Trust in Love

Chapter 6

Justine kept reliving her kiss with Jared over and over. She did it mostly to punish herself and remind herself never to have a crush on another guy ever again. The heartache wasn't worth it.

Every time the phone rang the next day, Justine wondered if it would be Jared calling. But it never was. Part of her was relieved because he made her want things she had never dreamed of before. But she knew better than to have any expectations.

*************************

When Justine went to go home after work, her car wouldn't start. She popped the hood on her car and tried to figure out what was wrong. All she could see was a maze of hoses and other components. She had no idea what could be wrong.

'Having car trouble?'

It was Jared. She looked up and met his gaze. He looked concerned.

'It won't start and I have no idea why,' she explained.

'I have BCAA. Let me phone a tow truck for you,' Jared replied, taking out his cell phone.

She tried to tell him not to go to any trouble, but he ignored her.

Twenty minutes later the tow truck came and Jared arranged to have Justine's car towed to his mechanic's shop.

'I'll give you a lift home,' Jared suggested after the tow truck drove away.

'You don't have to do that,' Justine protested.

'I know I don't, but I insist,' he replied.

They walked across the parking lot to where Jared parked his car. Once they were in the car, Jared suggested that they go for pizza.

'It's a pizza kind of day,' he stated. 'My treat.'

After a short hesitation, Justine shrugged.

'Sure. Why not?' she replied.

Justine took out her cell phone and texted her mom that she wouldn't be home for dinner. She received a short reply in response: 'We'll talk when you get home.'

Justine felt a pit of dread in her stomach. She could tell her mom wasn't happy.

'Is everything okay?' Jared asked in a concerned tone of voice.

'Yeah, it's just my mom,' Justine replied, sighing.

'She keeps you on a short leash, doesn't she?' Jared asked softly.

'No,' Justine protested hotly. 'She just can't seem to remember that I'm not a teenager anymore.'

'You are definitely not a teenager,' Jared stated.

*****************************

Half an hour later, they were both enjoying slices of cheesy pepperoni pizza.

'This was a good call, wasn't it?' Jared asked.

'You were right,' Justine acknowledged. 'It's a pizza kind of day.'

Jared grinned, looking younger all of a sudden.

Justine looked down at her plate, wishing that things could be different between them. But she had to change her expectations.

'There's something I wanted to talk to you about,' Jared said, suddenly serious.

'Oh.'

She wondered what it was. She'd thought they had covered all the serious topics the other night.

'It's about my wife,' Jared began. 'There's something about her that I haven't told anyone. Not even Nigel.'

'What is it?' Justine prompted gently.

'The night of her accident, she was on the way to a tryst with her lover. She was cheating on me.'

'Oh my gosh, that's horrible!' Justine cried.

'I didn't tell you to get your sympathy; I just want you to know where I'm coming from. It's very difficult for me to trust anyone after what she did to me.'

'I understand,' Justine replied. His attitude toward women made more sense now. She didn't have to like it, but at least she understood it.

'I want you to know that my habits aren't going to change overnight, but I'm trying to keep an open mind, okay?'

Justine nodded. Hope blossomed in her chest and she wouldn't give it up.

*************************

After they finished their pizza, Jared drove Justine home. They sat in the car and chatted for a few minutes.

'Thank you for rescuing me,' Justine said gratefully.

'You're welcome,' he replied.

She turned to undo her seat belt and Jared caressed her cheek.

'Come here,' he murmured and that was all the encouragement she needed.

They kissed each other passionately, fervently. Justine never wanted it to end.

Jared was the first to pull away.

'Good night, my dear,' he said.

'Good night,' she replied breathlessly.

When Justine entered the house, she saw Ada standing in the hallway with her hands on her hips.

'Well, I hope you're happy,' Ada said indignantly. 'You've made a spectacle of yourself with that man in front of all the neighbors.'

'Were you spying on me?' Justine cried in disbelief.

'Why would I need to spy on you? You're sitting in the driveway in front of God and everybody,' Ada retorted.

'He gave me a ride home because my car wouldn't start,' Justine explained.

'You've ruined my dinner plans two nights in a row,' Ada accused. 'It doesn't take two hours to get here from the university. And you don't need to kiss the man like a harlot, either.'

'I'm not a harlot!' she cried angrily.

'A man like that won't respect you properly if you kiss him like that,' Ada continued. 'In my day, men only kissed you like that if they were going to marry you.'

Justine rolled her eyes.

'Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady!'

'Things aren't like that anymore, mom! People don't live to those kind of standards in today's society.'

'Well, maybe they should! Things would be a lot less embarrassing for me,' Ada retorted. 'As long as you live here, I want you following my rules. It's that simple.'

Justine sighed. Ada had so many rules Justine couldn't keep track of them all.

'I'm not seventeen anymore, mother. I'm entitled to live my own life.'

'I've sacrificed for years to give you a good life. I only want what's best for you,' Ada replied angrily.

'I'll never be good enough for you, will I?' Justine responded. 'You always have to make me feel guilty for living.'

'If you feel guilty, then that's because you've been doing bad things,' Ada replied.

Justine shook her head.

'There's no talking to you when you're like this. I'm going to my room.'

'Good! You can stay there for the rest of the night for all I care!" Ada yelled.

Justine stomped up the stairs and went to her bedroom. She refused to let Ada see her cry.