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  "Meet you up there dad," I casually said, just to show him that I still somewhat needed him.

  The inside of his truck was equally as impressive as the outside. There were temperature controlled seats, numerous television screens, rear view cameras, and many more gadgets that I was sure required tutorials to operate.

  "Impressive truck!" My voice was so full of excitement I could hardly contain it.

  "Oh this old thing?" Jason said, playing coy. He knew full well that his truck was an impressive piece of machinery. "Where do you want to go and eat?"

  "I have no clue, wasn't planning to go out to eat after the game."

  "Well, there is no way that your family is here and I don't take advantage of getting to spend time with them."

  His cell phone rang, and a picture of a blond female popped up on the screen. He immediately ignored the call, and my curiosity piqued.

  "Who was that?"

  "No one important," He ran his hand over his face. "What kind of food do you like? I have a few places in mind as far as food, but I want to know what you’re interested in."

  I took a minute, and decided on Woody’s Pizza; it wasn't far from campus, and it wasn’t some overly expensive place to eat either.

  <>

  Back at our apartment, Mila strolled in with Ryan following closely behind. He asked her if she wanted to come out to eat with us. I shot her the look of death, hoping she would pick it up and decline. Luckily, she did. I love Mila, but her need to be totally inappropriate at the most inopportune times had me nervous and sketchy with my parents. Chelsea came walking through the door with Hunter. I’m not sure where he came from since he hadn’t made it to the games this morning. Jason was much friendlier with him this time around, but still eyed him cautiously.

  My mom, being the woman she is, asked Chelsea and Hunter if they’d like to join us, and I gave her the same stare that I gave Mila. She picked it up and made up some story about her and Hunter going out on a date. Whew! I felt like a couple of bullets had been dodged with Mila and Chelsea staying out of the way. Those girls were all sorts of inappropriate and they’d have no problems displaying their atrocious behavior when they deemed necessary. I wanted to keep my rendezvous with Jason a secret from my parents, and somehow, having those two around, I was certain it would come out.

  I showered, got out and tamed my mop with some mousse and hairspray--making sure to keep my hair curly because I knew how much Jason liked it. I wandered into my bedroom, praying the conversation in the living room was one that was amicable. Skinny jeans, my red strapless top, and Rainbow sandals seemed appropriate for Woody’s -- after all, it was a college hangout. A spritz of perfume and a light touch of lip gloss and I was ready to go.

  Me excitement to ride in Jason's truck bordered on juvenile, but I couldn’t contain it. The truck excited me in so many ways. Not only was it brand new, but Jason looked even more delicious driving it—as if that were even possible. My parents and Ryan followed behind us, and I had questions about what took place while I was in the shower and getting ready to go.

  "So, what were you and my family talking about while I was showering?"

  "Some secrets can't be told Cara," he gave a wicked grin while keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

  "Jason! Seriously! As you can see, having you around my parents is nerve wracking for me. What did you guys discuss?"

  "Well, if you must know, we talked about y'all. They were telling me how long you’ve been playing ball, why you chose SSDU, and just them. Nothin’ to get rattled about." He paused for a moment and glanced over at me. "Why are you so nervous about me being around your parents? Do you think I’m going to tell our big secret?"

  I looked deep into his eyes, and could see the hurt. "No. Of course not. I am just…" I struggled to find the right words, trying desperately not to offend him. "… just hoping to always have my parents' approval, so I want to make sure things go smoothly, that’s all."

  "Cara, you can't always seek out your parents' approval, especially at 21." His voice was laced with irritation.

  "Well, I know that, but it's not that easy for me. They worry about me, and I want to do my part to alleviate that stress for them. Can you please understand that?"

  He looked at me with wearisome eyes, and I knew he thought my reluctance to have him around my parents was personal.

  A few moments later we arrived at Woody’s. Jason took my hand and looked deep into my eyes.

