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Chapter Three

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By the Monday of Jade's second week in Burley, she's developed somewhat of a routine in her new environment. Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she works from the morning until early afternoon. When she comes home, she paints, reads, or plays the piano in the living room downstairs. Tuesdays and Thursdays are mostly filled with those same three things, in addition to exploring her grandmother's land and visiting Charisma.

It's late that Monday afternoon when she settles into a chair on the back porch with The Help. When she looks up for a quick second, she sees Beck busy planting a new row of tulips. Without so much as even meaning to do it, Jade finds herself staring at him. He works so gracefully and so carefully, as if he had a personal connection to each dirt-covered bud. He's not reckless or bored even for a minute; he's diligent, and she's fascinated. So fascinated, really, that she doesn't even notice that Georgia has come out and is standing beside her.

"That must be a pretty interesting book, huh?"

Jade tears her eyes away from Beck and tries to act like she hadn't just been watching him. She'd heard the teasing in Georgia's voice; a rather sarcastic wit runs in the family. Jade doesn't answer the question anyways.

"Want some lemonade?"

"Sure."

Georgia nods and sets two glasses down on the little table beside her granddaughter. As she pours from the glass pitcher, she calls Beck over to come get some. Then, as if she knows exactly what she's doing, she walks back inside without another word. Jade rolls her eyes and bookmarks her page before closing it and setting it in her lap.

"Mind if I join you?"

She looks up to see Beck standing in front of her.

"Nope."

Beck smiles (how does a simple shape of his mouth do this to her?) and plops down in the chair next to her. He takes one of the glasses of lemonade for himself and sips at it slowly. "So," he starts, "you never did get to ride Charisma the other day."

It's true. After what had happened on the walk back from their midnight trip to the stables, they hadn't even mentioned the word horse. It's been as if the entire trip never happened. And if Jade was being honest, she didn't know if she was more disappointed in not getting to ride Charisma or in trying to force herself not to think about how his hands had felt on her body.

"No, I didn't," she agrees.

"Do you still want to?" Beck blurts out quickly.

"Yeah."

"How about today? As soon as I'm done with these flowers, I'm headed out to feed the horses anyways. Come with me."

She stares at him, studying his expression, for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay." Jade thinks that if they keep this eye contact up for long, she's going to burst, so she turns her head back down to her novel and picks it up again.

"What are you reading?"

Her heart skips a beat, so she doesn't look up. "The Help, by Kathryn Stockett."

"Is it any good?"

Now her eyes meet his. "I like it so far."

"You read a lot, don't you?"

"And you ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Her exasperated tone has no effect on Beck, who simply smiles bashfully. "What makes you think I read more than any normal person?"

"Well," he explains, "two things. First, you've only been here two weeks and you're already on your second book. Second, you've got a better vocabulary than—well, than anyone I know."

Jade wills herself not to blush and takes a sip of her lemonade to cool off. "I like to read," she replies simply.

"One day, I'll read more. I've just never had the time."

"That's a shitty excuse. No one has time."

Beck has had a job of some kind or another since he was eight years old; if anyone has an excuse, it's him. But he's not about to tell her that. Instead, he gives her a lopsided grin and sets his empty glass on the table. "Well, maybe you can read for me sometime." He stands up from the chair. "I'm going to finish off these tulips, and then we can go out to the stables."

"I'll be here."

"Okay."

It takes Beck fifteen minutes to finish his the row of flowers, and then he motions for Jade to come down from the deck to join him.

"So, how's the job going?" He asks as they begin the walk.

"It's...not as horrible as I thought it would be."

"Is it your first one?"

Jade grimaces. "Yes, and hopefully my last until after college graduation. My mother's just doing this to punish me."

"She's that bad, huh?"

"She's just annoyed with me. She wanted to enjoy her time this summer with her husband and her Grey Goose, so I'm here. It was this or take classes at a community college in Riverside."

"Well," Beck offers, as optimistically as possible, "this can't be too awful. I know you and Georgia don't get along well, but the horses are here."

