Nate (A Texas Jacks Novel) (48 page)

Clearing his throat, Chase says, “Tomorrow, the guys and I are planning to take a trip to see
Diamond Head
and the
Polynesian Cultural Center
. Do you ladies want to join us for the day?”

“Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun!” an enthusiastic Jen exclaims. “I want to get out, see the sites, and learn more about the island we’re on.”

“Well, you just said the magical words,” Ava laughs out loud. “Jenifer loves history, and here’s her chance to explore. And hey, it helps to tag along with three good-looking guys.” She winks at the three guys. “We’re not sure what we’re doing tomorrow. How about we talk about it, and then give you an answer? We’ll just yell up to you from our balcony, so leave your sliding door open.”

“Sounds like a plan. Talk to you ladies later, and hopefully we will see you tomorrow, as well.” Jason says before they turn back to the elevators and climb to the next floor for the night.

We walk into our own room, and I throw myself onto the bed, while Ava shuts the door. Jen flops down next to me. Shortly after that, Ava claims the other bed. It’s been a long day, and we are all definitely worn out.

“So? Do we want to tour with the guys tomorrow?” I ask, but already know the answer. “I know you want to go, Jen, so why didn’t you just say you would?” I question her.

“We
do
want to go, but we can’t just jump at every invitation they throw at us. I like them a lot, and had a great day hanging out. However, we don’t want to seem too eager,” Ava says.

But it’s Jen who points out, “We should figure out what else we want to do and make sure we have back up plans. We should also bring our own ideas to the table, too. We can’t just rely on them to come up with everything. There could be a day we don’t want to do what they have planned. I just know that it’s good to do some things on our own and make memories with just the three of us before we split and go our own ways after the summer.”

“Okay, mood killer.
Yeesh
, we don’t need to get all serious up in here.” Ava tries to lighten the mood. “I want to have fun memories, and we can make those no matter if we have extras with us or not. But, I know what we can do. How about this? We tell them we’ll hang out with them tomorrow, and then invite them to go snorkeling with us on another day?”

“That’s a great idea. That way it doesn’t look like we just want to mooch off of their ideas. Great plan. I like it,” I say. “Jen, since Jason seems to like you so much, I nominate you to share the wealth of news with the boys upstairs. You can act out a scene like you’re Juliet and he’s Romeo.” I crack myself up, which only earns me a pillow to the face, causing Ava to join in, and soon we’re in an all-out pillow fight. That is, until we hear a thumping at the sliding glass door, which makes us all scream and jump over the side of the bed, freaked out. Ava, who seems to be the brave one of the group, sticks her head up and starts laughing before jumping up and running towards the door.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing? It could be some peeping tom. What if he has a knife, and he wants to do us harm?” Jen shouts after her.

“Seriously, Jen? Why would she laugh and run for the door if a killer was on the other side?” I say before jumping up myself. “Oh look, it’s Romeo on the other side.”

That has Jen up quicker than if I said her favorite singer was here.

Ava unlocks the door then slides it open before Jason walks through.

“Are you crazy? I can’t believe you climbed down to our balcony. What if you had gotten hurt?” Jen fusses over Jason.
Wow, that’s not a case of instant like, nope, not at all.
I grin like a big loon over at her.

“The guys and I heard some yelling and banging noises, so I was selected to come check it out. The quickest route was going over the edge. So, here I am. What were you all doing in here, anyway?” Jason looks at us curiously.

“Oh no! Sorry we were being so loud and crazy in here. I was getting ready to yell up to you, before we got sidetracked.” Jen says with an embarrassed expression on her face that soon gives way to a grin.

“Oh, and just what were you doing?” he asks her, giving her his own charming grin.

“We were having a pillow fight,” she laughs.

“Oh dang, and you didn’t invite us? You break my heart!” he feigns being hurt, while putting his hand up to his chest.

I roll my eyes at Mr. Cheese and toss a pillow at his head. He totally didn’t see it coming, and it gets in a good
whap
, causing us all to laugh.

“So, what’s the verdict about tomorrow, now that I know you’re all safe and I couldn’t be the white knight to save the day?”

“Yes, we would love to come out with you guys tomorrow.” Jen tells him.