  "Cara, I know we are very new, but I don't want any secrets between us. You need to trust me, and I need to be able to do the same."

  I sensed tears welling up in my eyes, so to lighten the load I referred back to his earlier statement.

  "I thought some secrets couldn't be told?" I gave him a smile, and he kissed my hand.

  <>

  Woody’s was buzzing with people. It was a Friday afternoon, and the college scene was out in full force. There were televisions broadcasting baseball and basketball games, beer flowing and pizza being inhaled by the slice. We took a table near the back and Jason immediately ordered three pitchers of beer.

  Ryan and Jason seemed to have warmed up to one another, and I learned something new about my Southern gent; he was the same age as my big brother. Call it backwards dating, but that was exactly what it was -- fuck first, learn miniscule things about one another later. Jason told my family that he had no desire to go to college straight out of high school, so he waited a few years, and now, at 26, he was finally going to graduate with his Bachelor of Arts in Business Accounting. My dad stared inquisitively while downing beer and I feared that the machine was about to be turned on – and sadly, I wasn’t wrong.

  "So Jason, what were you doing in the meantime, while you were out of school?"

  Jason finished his beer, and without batting an eye, calmly answered, "I worked for my family's business. Learning from the ground level. That’s what pushed me into accounting."

  I stared at him in pure amazement. He had managed to give an honest answer, without revealing too much about himself. On the other hand, he hadn't been completely honest with my dad, but I knew he didn’t want to throw who he was in my dad’s face, and since my dad seemed to be clueless about it, it was fine as it stood.

  "So what do you plan to do with your degree?"

  "I’ll be going back to work for my dad on an accounting level."

  My dad nodded in approval, but that didn’t stop the barrage of questions he seemed to have lined up for Jason.

  "You said you are from Texas…"

  "Yes sir."

  "So does that mean you plan to move back to Texas at the end of the school year?"

  Holy shit! In our wild, lustrous pursuit, I had failed to ask any real substantive questions.

  "I’m not really sure sir. I can pretty much do that job from anywhere, so wherever I’m at in life at that point is where I’ll go and make home."

  He looked at me with a big smile on his face, and I could see Ryan gag. My mom was just gazing at Jason with a preposterous look of delight in her eyes.

  Our pizza arrived at the table and everyone dug in. I was actually able to relax, now that we seemed to have to made it through my dad’s inquisition. The table talk definitely reminded me that I needed to find out more about Jason, but in the moment, I was finally able to breathe.

  Chapter 3

  I was excited that dinner went well, but was still a bit puzzled as to why Jason was so vague with my dad. I knew in order to answer my dad the way I would have liked would have meant that Jason would have had to speak about his excessive wealth, and I knew he wasn’t comfortable with that. I guess I should have been satisfied that the conversation actually took place. On the other hand, I was lectured just before dinner about not keeping secrets. I thought Jason should be held to the same standards.

  I loved spending time with my parents and even though they didn’t live that far away, I didn’t see them as often as I would have liked. I hugged my mom, Ryan, and my dad. My dad h
ad me in what felt like an eternal hold. “Cars, good seeing you love… Jason is a nice guy, but we still need to talk!” He emphasized the word and I knew there was so much that he wanted to say, but refrained. My dad was not a man to take things at face value, and when he said it, I knew he meant it. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and turned back to Jason, waving goodbye to my parents as they drove away.

  Jason opened my door and just as I was getting into the truck, my cell phone rang.

  “Hey Chels, what’s up?”

  “Hey, how was dinner with Jason and the fam?”

  “We’re just leaving, and it went well.”

  Jason knew I was speaking about him meeting my parents, and he gave me the inquisitive eyebrow.

  “Who’s that?” he whispers.

  I placed my hand over the mouth piece and whispered back, “Chels.”

  He told me to put my phone on the phone dock so that she could be heard on speaker.

  “Hey Chelsea, dinner was good, her parents love me. What else can I answer?”