Jade looks up at the stable and sighs contently. "True."

"Alright then, let's get you saddled up."

Thanks to Beck's physical strength and Jade's level of comfort with the horse (seeing as neither of them has both of those assets), she's mounted Charisma within ten minutes.

When Beck walks away from her on the horse, Jade whips her head to glare at him. "You're not leaving, are you?" Her tone has more fear than anger, which isn't how she wanted to sound but definitely conveys how she feels.

"No, no," he promises. "Just grabbing the walking rope." Beck fastens one side of the lengthy, thick rope to Charisma's bridle and holds the other side tightly in his hand. "Ready?" Jade nods, giving him permission to begin walking. Charisma follows Beck's steps (and the rope) until they're safely into the square-shaped pen. Beck looks up at his companion. "You good?"

Jade hesitates. "Stay with me for one lap." And then, "Please."

"Sure." He starts tracing the circle of the pen, and Charisma, surprisingly, follows obediently. "I'm not riding, anyways."

"Really?"

"Nah. I'm not a big fan of horses. They actually, kind of, freak me out."

Jade laughs out loud and Beck feels his bones light up. "They freak you out?"

"Yes, they do! They're massive; one kick could kill me!"

"You're a wuss."

"I have common sense," he corrects her.

"If that's what you call it." They finish the lap and Beck moves to unfasten the rope.

"You sure you're good on your own?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, she kills me and I don't have to spend my summer here, right?"

Beck makes a face and she grins. "Not funny."

"Go feed the animals, wuss."

"Yell if you need help," he reminds her with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah."

Georgia makes sliders for dinner, which both teenagers eat quickly after having built up an appetite from their day. "So, Jade," the matriarch says, "at the risk of you marching your ass out the door again..." Beck chuckles under his breath and Jade rolls her eyes at him. "...I need a little favor from you."

Jade raises an eyebrow.

"Tomorrow, Beck is re-painting the stable. The paint is old and chipped and it looks terrible, and it's a job that's needed to be done for a while. Since you don't have work tomorrow, I'm sure he would appreciate the help. It needs at least a few coats; it's definitely a day's job."

Jade looks at Beck, who meets her eyes, and she decides it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to spend the day with him. "Fine."

"Fantastic. I'll have the paint and out and ready for you two by tomorrow morning."

True to her word, six buckets of white paint sit on the front porch by nine o'clock the next morning. After breakfast, Beck and Jade, both donning old t-shirts that can get dirty, make their way outside. Beck loads each bucket into a wagon, and the two start their walk to the stable.

"I heard you playing the piano last night," Beck tells her. Jade's cheeks flush pink and she doesn't look over at him. "You're really good."

"Thanks."

"I play guitar. Well, I used to. I don't have one anymore."

"How come?"

Beck shrugs. "It broke, and I haven't gotten around to buying a new one."

"That sucks."

"Yeah." He grins. "At least I get to hear you play, though."

Jade sighs and looks up at him. "I have a boyfriend," she informs him, a bit reluctantly.

"Aaaand I had a dog once." He looks at her oddly while doing a terrific job of masking his disappointment. He knew he wasn't lucky enough for a girl as pretty as Jade to not be taken by someone else.

"Don't give me that look," Jade argues. "I know flirting when I see it."

Beck smiles coyly and scratches the back of his head. "You're even smarter than I thought." Jade doesn't answer, just keeps walking. "So, what's he like? Witty? Brilliant? Reads Edgar Allen Poe for fun?"

Jade rolls her eyes and watches Beck entertain himself. "I don't know. He's... He's different. Actually, that's a terrible word to use for him. He's not different from anyone; he's identical to about five of his friends."

"Ah, the typical California boy."

"How do you even know what a typical California boy is like if you've never been?"

"Jade, please. I've seen a third of an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 on my mother's TV." She actually laughs, meaning he's been successful, so he continues. "Blonde, blue-eyed, wears Hollister. And he's probably a surfer."

"You got three out of four."

"So you're into brunettes," Beck quips playfully, and Jade grins.

