Scars Of The Past || Jerrie

Twelve

Perrie

"Are you sure this is okay?" Stopping at a red light, I turned to look at Jade, who sat in the passenger seat with her eyes closed. She seemed to be in a trance, complete with deep, rhythmic breathing, and I worried that I was pushing her too far, too fast. "We could just go back to your place and watch a movie or something. I wouldn't mind at all."

She managed a tight-lipped smile. "I'm fine." Opening her eyes, she gave me a resolute nod. "I told you. I trust you completely."

I felt a powerful rush of warmth, just as I had the first time she said it. I knew how difficult it was for her to trust anyone and was humbled to have somehow earned such an exquisite gift. But I didn't want to risk losing it by forcing her to endure a surprise outing.

"Let me tell you where we're going, at least."

"You said you wanted to surprise me," she said quietly. "I don't want you to ruin the surprise."

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to realize that you probably aren't that into surprises these days. It was a silly idea."

"Surprises are fun." Looking out the passenger window as we got off the exit in Santa Rosa, she murmured, "I used to love surprises."

She obviously wanted to go through with this, so I shut up. I didn't want to go too far the other way and have her think I was babying her. I was determined not to cross the fine line between being considerate and condescending.

"I promise you won't have to really talk to anyone." I hated seeing her anxious, especially knowing that I was the cause. Yet she would love what I had planned for today. "I'll introduce you to a friend of mine, but only for a moment, and I'll do all the talking."

"Perrie?"

"Yeah?" I glanced over at her, searching her face for a sign that my reassurances were working.

"I'm fine."

I exhaled. Damn, I needed to calm down. My own anxiety wasn't helping. "I know you are."

"I really am," she said, almost as though she were convincing herself. "I'm doing better lately."

"And I'm proud of you." Without thinking, I reached across the console and squeezed her hand. Though she didn't pull away or even react, I immediately realized what I had done and retreated, embarrassed. "By the way."

"Thank you."

I heard something in Jade's voice, but couldn't read its meaning. I hoped the physical contact hadn't made her uncomfortable, either because of her aversion to being touched or her fear of being hit on. I didn't realize how naturally tactile I was until I met Jade. Now every unthinking gesture put me on edge.

"I'm proud of me, too," she said, letting go with a real smile. If being touched bothered her, she was doing a good job of hiding it.

I took a right turn onto the street where our destination lay. "Okay, we're here."

She looked at the building to the left, zeroing in on the sign as I slowed in front of the driveway. "Assistance Dog Institute?"

"A friend of mine works here and said they have a four-week-old litter right now that's participating in their puppy-petting program." I pulled into a spot near the building. "Is that something you'd be interested in?"

"Is the puppy-petting program just what it sounds like?" A slow grin spread across her face, transforming her from merely beautiful to breathtaking. "That's seriously something people volunteer to do?"

"It seriously is. I arranged for us to spend some time with them, just the two of us. I was telling my friend about Jackson and she mentioned that she could hook us up."