  “Um, nothing Bradley. I was asking Cara, but since you jumped on the phone, I guess I will tell you too.” She paused because Jason was laughing at her bothered attitude. “Anyway, Hunter and I are going to Gaslamp to have a few drinks and wanted you two to tag along.”

  I immediately lit up. “Sure, we will be back in about 10 minutes.”

  “Ok, perfect! See ya in a bit.”

  I hung up the call and turned to a stern faced Jason. He was all of a sudden very quiet and the only thing keeping a sense of normalcy in the truck was the radio playing in the background.

  “Gaslamp?” He finally moved his lips to speak.

  “Yeah, why not? What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t really want to share you tonight. I wanted us to have a night alone.”

  “Well, we have the whole weekend Jason, why can’t we go and hang out tonight?” I was justifiably perturbed that he was sulking.

  “Cara, I just wanted to spend some alone time with my girlfriend tonight, that’s all.”

  I stopped and stared at him -- my mouth dropped. Did he just call me his girlfriend? How did we get here so quickly?

  “Girlfriend?” I asked silently.

  He looked at me, eyes full of worry, “Yes. We’ve gone as far as a couple can go, and I met your parents – what else would you be to me?

  I didn’t answer right away. This was moving rapidly and it scared me a bit. I looked over at him, weary of what to say, and how to say it.

  “Um, I just didn’t know we were on this path so soon.”

  He looked at me, eyes wide and full of panic. “Cara, when it’s right, its right – and tonight, I’m just not interested in sharing you.”

  I’m wasn’t really sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything and we just rode in the truck in silence, nothing on except for a sweet melodic country song playing on the radio.

  <>

  We arrived at the apartment, and Jason came around to my side to open my door. I stepped out of the truck, and without looking at him, walked up to the door. He came running behind me, and put his hand on the small of my back.

  “Hey, why are you so quiet?”

  I turned to look at him, not exactly sure of my emotions at the moment.

  “I just don’t know what to say.”

  “Why don’t you say you are going to make me happy and spend the night with me?”

  I turned and unlocked the door, walked in, and found Chelsea and Hunter sitting in the kitchen laughing.

  Chelsea turned to me, with an empty bottle of wine next to her and gave me her biggest, brightest I’m-already-drunk smile. She was unbearably inappropriate when she had been drinking, and I could feel the temperature in the room rise.

  “Hey Cara,” she yelled. “Go get your heels on so we can go.”

  I looked from her to Jason, who had a stale look on his face.

  “We won’t be joining you tonight, but thanks for the invite.”

  Chelsea turned to look at me, then back at Jason. I started to fidget; she sensed her moment and pounced.

  “What do you mean you aren’t joining us? Cara said you guys were. What happened?”

  Jason didn’t back down to Chelsea’s alcohol fueled tantrum.

  “We have our own plans; Cara will be staying with me at my place tonight. Go and enjoy your night Chelsea.” There was authority in his voice, and Hunter stepped in.

  “Chels, let them have their night, we will hang out another time.”

  She eyed Jason, then looked back at me. “Thanks for ditching me Cara.”

  I looked at Jason who gave nothing away in his expression. He walked into my room and left me in the kitchen with an angry Chelsea and an antsy Hunter.

  “Chels, I wanted to go, but Jason insisted that we have a night to ourselves. You understand how that is.”

  She looked at me with inebriation and anger in her eyes. “Cara, when I said I wanted you to find a guy, I didn’t mean I wanted you to lose me in the process.”

  My heart broke hearing this. Chelsea had been my best friend for the past four years. I knew she was partially drunk so her emotions we all over the place, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit for her for thinking that I was replacing her with Jason.

  I looked at Hunter, who took his cue from my expression and grabbed Chelsea’s hand.

  “Hey baby. Let’s go lay down. We can do Gaslamp another night. I think you’re tired and need to relax.”

