Chapter 20
Elizabeth Summers’ POV
When I woke up for school this morning Jasper was in bed with me. At some point in the night he must have pulled the covers over us but we were both still fully clothed so I know he hadn’t taken advantage of me in any way.
Jasper must be a heavy sleeper because I managed to remove his arms from around me and sneak out of bed without him waking up. I left him in my room when I went to get ready and I didn’t see him again until half way through breakfast.
When he walked into the dinning room my heart fluttered at the sight of him. His hair was still wet from the shower and his t-shirt was sticking to his body slightly. It was almost as though he was so excited about seeing me that he didn’t wait around to dry himself properly. That was stupid thought though, why would he be so excited about seeing me?
He briefly scanned the room until his eyes landed on me. He smiled as he walked over to me. He sat down on the seat next to me and started to fill his plate.
“Where did you sneak off to this morning?” He asked, glancing at me briefly as he spoke.
I could feel my cheeks heating up, he did that on purpose. He wanted his family and anyone else who was close enough to hear that he spent the night in my room. I could only imagine what they would think we did together all night and my blushing probably made it look even more suspicious.
“I needed to get ready and I didn’t want to wake you,” I replied.
“That’s really thoughtful of you baby,” He replied.
He took hold of my hand and pressed it to his lips while looking softly into my eyes. I could hear the people around us whispering about how cute we were except for Jasper’s youngest brother who was pretending to gag.
I could feel myself blushing even more than I was already. I was probably about the same shade as a tomato right now. Jasper must have noticed my discomfort because he looked away from me and turned his attention back to his breakfast.
The rest of his family seemed to take this a hint and they went back to what they were doing before Jasper walked into the room. Jasper’s dad started to talk about some problems he was having with one of his businesses so I went back to eating my breakfast.
Once I finished I went back up to my room to grab my backpack then headed back downstairs. I wanted to speak to Patti before school started, that meant that I needed to lose my Jasper shaped shadow.
I thought that I would be able to make it to my bike and halfway to school before Jasper would notice that I was gone. I was however terribly wrong. By the time I made it down to the garage Jasper was already waiting for me by his car.
“Hey baby, are you ready to go?” He asked.
“I was planning to cycle in today,” I replied.
“No way,” Jasper said.
“Why?” I said.
“I worry about you enough without you cycling alone on busy roads,” Jasper said.
I could tell from the look in his eyes that his concerns were real. They were unfounded and ridiculous but they were real to him and that was what mattered. He was still and alpha and alpha’s were well known for being very protective over their mates.
“I always cycle safely,” I said, smiling at him reassuringly.
“I know you do but other people aren’t always as safe as you are. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anyone hurt you,” He said.
There wasn’t a lot I could say to that, it was all true. No matter how safe I tried to be, I couldn't stop people driving too close to me or cutting in front of me on the road. I would be lying if I told him that nothing bad could happen to me.
“What would I do while you are at football practice?” I asked.
“Some of the team have met their mates and they come along to watch. You could talk to them and if you get really bored then you could do homework or something,” He said.
He seemed so excited about the idea of me going with him that I didn’t want to let him down. I walked towards the car, Jasper moved to intercept me. He took the bag off my shoulder. He gave me a brief kiss on my cheek before he put my bag in the boot then raced around the car to open the door for me.
Jasper got into the car a few seconds after me then started the car. I was glad that the ride to school wasn’t too long. Being so close to Jasper without touching him was difficult.
I don’t know when I started feeling this way but now it was undeniable. I wanted to be close to him, I craved his touch and the feeling of his lips against my skin.
“Do you think I might be able to persuade you to spend the night in my room tonight?” He asked.
“What? No.” I shouted.
“I didn’t mean like that. We have more firefly to watch and my TV is much bigger,” He said. He was smiling but he kept his eyes on the road ahead of him.
“Oh. I guess that should be ok,” I said feeling slightly embarrassed.
I still wasn’t completely convinced but I couldn’t remember the last time that I had heard him with another woman in his room. If I was going to give him a chance then I needed to start trusting him and maybe this was a way of starting that. Besides, if the room smelled of other women then I could just walk out again.
Jasper started humming along to some song he was playing that I didn’t recognise. I had to turn towards the window so he wouldn’t see me giggling to myself. I always saw Jasper as this strong, composed future alpha. I never got to see his fun side, I wasn’t even sure he had one until now.
As we pulled into the parking lot at school I could see Patti walking towards the building. If I was quick then I would probably be able to catch her before she made it to the art room and I could speak to her without the others, and Oliver in particular, over hearing.
The moment that Jasper put the car into park I gave him a brief kiss then jumped out of the car. I ran towards the building as quickly as I could. I managed to catch up with Patti just as she put her hand on the entrance to the school building.
“You’re in a rush today, what’s going on?” Patti asked.
“I want to ask you something,” I replied
Patti raised an eyebrow at me.
“It’s about Jasper,” I said.
“Oh,” She replied as though everything suddenly made sense.
“I think I might be falling in love with him but I am worried that I might be making a huge mistake,” I said.
“You probably are but why do you say that?” Patti asked. She didn’t call me stupid for falling for Jasper, I should be thankful for that at least.
“He treats me really well and he seems to really care about me but am I a fool for forgiving him after everything he did to me?” I asked.
“I worry that if I let him in then he will go back to his old ways,” I continued before Patti could say anything in response.
“I can understand that and it is a risk but then again love is always a risk,” Patti said.
“So you think I should give him a chance?” I asked, in complete shock. I thought Patti would be totally against me going any closer to Jasper than I had to. I seemed to be wrong about her, maybe she was more forgiving than I gave her credit for.
“I don’t like Jasper and I think you might have lost your mind for letting him in but you like him and that is all that matters. I think you should go for it and if Jasper breaks your heart then I will be there to pick up the pieces,” She said.
“Thank-you,” I replied as we turned the corner towards the art room. Mia was standing outside the room looking really frustrated. That was unusual, normally she spends every spare moment in that room working on her art project.
“Is the door locked?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” Mia said through gritted teeth.
I walked past her and glanced through the door to the art room. Oliver was in there with Bev, he had his arms around her and his tongue down her throat.
I don’t know why she suddenly decided to go back with him after months of not being interested in him at all. I am sure that she had some kind of ulterior motive but I guess that Oliver got exactly what he wanted out of it so he wasn’t complaining. Not that he could with her tongue so far down his throat anyway.
“Maybe we should just go to class,” I suggested.