Thank you for all of the kind reviews on the last chapter and I hope all of you guys enjoy chapter eleven!
Happy reading!
JAY
"You promise they aren't going to grill me?" Erin asks as we roll up to Zoe's townhouse in the back of the SUV, Atwater in the driver's seat and Dawson beside him.
"I can assure you that Adam already likes you and that Garrett likes everyone," I tell her with a smile.
"What about Zoe?" She asks with a raise of the eyebrows.
"What about her?" I respond.
"You didn't say anything about her," She question.
"If I may," Dawson interrupts from the front, "Calm down Ms. Lindsay, Ms. Amsbary is quite kind, you won't have any issues with her,"
"Thanks for the reassurance," She says with a giggle, me being very grateful for the interjection. I think things will be fine with Zoe, but I thought she'd be fine with Abby too, so we'll see. Though I don't foresee any issues.
"C'mon," I tell her with a smile, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the backseat of the car and up the quick walk, grateful for the rare absence of the press.
"This street is beautiful," She says, her eyes glancing down at the brick sidewalks, the tree lined streets stretching out all the way out to the banks of the Potomac.
"And we're only a half mile away from the Exorcist stairs," I inform her, punching in the code to the gate at the front of Zoe's townhouse.
"The Exorcist stairs?" She asks, looking at me confused.
"Ah yes, you're not from here. It's a point of pride for us DC kids,"
"What are they?" She asks with a laugh.
"You've seen the Exorcist right?" I ask her.
"Yeah who hasn't?" She tells me as we walk through the small courtyard between Zoe's gate and front door.
"Okay so you know that part when the priest throws himself down the really tall, narrow stairs?" I ask, taking her hand in mine as I know that the press, if they're hiding back there, can't photograph through a brick wall.
"Yeah of course," She replies.
"Those," I tell her with a sharp nod.
"Oh cool," She responds. "We're going to need to make a stop there,"
"Oh definitely," I say before knocking on the door.
"They're here!" I hear from inside the house, Adam's familiar voice booming behind the door. "Zozo, you almost done?"
"Don't call me that!" Zoe yells back. I can't help but laugh, what in the world are we going to be in for today? The smile stays on my face as Erin nervously grips my hand, the heavy wooden door swinging open to reveal Garrett, his muscular build and dark hair coming into view.
"What's up Halstead?" He asks as he pulls me into a hug.
"I'm doing good G," I respond, giving him a firm pat on the back.
"And you must be the lovely Ms. Lindsay," He says as he holds his hand out to shake hers.
"It's good to meet you Garrett,"
"And you as well," He says with a smile. "Now c'mon in, Zoe's cooking and it smells damn good,"
"Always game for that," He says, throwing his arm around her as he leads me to the kitchen where a petite brunette who I have to assume is Zoe is standing over the stovetop.
"Okay I am almost done, I promise," She assures us, not even looking up as she puts the finishing touches on something.
"I trust you," I respond with a smile. "But I do have someone I'd like you to meet,"
"Oh Erin yes," She says looking up. "It's lovely to meet you. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"A glass of water would be great," She says cautiously.
"Garrett grab a glass from the cabinet, there's a pitcher of lemon water in the fridge," She delegates without even blinking, which throws Erin for a bit of a loop, though she's rolling with it.
"Yes ma'am." Garrett says with a chuckle, all of us more than used to it. When Zoe, Adam, and I met in first grade, we were all the children of Senators and quickly became inseparable, that bond not weakening through middle and high school. But Zoe was always the boss, always keeping us in line. When we met Garrett in college, the three of us eventually moving into an apartment together junior and senior year, he fit into the group seamlessly. Though Zoe wasn't at Yale with us, that didn't stop her from driving the two hours from Hyde Park to New Haven nearly every weekend to crash at our place and more often than not, use us to recipe test, something she knew that we were always game for.
"Uh, Ruzek, Halstead set the table please," She dictates, both of us knowing exactly which plates she likes and where she stocks them. "Erin, you over here,"
"Yes of course," Erin says, quickly moving over to Zoe's side as I try to stifle a laugh, noticing the slight fear in my girl's eyes.
