The Perfect Guy: A Romance Novel Read online

  I skipped putting on my shoes and opened the door just a tiny bit to reveal James standing outside with an excited grin on his face.

  “What are you doing here, James? And how did you get my number?” I stage-whispered, casting a glance inside to make sure that I really hadn’t woken up my roomies.

  “I got your number from your application,” he answered in a normal tone, and I shushed him, quickly stepped outside and closing the door in hopes of muting his voice.

  “I thought the applications were not accessible to the volunteers,” I said and narrowed my eyes at him. I wanted to make it known to him that I didn’t fully trust him, and since we had been informed on our first day that the applications were only viewed by Mr. and Mrs. Kellen, it was very suspicious that he had gotten mine.

  James shrugged. “They’re not, but I didn’t get to see your application. I asked Mrs. Kellen for your number and she gave it to me after some serious persuasion. If I hadn’t participated in the program before, she never would have given it to me, but she trusts me to not use it in the wrong way.”

  “I would say waking someone up and demanding they come outside after midnight is definitely qualified as misusing it.”

  “You weren’t sleeping,” he continued, still with that smile on his face. The smile was open and trust-worthy. He looked so cute, and I really wanted nothing more than to give him my trust, but there was something that stopped me.

  “How did you know that?” I asked.

  “If you had been sleeping, you wouldn’t have answered me so quickly.”

  Nothing he said gave any reason for me to mistrust him. I heard Becca’s voice in my head, telling me to relax, so I took a deep breath and pushed it all into the back of my head. She was right after all.

  “Fine, but you didn’t answer my question about what you are doing here.”

  His smile widened. “I told you that I had a surprise.” He grabbed my hand in his and started to pull me down the hallway, but I went against him.

  “Wait, James, I don’t have my shoes.”

  He turned around and looked down at my bare feet. “Then go get them. I’ll wait right here.”

  After telling him yesterday that I hated surprises, James was well aware of that fact, but he had me curious as to what he had come up with this time, so I went back into my room and quickly got my shoes so that I could put them on outside in the hall. I also grabbed a sweater in case the surprise was outside.

  When I walked back out into the hall, I saw James standing by the stairs, his hands casually in his pockets while he shifted back and forth on his feet. He was the perfect picture of an open, neutral, at ease guy with nothing in the world weighing him down.

  I studied him for a second and that short moment told me everything I needed to know about the guy right now. He wasn’t twitchy or impatient. He was just waiting for me so that he could show me his surprise. I felt guilty for suspecting there was something bad going on with James. He was just a normal guy, and I needed stop treating him like he was going to betray me in some way. Eventually, he would do something that I interpreted as suspicious and warning bells would go off, but if I tried to see it from an outside perspective I would say that James only acted as any guy would if they were pressed for information they weren’t willing to give up just yet.

  I had known the guy for less than a week, and I needed to give him the benefit of a doubt. He would tell me about his past, he had promised me that, and so I would trust that he would keep his promise.

  I made myself known and walked up to James, feeling calmer in his presence than I’d felt that first day when he was still like a blank canvas to me.

  “All right, show me this surprise of yours,” I said when I reached him.

  “That’s the spirit.” He grabbed my hand again and interlinked our fingers. It felt rather intimate and I was about to let go when I felt his grip tighten.

  The warmth that radiated from where our skin touched spread through my entire body and settled in my chest. I had never imagined that a simple gesture such as hand holding could make me feel so good.

  I knew that my physical attraction to him made me more vulnerable to his sweet gestures and they would affect me more than if I had not felt anything for him. It worried me to a point, but I tried not to think of it. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t fall for James, but I had to accept that it might be inevitable.

  I barely knew him, but there had been instant attraction, and that very rarely happened to me. Although I was cautious, it felt as if I was supposed to let all of this happen because it would eventually lead to something good.

  I had never in my entire life connected with another person as I had with James. He brought a confidence out of me that I often had to force and sometimes hide behind. With him, it was effortless.

  “What has you in such deep thought?” I heard James ask and I shook myself out of my thoughts and met his gaze over his shoulder.

  I smiled. “Nothing.”

  He shrugged and continued pulling me behind him.

  The further we went, the more curious I got. When he lead me outside into the backyard, I started to walk next to him instead of behind him. He slowed his pace so that we could stroll side by side. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable, so we did not speak. We simply walked along the stone path that lead to a garden in the eastern corner of the school grounds.

  The August air was still warm enough for me to not feel cold in my sweater, even though it was late in the night.

  James led me out on the grass and that was when I saw it.

  A small ball of light resided next to what looked like a picnic blanket. My head whipped toward James’s and I looked at him questioningly.

  He gave me that warm crooked smile of his. “Don’t try to deny the fact that I ruined our time together yesterday. It wasn’t my intention to let my temper get the best of me. It’s just that my past is sensitive, and I acted with self-preservation. I’m so sorry, and I want to make it up to you.”

