One Wild Night

Chapter 317 Romantic First Meeting (4)

　　Taking a deeper look at her conversations with Harry now, Jade had to admit that Sonia had a point. Someone like Harry would never have possibly just come on to her directly that he liked her, especially not when he had met her boyfriend, and they were all under the same roof. Harry was simply too much of a gentleman to cross certain boundaries.

”Even if I hadn’t missed all the clues, I doubt that anything could have happened between us. I was really in love with Todd, so even if I saw the clues, I would have either ignored them or just told Harry off,” Jade said, and Sonia sighed.

”You can’t be so sure about that. You were attracted to him too,” Sonia reminded her. 

”By now, you should know that being in a relationship doesn’t stop you from being attracted to others. You only have to be mindful of the things you do with that attraction,” Jade pointed out.

”Why not say that to me when I’m standing in the dock, and you are my prosecutor after your brother ends up in the accident and emergency ward if I catch him being attracted to any other girl?” Sonia said, and Jade giggled. 

”C’mon, don’t be dramatic. Sometimes you can’t help these things. No matter how much you love your partner, there are more good-looking people than your partner…”

”I’m afraid I don’t agree with you on that. Yes, there will always be more good-looking people than my partner, but I personally think that when you’re in love with a person, every other person becomes unattractive to you. Yes, they can be good-looking and all that sexy shit, but you just don’t give a fuck about them enough to sit up all night admiring the color of their eyes,” Sonia said, and Jade raised a brow.

”So are you trying to say that you don’t think I loved my ex? Or that you think I would have cheated on him with Harry if I had the chance?” Jade asked in a slightly defensive tone.

”Well, I don’t know. That’s a question for you to answer now that your ex is no longer in the picture. But I should also point out that you said your ex was very clingy and possessive, yet you were the same person who offered to take Harry on a stroll around the neighborhood. He didn’t ask. You offered. And I think you offered because a part of you wanted to spend more time with him the next day. Or what were you thinking? That your clingy ex was going to like to see you with the same guy that caught you romance novel style and broke your fall? Or maybe you made Harry the offer just so that you could make your boyfriend jealous,” Sonia said, and Jade’s brows pulled together as she shook her head. 

”No. Harry was Tom’s best friend, and I saw him like an elder brother or something. Don’t forget that it was his first visit to my house. Todd didn’t want to step out of the house, but I wanted to. Harry was good company, so I offered to show him around the neighborhood. It wasn’t a big deal, and it had nothing to do with me not loving my ex or anything. And honestly, I wasn’t even thinking of Todd when I made the offer or while we talked. I only remembered him when Harry asked about him,” Jade said defensively, and Sonia cleared her throat.

”Did you just hear what you said?” Sonia asked with an I told you so smile, “You weren’t thinking of your boyfriend, who was just probably about a hundred feet away from there. Don’t you think you would have kissed Harry if he had made a move considering that you didn’t even remember your boyfriend’s existence? Don’t be in haste to defend yourself. Just think first before you answer,” Sonia said with a knowing smile.

Jade had a frown on her face as she thought about it. She hated that Todd was a cheat, a manipulator, and a liar. She didn’t want to be on the same level as him. She would never have cheated on him in any way with Harry. She was at least sure of it. Not just because she wasn’t a cheat but also because the Harry she had come to know would never have made that move, and maybe that was one of the reasons she was attracted to him.

Jade shook her head, “I wouldn’t have kissed Harry. We weren’t even friends then. We were just two people in a backyard having a conversation,” Jade said, and Sonia nodded thoughtfully. 

”Am I to pretend that five minutes ago you didn’t say he was like an elder brother or something, and now you’re saying you were just two people in the backyard having a conversation?”

”An elder brother, two people in the yard, what difference does it make?” 

”You were flirting with him, telling him how pretty his eyes were,” Sonia said, and Jade rolled her eyes.

”That wasn’t a big deal. I do that all the time. I see something I like in a person, I walk up to them and say it. In Harry’s case, I sit next to him and tell him. His eyes really are beautiful. They still get me every time. I guess I’m an eye person,” Jade said with a wide smile, and Sonia laughed softly. 