ERIN
"Sorry about that," Zoe says, looking me right in the eyes with a smile, "Zoe Amsbary, nice to meet you,"
"You as well," I respond as Garrett hands me the glass. "Thank you Garrett,"
"My pleasure," He says before darting off to help the guys set the table.
"It smells delicious," I comment as I stand next to her, unsure of what to do as Jay has just left me with her, my last string of hope being Dawson's assurance that she likes everyone and that'd she'd like me.
"That'd be the frittata in the oven." She tells me, "Goat cheese, scallions, and asparagus,"
"Wow, that sounds amazing,"
"Our sweet Zoe is a classically trained chef," Garrett interjects from the dining area.
"Really?" I ask, looking over at her. I was not expecting that from her, considering who her father is anyway.
"Mom and Dad, well Dad mostly weren't too thrilled with it," She tells me, somehow reading my mind.
"But we're all very proud of her!" Jay calls out. I'm still getting a handle on their exact relationship, they seem closer than close gets, but I do know that it's nice to Jay like this. He's relaxed, in his happy place.
"Culinary Institute of America!" Adam follows up, both of them having the pride of proud parents in their voices. "She's opening her own restaurant in August,"
"Shut up all of you went to Yale," She says with a roll of the eyes.
"And you went to the best culinary school in the country,"
"We all went to the third best college in the nation," Jay points out.
"Very true," She says, pulling a skillet out of the oven, filling the entire house with a pungent aroma. "I've found that they make very good recipe testers," She explains to me as she brings the skillet over to the table, setting it atop a preset tile. I'm following her as I'm still not quite sure what to do.
"Grab a chair," She tells me with a kind smile, "I'm going to grab everything else from the kitchen,"
"Do you need any help?" I ask quickly, setting my glass down on her long wooden table.
"I'm okay, you're the guest of honor. Just relax," She tells me, flashing a wink before going back into the kitchen.
"She's nice," I say, settling into one of her plush dining room chairs next to Jay, the other two guys following Zoe into the other room.
"I told you," He tells me, planting a kiss on my cheek.
"Alright," She says, walking back into the room with plates full of delicious looking and smelling food in both hands. "I've got a mint and grapefruit salad and these are roasted red pepper and almond morning buns,"
"And I have whatever this is," Garrett says, looking very satisfied with himself as sets the bowl on the table.
"That's pomegranate, walnut, and couscous salad," She says, shooting him a playful glare as Adam follows them in.
"I have alcohol, arguably the best part of any brunch," He says with a smile, carrying in a tray with a bottle of champagne along with two other glass bottles that I'm not quite sure what they contain.
"Rosemary and grapefruit mimosas," She corrects him.
"Zo never really has been one to take the easy way out. She always has to outdo everyone and everything," Jay says with a laugh as Zoe begins to pass the food around.
"I'm a trained chef, I'm not going to have all of you over here and just make pancakes," She points out.
"Ah yes, that would be so ten years ago," Adam jokes.
"Well it all looks amazing," I tell her as Adam pours drinks.
"Thank you Erin," She replies with a satisfied smile. "It's nice to finally have another girl around,"
"Oh?" I respond.
"Yeah Jay almost never brings girls around, you must be quite something," She tells me.
"Interesting," I say, looking over at Jay as he rolls his eyes.
"Indeed," Zoe responds as she hands me a glass. "Alright let's eat,"
"Good idea," Jay says as he places and serving of the grapefruit salad on his plate before passing me the bowl.
"So what kind of restaurant are you opening?" I ask her, dishes continuing to circulate around the table.
"Well it's called Montgomery and Bridge and it'll just be classics, but we want to flip them on their head."
"Tell her about the bakery part," Garrett interrupts with the energy of an eager child.