"No, he's blonde as they come. But Jordan wouldn't wear Hollister if his life depended on it."

"Abercrombie?"

"Lacoste."

"Ah. Preppy boy."

"You and your stereotypes."

"What can I say, Miss West? You ruined my idea of a typical California girl; these are the only ones I have left."

They arrive at the stable and Beck opens two cans of paint. They agree to start on a certain side together, more for the facility of conversation than for productivity's sake. "You'd hate him," Jade decides. Beck knows he would for the sheer fact that he's her boyfriend, but he's curious to know why she thinks he would.

"Why?"

"I don't know; I just know you would. His dad owns the Lakers, so he'll never work a day in his life. His hobbies are surfing and spending money."

"So, why are you dating him?"

She shrugs. "He asked me out at a party a month before school got out. I was drunk and said yes, and I would end it, but 'dates' with him are a perfect excuse to get out of my house. My mother loves his mom, so she never has a problem saying yes to anywhere I go with Jordan. Who knows, though? He was so pissed about me coming here for the summer; we got in a huge fight before I left. He's probably cheated on me with at least a few girls in these last two weeks."

"Huh. My stereotypes were right; California kids are weird."

"Shut up."

He grins and continues painting at his much faster rate than her.

"And you? No girlfriend with that mop of hair you've got? I thought girls are supposed to go crazy for hair like that."

"Never had one," he answers honestly, and then smiles. "One day, though, someone will appreciate this mop for all it's worth."

"Mhmm. One day."

"It's true. Besides, don't I fit the stereotype for the perfect man? Tall, dark, and handsome? I might also add that I plant a mean garden of flowers."

"Yeah," she laughs, "you're a dream. You can also add that you look ridiculous with a spot of white paint on your cheek."

"What?" Beck palms his cheek and pulls it away to see a splotch of paint on his hand. Jade bursts into laughter and Beck frowns. "I just made the spot bigger, didn't I?" She nods, still laughing, and Beck shakes his head. "Well, if it's so funny, I guess you wouldn't mind having a matching one, would you?" Jade sobers instantly as she watches him come at her with a paintbrush. Her jaw drops as he paints her cheek white, but he's grinning like a fool as he does it.

"Oh, you've done it, now." Jade grabs her paint bucket and chases after him with the brush, threatening to get him back. Before long, they're slinging paint back and forth and have managed to get each other covered.

Jade shrieks when Beck grabs her from behind and gets her shirt even whiter than it already was. When she turns in his grip to get him back, she finds herself unintentionally locked in his arms, face to face with him. They stare at each other for a few seconds, her hands on his chest and his around her waist, until he drops his arms and takes a step back.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's..." Jade runs a hand through her hair and looks him up and down. After a few seconds, she starts laughing all over again—so Beck gazes down at his painted self and joins her.

They don't finish the stable until dinnertime, but the job is done and Georgia is happy with it. When the table is cleared, Beck goes upstairs to get ready for bed, while Jade lingers in the kitchen. Her grandmother, dyed dark brown hair tied up in a bun as she hand-washes a plate, looks over at her.

"I'm assuming you're not still here because you want to help me wash dishes."

Jade looks at her wryly. "I think I've had enough work for one day."

"So you're here because you actually want to talk to me?"

"Don't be so dramatic."

Georgia scoffs, and then chuckles at her granddaughter. "You're one to talk." Jade rolls her eyes, but gives the woman a conceding smile. "So, what's it about?"

The sixteen-year-old pauses. "I wanted to ask you about Beck."

"What about him?"

"Well, I don't know. I just think it seems strange. He's seventeen, in a random town with no family or friends, living with practically a stranger."

"I wouldn't call myself a stranger to him."

"But when you met," Jade explains. "Do you know his parents?"

"I don't even know their names. I've asked him about his family before, right after he moved in." Georgia sets another dry dish in her clean stack. "All he said was that he was better off without them than with them."

Jade's eyebrows pull together. "So he ran away? Is he some sort of refugee? What if his parents are looking for him?"