“Great!” Jason says excitedly as he fist pumps the air before a faint red hue washes over his cheeks. He gives us a sheepish smile then heads back to the sliding door and steps through it. Once outside, he yells up towards the sky, “She said yes!”

We hear some whooping and hollering before he comes back through the door and pulls it mostly closed.

“Well, as you can hear, the guys are excited about tomorrow,” he laughs. “We have to be up early, as it’s a long trip and takes up most of the day. Are you okay with that?” he now sounds like he thinks we may change our minds, knowing that we have to wake up before the sun. Or at least I assume before the sun.

“I guess if we’re getting an early start, then that means you, my dear Romeo, must bid Juliet and her ladies farewell so we can get our beauty rest,” Ava teases the poor guy. He looks a little embarrassed, but we all know that he’s clearly infatuated with Jenifer.

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay then. So, I’ll see you all tomorrow? We’ll swing by your place at 7:30 tomorrow morning, then head down to the shuttle bus together.” Jason says, making sure that we know the game plan and when to be ready as he starts heading back to the balcony.

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s the best way to exit the premises safely. Why don’t you try using the door like real live boys do, and not fake boys, like Spiderman or some super hero like that?” Ava says, pointing out the obvious escape route.

“Oh, yeah, right. Good idea. Well, goodnight, ladies. Sleep tight and we will see you bright and early in the morning.” Then he makes his safer escape, leaving us erupting into a fit of giggles over his embarrassment.

“He sure is cute when he’s all flustered and embarrassed,” Jen says.

“Someone’s got it bad. Or should I say two some ones’?” Ava giggles, and this time I take a pillow off the bed and whap her with it before she tackles me, causing us to fall on the bed, laughing. All of our noise causes a great big thump on the ceiling that makes us laugh even harder.

Jen closes the sliding door and locks it, drawing the curtains closed while she’s at it. Then we get ready for bed, and turn in for the night.

Thank you to:

Lindsay
, who helped me with the final push I needed to write this story two years ago. Thanks for reading along as I slowly worked on this project. Thanks for all the late night chats, emails, suggestions, corrections/editing, making the cover, and helping me write out the synopsis, making me laugh, and over all, your moral support, your friendship, and especially for your time.

S.R. Grey,
for your support as an author and friend, and for all of your help with the right tools I needed to get this book off the ground. Thank you for your help when it came down to final touches of the synopsis and being a cheerleader on the sidelines.

Amy,
for beta reading, and for your awesome feedback that put a big smile on my face. I also appreciated all of your suggestions. But mostly, for being with me from start to finish, and being my friend. You took a long journey with me, and I’ll be forever grateful.

Amanda-
for beta reading, for your thoughts, and suggestions. I’m happy to have made a new friend.

Bethany
,
Jennifer and Rachel
, for letting me ramble at you with my ideas when they first formed, putting up with my text messages and giving your opinions on the cover ideas. Thanks for your friendship and moral support. Thanks for cheering me on and checking on me as I went through this process, and beta reading when you could.

To my
kids
for their encouragement and sharing my experience.

My
family, friends and extended family members
for your support, encouragement and to those who read my story.

Thank you to those who don’t know and will probably never know that you were the inspiration for this story.

An additional big thank you to all of those I’ve mentioned, as you were there from the beginning, you helped me push through this project, dealt with my texts and emails about anything and everything to do with this book, and over all were my biggest base of moral support.

J.B. Morgan resides in Oregon where she’s a wife, and a stay-at-home mother of two. When she’s not writing, she can be found carting her kids everywhere, busy with volunteer work, or trying her hardest to read- without interruptions.

She loves the New York Yankees, traveling, and her family.

When she was younger, she would make up hero-rescuing stories in her head, revolving around boys she had crushes on at school. She’s in love with the idea of love.

About her stories: “I love full length stories with a resolution at the end, so no novellas or serials for me. I love my stories to have humor, swoony romance, strong and sensible heroines, good-decent guys, realism, and happily ever afters. After all, don’t we read to escape reality? So why notread what makes us feel good on the inside and puts a smile on our faces? This is what I strive to put into my novels. Well, I try to at least.