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Chapter Five
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Two days pass by after Charisma's death, and Jade has barely left her room. She refuses to talk about the horse or what had happened with Jordan—so Beck's attempt to ask her what her strange, motionless reaction to her (now ex-) boyfriend's actions meant completely fails.
Jade, for her part, is content to be sad. She sits in her bedroom, working on her painting of Charisma, and only usually comes downstairs for meals. Georgia is worried sick, which is why, when Beck offers a proposition, she's quick to give her approval.
On the third day of seeing Jade in her misery, Beck comes home in the afternoon with something new. He walks upstairs to her bedroom, where her door is creaked open and she's on her bed reading.
Gently, he sets the two-week-old Dalmatian puppy down inside the room.
The puppy, much to Beck's surprise, doesn't make any noise or even move towards Jade at all. He silently sniffs the floor around him, and Jade doesn't even notice his presence. Beck pushes open the door a little more to stand in the doorway and clears his throat to get Jade's attention.
She looks up and her eyes go from Beck's face to the tiny puppy at his feet, which is when she gasps. This startles the animal, who then backs up into Beck's leg. He laughs and scoops the puppy into his arms, and then walks over to sit on her bed.
"I thought maybe when I set him down, he'd get excited and run over to you, but I guess he's a shy little guy."
Jade's eyes widen and she sets her book to her side. "He's mine?"
"If you want him. I cleared it with Georgia, so I went to Mr. Robinson's house and asked if he might, by chance, be looking to find a home for any of the pups. And I ended up with this guy."
She's looking at him in disbelief, as if it were unfathomable that anyone could ever do something like this for her. Beck sets the puppy in her arms, and she wills herself not to tear up. The dog instantly cuddles against her chest and she laughs and looks up at Beck, who has that same, lopsided grin on his face.
"Thank you," she says, pulling her eyes away from her new puppy for just a few seconds to meet Beck's eyes.
"I know this doesn't totally fix the pain of losing Charisma, but I just thought maybe this would help because, well, dogs are cute, and I know you mentioned how much you loved Mr. Robinson's puppies and—"
"Beck," she cuts him off.
"Yeah?"
"I love him. Thank you."
Beck smiles and they both look back down at the puppy in her arms. He's sniffing her shirt, so she sticks her hand out for him to smell and feel.
"I should probably go to the pet store to get him stuff. Do you want to come?"
Beck's face lights up and Jade knows she doesn't regret asking him. "Yeah, I do."
By the end of their hour-long trip at PetCo, Jade's basket (which is being pushed by Beck) is stocked and Beck is looking at her amusedly. "So, uh, how are you planning on paying for this?"
"My mom set up my checking account a while ago so that she could put money on my card that would entertain me. One time, when she was drunk, I convinced her to give me access to my trust fund." Beck raises his eyebrows. "I know. But I'm responsible. Other than a few emergency shopping sprees, I haven't spent a penny of it."
"And this, of course, qualifies as an emergency," he adds. "After all, what would little Atticus do without his—" Beck pauses to pick up one of the many items in Jade's basket— "Doggie Digital Camera...?"
"First of all," Jade says, "this is so practical! You attach it to his collar and it can take pictures from his view!" Beck looks at her sideways and she rolls her eyes. "And secondly, we are not naming him Atticus."
Beck almost asks about her usage of 'we' rather than 'I', but he decides to leave it as is. "Aw, why not? Atticus is the name of my favorite character from the last book I read."
"Atticus Finch?"
"Yeah," he says hesitantly, suddenly worried that he had gotten the wrong character's name.
Something tells Jade that asking him if the last book he'd read is To Kill a Mockingbird will only end in his embarrassment, seeing how most people read that book at the age of twelve or thirteen. She doesn't know if that means he hasn't read a book in four years or if he's a slower than average reader, but she keeps her mouth shut regardless.
"He's my favorite, too," she says instead. "But I don't like the name for a dog." They arrive at the check-out counter and Beck begins unloading the contents of the cart.
"What a precious puppy!" The woman behind the counter coos. "He looks brand new!"
"He is," Jade replies, petting the dog's soft fur.
"Is that one of Joe Robinson's new puppies?"
