Come To Me | Jerrie

Chapter 14

I climb into the cab of the truck, laughing as I imagine her reaction when she finally sees her ridiculous time.

"What's so funny?" she asks.

"Oh, nothing. You'll see later tonight. Unless of course you're ready to share my time now?" I smile and bat my eyelashes.

She returns my smile and throws the truck in reverse. "Nice try, babe. But if I give you the time now, I'll have nothing to ensure you show up tonight."

"It's not like I can go very far." I really want her to tell me so I can watch her face fall when she sees how bad she lost. There's no way she beat me. Well, there is, just not with the amount of lead-time I added in. If she still beat me, even with the extra time, I'm not only signing up for a gym, I'm getting a personal trainer.

"No, I think I have you right where I want you." She winks and her cheek rises.

We start driving back toward the hotel, but it's a different way than how we came. When I look off to the right the shoreline is close. It's beautiful. The homes lining the street are all quaint little beach cottages with white picket fences and trees that cast shade over the road.

"This area is adorable," I muse.

Jade looks over, smiling. "I lived on this side when I was stationed here. It's the locals' beach on this side of the bay. You get to enjoy the ocean without the crowds."

"So if you still have your headquarters down here, do you stay in a hotel every time or do you have a home here?"

I wondered this before but wasn't sure how or if I should ask. Since she thought it would be entertaining to make me run an obstacle course, I think it's fair game. If it weren't for her, my legs wouldn't be throbbing and my arms wouldn't be numb.

"No, I sold my house when I moved up to New York. I kept the office here because it made more sense being close to the base. Plus, it gives me an excuse to come back to the beach and see friends." Her hand grips the steering wheel and she puts her blinker on.

"Where are we going?" I ask, confused. The hotel isn't here, not that I know where here is. But still, there isn't anything here but trees. I look at the sign as we turn—another military base. No. No. No. I'm not doing this again. She's trying to kill me. "Ummm ..."

Jade laughs but doesn't answer. She gives her ID to the guard at the gate and keeps driving forward. "Relax, this will be fun."

My hands are clenching the seat as I try to get a grip. Jade reaches over and grabs my hand, pulling it onto the middle console as her fingers intertwine with mine. If she keeps pushing against that wall, soon enough it's going to crumble. Distance. I need distance. I try to pull away but she tightens her grip, continuing to look forward.

"I don't believe you. You said the same thing about the last base we went to."

"I had fun. Didn't you?" she asks.

"Fun? Sure, if you call aching joints, atrocious hair, and a dirt mark on my butt from falling fun. I would call it something else, but we can go with that." I smile even though I was going for sarcasm.

Jade's loud laughter fills the truck as she parks. A little nervous and afraid to see where she's brought me, I decide to stare at her—the view is beautiful either way.

"You still look perfect even with messy hair and dirt on your ass—which I happen to be fond of." Jade's brow raises and she shifts forward, coming so close our lips could brush. "I want to show you my favorite place in Virginia Beach, or would you rather go back?"

With her breath heating my face, I'm cognitively misfiring. She could ask me to strip and run the course again and right now, I would. "Here is fine."