Broken Road (47 page)

“I thought you were ready, except for the whole timing and the right setting issue.”

“I know I said that, but truthfully, I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to take such a big step.”

“And…you’re ready now?”

“Yes.”

“Right now?” he said hopefully.

“Not right at this very moment,” she said, seeing the gleam in his eye. “I would like to look sort of presentable, maybe a little on the sexy side, when the time comes. I’m not exactly feeling pretty with these bruises on my face and this stupid sling on my arm.”

“I think you’re beautiful, with or without the extra coloring. Plus, the sling is removable,” he said and then added, “for short periods of time.” He knew he needed to add that last line. She was dying to stop using the sling, and if he gave her any indication it wasn’t necessary, off it would be within seconds.

“Very funny,” she said sarcastically.

Jarrod sat up on the bed and faced her directly. “Look, I love you and I will wait as long as it takes until you’re ready. I’m not going to lie, I hope it’s soon, but if it isn’t, I’ll accept that. I’m not going anywhere, and I refuse to be one of those boyfriends who pressures you and forces you to do it out of guilt. I want you to come to me because you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you. Remember one thing, though. Between you and me, it will never be just sex. Every time, for all time, it will always be making love for us.”

She nodded and he lay down next to her again. He took her hand in his and caressed it gently with his thumb. They were quiet for a moment when Jarrod suddenly said, “I can’t believe Ile knew before me.” Angel rolled her eyes and smiled inwardly.

A few hours later, Jarrod announced he needed to leave to make a few phone calls and that he would come by early in the morning to check on her.

“Why don’t you just make them here? It’s still so early.”

Hesitating, he said, “I’d rather not.”

Her curiosity sparked, she asked, “Jarrod, what are you up to? Who are you going to call?”

“Mr. Wyatt and then my parents.”

“Why don’t you want to call them from here? I don’t understand. You’re just calling to confirm the appointment for Sunday, right?”

“Not to confirm… to cancel.”

Angel jumped into a sitting position, groaning from the pain, and exclaimed, “What? Why? You can’t cancel. You have to go. This is too important…you’ve worked so hard for this opportunity! You can’t cancel. You—”

“Hold on. Stop talking for a moment, okay? Let me explain.”

“But—”

“Shush. No talking. Just listen.”

She nodded, but it was apparent it was killing her not to speak. She looked like a balloon ready to burst.

“I can’t leave you alone and you’re not well enough to come. I’ll call Mr. Wyatt and see if we can reschedule something for the next time he’s in Florida. It’s not a big deal.”

“Yes, it is. No…there is no way I’m letting you cancel this appointment. I am well enough to come and I’m coming, like it or not.”

“Baby, look at you. You’re all bruised and sore, plus the doctor said you need to take it easy—”

“I don’t care. I promise to take it easy there. I will.”

“You need to rest.”

“No resting. I’ve done enough resting. We’re going. End of discussion.”

“Angel—”

“No. Now you shush. I love you and I am not going to be the cause of your dream not coming true. This is what you’ve always dreamed of and this is your opportunity to make it happen. If you do well, which I’m sure you will, you could be playing for the Red Sox someday.”

“Hey. No need to get nasty about it.”

“You know what I mean. Please, please don’t argue with me. You know I’m right. Please, Jarrod…please.” She began to cry onerously.

“No…no tears! That’s not fair.”

“Please, Jarrod,” she pleaded once again as she wiped away a fresh onslaught of tears.

Jarrod stared at her in disbelief. She was serious about going. It didn’t matter that she was still in physical pain. What did matter to her was that he take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and do whatever it took to realize his dream. She was putting his dream, vision, and goal for the future ahead of herself.

“Jarrod?” she asked again, fearfully awaiting his response.

“Do you promise to take it easy?”

“Yes.”

“That means lots of rest and the minute you don’t feel well, you’ll speak up.”

“Yes. Yes, I promise. I’ll speak up.”

Jarrod took a deep sigh. “I’ll call the doctor and if he says it’s alright for you to go, then we’ll go. But, if he says no, then we stay. Both of us. Deal?”

“No deal. If he says no, then you still go. I just hope he says yes, because I want to be there when the scout tells you you’re going to be a professional baseball player.”

She stood up slowly and went into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she possibly could without hurting her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said.

He pulled back a bit, kissed her full on the lips, and said, “No, thank you.”

Chapter Forty-Four

T
he next morning, bright and early, Angel waited for Jarrod to pick her up. She no longer took chances and waited in her room rather than outside. When he knocked on her door, she asked who it was and when he responded, she opened the door.

He burst out laughing at the sight of her. There she stood, wearing enormous black sunglasses that seemed to cover half her face and a gargantuan, wide-brimmed hat that practically covered the remaining half. She frowned and said, “What are you laughing at?”

“You’re crazy,” he said, laughing heartily.

“I may look like an idiot, but at least you can’t see my bruises! Can you grab my bag?” She walked out the door with her head held high.

A few hours later, they arrived at the hotel in Jacksonville and checked into two separate rooms. Jarrod checked to see if his parents and Alec had already checked in, but the desk clerk informed him they had not. He left a message for them to call him in either his room or Angel’s when they arrived.