"Yes, ma'am, it is," Beck answers proudly. "He was looking for homes for them, so we happily took this guy off his hands."
"Well, I might have to get one myself. He's just precious."
Beck smiles and Jade swipes her card to pay for the items, and the two of them head back out to the truck for the trip home. When they walk through the front door, Georgia is busy watering the plants on the window above the kitchen sink. She turns around to see Beck and Jade walk through the door, and grins at the sight of them.
"Look at this little puppy." She walks over to them and carefully takes the dog out of Jade's arms. "Oh, you're such a cutie!" She kisses his face and strokes his head. "Alright, you two," she says, more sternly as she addresses the teenagers in front of her, "let's talk rules. If the dog pees in the house," she begins, and both of them let out a breath of relief, "you two are in charge of it."
Georgia continues with a few more house rules for the dog, and then hands him back to Jade so they can take him upstairs. While Beck holds him, Jade unpacks their new items from the pet store. After grabbing a few toys, they head outside to find a soft spot in the grass to sit down in.
"He needs a name," Beck points out as Jade sets him between them in the grass.
"It can't be cliché, like Domino or Spot. That's stupid."
"Agreed. Why don't we play with him some and see what his personality is like?" Beck takes the bone-shaped rope and wiggles it towards the puppy's mouth. "Here, little guy."
The dog sniffs it and promptly decides he's not interested. "What about this?" Jade asks, holding a squeaky chew toy in front of him. She pushes on it and it makes a squeaking noise, causing the puppy to jump backwards. When he does, he trips over his feet and rolls backwards, sending Beck and Jade into a fit of laughter. "Oh god, poor guy. He's a klutz."
Beck grins and puts him back on his feet, and then holds out a soft, noiseless, plush tennis ball to the puppy. He shakes it in front of his little face, and then throws it five feet in front of him. "Go get it, bud!"
The puppy eagerly runs after the ball, but gets so excited that he races past it and then trips again on his effort to turn around. By the time he gets back to the ball, he sniffs it a few times and accidentally hits it with his nose. The ball rolls over, and the puppy quickly scampers back into Jade's lap. "We should name him Coward," Jade teases, and cuddles the dog close to her.
"What if we named him something after that's not cowardly?"
"Like?"
"Like... Tiger. He could be a little Tiger."
"Tiger? Beck, a blade of grass could scare him. Besides, I don't think it's exactly normal to name a dog that will have a hundred spots after something with stripes."
"Yeah, but normal's boring."
Jade thinks for a minute and then lifts the dog to be at her eye level. "Alright. Tiger." She kisses his head and sets him back down. The puppy crawls over to Beck, who picks him up and puts the ball back to his face.
"Look, Tiger." He dangles the plush ball in front of him and then throws it. "Go get it!"
Tiger takes off running and fumbles over the ball before finally landing in front of it. When he still doesn't understand the concept of picking it up in his mouth, Beck crawls over to him and helps him wedge it into his jaw. "There you go! Now run back to Jade!"
Between Beck's pointing and Jade slapping her legs to get the puppy's attention, Tiger manages to understand what he's supposed to do. He runs over to Jade and crashes clumsily into her legs, so she picks him up and cheers for him by kissing his face. "Good boy!"
And Beck realizes that, for the first time in since before Jordan came, Jade is smiling. It's even better than he thought it would be.
That night after his shower, Beck knocks on Jade's cracked door. When she calls for him to come in, he pushes the door open and sees her in her bed. She's sitting up, and using one hand to hold a book and the other to stroke her sleeping puppy. When she looks up at Beck, she pushes her glasses onto her head and gives him her full attention.
"Hey," he says softly. "I just wanted to make sure you're all good with him."
"Yeah. All good here. You jealous that he's sleeping with me?" Right after she says it, she realizes the double entendre in her words and instantly blushes. "Not because you want to sleep with me," she stammers. "I mean, because, I figured you'd want him to sleep with you. In your bed. Obviously."
He grins, because something about seeing this girl—who is always so put together and eloquent—stumble over her words is just adorable. She's still blushing, and he's not even sure that she knows it.
"Yeah," he answers her original question simply. "I am jealous. Goodnight, Jade."
"Goodnight."
