Breaking Through the Wall (Guarded Hearts Book 2) (10 page)

My manager
told me I could have a fifteen minute break, so I made my way over to hang out with him for a little bit. When I walked up to him he had his back to me and was on the phone. “Yeah, I know that it would be good…I can’t right now…I can’t just leave this time…well, then you will just have to find someone else.”

He
hung up the phone, then turned around to see me standing there, holding two coffees. “Hey, I, um…I had a break and thought maybe we could hang out.”

He smiled at me and I
could tell he was hoping I didn’t hear his conversation. “Sure, Maddy. How are you doing?”

I
sat down next to him and handed him his coffee. “I’m dealing with it.” I didn’t want to say I was okay, because I wasn’t, and I had really been trying to work on being honest with my friends. I noticed a bruise peeking out from under the sleeve of his T-shirt. ”Hey, what happened to you?”

He
looked down at his arm. “Nothing serious. I have just been working out a lot and I think I am overdoing it. So, do you have anything planned for Carter’s birthday?”

That was a nice change of subject on his part. Carter’s birthday was in a week and this would be the first time we g
ot to celebrate it together. This time last year I had stopped talking to him because of Chris and I was avoiding him like crazy. “I have a couple of things planned, I love that it is on the weekend. I know one thing that we are definitely going to do, is that I am going to take him to Defying Gravity.”

Defy
ing Gravity was this cool place with wall to wall trampolines; you could just bounce around and have fun, play a game of flying dodge ball, and they even had some basketball hoops for you to try to jump and dunk in. Carter had always mentioned he wanted to go there, but we never really had the chance.

“That is really cool
, Maddy. Can you take me there on my birthday too?” I started to laugh. I really enjoyed hanging out with Shawn and I wished he was around more often.

I looked up and noticed my boss waving me back over and a huge line at the counter. “Well
, I have to go back now.” I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “You have been here for me through everything, Shawn. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

I really hope
d he took me up on that offer.

Carter

When I woke up this morning and Maddy wasn’t in bed
, I panicked. I jumped out of the bed and ran into the living room to find the whole place decorated. There were balloons and decorations everywhere, and Maddy was standing in the kitchen, making pancakes. I smiled, realizing how paranoid I had been. She hadn’t heard me, though, so I snuck up behind her and wrapped my arms around her. She jumped, not expecting me to be there, then turned around.

“You know if it wasn’t your birthday
, I would beat you with this spatula for scaring me, Carter James.”

“Would you beat me with it anyway? I feel like I might enjoy it.”

“Oh my God!” She started to laugh and then smacked me in the butt with it. I leaned down to kiss her. “Happy Birthday, Carter!”

“Thanks
, babe.”

She grabbed the plates and we made our way over to the table. “So
, after breakfast I want to get dressed. I have a lot planned for you tonight.”

“Oh
, really? Hmmmm, do any of those plans involve staying in bed all day?”

She laughed and shook her head, then stood up to take the plates to the sink. “No
, those are the plans for tonight.” She turned back to me, winked, and walked off to the bedroom.

* * *

When Maddy was giving me directions, I can honestly say I had no clue where we were going. Once I pulled up to the building, though, I couldn’t stop smiling. I had talked to her before about wanting to visit Defying Gravity. This was so cool.

“You excited?”

I wrapped her up in a hug and carried her toward the door. “Yes, you have no idea.”

We bounced around for a couple of hours and I have to say it
was the most fun I’d had in a really long time. When we got back to the house, all I could think of was getting her into bed. I opened the door and turned on the light to see everyone standing there yelling, “Surprise!”

I looked back at Maddy and she had a huge smile on her face. I
couldn’t believe she did this! I walked in and started to say hi to everyone. After I was done making my rounds, I went to find Maddy.

She was in the living r
oom, talking to Nicole and Jason. She actually looked happy and I think that was one of the best gifts I could have gotten.

“Hey
, Carter! What do you think? Your girl really knows how to throw a party, huh?” Jason had his arm wrapped around Nicole’s waist. That was still something I wasn’t used to. I had never pictured him comfortable enough with a girl to act the way he was.

“She really does, huh?” I wrapped my arms around Maddy from behind and bent down to kiss her neck.

“Ew, Carter! Can you at least wait until people leave? You are my brother, you know!” Holly had been sitting on the couch. I hadn’t even noticed her earlier. It had been so nice having her close again. I really missed her these past two years I had been here.

“Come on
, sis! You’re ruining my game!”

She just laughed and turned to Maddy. “God bless you for taking him, because I think I would have to kill him.
”

Nicole

They
were posting the cast list for the play today and I was so nervous. I was on my way over to check it out when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see Jamie jogging over to me.

“Hey
, girl, what are you up to?”

I hadn’t see
n Jamie since the party because he was a year ahead of me, and we didn’t have any classes together. “I’m actually going to go check out the cast list for Romeo and Juliet. Did you audition?”

“Hell no! That shit is way too stuffy for me
, girl. If I don’t understand half of the lines, I don’t even bother. How is that wonderful specimen of a man doing?”

I started laughing. “He is amazing. We have been together since the party and I can’t believe how good it has been going.”

“That’s great, girl, I’m happy for you. Besides, if it didn’t work, I would have given you some serious competition for him. I have to run to class, though, I’ll see you later.” He gave me a hug. “Good Luck!”