While taking the elevator to their rooms, Angel ignored the curious stares she was receiving. Unlike his girlfriend, Jarrod felt a bit ill at ease with all the gawking and gazing that was being shed on the shorter, dark-haired version of Paris Hilton. Nonetheless, he was proud of the woman he knew was hidden behind the eccentric cover-up.

Once they reached her room, she immediately took off the hat and glasses and leaped into his arms. He held her tightly, but not too tightly, and kissed her profusely.

“I wish I didn’t have these bruises. I’d attack you right now, if I didn’t have them.”

“Ahhh, don’t tell me that. I’ve barely got a hold on my control as it is.”

“They’re starting to fade fast, aren’t they?” she said animatedly as she tenderly touched one of the bruises on her face.

“Uh-huh…,” he said as he gently kissed every single one. He moved to her mouth and parted her lips with his tongue. She moaned aloud in pleasure while leaning into his body and pressing her hips into his own.

Desire quickly built into a crescendo as they tumbled backward onto her bed. She moaned slightly from the pain and he asked if she was alright. Smiling and nodding, she lifted herself up and began to remove the sling.

“What are you doing? You need to keep that thing on,” he said.

“Not right now,” she said. “I feel fine. It barely hurts anymore.” She was lying, but she wanted him to hold and kiss her so much that she would deal with the shoulder discomfort for a little while.
It would be well worth it
, she thought. She gently lay back down next to him and tilted her head up to receive another kiss. His arm tightened around her and he pressed his hips gently into her. Again she moaned, but this time from pleasure.

His mouth slanted over and over hers, all the while his tongue taunting and maddening her with longing. His hands slowly slid up and down her body and then discreetly under her blouse. Her soft skin felt like silk against his hand. Angel was breathing heavily and placed both her hands on his shoulders and then around his neck, bringing him closer. She inwardly grimaced at the soreness she felt from lifting her arm, but made sure he did not notice, or else he would stop doing all those wonderful things he was doing. She wrapped one leg around his, trying urgently to pull his body as close to hers as possible. Jarrod began a slow rocking motion that was driving her crazy.

“Oh God!”

Her words of arousal drove him over the brink. He lifted himself up and quickly yanked off his shirt over his head. He began to unbutton her blouse but was having difficulty, so she swiftly took over. She sat up and removed her blouse and bra slowly, her gaze never leaving his. He gently pushed her back against the mattress and began kissing her in earnest, all the while exploring her body with his hands. Angel moaned into his mouth when he cupped one of her breasts. His body began to throb as he pressed himself against her. He began the rocking motion again and it was almost her undoing.

“Angel,” he pleaded.

“Yes…yes,” she said, barely able to breathe.

He began to unfasten his pants when suddenly the phone rang, startling them both.

“Ignore it,” he said as he continued to kiss Angel. “Just ignore it and it’ll stop.” He continued unfastening his pants, but the phone’s incessant ringing abruptly brought Angel back to reality.

“Jarrod, no. We have to stop. It’s your parents and they know we’re here. I don’t want them to think we’re up here fooling around. They’ll think badly of me.”

“No, Angel. Please. I can’t handle much more of this. I want us to be together.”

“I do too. But not now. Go answer the phone. Quick!”

He stood up, not bothering to refasten his pants. They barely stayed on as he walked over to the phone, answering with a hostile, “Hello.”

“Hi, honey,” said Janet brightly.

“Hey, Mom,” he said while rubbing his face and releasing a deep, aggravated sigh. Angel watched him as she pulled out a fresh, unwrinkled blouse from her suitcase and began to put it on. She smiled at him, but in his frustration, he did not smile back.

“We’re here. Come meet us in our room. We’re on our way up. Room 450. I can’t wait to see you. Bring Angel too. I’m dying to finally meet her.”

“Alright.” He looked down at his still-unbending display of passion and said, “Just give me…I mean us…about ten or fifteen minutes, okay?”

“Make it ten.” And she hung up.

As Jarrod and Angel walked hand in hand toward Room 450, Jarrod looked at her and said, “Could you at least remove the hat?”

He was in such a foul mood after having to abruptly stop their lovemaking that she didn’t want to agitate him any further, so she agreed. She pulled the hat off and tucked it underneath her arm.

“Smile,” she told him.

“I can’t,” he responded sourly.

“You mean to tell me you were able to fight off a gun-toting, psycho kidnapper, but you aren’t able to bring a simple smile to your face to greet your parents?”

“I wasn’t sexually frustrated when I fought off the gun-toting, psycho kidnapper.” He turned to face the door and knocked heavily on it.

A minute later Janet opened the door wide and squealed with delight when she saw Jarrod standing there.

“Oh, my baby, look at you,” she said as she pulled him into a big bear hug and wouldn’t let go.

“Mom…,” he whined.

“You just look so handsome!” She looked over and saw Angel standing in the doorway, immediately noticing the large sunglasses she was hiding behind. “You must be Angel. Come in, sweetheart,” she said as she gently led Angel into the room. She gave her a hug but was careful not to squeeze too tightly. Jarrod had already called them to inform them of what had happened, plus they had kept abreast of the situation via CNN and Headline News. Angel had had so little recovery time that she knew that her body must still be extremely sensitive and sore to the touch.

“I’m so happy to meet you and so very, very glad to know you’re alright after what happened,” Janet said. “I hope you don’t mind that Jarrod told us,” she said belatedly, not knowing whether she had just gotten her son into trouble for telling them.