Seconds after he's left and she's trying to catch her breath, he reappears in the doorway. "Oh, by the way: if you need to take him outside in the middle of the night and don't want to go alone, just wake me up."
"No, Beck, it's—"
"Seriously. Wake me up."
Jade hesitates, but then nods, and then finds herself almost hoping that her puppy will have to pee sometime in the next eight hours.
Three days after Tiger has joined their lives, Beck is busy organizing the tool shed. Since Jade is still on her week off from work, she's sitting on the floor of her room with Tiger. They're playing with his favorite toy, the plush tennis ball, and Jade is trying to help the puppy get the hang of the game of fetch. It still seems that, unless Beck is there to pick up the ball in his own mouth and visually show him, Tiger doesn't get it.
On top of that, Jade is bored. She's spent the last three days with Beck and Tiger, and, without having to go into work or having Beck to hang out with, she feels more lonely than she has in a while—which is why she finds herself carrying Tiger downstairs and walking with him out to the tool shed.
Although she had bought a leash at the pet store, she hasn't had to use it yet. Tiger's only walks have been on Georgia's property, and, even then, he won't stray more than two feet away from her or Beck. That is, unless he's running to go get a ball they'd thrown, after which he comes sprinting back and usually tumbles into their legs.
When they reach the tool shed, Jade knocks on the wall to get Beck's attention. As soon as Tiger spots Beck, he races over and Beck picks him up before he can crash. "Hey, little guy," he laughs as the puppy bites playfully at his hand. "Someone's excited."
"I thought I'd come see how things are going," Jade says, leaning against the wall.
He grins. "I'm glad you did. How's your morning been?"
"Honestly? Kind of boring. I thought maybe, once you're done with this, you might want to help him play fetch? He still doesn't get it."
"I'd love to. The only other thing I have to do today is go out to feed the horses."
She nods, steps further inside, and hops up to sit on a construction table. "Until you're done, mind if I keep you company?"
"That would be great." Beck sets Tiger down on the floor so he can play with his ball, and gets back to work. "So, I was thinking about maybe getting a job," he says as he moves to organize the power tools.
"A job? Don't you have a job?"
"Well, yeah. I've just been thinking lately that I need to make some money. I mean, don't get me wrong, working for Georgia is fantastic. She saved my life, and I want to keep working for her. But, if I don't eventually start making real cash, I'll be dependent on her forever."
Jade nods in understanding and looks down to check on Tiger. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Anything I can. I'll work at a mechanics shop; I'll be a bagger at a grocery store; I'll—"
"No," she interrupts, "Beck, I mean: what kind of job do you want to have? Like, one day? For a career."
Beck doesn't answer, and laughs to himself for a second before turning to face her. "You'll think it's stupid."
"Aw, come on. Tell me."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Alright. Well, I want to... I want to be a musician. And I don't care if I never make it to be super famous. I just want to play at a coffee shop, or something. You know? To be a regular performer at a coffee shop. Does that make me sound stupid?"
Instead of giving into his insecurity, Jade just looks at him amusedly. "The coffee shop should have books," she adds. "Lots and lots of books. A whole wall. And people can just check them out and read them anytime they want."
Once Beck realizes the game she's started, his heart beats faster and he continues with it. "Dogs would be allowed. The coffee shop should even sell dog treats."
"I'm thinking you should just own this coffee shop. That would be more fun."
"Okay," Beck agrees while he wipes the shelves clean. "I own it. So: books, dogs, and music. What else?"
"You're only missing one thing."
He grins. "Art?"
"Yup. You have to have a big mural on one wall. And then twinkling Christmas lights surrounding the stage area. Paintings everywhere, too. And rugs. Every homey coffee shop needs good rugs."
"It sounds like the perfect place," he admits. "But you'd have to help me run it. You'd be good at that."
"What makes you think that?"
"You're smart and creative, the perfect combination for someone running a coffee shop. Plus," he adds without looking up from the shelves he's cleaning, "no one says no to a pretty girl."
"Shut up."
"I'm just being honest," he laughs, and then notices that Tiger is at his feet. He scoops him into his arms. "Don't you agree, Tig?" Beck kisses the puppy's head and Jade doesn't know if she's ever seen something so sexy.