"He came a long way to get to Burley; if they are, they're sure as hell going to have a hard time finding him."

Jade stands in her spot, letting her mind reel, for a few more seconds before finally deciding that Georgia really doesn't know any more than she herself does. "Alright, well. Goodnight. Thanks for dinner." She turns on her heel to walk towards the stairs, and Georgia calls after her.

"Hmm?"

"Be kind to him. I know you don't owe him—or me—anything, but Beck has been living here long enough that I know he's never experienced a household like this before. I don't know this, but I get the feeling he's been through some pretty rough stuff."

Jade's eyes linger on her grandmother's for a few more seconds, and she nods. "Okay."

On Thursday, Georgia gives Beck the day off. He'd spent the entirety of Wednesday pulling weeds, and she decided that the boy was more than deserving of a lazy day. In an (admitted) attempt to spend more time with Jade, Beck asks her to go fishing with him on the lake in the back of Georgia's property. Her thirty acres borders the Snake River, and an offshoot of the water spews into a decent sized lake.

"Fishing? I don't fish."

"I know," Beck chuckles. "But you can watch me do it, and then maybe you can try." Jade raises her eyebrows and he smiles warmly at her. "Come on; it's relaxing. You could use some relaxing."

"I prefer to be productive," she informs him.

"That's exactly why you should relax. Jade, I don't think I've seen you be unproductive since you got here. Be lazy for a day."

She sighs and raises her hands on her hips. "Fine. I'll go. But I am not touching a fish."

After lunch, Beck loads his fishing gear into the truck Georgia had lent him to use while he's staying with her. As he's pushing up the door of the truck's bed, he sees Jade come outside onto the porch. She has her black Doc Martens on, as well as jean shorts and a black tank top that shows off just the right amount of cleavage. Beck is pretty sure she's not purposely trying to torture him (especially since she'd mentioned the thing where she has a boyfriend) but that doesn't make it any easier not to stare at her chest.

Once he and Jade are both in the car, he starts off for the back of the property. Beck fidgets with the radio before landing on a station playing something he's satisfied with. His mind, he realizes, has to have something to think about other than how good Jade looks in that tank top.

Meanwhile, amidst the silence, Jade is tempted to ask him about what she and Georgia had discussed last night. She hates that she feels like he knows so much more about her than she does about him. Desire aside, though, it's no secret to her that he seems so guarded. By her measure, his closed-off nature signals that he's either hiding something or trying to protect himself. He's obviously running from something, she thinks, but she's not even sure she wants to know what.

Except that, deep down, she really does. Maybe it's to know that there's someone out there even more screwed up than her. Maybe.

"So," Beck says as he parks the truck about fifty feet away from the lake, "this is Lake Eleanor. I asked your grandmother what it's named for, but she said that—other than a rumor that it's for Eleanor Roosevelt—the name is completely random."

"And this is the very back of Georgia's property?"

"Well, technically this is past her property. This is public land, but I've never seen anyone out here. I guess it's kind of like a little hidden secret." Beck smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "You ready?"

"I guess so."

"Great! Let's go."

After grabbing the fishing pole and bait bucket he'd bought, Beck pulls the paddle boat out of the trunk. He drags it over to where the lake meets the shore, and Jade crosses her arms over her chest.

"Do I really have to do this?"

"You told me you would," he says, his voice hopeful.

"Okay," she sighs. "One hour max."

"Aw, come on. Two."

"One."

"Two, and I won't even ask you to try fishing."

"We'll see."

"I'll take that as a deal."

Beck offers his hand to help her into the boat, and he watches as she carefully sits down across from him. He paddles a few strokes to get them out into the water, and hums contently once they're floating with ease.

"So, tell me stuff."

Beck's statement has Jade raising her eyebrows, which makes him smile. "Stuff about you. All I know is that you read and you drink your coffee like your grandmother."

"She takes it black," Jade corrects. "I add two sugars."

"Ah, which I'm sure makes all the difference in the world."

"It does, actually," she retorts.

Beck smiles. "I still want to know other things."

