Three is a crowd

Chapter 24

 It was finally the day of Jade and Damon's date. Damon had wanted to go all out for their date but he didn't want to scare Jade away so he settled for something simple, an open movie night. Jade loved the date idea; it was so much better than her doughnut date idea.

"This is amazing," Jade told Damon excitedly as they settled on their cloth.

"You like it?" Damon asked nervously and Jade grinned to show her approval.

"I love it."

A cool breeze blew making Jade shiver slightly. Damon removed his hoodie quietly and handed it to Jade who smiled before taking it.

"I'm not going to return this," Jade whispered and Damon shrugged with a small smile on his face.

The jacket was warm and a little big but Jade liked it. It smelt like his cologne, a scent Jade couldn't get enough of.

"I don't mind, it looks better on you anyway," Damon whispered and Jade looked down to hide her smile.

The movie started a few seconds later and Jade was grateful for the distraction. Twenty minutes into the movie Jade had yawned thrice and couldn't stop her eyes from drooping. The movie was terrible but Jade didn't have the heart to tell Damon that the date wasn't going so well.

"Let's get out of here," Damon whispered in Jade's ear and Jade smiled.

She sprang up with her smile still etched on her face and they ran all the way to Damon's car which his roommate had lent him for the night.

"On a scale of one to ten, how are you feeling about this date?" Damon questioned and Jade chuckled.

"Do you want me to be honest?" Jade countered with an amused expression.

"Brutally honest," Damon replied chuckling and Jade laughed.

Her laugh filled the silent car and Damon couldn't help but to stare entranced by Jade.

"The first part of the date was terrible but you could make it better," Jade whispered turning in her seat to stare at Damon.

Jade watched Damon chuckle amusedly before turning on the car and he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Where are you taking me now?" Jade teased after a while of silence between them.

"Wherever the road takes us," Damon replied making Jade smile.

"Money, power or good looks, which would you, rather have a limited supply of?" Jade asked randomly.

"Power," Damon replied easily and Jade nodded. "Do you believe in ghosts or the supernatural?"

"I do. My turn, if you were to have just one last meal, what would you choose to eat?"

"Doughnuts, round sprinkled chocolate doughnuts. That would be an explosion of deliciousness in my mouth."

"You are hilarious Damon. Who was the worst teacher that you ever had?"

"It was Mrs. Green, my seventh-grade teacher. She was an absolute nightmare."

"What did she do?"

Damon smirked before answering, "That's two questions from you which means I have to ask you two questions in return. Anyway, the reason why Mrs. Green was an absolute nightmare is number one; Mrs. Green loved pop quizzes that I failed all the time. Mrs. Green hated that I was always failing so she called my parents and told them of my terrible grades. My dad was pissed and he threatened to ship me off to boarding school after that incident. For the rest of the year, Mrs. Green gave me double the work and 'monitored' me constantly. It was a terrible year."

"I had no idea you were such a rule breaker and she doesn't sound that bad," Jade teased and Damon laughed.

"Well I was a seventh grader and I honestly felt like the world was about to end," Damon replied making Jade laugh.

Jade noticed then that the car was parked and Damon was staring intently at her like she was the only thing worth looking at.

"I like you," Damon suddenly blurted and Jade's eyes widened. "I didn't mean to say it like that. Forget I said anything."

Jade smiled slowly. "So, you mean you don't like me?"

She was torturing him and she knew but she liked watching him fret.

"I-I do, I mean I-I d-don't," Damon stuttered and Jade's smile widened.

She watched him run his hands through his hair while biting on his lip.

"I do like you, like a lot. You're smart, beautiful, confident and sexy as hell, I could go the whole day saying all the reasons why I like you," Damon finally said staring at Jade.

Jade wasn't amused anymore. She was stunned and she wanted to reach out and kiss him but Nevaeh's words rang in her mind; she couldn't hurt Damon for the sake of her relationship with Nevaeh. As Jade watched Damon's hopeful demeanor fall, she knew she had hurt him. Hurting Damon was inevitable; Nevaeh's request was a little late. Even if she liked him, she would have eventually hurt him because she wouldn't be fully his. A big part of her loved and craved Nigel all day every day.

"I think you're an amazing guy," Jade whispered and Damon shook his head as if denying what was coming next.

"I sense a 'but' in that sentence," Damon said softly and his voice cracked at the end.

"I'm not the type of girl you want to really like," Jade finished and Damon laughed humorlessly.

"You sound a lot like Mrs. Green," Damon mocked her and Jade laughed as she blinked away tears that were beginning to form.

"Is it another guy?" Damon asked even though he didn't want to know.

"I wish it was," Jade whispered staring at her legs.

"Then what is it?"

"I'll hurt you if I allow whatever is between us to continue," Jade replied and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Damon shake his head.

"That's nonsense," he replied reaching for her hand and Jade allowed him to take it.

He lightly kissed her hands and used his fingers to turn Jade's face towards him. Jade noticed his eyes were glossy and she hated herself for hurting him.

"I'm sorry," Jade whispered and Damon remained silent, his gaze fixated on her.

"Sorry that you don't like me or sorry that I couldn't take a hint?" Damon questioned quietly but his words pierced Jade's heart.

"I'm sorry that you have to feel this way," Jade replied pulling her hands away from his grip.

"Are you?" Damon countered and Jade nodded sincerely. "I'm sorry too because my friends told me not to go after you. They said you were a player and a manipulator. Nevaeh called you a narcissist but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Look where that landed me."

Jade didn't hear what Damon said after he mentioned Nevaeh. Nevaeh had called her a narcissist. Jade couldn't move. Nevaeh's betrayal smarted more than watching Damon break down before her. Without another word, Jade opened the car and stepping out into the biting wind.

She shoved her hands deep into the hoodie's pockets and started walking away from him. He neither called nor followed her. Jade didn't know how she felt about that. Her mind was fuzzy and all she wanted was a moment to just think.

They were almost out of town. Jade could tell by the thick forests that lined either sides of the road and the deathly silence. There was no one out here. Jade knew that but her pride didn't allow her to get back inside the car. It was the night of the full moon so everything looked crystal clear but that didn't ease the slight fear that gripped Jade's heart.

Jade stopped walking when she was sure she was lost. It was then she realized that she needed to call someone to pick her up. She dialed a number quickly and patiently waited for an answer.

"Hello."

"Can you pick me up?" Jade said.

"Send me your location."

"Thanks Nigel," Jade said before hanging up.