It takes another hour of work, but the shed is cleaned and organized and Beck is proud of it. He walks with Jade and Tiger out to the stables, where Jade hasn't been since Charisma's death. Before she can say that she doesn't want to go in, Beck speaks.
"Hey, one of us should probably stay out here to hold Tiger. The horses would definitely freak him out."
Jade nods, wishing she had the chops to thank him, and he sees the relief in her eyes. She picks up the puppy to hold in her arms and he snuggles into her chest. "I'll be done soon," Beck promises, "and then we can work on his fetch game." He smiles and reaches over to pet Tiger's fur playfully, and then heads into the barn.
While Jade sits with Tiger in the grass, she watches Beck lead each of the three horses into the pen. He dumps their hay and vitamin supplements into their feeding buckets, and then fills their trough with fresh water. Sad as it is, Jade is glad that she doesn't have to see Charisma's new foals. The Bay horses, which look exactly like their mother did, had been given by Georgia to an old friend who offered to provide full-time care for them. Without a mother to feed from, the twins would require much more care to ensure they receive the proper amount of nutrition.
When Beck returns after having finished his job, he finds Jade laying in the grass with Tiger on her stomach. He looks down at her and grins. "You look comfortable."
"I am. It's nice to just lay."
"Look at you!" Beck sits down next to her. "You're learning how to relax!"
She hits his shoulder and he moves to lie next to her. They don't say anything for a few minutes, and Beck is more tempted to make a move than he ever has been with her. The funny thing is, although they've kissed, he's never held her hand.
And he wants to.
Really, really badly.
Just as he's getting the confidence to grab the hand that lies a mere two inches away from his own, Jade turns her head towards him. "So, what do you say we teach the clumsiest dog in the world to play fetch?"
Beck snaps back into the moment and nods. "Let's do it."
"Alright, Tig." She sits up and places the puppy at her feet. "Let's try this again." When she throws his plush ball, Tiger scampers after it and ends up rolling over the toy and causing Beck and Jade to burst into laughter.
"Look!" Beck gets the puppy's attention and picks up the ball in his own teeth. When Beck drops it, Tiger wrestles it into his own jaw and looks up at Beck expectantly. "Now take it back to Jade!"
"Come here, Tiger!" Seeing her, the puppy takes off in that direction and ends up back in Jade's lap after running into her legs. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't know how to stop himself," she laughs. "He just runs until he crashes."
Beck chuckles and pats his knees for Tiger to come back over. When he does, Beck has the puppy drop the ball in his hand. "Let's see how he stops if there's nothing to run into." Once he knows Tiger is watching, he fakes throwing the ball so that the dog chases after it.
Tiger keeps running for about twenty feet until he rolls over his legs and tumbles forward. "Yep." Jade nods her head. When Tiger gets back up onto his feet, he looks around to see that the ball is nowhere in sight. "Come here, Tig!" She calls to her puppy, who goes running back towards her. She drops the ball in front of him and he's ecstatic, wildly jumping around the toy until he can get it back in his mouth. When he does, he runs over to Beck and delivers it proudly.
"Good boy!" Beck takes Tiger into his arms and scratches him all over like the puppy loves. "Now we just have to teach you how to stop running without falling over yourself." He rubs some dirt off of Tiger's ear and laughs. "You need a bath, too."
"Yeah, I haven't exactly done that yet," Jade tells him.
"Let's go put him in my tub. He'll love it."
"Or the water could totally scare him," she points out.
"Yeah, but a bathtub is better than a hose."
Twenty minutes later, they're running cool bath water in Beck's tub and both of them have their feet in. Once they've filled it just slightly, Jade sets Tiger down and he panics. "Oh, no. It's okay. It's okay, baby." She picks the whimpering puppy right back up and sets him in her lap to cuddle him. "I should get in with him," she tells Beck.
"In your clothes?"
Jade shrugs. "I'm kind of already wet." Slowly, she slides into the tub with Tiger in her arms, and he's still frightened by the water. "It's okay. Shhh." She looks up at Beck. "Hand me his ball."
