Finding Us (14 page)

I help Cade clean up the kitchen because Knox still needed to take a shower. He said that he had to run out to handle something but as soon as he got back we were leaving and to be ready.

“Everything ok with you and Knox?” Cade asks while he scrubs the frying pan.

“Yup.” I feel a little awkward because I still don’t exactly know what happened last night and I don’t know if everyone else knows and they just aren’t saying anything to me.

“JJ, seriously don’t let last night bother you. He’s still grieving.” Cade stares out the kitchen window towards the ocean. “He has been for damn near five years. We all keep hoping that someone is able to bring him back from that dark hole that he can’t seem to get out of.”

“Has he ever tried to talk to someone about it? Like someone he’s not close with that could maybe help him get over his parent’s death?”

Cade drops the frying pan in the sink and it clatters against the metal, “Fuck.”

I watch him grab the pan and scrub it harder than necessary. He turns the water on and mumbles something under his breath. Finally he rinses the pan and his hands. He wipes them on the dish towel I hold out for him.

Cade leans against the counter and crosses his feet. He stares down at his hands, “Do you know what happened to them?”

I lean my hip against the opposite counter and look at the window. “Only that his parents died in a car crash.”

Cade lets out a loud sigh and throws the towel on the counter. “Look, if he hasn’t told you the story yet there is a reason. I’m not going to go behind Knox’s back and tell you but I will tell you this - be patient with him JJ. Other than a few meaningless screws he hasn’t even had any kind of interest in a girl.”

I nod and try to keep my emotions in check. I don’t want Cade to see how this is all starting to affect me. “Well, thanks for breakfast. I’m going to head back up to my room and read while I wait for Knox.”

Cade grabs me by my wrist and pulls me into a hug. “Just hang in there JJ.”

“I’m gonna try.” I whisper before walking upstairs.

I’ve been up in Knox’s room reading for a while before someone comes knocking on the door. “Come in.” I yell.

Rex walks in wearing his swim trunks and a towel wrapped around his shoulders. “Knox is on his way back, I just hung up with him.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know.” I get up off the bed and walk over to my bag and grab my purse.

“Jas, I’m sorry about what happened last night.” Rex says sincerely.

I don’t answer him right away, I’m a little hurt he hadn’t said anything in my defense last night. “Where’s Summer?”

Rex groans, “I should have said something but I was waiting for Knox to fix it.”

“It’s fine Rex.”

Rex storms over to me and grabs me by the shoulders and turns me to face him. “I hate that ‘I’m fine’ shit Jas. Summer says that bullshit and it’s like girl code for you’re an asshole.”

I try to hold back the laughter that is bubbling up but I can’t help it. “I see that Summer is training you well.”

Rex chuckles and hugs me to his chest. I wrap my arms around him. “Love ya Jas.”

“Right back at you.”

Rex kisses the top of my head. “I’ll see you later. Summer is waiting for me downstairs.”

“See ya later.”

Later that afternoon, Knox and I are on our way to wherever it is he is taking me. He hasn’t given me any clues, I’ve tried to be sneaky about the way I ask questions to see if I can get it out of him but he gives nothing away. I settle into Knox’s car and reach for the radio to find something good to listen to. Finally, finding something nice and slow, I sit back and enjoy the ride.

I must have dozed off on the short ride over because Knox runs his fingers up and down my arm to wake me. “Jasmine,”

I stretch my arms above my head as far as I can go since we’re still in the car. “Sorry, guess I was a little tired.”

“You sure you’re up for this? I can take you back and let you take a nap.”

I shake my head and reach for the door handle, “No, I’m good. Let’s go.”

When I slip out of the car, Knox waits at the back of the car for me. We walk down the aisle of the parking lot and Knox slyly slips his pinky finger around mine. A sign comes into focus the closer we get,
Brookgreen Gardens.
The sign is surrounded by boldly colored flowers and just past the sign is a horse sculpture in the middle of a pond.

