Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)(27)
“Good investment in this area according to my financial advisors,” I shrug, walking over to the closet to grab clothes and my towel. “What? Did you really think I was gonna stay in this dorm room with Lucifer and his bride?”
Jackson agrees to wait in the car while I shower and change. Thankfully, when I leave the room, Bryce and Morgan are nowhere to be seen. After a longer than usual shower, I change and walk over to the Mustang. Jackson is leaning against the passenger door, phone in hand, oblivious to anything around him. He is truly a god. His not too huge biceps amply fill the sleeves of his t-shirt, as do his broad shoulders. His just tight enough jeans give me a full silhouette of that oh so tempting bulge. And his caramel skin looks almost edible. For a moment, I stop and just observe, taking in the Adonis. Until he looks up and catches me. His face alights into a wide grin as he exaggeratedly opens the door, chauffeur style, and gestures for me to get in.
We pass by a few real estate agents on the way into Providence, some of whom take one look at me and assume that I am looking for a two square-foot studio apartment with barely enough room to swing a cat, because that’s all I can afford. I get it. I dress simply, with barely any makeup. I don’t look like the type of trust fund brat who could afford a decent apartment owing, to my lack of gold and ridiculously expensive six-inch Manolos.
Finally, we come across Cindy, an agent in her mid-twenties who doesn’t baulk at what I’m willing to spend, and offers to show me everything in that price range. Admittedly, Jackson also baulked when I said the budget out loud.
Seeing the surname on my driver’s license, Cindy’s eyebrows perked. “You sure you don’t own property in the area already?” she asks.
“My family does,” I reply and the word family grinds out of me. It’s better than saying my father. Noticing that this was a point of contention, she doesn’t continue to question why I don’t just occupy one of my father’s apartments. Instead, we start the trek into town to see what she has to offer.
I hate the first three, and so does Jackson. None of them have windows or views of anything. In fact, the only window the first one had looked over onto another building, directly into a window wherein a middle-aged woman was strategically bent over her husband’s torso. Jackson suppressed a laugh and Cindy and I rolled our eyes, smiling.
The fourth apartment was just a few doors down from the Clever Bean. It was a front facing top floor apartment, with bay windows in each room that overlooked the busy street below. It had two decent sized bedrooms and hardwood floors, and I was in love.
Always being one to trust my own instincts when it came to money, Cindy, Jackson, and I headed back to her office to sign the paperwork. “Can I move in soon?” I ask her excitedly, after completing the paperwork and funds transfer.
“I really shouldn’t allow it until the funds clear, which will be Tuesday,” she answers regretfully. I’d be treading carefully, too if I had just made the amount of commission she had for two hour’s worth of work.
I think of spending the next three days with Morgan in the bed next to me and cringe.
“It’s okay,” I smile.
After hitting a few furniture and appliance stores to buy some essentials and have them delivered on Tuesday, Jackson and I make our way back to the campus. He’s been rather quiet since we left Cindy. I notice his hand wringing the steering wheel periodically as he stares at the road ahead.
“Wanna share?” I ask, almost scared of what I’d hear. Maybe he does think I’m some spoiled rich girl. Maybe his opinion of me has changed. Before he can answer, I interject. “I should have told you I had that kind of money, since we said no secrets. It’s just, it’s not that important to me. Honestly, I invest it and forget about it.”
Jackson lays a hand over mine. “Why would that bother me?” he asks looking at me.
I breathe a sigh of relief, which is short lived. If that’s not it, then what?
“I was thinking of asking, maybe seeing if you wanted to come down to Atlanta with me. See Jade. I was going in a few weeks anyway to see my folks, but now you need to get away ‘til Tuesday…” Jackson speaks apprehensively as if he’s not sure that he really wants this. “Shana and Daniella will probably be there, too. It’s bizarre, but I feel like I need you with me to face that.”
Shit! What the hell am I supposed to say? Saying no makes me look unsupportive, after his last comment. But do I really want to land myself in the middle of the shit fight that will probably ensue? Am I really ready to meet families? To be honest, after only recently emancipating myself from my own family, did I really want to get anywhere near another? My stomach knots but before my brain has a chance to derive a good excuse, the word ‘sure’ rambles out of my mouth. Holy freaking hell! What did I just do? Jackson loosens his grip on the steering wheel and his shoulders visibly relax as the tension in them releases. After dropping me at my dorm to pack a few things, Jackson heads off to do the same at his. I book two business class flights to Atlanta, before shutting my laptop and leaving to meet him.
We arrive at the airport just as twilight breaks. The chill in the air only adds to the nervous tension in my stomach. Jackson pulls out his wallet as we approach the counter to book the flights.
“Oh, wait. I took care of it,” I say, handing the clerk the credit card I used for the booking.
Jackson’s averts his gaze across the terminal and grows quiet.