"You know plenty about me. I don't even know your last name."

"It's Oliver." It's a lie, but it sounds good and it's what he'd chosen in lieu of endangering himself (and not to mention Jade and Georgia).

"Beck Oliver. It's catchy."

"I think so, too." He takes his fishing pole and prepares the bait on the hook, and then casts it into the water.

"So, Beck Oliver, how long does it take for one of your stupid fish to bite the hook?"

"Anywhere from two minutes to half an hour. Just depends on how hungry they are."

"Half an hour?" Jade shrieks, and Beck puts his hand over her mouth to shush her. She shakes it off and wipes her lips. "What was that for?"

"You'll scare away the fish," he explains. "The point of fishing is to be quiet, relaxed. See, it's no big deal if we have to wait half an hour for a fish to bite, because we get to enjoy the peacefulness of just being out on the water."

"You are so weird."

"Well, what do you do for fun over in California?"

Jade takes a deep breath of the fresh air, something she has to admit is a luxury coming from Los Angeles. "I don't know. If I tell you that most people I know spend their free time surfing, shopping, and drinking, you'll say that they're all stereotypical California kids."

"They are," Beck says, which makes Jade roll her eyes. "But, you're not most people. I want to know what Jade West does for fun."

"You know what I do. I read, paint, and play piano."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

He nods thoughtfully. "I like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean...you're different. You are who you are and you don't apologize for it. It's refreshing."

Jade doesn't reply because, well, she's too busy staring at him. Him, Beck, this boy who—despite the fact that he's extremely guarded of himself—is so completely unafraid of telling her exactly what he likes about her. She's never had someone be so honest and real with her, and, if she's being honest, it's a turn-on.

She doesn't know how long they hold eye contact for. His brown eyes don't move until a tug comes from the other end of the fishing line, pulling both of them out of their staring contest.

"I think we've got a bite." Beck picks up the pole and begins reeling until the fish comes out of the water. When he pulls it in, he quickly detaches the hook from the squirming fish's mouth and tosses the animal back into the water.

Jade gives him a confused look. "Wait, what the hell is the point of fishing if you're not even going to keep the fish? Don't tell me you dragged me out to this lake—"

"Lake Eleanor," he interrupts.

"Lake Eleanor—just to catch fish and throw them back in."

Beck laughs. "That one was just small. Fish are only worth keeping if they're big enough to eat. Otherwise, there's no sense in killing them."

Jade watches as he re-baits the hook and casts another line. "Where are you from?" She asks before she can stop herself.

He looks up at her and swallows. "Phoenix."

Jade studies his expression for a few seconds. "You're lying."

"What?"

"You're a bad liar. Where are you from? And why are you lying to me about it? We're friends, aren't we?"

Beck's heart skips a beat. "We are?"

Jade suddenly feels her cheeks flush and she looks away from him. "Whatever," she says quickly.

He pauses. "I'm from Oklahoma."

She focuses her eyes on a bright green leaf floating in the water. "So, why are you here?"

It's quiet for a few seconds, but a pulling on the fishing line prompts Beck to turn his attention to the biting fish. While he begins to reel it in, he shifts his weight backwards and Jade panics at the tilt of the boat.

"Wait, why are you leaning?" Jade asks frantically, leaning the opposite direction.

"No, Jade, don't rock the boat—"

"You're the one leaning—"

"I'm trying to pull the fish—"

And then suddenly neither one of them is yelling anymore, but Jade is screaming, and the boat has tipped too far towards the left.

Beck surfaces first, and Jade follows seconds after. After he rubs the water out of his eyes, he uses the force of his body to push the boat back over.

"Oh my god," Jade pants. "This water is freezing!"

"I'm working on getting you out of it," Beck reminds her as he hops back into the boat. Jade swims over to where his hand is stuck out for her and, thanks largely to his help, pulls herself back inside.

"I'm soaking wet! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Me? What did I do—"

"You leaned over for the fish and rocked the goddamn boat! And now all of your stuff is gone and my clothes are completely drenched and—"

And suddenly her chatty lips are preoccupied, because he's pressed his own mouth against hers.

