Kendall Ryan - The Impact of You

Trey leaves and Jase makes no move to explain. Since it’s too late to escape, I wait. A few seconds later, we hear footsteps climbing the stairs to the attic.

A petite girl with long blond hair rounds the corner and her megawatt smile fades as soon as she sees Jase isn’t alone.

‘Oh. Hey, Jase,’ she recovers and leans down to plant a kiss against his cheek.

God, could this be more awkward? I want to die.

Jase, having perfected his bored-with-life look, nods once at her and then flicks his gaze to mine. ‘This is Avery. Avery, this is Stacia.’

Stacia turns, but her smile was only reserved for Jase because it fades as she takes me in. There’s something she hates about me being up here with Jase, and the inner bitch inside me enjoys that fact. This girl just reeks of fake, and I’m instantly not a fan.

‘I didn’t know you had someone over.’ Stacia’s voice goes soft as she turns to Jase.

‘Well, I do. Did you need something?’ His voice is cool, unemotional.

Damn. This can’t be his girlfriend. Otherwise, he’s a real asshole. Of course I’m dying to know who she is, but I won’t ask. Not sure I could handle hearing that right now. Jase has treated me with nothing but kindness and respect, and I sort of want to continue thinking the best of him.

‘No. Just wanted to say hi.’ Stacia lifts one shoulder, then drops it and I can’t help but notice the way her chest sticks out when she does. The move is practiced, beyond obvious. God, this girl is annoying me in all of thirty seconds. Before the awkward silence has time to fully descend on us, Stacia bounds over toward me. ‘You look familiar.’

My heart stops.

Literally ceases to beat in my chest.

I hope to God she has no idea why I look familiar. I pull in a breath and shrug, working to convince myself it’s just a coincidence. She can’t know.

Desperately needing to change the subject, I ask, ‘How do you and Jase know each other?’

Jase answers for her. ‘Ex-girlfriend.’

Oh.

‘Yeah, some days I’m his ex-girlfriend, some days I’m…what am I exactly, Jase, on those nights you call me and beg me to come over?’

‘You wish, Stacia.’

She laughs, her mouth curving into a victorious smile. ‘Kay, Jase.’

My stomach cramps.

Jase rises from the chair, watching her with guarded eyes, like she’s a wild and unpredictable animal.

Stacia laughs again, nervously this time. ‘I can see you’re trying to impress your new friend, so I’ll go.’

His jaw tenses as he bites back whatever he wants to say. He steers Stacia by the elbow toward the door. ‘Avery and I need to study.’

Stacia pouts but lets him guide her out into the hall.

Once the door is firmly shut, I look at Jase. ‘Are you sure it’s okay I’m here?’ I ask.

He laughs uneasily and crosses the room toward me. ‘You’re saving my ass right now. So thank you.’

‘How?’

‘By helping me get rid of Stacia. She’d hang out all afternoon if I let her.’

I rise from the bed, wondering if he doesn’t want company and if I should head out too. ‘Oh…did you want me to…’

His firm hands on my shoulders stop me from going any farther. ‘I want you to stay.’

The warm weight of his hands is a constant reminder that I’m not as immune to his charms as I’d like. I smile up at him like a lovesick fangirl. Idiot . I silently berate myself that I’ve joined the Jase fan club. ‘Okay.’

‘Sit. Stay. Get comfortable.’

I sink down to his bed once again, chemistry crackling between us, no matter how much I might want to deny it. ‘Okay.’

‘I’ve got psych homework I could do. And you can hide out here, so just relax, alright?’

I want to ask him more about Stacia, but that may lead him to ask why I was hiding, so I zip it and relax on his large queen-sized bed. It’s much more plush and comfy than my narrow rock-hard mattress back at the dorms. Mmm. His bed smells like him. It’s a scent I instantly decide could be bottled and sold.

Jase turns on soft music and grabs his textbook and a stack of papers from the desk, balancing everything on his lap so he can face me. I grab the book from my early childhood development class and bravely settle back against his mountain of pillows. My eyes dart up to Jase’s but he doesn’t seem to mind in the least that I’ve commandeered his bed. In fact, I swear there’s a hint of smile tugging his lips.

‘So what’s your major?’ he asks.

‘Social work. What about you?’ For some reason I expect him to say undecided , but he surprises me.

‘Psychology. Mostly because it pisses my dad off.’

‘What do you mean?’

He grins. ‘He’s a mayor and wants to make a run for congress. He’s always been obsessed with politics…so of course he wanted me to major in political science, or at least business.’

I nod. My dads didn’t really care what my major was. And when I told them I wanted to work in the adoption field, they helped me research the social work program.

‘It was either that or something artistic, and since I’m shit at art and just okay at music, I figured psychology was a safe bet.’

‘Do you at least like your classes?’ I ask.

‘Yeah, turns out I love it. People are the most interesting thing to me anyway, so it worked out.’

‘Did you succeed in pissing off your dad?’

He nods. ‘Oh yeah. He blew a gasket.’

We both smile. Why do I get the feeling that Jase is letting me in on things he doesn’t normally share? And why do I like it so much? I focus on my book for a few minutes, but reading about attachment disorder is pretty dry, and Jase’s mouthwatering goodness is right there on display. It’s hard not to sneak glances at him from time to time. A tiny crease marks his brow as he concentrates, and his lips move when he reads – something he makes look both adorable and sexy at the same time.

‘So, Stacia’s really your ex?’

‘Yeah. But she doesn’t act like it. And of course my frat brothers give me shit about it all the time.’

It’s clear she’d like to take a ride on Jase, ex or not. Hell, maybe she still does, like she implied. I force my eyes back to my book and relax into the inviting bedding. After a few moments of trying my damnedest to read this textbook, I feel Jase’s eyes on me again.

‘Do you ever think about meeting your…um, the lady that gave birth to you?’ he asks, his brows pulled together.

‘My birthmom?’ I was used to teaching people the correct terminology. He nods.

‘Yeah. All the time, actually.’

‘So why don’t you?’

I shrug. Lots of reasons. I’m not sure how much I should tell him, or how much he really wants to know, but Jase is leaning forward on his elbows, like he’s genuinely interested. I don’t typically talk about this stuff. But I trust him enough to let him in, which is odd given that I’ve only known him such a short time and everyone has warned me about him. ‘Now that I’m nineteen, I can go and get the records from my adoption without my dads needing to sign off …’ I release a slow sigh. It’s something I’ve thought about doing so many times, yet some unknown force holds me back.

‘It’s not a big deal. I’ll figure out what to do eventually,’ I add, hoping to lighten the moment.

‘Well, let me know if I can help,’ he says softly.

‘Why would you do that?’

He shrugs. ‘Why not?’

I’m genuinely baffled by his interest in helping me. I know I’m not the best company, only Jase doesn’t seem to mind. That’s probably because he doesn’t know much about me. I duck my head at this realization, drawing my chin to my chest. ‘You wouldn’t like me if you knew more about my past.’