"I was just getting to that," She says will a roll of the eyes. "It's going to have two halves, the bakery and the restaurant. I really focused on pastry in school, but my friend Sam Joyner, he is an amazing chef,"
"We're convinced she's in love with him." Adam adds in with a snicker. "We've been hearing about this guy for years,"
"Shut up," She says as she smacks him. "Anyway, so we came up with the idea of having a bakery attached to the restaurant, which I'll run and then I'll also be in charge of all the desserts at the restaurant, that way we can appeal to both the people who want a nice sit down meal and the droves of millennials that roam our streets who just want to pop in for a snack,"
"That's really cool," I tell her with a smile. "I really like the name, how'd you guys come up with it?" I can see her face light up and I can tell this story is one that she loves to tell.
"It's actually a really interesting story, so at its conception, Georgetown was actually a part of the Maryland colony. So when it was incorporated into Washington DC, they changed all the streets names to reflect the naming system off all the other streets in the District. Our address is at the corner of 28th and M, but they used to be called Montgomery and Bridge, hence the name,"
"That's really cool," I say, genuinely interested in her story.
"Yeah you should come by and see the construction sometime, we're into the design part of it now and based on your outfit, I can tell that you have impeccable taste, so I'd love your opinion."
"Well thank you," I say, taking a quick glance down at my very casual choice of a white and navy striped romper and a denim jacket, "and that sounds really fun, but I'm actually catching a flight back to the west coast in about five hours,"
"No worries, though I will definitely be getting your number in case I need a second opinion. I love my boys, but they tend to be less than helpful," All three of them, I swear at the exact same time put on faces of mock offense.
"I would be happy to lend my services," I reply with a grin.
"And you should definitely come back out for the opening, Friday, August 18th."
" I will put it on my calendar," I assure her with a smile. Dawson really was right, I don't have anything to worry about.
"It was really nice to meet you guys," I say as Jay and I stand in the doorway of Abby's townhouse. It was a really good call to come here, leaving with a belly full of incredible food and three new amazing friends.
"It was our pleasure," Garrett replies, smiling with those kind brown eyes.
"Keep our boy in line," Zoe instructs me with a smirk.
"Will do," I tell her with a laugh before departing.
"Bye!" They all call behind us as we make our way through the courtyard.
"So what'd you think?"
"I think they're amazing," I tell him as I pull closer to his side. "I'm glad you have people like that,"
"What do you mean?" He asks as we approach the gate, my cue to slip the sunglasses over my eyes.
"They're normal, give you a nice break from the spotlight. And they definitely don't treat you differently because of who your mom is,"
"Yeah, I got lucky with them," He responds, the two of us falling into an uncomfortable silence as we make the quick stroll to the car, the press noticeably absent once again.
"Oh I don't want to leave," I say as the car begins rolling towards the airport. "I like it here,"
"You could always stay longer," He tempts.
"Don't even start. I graduate in a month, I've got a mountain of papers due," I complain with a groan. "And then back to Chicago, start the job,"
"I'm not going to be seeing much of you am I?"
"Probably not," I admit regretfully. "We knew it was going to be hard though, we just have to try a little but harder than everyone else does, it's okay. It's worth it right?'
"More than," He assures me with a kiss on the side of my head. "We do have one stop to make before I drop you at the airport though,"
"We do?" I ask, wracking my brain for anything I might be missing.
"We do," He replies with a smirk, leaning forward to whisper something in Dawson's ear.
"I believe that could be arranged," He says, his face remaining stoic as he makes a sharp U-turn.
"Where in the world are we going James Halstead?" I ask, my left eyebrow cocked.
"Don't worry about it," He tells me, his kind eyes bright, "Just wait,"
"You going to tell me now?" I ask as we walk down what I believe is Prospect Street, the river a good ways away.
"Just close your eyes," He says, hooking my arm onto his. "Follow me,"
"Alright," I say nervously putting all my faith into him. "Don't let me fall,"
"I wouldn't dream of it," He says with a laugh.
"Are we there yet?" I say, taking cautious steps.
"Almost, just a little while longer,"
"I seriously can't believe I'm actually closing my eyes right now,"
"Shut up just walk Erin," He says with a laugh. "Live on the edge a little,"
"Fine," I say as I squint my left eye open a little bit.
"Are you peeking?" He exclaims.
"Nope," I deny, slamming my eyes shut.
