Parked

"I don't like it when you say that," she admitted, turning her head to look at him at last. She caught his eyes and held them, hoping that, if he wanted to talk about something she didn't care to discuss, he would say so.
"About Jack," he explained. "But not here. We need to go somewhere more private." There were still a lot of people milling around, and he had other reasons for wanting to be alone as well.
"There's a park near Uncle Mike's house," she replied, referring to Mike Cook as Uncle Mike out of habit. "We could go there."
"Yeah, okay," Aaron replied, as if he knew exactly where she was talking about. He threw the car in reverse and began to exit the parking lot.
"Hey," Cadence said, placing her hand on his arm as he waited on traffic at the intersection. "You know how we talked about me waiting a while before I date anyone?"
"Yeah," he replied, a lilt of a question in his voice as he wondered where she was going with this.
"Well, I was thinking, this obviously isn't a date, right?" A boldness Cadence wasn’t used to began to take over, and she told herself perhaps she needed to rein it in. But that was difficult, being this close to him… at the moment. Thoughts of what it had been like to have him between her legs back in Lincoln had heart pounding in her chest.
How had she managed to keep her hands off of him this long?
Even the answer in the back of her head, “You were at Jack’s memorial, dumbass!” wasn’t sufficient.
Aaron hit the gas and pulled out into traffic, clearly knowing exactly where the conversation was leading. "Right. It’s not a date." The questioning tone was still there.
Only the two of them were in the car, the scent of his cologne overwhelming her. God, what she wouldn’t do to be able to kiss him again. She’d been away from him and dreaming of him for days, and now it was beginning to mess with her head. "So, just because we're not dating, that doesn't mean that we can't do other stuff, right?" Her hand trailed along the sleeve of his coat, which was far too thick for her liking.
He looked away from her for a moment, and Cadence felt embarrassment and disappointment well up inside of her. When he glanced over at her again, a grin spread across his face. "Cadence, do you honestly think I'm going to drive you to a secluded park and not kiss you?"
Heat filled her belly, along with a thousand excited butterflies. "In that case, could you drive a little faster?"
Even though he was already going well over the speed limit, he accelerated, reaching the park within a few moments. There was an area of the park toward the back that had no playground or other amenities, and he pulled the car into the parking lot on the end. The snow had drifted here as well, and it looked to be several inches deeper. Heavy pine trees lined the perimeter, and several forested areas dotted the landscape. There was no one else around, and by the look of the snow, there hadn't been anyone in this part of the park for several days.
Before he had the car completely in park, Cadence was no longer able to hold herself back. Leaning across the middle console, she pulled him to her, placing both of her hands on the sides of his face and showing him exactly how much she had missed him. She could feel by the way it took him a moment to respond that he was surprised at her aggressiveness. But it also wasn't unwelcome, and he kissed her back just intently.
Cadence’s tongue probed further as the pesky console prevented her from getting to him the way that she wanted to. Her hand slid beneath his coat and suit jacket, desperate to touch his warm skin.
While Aaron continued to kiss her back, he wasn’t touching her, which Cadence found
annoying. Hadn’t he missed her as much as she’d missed him?
But then, he’d been with Eliza.
The realization made her pull back and look into his eyes. Had something happened
between him and Eliza? She wasn’t buying the food poisoning story.
“What?” Aaron asked, reaching up and pushing her hair back away from her face.
Cadence stared at him for a moment before she asked, “Is everything okay?”
He arched his eyebrows and stared back at her for a moment before a solemn air overcame him. Slowly, Aaron shook his head. “No, not really.”
Releasing him, Cadence scooted back in the seat. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. If he was going to tell her he was back together with Eliza, she was going to have to quit the team.
She’d already proven it was nearly impossible for her to be around him and not touch him. “What is it?” she asked.
He stared at her for a long moment before he said, “Jack.”
It came back to her, then, that she had been trying to tell Aaron about the situation with Jack before he’d brought her here. “Okay. But… we’re okay?” she asked him.
His forehead crinkled as he nodded his head, as if he thought that was a strange question.
Satisfied with that answer, she leaned up and pressed her mouth to his again, taking her time now that she was less worried about Eliza. Whatever it was she wanted to tell him about Jack, it could wait.
He was dead after all…. The image of what she thought she’d seen in the back of the cafetorium came to mind, but she drowned it.