As I
was walking up to the building, I could see it was posted and there was already a crowd of people over there. I walked up slowly, because I really couldn’t make my legs move any faster. When I found my name, with the name ‘Juliet’ next to it, I almost fainted.

I got it? Holy Shit! I can’t believe that I did it!
My next thought was to see who was playing Romeo. When I found it, though, it brought down my good mood. Aaron Jones. Of course, the biggest dick in the program would have to get the role. Aaron was a senior and had been trying to get in my pants since last year. Jason was just going to love this.

When I turn
ed around, Aaron was right there. Speak of the devil. “So, after a year I will finally get to show you what you have been missing, doll.”

Doll? Really? What is he
, an old time gangster?
“Aaron, I can tell that I am not missing much without needing to touch you. I have a boyfriend and this is nothing but a role for me.”

He
raised his hand like he was about to touch my cheek, when it got slapped away. I looked in the direction of the slap and I saw Jason. Shit.

“You need to keep your hands to yourself
, Hollister.” I laughed at Jason’s joke. Aaron really did look like one of those preppy models you see on their ads. He had this spikey blond hair, and was dressed in a polo and plaid shorts.

Aaron
looked Jason up and down, then turned back to me. “I’ll see you in rehearsal, Juliet.” He walked away and I could tell J wanted to go after him.

“So
, are you ready for lunch, babe?” Please let this just blow over.

“Tell me that that asshole is not the one you are going to be doing this play with.”

“Listen, Jason, I don’t get to pick who plays the other roles, and this is a great opportunity for me. I am not going to turn it down. Trust me, I am not happy that he got it either.” I turned and started walking to the cafeteria, where we were supposed to meet everyone for lunch, hoping that Jason followed me.

“Nic
, wait!” He caught up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He bent down and kissed me in a way that made me forget I was ever irritated with him. “I get that this is a good opportunity for you. I just need you to know that it is going to kill me to watch that dickhead have his hands on you. You need to warn him to back off too, or I will.”

I loved his protective, alpha male side. It
was something that really made me feel wanted, cherished, and it fucking turned me on. “Okay, Tarzan, don’t worry. I will warn him that you will club him over the head if he gets out of line.”

“Well
, as long as he knows that, then we won’t have any trouble. Now, come on, Jane, me hungry.” I laughed as J and I started walking toward the cafeteria.

* * *

Tonight, Jason was coming over to my house to watch a movie, and Maddy had lent me ‘The Notebook.’ I knew he wasn’t going to be too happy about it, but oh well. I had never seen it and always wanted to, so he’d just need to deal with it.

Thank God he brought a pizza over with him
, because I was starving and there was almost no food in the house. I still couldn’t get over the way I felt whenever he walked into the room. It was like I couldn’t breathe, or even form a thought. I knew I was seriously falling for him, which scared the crap out of me.

“Thanks for the pizza
, babe.” I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss, which quickly turned into something more. It was always like that with us, though. I pulled back this time. “I am starving and the movie is already set up. Come on.” I grabbed his hand and we walked over to the couch.

“So
, what are we watching?” He looked over at me and I started to laugh.

“Well
, I told Mads that we were doing a movie night, so she lent me one of her favorites.”

He looked over at me and I think he already knew what that meant. “Come on, Nic. Are you gonna really make me watch one of those ridiculous movies?”

He was such a guy, but that was what I loved. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Yes, I am going to make you watch it.”

“Well
, then I think I need some kind of incentive.” He smirked at me and grabbed my ass.

“I don’t trust you for a minute
. First we watch the movie, then you can have a treat.”

Jason

I
couldn’t believe she had me sitting here watching this shit right now. I didn’t know how Carter did it, movies like this were pointless to me. I mean, the least they could do was have a car chase or an explosion. That way, when guys got dragged to see these movies by their girls, there was at least something interesting. The only thing helping me stay awake right now was knowing that it was almost over, and that when it was, I would be upstairs with my girl. My girl. I liked the sound of that more and more each day.

Sometimes I surprised even myself with how protective I was of Nicole. I would do anything for her
, I just wanted her to be happy. This whole stupid play shit was killing me, though, because Aaron wanted her. He didn’t make it a secret either. If Nicole hadn’t made me promise to leave the asshole alone, I would have gone after him by now.

I heard Nicole start to cry and when I looked at the TV
, all I saw were two old people lying in the bed. What the hell was so sad about that? I didn’t care, because the credits started to roll and now came the good stuff. I walked into the kitchen to put our plates in the sink and get a drink. When I opened up the refrigerator, the first thing I saw was chocolate syrup next to a bottle of whipped cream. This could be interesting.

When I walked back into the living room
, it was empty. I walked up to her room and found her lying on the bed. When she looked down and saw the stuff in my hands, she smiled at me. “Just what do you have those for?”

“That is for me to know and you to enjoy.” I put the stuff on the floor by the bed and jumped on top of her. I used to think it would be boring to be with the same girl all the time, but it was different with her. I started to kiss her and she wrapped her legs around me. I sat up and took both of our shirts off, then moved my attention to her bra, shorts, and underwear. She was now completely naked, and I was so ready for her. I bent down to get the supplies I had brought up, and put them next to us on the bed.