”Or maybe you are just Harry’s eyes person. Let’s assume you thought he was just like an elder brother to you. Bryan has beautiful blue eyes too. Have you told him that before?” Sonia said, and Jade giggled.

”Have you noticed that Bryan and I have exactly the same eye color? Why would I compliment him for my eye color?” She asked in amusement.

”Okay then. I give up on the argument. I will just try to convince myself that it is a coincidence that you are now having feelings for a man you offered to take a stroll with four years ago who you didn’t feel anything for other than honest admiration for his beautiful eyes,” Sonia said with a straight face, and Jade giggled. 

”You are pretty consistent, do you know that? Have you ever considered getting a degree in law or counseling? You’d make a great relationship therapist,” Jade said, and Sonia laughed. 

”I’d rather stick to what I love. Making love stories. So continue with your story. We’ve spent enough time arguing, and the food you ordered is cold already,” Sonia said as she picked up her glass of non-alcoholic cocktail and drank from it.

Jade signaled to the waiter and asked him to help them pack the food before returning her attention to Sonia.

”So after you declared your love for your ex to him, what did he say?” Sonia asked, reminding her of where she stopped in her story. 

Harry said nothing as he drank from his mug until Jade broke the silence, “So what are you and Tom up to these days? Why is he always busy and hardly has money to spare,” Jade asked curiously, and Harry smiled.

”We are really busy trying to grow the company, and you can see that even while I’m here enjoying the cool evening breeze, he is inside trying to convince some potential investors. All the money we have is either invested in cryptocurrency or real estate. So how can he have enough to spare when he is still trying to gather money?” 

”I see. I will try to be more understanding.”

”Yeah, you should be. So what about your boyfriend? Is he a college student too?”

”Todd? No. He graduated two years ago. He works in his father’s forex company,” Jade said, and Harry nodded. 

”Are you going to be a prosecutor or a defense attorney?” 

”A prosecutor. I want to help people get justice and lock up bad guys,” Jade said without thinking twice.

”You do realize that there might be cases when you mistakenly lock up innocent guys because the so-called evidence points to them, right?” Harry asked, and Jade looked thoughtful for a moment.

”Like the New York central park rape crime,” Jade murmured.

”What is that?” Harry asked curiously.

”On April 1989, a female jogger was assaulted and raped in New York’s Central Park, and five teenage boys were subsequently charged with the crime. It took over twelve years for them to be exonerated,” Jade said and went on to explain all she knew about the case.

By the time she finished, Harry’s brows were drawn together in a frown, “I don’t even want to imagine how those boys and their families would have felt if I feel this pained. Your profession is quite scary. How do people live with things like these on their conscience? How do you go to bed at night knowing that you ruined someone’s life?” Harry asked, and Jade sighed.

”That is why I will have to do a thorough job. I won’t be like every other prosecutor. I will give my best to every case I’m assigned, and ensure that justice is served, so help me God,” Jade said with so much passion and sincerity that Harry had a proud smile on his face as he watched her. 

”I told you before. You will make a brilliant lawyer. So what do I call you after you get your degree? Barrister? Prosecutor? Or just Miss Hank?”

”Nah. I didn’t study so hard for anyone to refer to me as ‘Miss’ I prefer to be referred to as Jade Hank, Esquire. But since you are like family, you can just leave out the title and call me Jade,” she said with a sweet smile, and Harry chuckled.

”Thanks for the privilege, Esquire. I feel honored,” Harry said dryly, and she giggled. 

”Don’t mention,” she said, making Harry chuckle.

”I think it might be past your bedtime. You should go in now,” Harry suggested when Jade yawned. 

”No, I’m fine,” Jade said with a shake of her head. Although she was tired and wanted to go to bed, she was enjoying their conversation and staring at him too much to want to leave. Besides, she wasn’t ready to talk to Todd yet. 

As though summoned by her thoughts, the kitchen door opened, and Todd walked out to the porch.