  Chelsea looked up at me, then at Hunter, and then back at me. “Have a fabulous fucking night with your uber rich boyfriend Cara.”

  Just as she said this, Jason walked out of my room with a duffle bag. I silently prayed that he didn’t hear her comment, and when he didn’t even bother to look in her direction, I sighed inwardly at an argument averted. I knew Chelsea well, and while her mouth was usually on high alert when she was sober, drunk, her mouth was unbearable.

  “What’s that Jason?” I asked.

  He smirked at me and lowered his eyes. “It’s your stuff, to stay the night.”

  Hunter led Chelsea back to her room, to leave us to a bit of privacy.

  “Jason, what the hell?

  “What the hell what? And could you please refrain from cursing, it’s very unladylike.”

  He knew I was irritated and yet, in his own condescending way, he egged it on.

  “Nothing, let’s just go.” I started to walk for the door when he caught up to me and grabbed my hand. “You have my friend pissed at me -- you were pissed at me. Best to get out of here before I manage to piss anyone else off.”

  He turned me around to face him, kissed my forehead, and then tugged me by the hand and lead me out of the apartment.

  <>

  The drive from SSDU to La Jolla was normally a 20 minute drive, but with Friday night traffic, it easily turned into an hour. A guitar filled classic song was blared on the radio. Jason had been attentive to the road, and by my own assumptions, he sensed my mood, so he didn’t say much -- besides singing along to the song.

  I finally had enough of the avoidance, so I broke the stalemate. “So why was it so important for me to come to your place tonight?”

  He looked at me with a nervous glance and then looked back to the road.

  “Jason, answer me!” I really hated being ignored.

  “Well, my dear, if you must know, then you will just have to sit still for another 10 minutes or so and you will surely find out.” He smiled a very arrogant smile, as if he knew that I was going to be thrilled by whatever he had planned.

  I sat back in my seat and sang along to the tune as well.

  A few moments later, we exited the freeway. The closer we got to Jason’s house, the more vibrant his mood became. It was infectious, as I was beginning to allow the anger that had built up inside of me to subside.

  After what seemed like a trip through the world’s largest maze, we pulled up to a one story, white stone house, with a driveway that felt like it was the len
gth of the Charger’s football field. The grass on either side of it was the perfect hue of hunter green, and cut to perfection. If I wasn’t mistaken, it even had designs in it. There were small lights bordering the lawn, and in the middle of the yard, on the right hand side was a large water fountain statue.

  Jason clicked the remote control to the garage and pulled the Raptor into its space. He had a three car garage on this house, and as we pulled up, I wondered why he needed all of this space. The truck was parked next to what looked like a Mustang. It had to have been a special edition, because it was unlike most Mustangs that I had seen on the road.

  Finally, next to the Mustang was a motorcycle. Jason’s story of living the life of a student and not having much, crept back into my mind. His idea of slumming it was drastically different from anything that I knew.

  I sensed Jason was filled with glee, and he could see it in my eyes as well. He parked the truck, grabbed my hand and kissed it.

  “I wanted you here tonight so that I could show you my life, and try to make you a part of it.”

  My words failed me -- I had nothing to say, so I just sat there quietly trying to take it all in. Jason hopped out of the truck, came around to my side, and opened my door. I jump down into his waiting arms, and he kissed me.

  “This is my baby, my Shelby GT500. This is all I wanted in life, and my dad made me work my ass off, but I finally got her -- about three months ago.” I smiled, taking in her beauty. “She’s brand new, and I don’t drive her much, but I have plans for her and you… my girls are going to be close.”

  “I thought this was some sort of special Mustang, I don’t see many of these on the road.”

  Jason was overcome with excitement, and I even thought I saw a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Nope, you won’t. With all of the extras my dad and I added to her, she was well over $60,000.”

  My mouth dropped. Who pays $60,000 for a vehicle? I could buy five of my Civic for that price.