The Set Up (34 page)

“Thanks again, Jake. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I say and hit disconnect.

Charlotte takes my face in her hands. “You’ll get through this and be cleared soon.”

“I know.”

Her thumbs caress my cheeks and I turn to kiss one of her palms. As soon as my lips touch her soft skin, I push all the crazy shit that is my life behind me and concentrate on her.

And that’s the problem.

Her.

My pulse races with the knowledge that my path toward this girl on my lap is speeding down the track like a freight train.

Our eyes are locked and our breathing is fast. Is the speeding train we’re on a warning to slow things down?

The thought has me faltering in my previous intentions. “Tell me we should be doing this.”

“We should be doing this,” she whispers.

Not convinced, I go on. “Tell me this doesn’t taint our innocent memories. Because that time was the happiest of my childhood.”

Staying stronger than I would have imagined, she runs her hands from my face to my chest and rests one of them over my racing heart. “What Charlie and JJ shared can never be taken away. Never.”

Mimicking her actions, I put my hand over her heart. Look at her. Stare at her. Feel her heart. A beat. Two. Three. Take a deep breath. Now I can feel her heart beating just as fast as mine. “Then let’s get out of here and see what Charlotte and Jasper can share,” I tell her and lift my chin to meet her soft, lush lips in a tender kiss.

And then I close my eyes and hope to fuck she’s right.

A CHEMISTRY LESSON

Charlotte

IT’S AMAZING HOW
one small thing can change everything.

He believes me. Believes in what I’m saying. Maybe even believes me enough to help me prove my father’s innocence. Clear my father’s name. Ease my conscience. Set the record straight. Despite what scars of his might be uncovered, he’s willing to pull the Band-Aid off.

The trouble is I’m not, though. I’m not willing to watch him uncover wounds so deep he might end up hating me forever.

I look over at him. So handsome. So brave. So confident.

Anger wells deep within me.

Cast me out. Brand me with the letter A. I don’t care. But not Jasper. He’s been through enough. Just last week this city called him their white knight, and I can’t bear for him to become their black sheep along with me. That’s why I’ve decided to give us the night and then leave Detroit for a while.

Not forever.

But for now.

Until the smoke clears and the dust settles.

I’m not giving up. I’ll never do that. But it’s not fair for Jasper to be caught in the crossfire. Not when everything else around him is in such upheaval.

I’ll go to the police station tomorrow and let them know where I’ll be before leaving. Mackinac Island isn’t that far. They’ll have to let me go. And as for my car, well I’m not sure what to do about that.

Still looking at him, I watch as he runs a hand through his hair. He’s easing down my street with hesitation more than evident in his slow speed.

The moon is bright above and I can see how the muscles in his arm tighten with apprehension. I can see how he clenches and unclenches his jaw, uncertain, like me, of what lies ahead. I can see his worry.

Surprisingly, though, the street is eerily quiet. Relief washes through me, knowing that the location of where I live has obviously not been uncovered.

Yet.

Patrons of the bar next to my apartment building, the bar I should have been working in tonight when the news broke, linger outside smoking, focusing on their own lives.

Thankful, I let out a sigh of relief that I wasn’t there tonight, with the televisions turned on in every corner and my picture flashing across each and every one of them. Mean drunks might just be more ruthless than journalists trying to crack a story or citizens wanting due penance. Might. I’m not certain, but I’m glad I didn’t have to find out.

Relief evident on his face as well, he parks the car a good distance from my building and the bar and we walk down the sidewalk side by side. Up above I study the stars, looking for a sign of any kind that I should take a different path. That I shouldn’t leave tomorrow. That my staying won’t rock this town on its axis like I know it will. But I know I won’t find one. My road is clear.

Jasper drops a soft kiss on my shoulder and I wish I could use that as a sign, but I know I can’t. Instead, I continue to study the sky.

Hands linked, we silently walk up the steps, through the broken door, up the stairs, and finally through my apartment door. My heart is pounding. This man, who I feel like I’ve known my whole life, wants me. Hasn’t forgotten me. Chooses me over the ease of walking away.

It means so so much.

Inside my apartment I turn the lights on. Jasper drops my key on the counter and is already headed to my bedroom. I watch as he flicks the lights on in there and disappears inside. I’m nervous. Suddenly very unsure if I am ready to cross the invisible line he spoke of just twenty minutes earlier. Afraid if I do, the only good memories I have of my childhood will forever be tainted with this new memory.

“Would you like a drink?” I call out, my nerves apparent in the tone of my voice.

“No thanks,” he answers. Jasper is now in my bathroom, turning those lights on too, and before I can think too much about it he’s back in front of me. Close. Very close. Close enough that I can smell his cologne and see the stubble on his jaw. Close enough to kiss me. Instead, though, he asks, “What apartment does your super live in?”

That’s when I realize he was searching my apartment.

More nerves.

“Did you think someone might be in here?”

He shakes his head. “No, but I just wanted to be sure. Now what apartment can I find him in?”

Okay. Good.
Because with the lock changed, I feel certain no one can get in.

Looking at him, I almost laugh out loud at myself that I thought he was ready to get down to it that fast. Blinking at my own ridiculous reaction, I blurt out, “2B.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I grab his arm. “Jasper, what are you doing?”

He reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Don’t worry, Charlotte. I just want to have a little chat with him about getting that lobby door fixed as soon as possible.”

“I already spoke to him.”

“Then perhaps I need to remind him that code violations do add up and that should I call the county supervisor, this violation might hinder his monthly city grant upkeep payout.”

I shake my head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“No, I don’t. I want to. You’ve spoken to him and yet the door is still broken, so I think he needs a slight reminder of his job responsibilities.”

“Jasper,” I sigh.

He gives me a cheeky grin and is out the door before I can say another word.

Suddenly feeling all too alone, I take off my shoes and hop onto the sofa. Most women would use this time to freshen up. Slip into some sexy lingerie perhaps. Aside from the fact that I don’t own any, I feel like I can’t breathe and need some air. Opening the window, I step out onto my fire escape and look up into the night. Inhaling slowly, calming myself, I get lost in my own thoughts.

Minutes later I find myself crossing my arms to ward off the goose bumps from the slight chill in the night air, and then I do what I always do when I feel this way—search the stars. Count them. Trace them. Stare at them.

“Are you looking for the Big Dipper?” His voice is warm like molasses.

Chemistry.

It’s here.

And I can feel it.

“All of the constellations, actually.”

He laughs. “How many have you found?”

I point. “Three. There’s the Big Dipper. The Little Dipper. And Lyra.” I bring my hand down and then ask, “Did you talk to the building superintendent?”

“I did. Everything is taken care of,” he says.

“Really?”

“Yes, he was quite understanding.”

I nod, uncertain that’s an entirely true statement.

Jasper pulls me in front of him and links his fingers through mine. “Lyra, huh? Show me.”

“See that bright star right there?” I say as I point, tipping my head back to look directly overhead.

“I see it,” he says, his breath warm in my ear.

His embrace chases away my chill. “That’s Vega. It’s always easiest to see in the summer months. It’s also the tail to Lyra. Starting there, go up and draw a lopsided square.” I move his hand and trace the box shape in the sky.

“Ahhh . . . I see it.”

I smile. “See, it’s not as hard as you used to think to find them.”

He rests his chin on my shoulder. “I didn’t have you holding my hand back then showing me the way.”

No, he didn’t.

Not like this, anyway.

With just a slight twist of his neck, his lips are nuzzling my skin and his teeth are nipping at the flesh.

No, not like this at all.

Suddenly, I’m on fire. Flames are licking over my entire body and there’s a burst of heat clawing through my belly.

Soft lips press harder against the skin of my shoulder. “Do you still look at the stars when you’re afraid?” he asks. He’s not mocking me in the least. He’s very serious.

“Sometimes.”

“Like tonight?” he asks with concern.

“Yes,” I admit.

“What are you afraid of?”

I tilt my head. “The same thing you are. Tarnishing the only good memories I have of my childhood.”

His mouth tilts upward. “I thought we decided that could never happen.”

I turn in his arms and look at him. “We did. But I can’t help but still be concerned.”

He lifts his hand between us and curls his pinky finger. “I could give you a sign, but how about instead we pull out the big guns and pinky swear that no matter what, we will always remain friends.”

Smiling, I lift my hand and curl my pinky around his. “Pinky swear.”

Fingers locked, we study each other under the light of the stars. Saying nothing. Thinking. Deciding.

Do this?

Don’t do this?

That uncertainty weighs heavily on me and I have to look away and back up to the sky. It’s then that I see it. “Oh my God, look!” I point excitedly at the shooting star.

“Make a wish,” he says, his voice rumbling low and lustful.

I close my eyes. “You too.”

My wish is that whatever this is we have isn’t a fleeting moment. That even when I return, when his name is cleared, it’s still there. And then for good measure, I throw in that I hope my neediness doesn’t drive him away.

When I open my eyes he’s gazing at me. “Did you make a wish?” I ask.

He nods.

“What did you wish for?”

His grin is sly. “Now, if I tell you it won’t come true.”

I smile. That was what I used to tell him every time I made a wish and he asked me what it was.

Jasper steps closer.

My breathing is heavy. My pulse pounding. My heart thumping. “Do you remember how you used to tell me the stars were infinite and I could never see every one of them?”

He nods again, and this time his eyes glitter gold in the moonlight.

“There’s this line in ‘Evangeline,’ a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, that when I first read it in high school reminded me of just that.”

His hands go to my hips. “Oh, yeah, what is it?”

Running my hands up his chest, I recite the line that I know by heart. “‘Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.’”

Jasper sucks in a breath and stares at me for a long moment, seemingly at a loss for words. Seconds pass and then he takes a step back and outstretches his arm. “Come inside with me.”

I nod, taking his hand. Leaping. Ready for this. Jumping.

Once inside he takes my face in my hands. “I want you to know I never, ever forgot you, Charlotte, and I never, ever will forget you.”

Moved by so much emotion.

Happiness.

Sadness.

Too many feelings.

Lust.

Admiration.

Desire.

I fight hard to hold my tears back, but then his lips are on mine and all I feel is that driving need to be even closer to him. To take the next step. To leap forward. To fall with abandon.