She's shocked at first, but his lips are warm and her clothes are cold and, really, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to kiss him back. She blocks out all other thoughts for the brief moments as she opens her mouth for his tongue. Since he's leaning forward, she leans in towards him to intensify the kiss. When she reaches her arms around his torso to pull his body closer, the boat tips again and he pulls away.

Slowly and carefully, he sits back into his seat across from her. His body is on fire and Jade's lips are tingling, and the silence that sets makes her worry that they've just created a huge awkwardness between them.

"Well," Beck says, meeting her eyes, "I guess Georgia won't be getting the fish I promised her for dinner."

Jade's lips crack into a smile and he begins to chuckle. "How are we going to explain this to her?"

"What? That we're soaking wet or that we managed to lose all of the fishing gear?"

"I don't know," she laughs. "All of it."

"We should probably just dry off, I guess."

So they do. And for an hour, they lay in the boat and let the sun dry their clothes, hair, and bodies. They make small talk, occasionally, but mostly they're just surprised by now easy it is to be quiet together.

When Beck paddles them back to shore, he helps her out and then loads the boat back into the trunk. By the time they're both inside the car, they're mostly dry and still laughing about a joke Beck had made ten minutes prior. As he closes the driver's side door, a silence hits again and they're staring at each other.

"Kiss me again."

Beck blinks twice to make sure that he isn't imagining the words. He lifts his hand to her cheek and she doesn't flinch, so he leans in and kisses her. It starts off slow, but then her hands are in his hair and his arm is pulling her body towards him. Without so much as giving it a second thought, she hooks her leg over his lap and ends up straddling him.

His hands slide to the spot where her jean shorts meet her tank top and she can feel his fingers on her skin. Without meaning to, she's pressing her body against his and sliding her palms up and down his chest. She has no idea how much time passes before she finally pulls her swollen lips away from his.

"What the hell are we doing?" Jade rests her forehead against his and tries to catch her breath.

"I don't know. I can't say I want to stop, though."

She rolls her eyes and ignores the smile that graces her lips by kissing him again. "We still have a few hours until dinner. How do you want to spend your day off, Oliver?"

He doesn't even bother taking his eyes off of her lips. "Honestly?"

"Shut up," she chuckles, and pushes on his shoulder.

"I was trying not to lie." Jade looks at him sideways and he shrugs. "I don't know. We could... We could go into town and get ice cream."

"Yeah," she nods. "Ice cream sounds good."

"But, first, we could kiss for a little longer." He leans in again and she kisses him back.

"Mhmm," she agrees against his mouth. "That's better."

Around three in the afternoon, Beck parks the truck in a lot near the town center. He fights the urge to hold Jade's hand because he doesn't want to push her boundaries, but he doesn't hesitate to open the door of Sam's Scoops for her.

He orders chocolate and she gets Oreo, and they sit together at a bench outside to eat it.

"Yours looks better than mine," Jade decides, after about ten minutes.

"I told you that nothing beats chocolate." He teasingly continues licking his scoop rather than offering her a bite, so she pushes the cone off to the side of his mouth. Ice cream slathers his cheek and she grins proudly. Before he can wipe it with a napkin, she kisses it off of his face.

"Mmm, mhmm." She licks her lips and sucks the rest of the ice cream from his cheek. "I was right. Yours is definitely better."

Beck spends the next five minutes covering the bulge in his pants. And, while he tries to distract himself with thoughts other than her, his mind is really all just JadeJadeJadeJadeJade.

Later that night at dinner, neither one of the teenagers has clued Georgia in on the events of their day. They'd been vague when telling her what they'd done, and were doing everything they could to resist playing footsie under the kitchen table.

"So, it looks like we'll be having a visitor this weekend."

Beck continues eating as usual, but Jade's head shoots up. "What? Who?"

Georgia gives her a wry look. "Your boyfriend called. He wants to come up to Burley see you."

Thoughts? ;)