  I looked back toward the blanket and I couldn’t stop my eyes from tearing up. Once again, James showed how sweet and considerate he was; how completely opposite of George he was.

  Gently, he pulled me down on the blanket and we lay side by side, studying the clear night’s sky.

  We kept up small conversation. He told me more about his music, and further down the road we started in on the topic of my mother, which we had not broached yet. My relationship with my mother was not something I liked to talk about, but after my small epiphany in the hall outside of my room, I’d decided that this situation I was in and how it would evolve was entirely up to me. If I wanted James to entrust me with his past, I would have to entrust him with mine.

  “My mother has always blamed me for how her life was turned upside down, even though it was her rebellious act that created me. When I was a child, I was desperate for her acceptance, but I never received it.”

  “That’s horrible, Jenn. Nobody should have to grow up without a mother’s affection, much less with one’s contempt.” James was lying on his side and supporting his weight on his elbow and resting his head on his hand.

  I shrugged my shoulders the best I could from my position on my back. “My last attempt was George, but that relationship was doomed to fail from the start. It never felt right, and my mother’s instant acceptance of him should have told me that, but it felt so good to finally have done something right in her eyes.”

  I turned my head to the side and looked at James. “That was, however, until it all went too far. Soon, Mother started to pick on me, constantly reminding me that I was so lucky to have gotten a man like George.”

  James lowered his gaze and shook his head. “I am so sorry, Jenn.”

  I smiled and looked back up at the sky. “As good as that feels to hear, it’s not you who should apologize.”

  Chapter 10:

  The Start

  ”So how are things going with Mr. Volunteer? Still playing Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde with you?” Becca asked while we were on the phone.

  I laughed and stretched out my legs in front of me. I was sitting on a bench in the backyard, soaking up the last of the summer’s sun before fall would set in for real. I couldn’t believe that I had already been here for a month.

  “Things are actually going kind of perfect with James. He’s just so kind and considerate all the time. Sometimes I wonder if he’s even real.”

  “Has he told you about his past yet?”

  “No, but I’m not pressuring him either. I’m going to let him tell me in his own time; when he’s ready. It’s obvious something’s happened to him that’s very hard to relive. I don’t know. Maybe he fell in love here and she left him.”

  “I do like your new attitude. You’re not so skeptical with new people anymore,” Becca said and I could clearly hear her smile through the phone. “Maybe this experience is good for you after all.”

  “Yeah, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t think Renée really knew what she was sending me to. I mean, everyone is really nice, and nobody is of the robotic kind.”

  “Then I’m glad for you.”

  “Yes, but don’t forget that I’m still me. That will never change, Sissy!”

  “And I’m even happier with that! I don’t know what I would do if I lost my sister all the way over in Ohio. I believe I would have to get into my car, drive there, and give her a good kick in the ass.”

  “I will take you up on that promise. If you ever detect any change in me that does not sound right, you go ahead and do exactly what you just told me.”

  “And I always keep my promises.”

  “Only one of the reasons for why I love you.”

  I saw someone approaching in my periphery and I turned my head to see who it was. It was Peter Matthews, one of the other students in the program. He was walking with his hands in his pockets and his head bent down. I don’t think he’d seen me yet.

  I hadn’t really talked to Peter since we got here. I had mostly spent my time with Leah, Jessica, and James if I wasn’t in class, so I hadn’t gotten to know any of the other students yet. But Peter looked really depressed about something, and I decided to help him.

  “Hey, Sissy! I need to hang up. There’s something I have to do.”

  “Okay, talk to you tomorrow, babe!”

  We hung up just in time before Peter passed me.

  “Peter? Are you okay?”

  He startled and turned to me with wide eyes. He really hadn’t seen me while he was walking around in his own little bubble.

  “Jennifer! Whoa, I didn’t see you there.”

  “Yeah, I noticed, and call me Jenn by the way,” I said with an amused smile. “Are you okay?” I asked again.

  “Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Absolutely great!” he replied with a bit too much enthusiasm.

  I raised my eyebrow skeptically. “Mhm…Any other lie you want to tell me while you’re at it?”

  Peter rubbed his neck while looking at everything but me. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I sighed when I realized that this guy was one of those that wouldn’t talk about what bothered him willingly. Normally, I would have shrugged and let the guy go, but I really wanted to help him. We would live at this school together for another eleven months. It wouldn’t exactly hurt to try and gain some friends around here.

  “I might not know you that well, Peter, but I can tell when something’s bothering someone. I’m a good listener and I can give you an outside perspective on your problem,” I said seriously. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t joking. I patted the bench next to me. “Come on, I won’t tell anyone anything of what you tell me, I promise.”

  Peter hesitated a long time but finally sat down next to me heavily.

  James frowned while he stared at the couple through the window in Esme’s office. He was still very much listening to what his aunt was telling him, even though it didn’t look that way.