Beck gives it to her and she puts it in front of Tiger for him to play with. The puppy, having remembered their game from earlier, puts it in his mouth and then looks around for Beck. "Come here, boy!" He calls, but Tiger just looks at him sideways. Without thinking twice, Beck hops into the tub to sit across from Jade. Tiger instantly runs over to him, seemingly forgetting about the water under his paws. "There you go! See, bath time isn't so bad."
Jade grins as Beck begins wetting the puppy's fur to start cleaning him. She pulls out Tiger's dog shampoo and squirts some into both her and Beck's hands, and both of them wash him with soft massages.
Beck looks up at Jade and laughs. "Think we're going to have to do this every time we bathe him from now on?"
"Oh, hell no. But if we do, we're wearing swimsuits."
"Can you imagine Georgia walking in to see both of us in the same tub in our swimsuits? She might pass out."
Jade chuckles and stands up to get out of the tub, after which she sits on the mat and waits for Beck to join her. When he does, they carefully dry the clean puppy with one of Beck's towels. As they sit together, shoulder-to-shoulder against the bathtub, Beck pets (a now very calm) Tiger.
Jade, almost without hesitation, leans her head on Beck's shoulder. He gets chills that he hopes she can't feel, and stays quiet with her for a minute. Until,
"Jade?"
She lifts her head to look up at Beck, and he kisses her.
It's not like their previous kisses, which had gone from soft to heated within seconds. Their hands aren't roaming each other's bodies because he's holding Tiger, but she manages to pull her hand up to his cheek.
When they pull away, Jade leaves her palm against his skin.
"I've wanted to do that again since the last time I did."
She doesn't know what to say, so she kisses him again and rubs her hand back into his hair. This time, Tiger lets out a sleepy snore that causes both of them to break apart, laughing quietly.
"Are we really doing this?" Jade asks him, once they've both sobered.
"If you're in, I'm in." He pauses. "Will Georgia kill us?"
She bites her lip. "We can't tell her."
"What? That's crazy; she'll definitely find out."
"No, she won't. We'll just...act how we always act."
"Jade, we have to tell her."
"No. Not right now. If you have any hopes of this working—whatever this is—she can't know."
"Okay," he sighs. "But, eventually."
"Maybe."
Beck settles with this for now, and goes back to smiling. "If I say I like kissing you, will you hit me?"
"Yes."
"No, you won't. I'm holding your sleeping puppy." Jade rolls her eyes. "I do like kissing you." Jade elbows him anyways, and Tiger doesn't budge from his nap.
"Ha."
Two days after, Beck approaches Georgia with a topic he knows he has to discuss with her. He's been meaning to for a while—but now that he's started a relationship with Jade, he can't put it off any longer.
Jade had taken Tiger out for a walk that morning, so Beck sits at the table with Georgia and their coffee mugs.
"You look nervous," she informs him.
"I am."
"Don't be, darling. It's just me. What's up?"
Beck takes a deep breath and, when he starts saying the words he needs to say, he realizes how scarily relieving (if also terrifying) it feels to say them out loud. They talk for thirty minutes, and, by the end of it, Georgia's hand is atop his and her eyes are red from stubborn tears.
"So," he says softly, "in case I ever need to leave suddenly and I don't get the chance to explain, I wanted you to know why. I hope this doesn't put you in any kind of danger—"
"Don't you worry about that for a second." She shakes her head solemnly. "I am so, so sorry, honey. I know I sound like a broken record, but I am."
"It's okay."
"Thank you for telling me. Are you going to tell—"
"No. I would rather her not know. If you don't mind—"
"I won't say a word. This is your story, not mine."
"Thank you, Georgia. I guess, now, you can see. You saved my life."
Before she can reply, Jade comes through the front door with Tiger in her arms. "Hey, Beck, I think—Oh. What are you two talking about?" She glares at Beck and begins plotting ways to kill him if he'd broken his promise and told her grandmother, but Georgia takes a sip of her coffee casually.
"Beck and I were just talking about how he wants to get a job. Had he told you he wants one?"
"He had, actually." She breathes a sigh of relief and sets Tiger down to go to his water bowl. "What do you think about it?"
"I told him it's a spectacular idea. Any business would be lucky to have him as an employee."
Beck notices that the suspicious look in Jade's eyes is gone, and his secret is safe once more.
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