“So this isn’t a typical place to take someone on a date but I thought you would like it.” Knox swallows hard. “It’s beautiful and it’s something completely different from the city life that you are used to.”

I smile, “Sounds nice. Lead the way Mr. Romeo.”

Knox chuckles and bumps his shoulder against mine. We walk up to the ticket counter and Knox pays the entry fee for the both of us. We continue down a walkway to a gift shop. We glance around for a few minutes and then proceed outside. Knox and I spend a few hours walking around to each section to find lush landscape, stunning foliage, magnificent sculptures, and delightful water fountains and bigger than life oak tree trees. This is something you can’t put into words; you just have to experience it. There is so much history here in these gardens.

As we wander around Knox snakes up behind me and covers my eyes with his hands.

“What are you doing?” I say as I stop walking, not wanting to trip.

“This is one of the reasons why I wanted to bring you here. Once we get inside I’ll remove my hands but I want to see your face when I do.” Knox kisses my ear. “We are going to take about another twenty or so steps and then stop. I need you to keep your eyes closed when I open the door though okay?”

“Okay.” I say as I try to contain the excitement of what he’s so eager to show me.

Walking while someone is covering your eyes from behind is no easy task. I feel like I tripped and stumbled the whole way. I knew I wouldn’t fall because Knox would never let that happen.

“Last step, I’m going to move my hands now. No peeking.”

I hold my hands up in surrender and wait further instructions from Knox.

“Take two steps and then take a step up.”

I comply and when I go to step up Knox reaches for my hand and helps me so I don’t trip. I hear him shuffling around me, “Stop here.”

My hands begin to sweat so I wipe them on my skirt. The smell of sweet nectar and summer flowers invade my senses. It’s warm, like the sun is shining down on me, and I hear a waterfall off in the distance.

“Open your eyes, Jas.”

My eyes take a second to adjust to the lights but when they do I’m in awe of the beautiful scene before me. Its paradise filled with all types of tropical plants but that’s not what caught my attention. It’s the hundreds of butterflies fluttering around the entire place.

“Wow.” I spin around. “I’ve never been to anything like this before in my life.”

“I thought you would like it here. Every time I see the wings on your back it makes me think of this place.” I glance in Knox’s direction and see a smile creep across his handsome face.

I want to take the time and get to the bottom of Knox. He’s so complicated to me right now. I want to know what’s eating at him and what he’s battling nearly every minute of every day. He has built these walls so high around his heart it’s hard to get close to him. It’s like everyone he knows is kept in different compartments of his heart. Some have a shorter wall to catapult over than the others.

I take a step closer to a cute little butterfly, all purple but with a hint of blue and outlined in black, it’s perched on a flower near my left leg. I move as slow as possible because I don’t want it to fly away but I just want to get a little closer. As I’m mid-step the butterfly starts flapping her wings and takes off. I watch as she flutters away and lands on a tree just a few feet away. She joins about fifty other butterflies that look like just her. This is an image I want to capture on my phone and save as my background. I reach into my purse to retrieve my phone but I spot Knox in the corner of my eye and see he’s taking pictures already.

I smile at him. I love that he thought of taking pictures so that I could enjoy the scene more around me.

Knox shrugs his shoulder, “I couldn’t help it. You should see the ones I got.”

I can’t wait to see all that he’s taken. I follow the path a little ways down to a bench that is right in front of a cascading waterfall that flows down to a pool of water filled with lily pads. A few butterflies are perched on the pads, drinking the water. Knox takes a seat next to me after an older couple walk past.

Neither of us talks for a while. I’m captivated by the whole scene that surrounds us. Brightly colored flowers, tall trees with vines wrapped around them and all the different kinds and colors of the flowers. Some are darker, red, black, deep purple while others are lightly colored like yellow, white, orange, pink, and blue.

Knox reaches over and pushes the braid that’s lying over my shoulder to my back and leans over to kiss my exposed shoulder. My eyes close and I want to wrap our time up here in a jar and carry it with me everywhere I go. Everything in this moment is perfect. I’m happy and content which hasn’t happened in some time. I’m always so guarded around everyone except Summer. The reason behind my wing tattoos is because when I finally decided to get out from under Mom and Dad I wanted to find my wings and be my own person. I wanted to grow, change and find my way in life.