"Cadence," Aaron said between kisses. "We need to talk. Remember? It’s kind of important."
"Okay," she said, sliding her tongue into his mouth again.
He kissed her back and then tried once more, giving her a little shove with his hands on her shoulders. "Cadence, now." He pulled away from her.
She looked at him for a moment, doing her best to regain her self-control
Why was it he was capable of making her behave like a wild animal?
"All right," Cadence said. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
“Uh, I don’t think we should stay in the car,” he said, looking out the dashboard.
“Why no?” Cadence wondered if they were in some kind of danger. The butterflies in her stomach were due to him, not Vampires—right?
“Because, the longer we stay here, the more likely you are to continue to try and ravage me,” he said, winking at her. Cadence felt her face turning red and had to look away. He wasn’t wrong. “Why don't we go for a walk?" he asked.
Cadence nodded in agreement and flipped open the car door. The cool December air felt refreshing on her flushed skin, and she took a second to breathe it in before she pushed the car door closed behind her.
"Are you going to be okay in those shoes?" he asked, waiting for her at the hood of the car.
Cadence glanced down at her dress shoes. They weren't a very high heel, not nearly as high as the boots she usually wore when she was hunting. She had on rather thick black tights and a long black dress beneath her winter coat. "I think so," she replied.
He nodded and took her arm as she stepped out of the parking lot onto the snow-covered grass. There was a path through the trees, indicated by periodic markers, which were the only evidence of its existence in the snow. Cadence had been here before and had an idea of where the little pathway ran. She led him over to it, thinking it might be easier for her to walk on the path than the grass.
"I'm sorry for forcing myself on you," Cadence said quietly after a few minutes, only half-joking. She had lost her mind a little bit.
Aaron smiled at her. "You don't need to be," he replied. "I wasn't exactly pushing you away."
"I know," she admitted. "But I didn't intend. . . I just. . . I’ve really missed you these past few days. And… it’s been kind of emotional."
"Yes, it has," Aaron concurred. He cleared his throat and his eyes shifted.
There was definitely something he wasn’t telling her, and it left Cadence feeling unsettled.
There was a bench ahead, covered in several inches of snow. Nevertheless, it seemed like a decent place to talk. Aaron let go of her arm, brushing the snow off of the bench the best he could before offering her a seat and joining her. The look of concern was back on his face, and it seemed like he was having trouble coming up with how to start the conversation.
Finally, he said, "Cadence, we need to talk about Jack.” He wasn’t quite looking at her.
"We do need to talk about Jack," Cadence agreed, crossing her arms and keeping about a foot of space between them so she wouldn’t jump on him again. She may as well tell him what she thought she saw. "Some weird things are happening."
Aaron paused for a moment, tipping his head to the side and studying her face. "What do you mean?" he asked, cautiously.
"Well," she began, "the night that we were in Lincoln, when we were leaving the hospital, I got this weird call from a guy who sounded like Jack. And then, when I got back here, I got another call. It was so creepy! The guy sounded just like Jack. He said he was on his way. Isn't that insane? Who would do that?"
"You got two calls from someone identifying himself as Jack?" Aaron clarified, his puzzled expression not changing.
"Yes!" Cadence declared. "And then, at the memorial service, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but I swear, I saw someone who looked exactly like Jack. When I was on stage, giving my speech. I know it's ridiculous, but I swear I saw him, Aaron. I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind." Was she just so nervous about speaking in front of everyone that she had imagined it?
Aaron took a deep breath and stared down at the ground for a moment. "You're not losing your mind, Cadence," he said, his tone wavering slightly. "I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this." He paused, looking up at her for a second.
Cadence felt a wave of confusion wash over her. “What do you mean I’m not losing my mind? Do you mean… you know what’s happening?” Did he have an exclamation for this? Because… the only one she could think of that he would know about couldn’t possibly be the truth.
There was no way that Aaron could know about that and not tell her—right?
Wouldn’t someone have warned her if… if… if…. She couldn’t even think the words.
With a deep breath, Aaron looked into her eyes and said, "Cadence, Jack isn't dead.”
Bracing herself, Cadence gritted her teeth together. He’d better not tell her what she thought he was about to tell her. “What?” she managed to force ou.
“Jack’s not dead. He's . . . undead."