"Well we're here," He tells me. "Open your eyes," I blink them open in the sun to see a staircase, a very long narrow staircase.
"Exorcist stairs?"
"Indeed,"
"They're not as exciting as I thought they'd be," I say as I cock my head to the left. "Very anticlimactic,"
"You wanted to come here!" He exclaims with a laugh.
"Yes and I love that you remembered," I say with a laugh as I rise to kiss him. "But we really should get going,"
"Yeah, I was kind of trying to stall you leaving, just a little bit,"
"I can tell," I say with a laugh as I grab his hand and lead him back to where I think the car is. It's time to pop the bubble. And I could not be dreading it more.
"American Airlines," Atwater tells us from the front seat as we pull into the terminal.
"Thank you Atwater. You guys too," I say as I gesture at Dawson and Roman, they have really done a lot to make me feel more comfortable this weekend. A lot more comfortable than Toby at least.
"It's our pleasure ma'am," He assures me with a kind smile.
"I'm going to walk you up," Jay tells me.
"You are?" I ask, unbuckling my seatbelt.
"No hiding right?" He says, jumping out the door to grab my suitcase from the backseat.
"I guess," I say with a chuckle, following his lead.
"So this is goodbye?" He asks, pulling my very bright aqua rollerboard, the wind swirling my hair around my face.
"No," I say, dotting his lips with a kiss. "This is see you later,"
"I like that,"
"It's good right?" I say with a smile.
"In that case, can I give you a see you later kiss?"
"Oh absolutl-" He doesn't even wait before he pulls me into him, resting his palm on the back of my head, both of us sinking into the liplock.
"That was some kiss," I say before pulling away from him.
"Well you're some girl," He responds, echoing my tone.
"Nice line,"
"I spent a minute on it," He says with a smile before letting me go from his arms. "I'm going to miss you, this, well it was nice,"
"It was," I confirm, "You can always come out to Santa Barbara, I can't promise they'll be a bed for you or that you won't get peppered with questions,"
"Sounds good," He says as he hands over my suitcase, my very much oversized purse resting on my arm.
"I really do have to get going, don't want to miss my flight,"
"I know," He says giving my hand one last squeeze. "Fly safe,"
"I will," I say as I depart, knowing that if I don't make a quick exit I won't.
"See you later, I love you," He says. Wow. I didn't expect that. I don't think he did either because as the words fall out of his mouth, a curtain of shock covers it.
"I'll see you later," I say, making a quick pivot, knowing that I have absolutely no idea how to respond to that.
"Welcome to Flight 218, service from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Los Angeles International Airport," I zone out as the pilot continues on his spiel as the plane taxis down the runway, my eyes grabbing their last fleeting views of the Washington Monument as thoughts of Jay's parting words circle through my mind. Why did he say it? And did he even mean it? Was it just a spur of the moment thing?
I interrupt my own train of thought as I glance down to the magazine sitting on the tray table of the woman next to me. I see two things, Jay's face and a headline, reading "Who is the First Son's new girl?" I can't help but be curious, also wondering how they hell that got it all printed that fast.
"Can I borrow that for a minute?" I ask the woman.
"Yeah sure," She says, handing the magazine to me. I quickly scan the table of context, swiftly finding Jay's name. I flip through until I see a great picture of him at some charity event. The headline reads the same as the one on the cover, the majority of the article detailing Jay's background and his years at Yale and all that crap, all of which I scan, I'll wait for him to tell me about that. I stop once I see the pictures of us.
Though not super pleased that the press found us, I can't help but smile as I look at the pictures of us walking down by the water, me cuddled into the his side. These aren't as blurry, you can see his face, but luckily my face is hidden in a combination of a shower and Jay's shoulder. There's another photo of us walking into Abby's house, both of us smiling and laughing, but again, you somehow can't see my face. But I do notice the last line of the article, asking "Who is his mystery girl?"
I still can't believe that this guy might love me, that out of everyone, he picked me. And even crazier than that, I think I'm falling in love with him.
Hope you guys liked this chapter and all of you that celebrate, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!
Please review!
xoxo,
Addison