Chapter Three

CADEN'S POV

Since she bumped into me this morning, my mind have been stuck on her.

My Jade.

I miss her and holding her in my arms again after all these terribly long years stirred my body in ways I've never imagined possible with her.

I hate this rift that I created between us but things changed, and I'm not the same guy I was before I left.

Doesn't mean I don't miss her and the time when I'd been just Caden.

Jade's Caden.

Now she's way bigger than I remembered her to be then, and she's all grown up.

With smoky eyes and a mesmerizing small and curvy body that had fit mine perfectly when I'd held her earlier.

My eyes keep going back to her small figure and following her around against my better judgement.

I watch her neck tense like it usually does when someone has their eyes on her.

It's been a habit since we were kids.

Her head turns as she scans the room and her eyes finally meet mine.

I'm too far for her the see the emotions in my eyes and that's okay with me.

I can read the disapproving look on her face from here those, she's not putting any effort into hiding it.

She obviously doesn't approve of the way Lizzy Coleman is clinging to me, pressing her body against mine.

Neither do I, but it'd taken too much energy to tell her off.

I know Lizzy to be a drama queen.

Plus I'm in some kind of arrangements with her.

Sexual arrangement.

Not that it gives her any exclusive rights to me or anything.

It excites me briefly, to think that she might be jealous, but the thought dosen't hold for long.

This is Jade after all.

My untamed eyes follow her table, the one she usually shares with her friend, Chelsea.

It is at the far end of the cafeteria.

When she turned, almost catching my eyes on her again, I look away and try to focus more on what the annoyingly clingy blonde stuck on me was saying.

The guys on my table, mostly from my team, are deep in a conversation about a supposedly lit party holding this Friday at Candy's.

And the girls are more invested in which guy would be taking them.

I already know I'm not going so there's no need joining in.

Parties and booze, it's all they talk about and honestly, it's beginning to bore me.

Lizzy tries to puppy eye me into taking her but there's only one person with puppy eyes that can bring me to my knees and it's not her.

I scoff at the hopeful, possessive look she's shooting me.

Just because we fuck doesn't make me hers so I say a clear 'No'.

I'm not taking her or anybody else at that, anywhere. Not even myself.

"Dude you coming to the party, right?" Kyle, one of the guys ask me.

"No I'm sitting this one out." I reply lazily.

"Come on man, it's what everyone is talking about. You should come with us."

"I don't think I wanna be at a party Friday. Might hit the gym instead."

"But baby, you have to." Lizzy whined in my ear already pissing me off but missing it.

"And a party trumps going to the gym anytime. Who even does that?"

I ignore her, too tired to do otherwise.

Funny how unappealing it sounds when she uses endearments on me.

Recently, I fantasize about hearing them from the lips of a certain five foot six junior.

"Who will take me then, if you don't come, hmm?"

It's about time I remind her what we have is a no strings attached, sex only, relationship because she seems to be getting too 

attached and possessive recently.

I get fed up from my seat, tired of them trying to goad me into going to the party.

I push my food aside and leave the table without saying anything to anyone.

It doesn't take much to stride out of the cafeteria and down the hallway to my locker.

It's the same one I used last year.

It's almost impossible to retain one locker here for longer than a session but I made the most of the 'almost' and pulled the right strings.

Let's just say it worked.

Money solves all your problems around here and I've got more than enough of it to my name to be fine.

I kept it because it's close to Jay's, she'd wonder while she'd got to keep the same one too.

The off chance that I get to see her in between classes, is worth the effort.

I put in my number combination, it's the same one I used last year too.

The secret is, unscrambled, they represent her birthday. I don't think she's figured that out, yet.

It's the same one I've used since forever.

I sift through my stuffs. Books, my drawing kit, my earphone, 'so this is where the little piece of shit went', more books, some personal stuffs...... It's not here!

I always make sure to carry it with me and now it's gone?

Fuck!

I hope no one else gets their hands on it before I do.

I run back the way I'd come, going back to all my previous classes. 

I don't find it in any of them and panic begins to settle in the pit of my stomach.

Not many things in this life matters to me but loosing that or having it in someone else's possession doesn't even begin to settle with me.

What if they go through it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

I push my fingers through my hair not giving a damn if I mess it up.

I try to figure out possible places I might have lost it while going back to my locker to search it again on the off chance that I might have missed it the first time.

I pray I did.

As I got closer, I saw her.

Most of her face is hidden by the fallen locks of her hair but I would know that small fireball anywhere.

She looks indecisive as she stares at my locker like there's something she wasn't sure she should do.

It looks like she reached a decision because she starts to walk away before I can make it to where she'd stood.

She doesn't even notice my presence as I hasten to cover the distance between us in a few strides.

"What are you doing hanging by my locker, Jay?" I ask her.

She stops mid stride and take her time facing me, her body tensing.

I could almost hit myself for slipping and using the old nick name I'd stuck on her in elementary school.

I bite down on my tongue but the faint blush coating her checks was so damn cute that I forgave myself for that one.

She looked like she was going to say something but her face scrunches up in an expression that has me looking behind me before she could get the words out.

Sure enough and true to my suspicion, Lizzy is making her way down the hall and towards us.

Jay rolls her eyes at the angry girl matching to our direction.

"Seems you are going to be busy for a while, I guess we'll talk about this later, see you then, Caden."

Her voice, she still says my name the same way - soft and small.

What had she been talking about though?

I block out Lizzy's jealous rant about Jay being the reason I'm ditching her Friday night.

This is the reason I can't ever date her.

I don't have the energy to deal with her insecure ass.

I don't blame her though, if I were a girl, I'd feel insecure and be burning with fucking red hot jealousy around Jay.

Damn, did the girl turn out fine as fuck.

"I said I'm not going to the damn party. Not with you or anybody."

I have to pick between going for my next class and continuing my search for my book.

Going to Mr Fred's class trumps, because even though finding that book is very important to me, Mr Fred happens to also be my coach and can stop me from playing in games for missing his class, captain or not.

He's the only teacher I'm allowed to have any semblance of fear for because of that. Missing games isn't a road I want to walk down.

I leave Lizzy and her ranting ass where she's still going on and on about how I have to take her the party.

Well, seems like her brain cells finally died off and now she can't understand simple explanations like I'm not going to any party come Friday.

If she continues the way she's going right now, the only place she'll be going will be as far away from me as possible.