Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)(2)
“Well?” I ask impatiently.
“Name’s Jackson,” he answers, raising his hand politely. I leer down at his outstretched upper appendage as if he has leprosy. He pulls it back, a quizzical look on his face. “I’m an old friend of Jade’s so I decided to drop by and surprise her. This is my first week at Brown. Glad to see the welcoming committee is so friendly,” he retorts sarcastically, but as I meet his eyes, I notice a glint of amusement there.
“Jade’s in class, she’ll be back later. Usually people who drop by call first, to figure that out,” I answer with as much feigned boredom as I can manage. He is very distracting, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I am very intrigued. He has the most amazing full lips and what I thought were dark brown eyes. But now, as I see them catch the sunlight from the window, I notice that they are a kaleidoscope of light and dark brown, with an ever so slight hint of green.
“Did you miss the part where I said surprise? Don’t you think a phone call may have defeated the purpose slightly?” he answers cockily.
“So I’m sure you can come back when she’s here. And you can leave now. Some of us need to get dressed and get to classes. I hear the hallway is a nice place to loiter,” I reply sarcastically, annoyed by his arrogance.
His face lights up with mischief. “Oh there’s no need for you to put clothing on, on account of me. I don’t have a problem with what you’re wearing. Just saying.” He smiles and allows his eyes to scan up and down body. This guy is incorrigible! Even with my robe, I suddenly feel extremely naked and exposed. Then I notice the cheeky dimple that has formed on his left cheek, and I realize he’s being a smart ass.
As he walks past me to the door, it pushes open and Jade walks in, carrying about twenty musical composition books. Still concentrating on her precariously balanced load, without looking up, she starts. “Maia, why the hell aren’t you…” She raises her eyes and notices Jackson. The books fly out of her arms to a scattered mess on the floor, creating a rainstorm of sheet music in the process. She squeals in excitement and barrels towards him, jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist and locking him into a fierce hug. For reasons completely unbeknownst to me, a small pang of jealousy gnaws at me. After a long embrace, her assault on his person is finally complete and he places her gently back onto the ground. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asks him, bewildered.
“Well, someone told me to stop wasting my talent and do something with it, so here I am.” He answers with a broad grin.
“Are you shitting me? You finally listened to me, and enrolled?” Jade’s face is contorted with disbelief.
“Yup,” he nods, “although it appears that not everyone is glad I’m here.” He cocks his head towards me with that same mischievous glimmer in his eye.
“Oh, have you guys met? Maia, Jackson. Jackson, meet my roommate Maia,” Jade introduces happily. Jade and I are not exactly close yet, but she’s a cool chick, and the only person I’ve bothered to get to know since coming here. Probably because it would be difficult to ignore someone who resides a few feet away from me. Her introduction seems a bit redundant, because I already know his name, and who else he assumed I would be, standing in my gown in the room besides her roommate, is beyond me.
They continue to chatter on about home and mutual friends, and I decide to duck into the walk in closet slash storage area in our room to don proper clothing. I find myself choosing a pair of painted-on looking skinny jeans, and a soft green cashmere sweater. After running a brush through my tangled hair I glance over at myself in the full-length mirror. Carefully applying my makeup, I add extra concealer to cover the bags under my eyes that my restless sleeping has made a permanent feature of my face. Taking one last look, I wish I could get away without wearing it, even if the amount that I do wear is miniscule at best. Nothing more than a thin layer of foundation, a hint of bronzer on my cheeks and a generous application of lip gloss. My long golden brown hair hangs like a curtain down my back. It never waves, kinks or curls, just hangs. My stock standard brown almond shaped eyes stare back at me.
I often wish that I had that ethereal goddess beauty that Jade has. She looks like a reincarnation of an Egyptian princess, with her long and wavy jet black hair, and piercing green eyes, framed by a face of flawless honey colored skin. She also has lips that look like she visits a beautician for collagen injections daily. And Jade does not wear makeup; Jade wakes up looking runway ready. Not surprised at all that Jackson allowed her to jump right into his arms.
As I walk out of the small space, Jade is reaching for her bag, sans Jackson. Can’t say I didn’t just feel a twinge of disappointment. “We’re going to grab breakfast. Coming?” she asks casually.
I think of missing my Nineteenth Century American Literature class, my favorite one, and decide that I am beyond being able to concentrate today. “Sure,” I smile and grab my bag from the foot of my unmade bed. Jade looks over at my bed and I can tell she’s annoyed that I haven’t made it yet, and clearly don’t plan on doing so.
Jackson’s head pops into the doorway, and my hormones rage, just a touch. “Ready?’’ he asks. We nod in unison and follow him out to a vintage jet black Mustang.
Jade practically catapults into the clouds when she sees the car. “Oh my God, he gave it you?” she squeals.