Jaded

[24] In Jade Time

"How long are you going to keep this grumpy act up?" I ask, leaning on the armrest of Leo's passenger seat. Atty and I have been on the road for about half an hour now, and in those miserable 30 minutes he's said a grand total of 3 words.

"It's not an act," he mumbles, still keeping his gaze locked straight ahead of him. If angry Atty wasn't so unbelievably cute, I'd be pretty annoyed right now. But every time I say something, he tries his best to keep silent even though he wants to talk and his lips twitch slightly. He shifts in his seat just a little and fixes his hair.

I sigh, "why're you being such a baby anyways? Is it because of my little luggage fiasco this morning? Because I made us late? Or maybe... you still don't believe me about Jay?" I really hope it's not the Jay thing.

After he heard only part of the conversation last night, and drew the worst possible conclusion, I've taken every opportunity possible to assure him I'm not smooching his little brother. How can I? I want to smooch him instead- but I can't say that.

Atty groans and clicks his tongue. "That fiasco of yours was anything but 'little'. I literally had to play sweater Tetris just to get everything to fit." He quiets down for a bit and I think maybe he's not going to continue, but then he says, "and I do believe you. I know you didn't kiss Jay."

That should be enough for me, the assurance that he believes me. I shouldn't push, but I do, because I can't help it. "How do you know? You keeping an eye on me?" I tease.

Atty's response is immediate. "Of course, you're all kinds of entertaining." Within seconds, the tips of his ears turn that familiar tint of red. Oh my god, I need to look away now or else I'll blush too. What a disastrous chain reaction.

He clears his throat, clearly ready to change the subject. "We're not late, by the way."

"What?!" I can't believe my ears. This guy was up my ass all morning about how I'm trudging about and making us late, and now I hear we're fine? He made a stupid pun about me and sloths then laughed at his stupid pun and hustled me into the washroom.

"We're early in normal time, but a little late in Jade-time," Atty explains as a small smile begins taking over his face. Finally, I was really beginning to miss those tiny crinkles around his eyes, and that one dimple in his left cheek.

Wait, Jade-time? "The hell is that?" I ask.

Atty's smile now turns into a full grin, the ear-to-ear type. "Jade-time, it runs 2 hours ahead of normal time to account for all the dicking around you do whenever you're taken anywhere."

I have no clue what he's talking about. I'm the most functional and focused person there is- I've got razor focus. Precision. So sharp that- yeah, I can't lie to myself. Not this blatantly, at least. I know exactly what he's talking about. I'm a master distractor.

"You, my dear," Atty explains sarcastically, "have the attention span of a butterfly. Between here and Cornell Admissions Office, you're going to get side-tracked at least 3 times."

I fold my arms and huff, trying to appear as defiant as possible. "You could always just deny every side trip I suggest, rather than planning our outing around my supposed detours."

"You might not know this, Jade, but you're very hard to say no to," Atty states, shaking his head.

Hard to say no to? Sounds like I'm doing something right. But still, what's important is that Atty is smiling now and talking. The grumpy act has disappeared. But will this last? Or is he going to go back to sulking?

"Are we good?" I ask in a low voice. I don't know why, but I think I'm holding my breath.

A few road signs pass us by before Atty answers. "Are you going to tell me what Jay actually told you?"