Paradox (Unearthly Paradox Series Book 1)

Chapter 16

The next morning, I awoke to the sheets getting ripped off me. My heart pounded as I looked around the room, terrified that one of the boys had come to finish what they had started in the canal.

When I saw Jett's smiling face, I wanted to slap it off him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting you ready for school."

"And you think practically assaulting me is the best way of doing it?"

He laughed. "I didn't assault you."

"Well, you certainly didn't need to tear my sheets off. And if I'm correct, the law would consider a stranger ripping the sheets off a girl while she was asleep as some form of assault."

"For one, you wouldn't wake up when I tried to wake you nicely. And two, when are you going to stop calling me a stranger?"

Ignoring his question, I asked, "What's the time?"

He sighed. "Eight twenty-five."

"What?" I shouted.

I only had fifteen minutes until class started. I jumped out of bed then realised that should have hurt way more than it did. I was still wobbly on my feet, though.

"Easy." Jett took my elbow to support me. "Sit back down, and I'll get your uniform." He eased me back onto the bed then went over to my wardrobe. A minute later, he emerged with my little maid outfit held to his chest.

"Oh, my God!"

"I think you might not be as uptight as I thought."

"It was from a Rocky Horror play we did in school last year."

He winked. "Sure it was."

I huffed. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me get ready for school?"

"Right." He went back into the wardrobe and returned with my school uniform.

"Thanks," I said as he handed it to me. I needed some clean underwear, but I wasn't about to ask him for that.

"I'll be right outside." He went into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

I managed to get out of bed with greater ease than the day before then went over to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of panties and a bra. I carefully got dressed, surprised by how little it hurt.

A knock sounded at the door. "You ready?"

I quickly shoved my dirty underwear under the bed. "Ready."

He opened the door and walked over to my bed. "We have ten minutes to get you to school."

He supported me as I got to my feet. When I stood, our faces were inches apart. I realised there was a great possibility that I had morning breath, and he was copping the full brunt of it.

"I need to brush my teeth."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but..."

Horrified, I took a step back and covered my mouth.

He chuckled. "I was just kidding. Your breath doesn't smell."

"The bathroom, now," I said with my hand still slapped over my mouth.

He shook his head and helped me to the bathroom. As I started brushing my teeth, Jett leaned against the wall next to the sink and watched me-and I mean really stared at me.

I pulled the toothbrush out of my mouth and turned to him. "Do you really need to watch me brush my teeth?"

He shrugged. "You can tell a lot about a person by how they brush their teeth."

I smirked at him. "Is this some weird kinky fetish you have going on?"

"Maybe."

"Seriously?"

"Hell no." He laughed. "I just like to see you squirm. It's cute."

My cheeks flushed, the red emphasised by the bright lights above the mirror. "I think that's what you get off on-making girls get embarrassed."

He smiled, but I noticed he didn't deny it. I finished brushing my teeth then spat the toothpaste out, all the while watching Jett out of the corner of my eye. He was enjoying my discomfort way too much.

Once I was finished, Jett helped me down the stairs. He picked up my school bag from beside the couch and guided me into the garage.

When he opened the passenger door of my car, I asked, "You want to drive my car?"

"Or we could take my bike."

"My car it is." For the first time, I sat down in the passenger seat of my car.

When Jett got behind the wheel, I said, "Just press..."

He pushed the button to start the car before I could finish. He also found the remote for the garage before I had a chance to tell him where it was. He moved the seat back, adjusted the rear-view mirror, then reversed down the driveway and onto the road.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard-eight thirty-six. "We're not going to make it in time."

He flipped on the turn signal. "We'll make it."

"School starts in four minutes and it takes at least five minutes on a good day."

"We'll make it," he repeated.