“Thanks again for coming to this,” he said as we left the drive. “It’s going to be a lot more enjoyable without a million questions about Amy.”
“What will we tell them if they ask?” I pictured Amy in my head, and it wasn’t without some sourness that I recalled her striking blue eyes, just as bright as Derrick’s, and curly dark hair and perfect, unblemished skin. Like Snow White, if Snow White had been slightly tanned with the body of a triathlete. If his coworkers had seen her or her picture, no one would be able to mistake me for her. But we weren’t dating, and I wasn’t jealous, so it didn’t really matter anyway. “I mean,” I added with a shrug, “not that I care. They’ll probably just be wondering where you got the blond, short-haired gnome and wonder where your forest elf went.”
Derrick’s laughter exploded through the quiet car. “You,” he said, giving me another glance, “do not look like a gnome.”
Was that a compliment?
Not that I cared.
“Speaking of clothes,” I nodded at him, “I thought you didn’t have to work tonight.”
He grimaced. “Well, I’m filling in today for someone who got hurt this morning. They called me right before we left. I barely had time to change into my uniform.”
A strange silence settled over the car. And though I scrolled through my inbox, I found myself more and more unsettled by the man sitting beside me. Which was stupid. This was Derrick, the guy who tormented me for half of our relationship and spent the other half playing pranks and begging me to help him avoid his boss.
So why did I feel like I was really meeting him for the first time? And why did it suddenly feel like maybe…maybe it was time to rethink the rules after all?
27
I Don’t Mind
Derrick
Jessie was oddly silent as we drove up to the base gate. There had been times where I would have given my left foot to shut her up when we first met, but I found now that I didn’t know what to do with the silence. Every so often, out of the corner of her eye, she’d sneak a glance at me before her eyes darted back down to her phone.
It had to be the uniform. Women were weird about uniforms. It was just something I wore every day. It had function and utility. Once I’d accidentally terrified a group of kids in a gas station, who I quickly realized were from another country. But Jessie didn’t look terrified. She looked…curious. And though that would have concerned me two months ago, now I couldn’t help but wonder if I liked it.
It was hard not to keep looking at her, too. She was dressed up more than usual today, wearing fitted dark jeans, and a blouse that was the kind that sat just on the edges of her shoulders, revealing her graceful neck and the sharp angles of her collarbone. Her blond hair was curled, rather than up in its usual ponytail, and she was wearing makeup. And every time she glanced up at me from below those long lashes, I had to remind myself to focus on the road.
“If anyone asks,” I said, remembering the question I hadn’t answered, “we can tell them you’re a friend, and you’re helping me with Jade this summer.”
“And if they don’t ask?”
Her question caught me off-guard for several reasons. First of all, she seemed fine with the statement that we were friends. A month ago, she would have nailed me for saying she was anything but Jade’s teacher. This was progress, I supposed, that she let it slide now. And yet…friends. Not that we weren’t. It just didn’t quite fit what we were.
What were we anyway? A team, yes. Jade’s sidekicks? That fit, too. But everything I could think of involved Jade. And I couldn’t help but wonder about how if Jade were removed from the picture, we would have nothing left to tie us together. And it dawned on me that I didn’t like that. After the summer we’d had, life without Jessie would have a gaping hole.
“And?” she asked, looking slightly bemused.
“Oh.” I shook myself. “Sorry. Well, if they don’t ask, we’ll just let them think what they want.” If they wanted to think the beautiful woman at my side was my girl, that was fine by me.
“I hate to ask this,” I said, “but I don’t know how long I’ll be at work after this. Hopefully, it’ll be less than an hour. If that’s the case, you and Jade can come hang out at the barbeque. She’s got a few extra toys in her backpack for if that happens. But if you really want to leave, maybe you could take Jade home in my truck? My mom could drive you home when you get back to the house.”
She turned to gape at me. “You’d let me drive your truck?”
I cringed. “I’m honestly reconsidering this very instant.”
She swatted me.
“But if you’re determined to go home…” I shrugged. “Can’t have your boyfriend thinking you’re being held hostage.”
“My…Oh geez. Sam is not my boyfriend.” Something in her voice colored just slightly, and I grinned. I knew it was true, but for some reason, it felt good to have her say so.
* * *
After we got Jessie’s pass from the visitor’s center, we went through the gate, and I proceeded to give her a tour from the truck as we drove past the various parts of the base.
“This is the main road that almost everything for civilians lies on.”