  One thing James was good at was multitasking and he had no problem with observing Jennifer having her conversation with Peter while taking in all the information Esme was spewing out.

  This was purely an update meeting. After a month, most clients wanted to see results, but Renée had specifically asked for the changes to be permanent and she was prepared to wait for the duration of the year if that was the necessary time for Jennifer to get accustomed to and grow into the “new her” as her mother always referred it to, and therefore James hadn’t really started with Jennifer just yet. He wanted her to trust him completely first so that she wouldn’t be suspicious when he started to reprogram her.

  “James, did you hear anything I just said?” Esme said from behind him.

  “Of course I did,” he said calmly without directing his gaze away from the young woman outside. She was stroking Peter’s back soothingly while he was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, shaking his head and talking about whatever inane things they were talking about.

  “Then what did I say?” Esme challenged.

  James smirked but remained staring out through the window. “Do you really want to play this game with me, Aunt Esme?”

  He heard the sigh that indicated that Esme was giving in and his smirk grew in size. He loved the feeling when he won the arguments he often found himself in with his aunt or father.

  “No, I don’t, James, but I would appreciate the respect of having you look at me while we talk.”

  He saw Jennifer rise from the bench and then gesture for Peter that they should walk together. James followed them with his eyes until he couldn’t see them from his position anymore, then he slowly turned toward the room and the woman currently looking at him impatiently while waiting for his reply.

  “If it’s so important to you.” He walked away from the window and sat down in the comfy couch that was positioned against one of the walls in the spacious and luxurious office.

  Esme opened her mouth to continue, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by the office door opening and Carlisle Kellen stepped inside.

  When he met his wife’s gaze, it was obvious he had not expected to find her in there with James. His expression quickly changed from the open and soft one he’d worn to a hard and sneering stare when it was directed towards his nephew.

  James and Carlisle didn’t have a good relationship and it had only gone for the worse when James started to participate in the program as a manipulator on Esme’s request.

  Carlisle hated that his wife and nephew used his school for such an immoral purpose, and he’d had countless fights with Esme about it. She had promised that there would be no more cases after last year, but when Renée Braun had written and asked for help with her daughter, Esme couldn’t refuse her best friend from high school.

  Carlisle had made an ultimatum after that. Jennifer would be the very last case or he would close the school. He didn’t want his program to be completely dragged in the mud if the truth of what his wife was doing ever came out.

  When Esme was about to talk to her husband, he put his hand up in the air and stopped her.

  “I don’t want to hear it, my love. What’s going on here is between you and James. I ask you to not involve me. I was hoping to have a chat with you, but as I can see that I’ve interrupted something, we’ll take that conversation some other time.”

  James chuckled from his place and Carlisle turned his eyes toward him. “Is something funny, James?”

  He shrugged with a very amused smile on his face. “Just that you’re always so formal when you talk, even to your own wife. It amuses me.”

  Carlisle didn’t honor James enough to reply. He only turned on his heel and left the office without another word.

  Esme sighed deeply and then glared at James. “Why do you always have to do that?”

  He pretended as if he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Do what?”

  “Aggravate him. Don’t you want to at least try to build a relationship
with him?”

  “Not really. We have never made it a secret that we don’t like each other, so why should I pretend otherwise?”

  Esme didn’t want anything more than to point out how good of friends the two men were when James was younger. Carlisle had adored James when he was born, but as the younger man grew and became more like he was in the present day, Carlisle started to pull away.

  However, Esme remained silent and fetched Jennifer’s file from her desk so that they could continue their meeting.

  “Peter, I really wish there was some way for me to help you, but I don’t know how,” I said as we walked around on the school grounds. Peter’s problem had not been what I expected at all.

  I had not been mistaken that first day when Lauren, Peter’s volunteer, appeared to dislike him at first sight. Apparently, Peter used to date Lauren’s cousin, but he had found out that she was cheating on him. When he broke up with her, she had told everyone that would listen that Peter had mistreated her as revenge.

  Her family, who had liked Peter a lot and treated him like one of them, stopped talking to him and ignored him completely after that.

  Peter lost his best friend and his job, since he was working for his ex-girlfriend’s father.

  Still wanting to know if it had been his fault that his girlfriend cheated on him, Peter applied for The PPP. When he saw Lauren that first day, he had wanted to be swallowed by the ground. It was just typical that they would be paired up.

  “It’s fine,” he said. “It feels good to have someone other than me know the truth.”

  I nodded and stopped walking. I placed my hand on Peter’s arm to stop him as well. “Peter, I want you to see me as a friend. You can come to me if you need to talk.”

  “Thank you, Jenn. That means a lot to me.”

  While we stood there, I felt the urge to tell him my story. Strangely enough, I trusted Peter even though I didn’t know him.

  “I didn’t apply for this program,” I confessed, and Peter looked at me questioningly. “My mother forged my application and sent me here.”