“Jas,” Knox says so low it was barely auditable.

I open my eyes to the sound of his voice only to feel a tickle on my right shoulder. I don’t move an inch because I know what it is. Out of the corner of my eye I can see a beautiful black butterfly with four spots, white and then blending into purple, on each side of the wings. The end of the wings are all jagged but the intensity of the colors draw away from them.

Knox is able to slip away as the butterfly just sits perched on my shoulder, lightly fluttering her wings. I hear the sound of Knox’s camera snapping pictures as he walks around capturing different angles. I turn my head inch by inch so I can get a better look at the beauty sitting on my shoulder.

A lady who’s wearing a uniform with a patch that shows that she works here comes over to my other side and wipes something cool on the top of my left hand which is resting on my thigh. When she’s finishes she simply walks away.
What the hell was that about?

Minutes later the butterfly sitting on my shoulder flies away and another tiny white butterfly lands on the top of my right hand in the exact spot that the employee rubbed whatever it was on my skin.

Knox takes his seat beside me again. “It’s sugar water. The butterflies love it.” He nods to the sign in front of the waterfall. “I read it on that.” Knox adds after I give him a look of disbelief that he would know such a fact.

I lift my hand in the air and the butterfly takes off to a nearby flower. I place my hand on Knox’s leg and give it a little squeeze. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He places his large hand on top of mine, “You’re welcome, Beautiful. I’m glad you like it.”

Knox stands and holds his hand out to me, “One more surprise, but first, are you hungry?” At the mention of food my stomach growls loudly. Knox laughs and leads me out of the butterfly house. The sun is just starting to set as we make our way to the restaurant which is on the other side of the garden.

We are seated after a short wait and we ordered wine with our meals. Knox hands me over his phone so that I can see all the shots he captured. As I tap the power button, his phone lights up and he already has a picture saved as his background. It’s the one where the butterfly was perched on my shoulder and I’m looking straight ahead so you only see my profile.

“That’s the best one I think.” Knox says as he brings his glass of wine up to his lips.

He got a lot of really good ones. I hand him his phone back and he says he’ll email them all to me. Eventually our dinner comes and we eat while exchanging stories about Summer and Rex. We stay clear of our own backgrounds. We’re having such a great time and I don’t want to ruin our date.

After Knox pays for our meal he leads us back out of the restaurant. When we step outside I turn to him to thank him for dinner and the amazing night but my words freeze at the sight before me.

Everything within eyes view is glowing, glimmering and twinkling. We walk around the side of the restaurant, the opposite way we came. There is an old oak tree that has lights cascading from the branches giving it a weeping willow effect. The pathways are all lit up with luminaries, there are Chinese lanterns strung from tree to tree in some areas. Every pond has floating candles and all of the water fountains are colored with lights under the water. Archways are decorated with lights and in some areas the beds of ivy have lights scattered throughout. Some trees are wrapped in white lights and some even have spotlights placed around the trunks giving the tree a glowing look.

Once I’ve had a few minutes to take everything in, I look back to Knox who’s just standing back with an adorable smile on his face. “It’s memorizing, Knox. I can’t believe places like this exist.”

He pulls me close to his side, “I know, you go from living in a city that never sleeps to something so peaceful and quiet. I love the city life, I do, but this is my
home
. Here in South Carolina, where places like this exist.”

We walk around taking in all the lights. Our stroll is coming upon a huge fountain with floating candles and Knox halts me with an iron grip around my waist. He stares so intently into my eyes, and then rests his forehead against mine. “I’m trying so hard Jas, so hard.”

I swallow hard, “How’s that working out for you Champ?” I lick my lips, “Because I’ve tried and I’m getting nowhere.”

Knox mutters, “Fuck it,” before his rich, plump lips descend on mine.