a few minutes of silence, Jared and Claire began discussing their day. I caught on after a while that they were being vague. I didn’t press the issue, from the path of the conversation I assumed it was about Claire. At least they weren’t speaking a foreign language.
“It looks like I’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks,” Claire grumbled.
“Spring Break?” Jared asked.
Claire nodded. “Ich hasse diesen See,” she said, leaning back in her chair.
That was when my patience faded. “I’m going to have to learn German,” I grimaced.
“I’m sorry,” Jared said, “we’re not trying to exclude you. We were just discussing Claire’s training.”
“I gathered that,” I said, picking at my food.
Jared smiled at me with adoration and then leaned over to kiss my cheek.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Sie bilden einen Dummkopf von selbst.”
“I’m not making a fool of myself. She’s right, we’re being rude.”
I smiled at Jared’s complimentary translation. He leaned over again to quickly kiss my forehead before going upstairs.
Claire rolled her eyes again and then took her plate to the sink. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
I had to look twice when Jared returned downstairs. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of red soccer shorts and well-worn running shoes. He stood behind me as I rinsed dishes at the sink, and then wrapped his arms around my waist.
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll get to it, later,” he said, pressing his cheek against mine.
“Don’t start,” I said, trying to sound tough.
Jared left me to retreat to the corner where he kept his home gym. I loaded the few dirty dishes in his sink into the dishwasher while Claire walked into the downstairs bathroom and closed the door behind her. Suddenly the door opened again and my suitcase was hurled with incredible precision from the bathroom, landing directly beside me.
“This is my bathroom,” Claire warned.
I swallowed nervously, staring at the suitcase that sat an inch from my foot. I offered a meek smile. “Nice tub.”
Jared puffed from the corner. “They’re both my bathrooms, and you’re welcome to either.”
Claire glared at him and slammed the door, making my shoulders shoot up to my ears.
“Don’t let her push you around. She’s all bark and no bite,” he puffed, pushing an absurd amount of weight.
I eyed the bathroom door. “She bites, Jared. She’d chew me up and spit me out.”
“She can’t hurt you. She just loves to see you squirm,” he chuckled.
“I thought you said you weren’t like the Archs, that you could hurt humans if necessary?” I looked back at him, trying to concentrate on the subject at hand instead of his perfect form.
“She could, but she won’t. Claire knows better than anyone what you mean to me. Besides the fact that she would have to come to blows with me to even come close to you — and she would never cross that line — she wouldn’t make me choose between you and my family. She’s just rattling your cage,” he said, repositioning himself on the bench.
“I wouldn’t let you choose between me and your family,” I murmured, knowing he would hear.
“Nina,” he said in that familiar frustrated tone, “you’re not listening to me. She knows how I feel about you, so you can stop worrying about Claire.”
I raised an eyebrow. “She might know how you feel about me, but one of these days she might over look it.”
“You’re the love of my life, Nina. There’s no overlooking that.” Jared spoke the words casually, but my legs disappeared. I had to steady myself against the counter to keep from hitting the floor.
“You okay?” he asked, continuing his workout.
“Me? Er…yeah. I’m just fine. Perfectly fine. Why?” I sighed at my utter failure to fool him. Jared simply smiled with a knowing look, never slowing his repetitions.
Claire emerged from the bathroom in a hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants, her hair pulled back into a wiry bun. She looked like a seventeen year old girl, for once. She fell into the couch, feet hanging over the arm, flipping through channels of the flat screen.
Once the dishes were finished I lingered in the kitchen, wiping down the counters over and over again. I decided to take my suitcase upstairs to organize my things as best I could, hanging my clothes in Jared’s closet and finding a place for my shampoo and toothbrush. It was fun playing house for the week, but it only took so long.
I stood in the middle of the room, feeling lost. Jared was still deep in his workout, and with Claire on the couch I saw no point in enticing him upstairs. I decided to try Jared’s incredible tub to pass the time.
The steam danced above the surface of the water as I let my robe fall to the floor. I stepped in with both feet, stifling a moan. Once I was submerged to my neck, my body instantly relaxed. I loathed the communal showers of Andrews; I would miss more than just the tub when I returned.
“Nina? Did you grab a towel?” Jared said, his voice muffled through the door.
“No, I didn’t,” I said in a sing-song tone.
“I’ll grab you one.”
Within moments, Jared’s arm poked through as he cracked open the door, extending a thick navy blue towel. I frowned.
“I can’t reach it,” I teased.
I heard Jared sigh before he opened the door just wide enough to get through, turning his head to the opposite direction. He was still only in shorts and running shoes, dripping with sweat.
He took a few more steps in my direction, holding out the towel. The water sloshed as I raised my steaming arm to grab it, setting the towel beside me on the ledge.
“Thank you.”
Jared sighed and left the way he came, making sure not to open the door any wider than absolutely necessary.
I slid under the surface of the water to suppress the laughter. He was working as hard to preserve my chastity as I was to rid myself of it.
I remained in the tub until my feet and hands were sufficiently pruned. Wrapped in my robe, I climbed the wooden stairs, noticing Claire was no longer on the couch. When I reached the top, I heard the shower running.
I rifled through my things and chose a pink silk pajama set, and just when I buttoned the top of my shirt, Jared walked out of the bathroom in a pair of black cotton pajama pants.
“Where’s Claire?” I asked.
“She had to go out…training,” Jared explained, pulling the first aid box out from under his bed.
I sat down and held my hand palm up for him to work with. “I thought you were finished with your training. What else could she possibly learn? And from whom?”
“You’re full of questions tonight,” he said, working quickly to disinfect and redress my wound.
“And you’re evading them.”
“We have to acuminate our skills when we….” he trailed off, his eyes darkening the way they had during our first date.
“What is it?” I asked, watching him place the last strip of tape on my hand.
“Can I ask you to do something for me?” he asked, closing his eyes.
“Anything. Except leave.”
Jared’s eyes popped open. “I don’t want you to leave. I’m asking you to wait.”
“Wait for what?”I grimaced. Jared had a knack for confusing me.
