“I couldn’t sleep.” It’s hard to find my voice for some reason, and even harder to stop looking at Jack.
“Neither could I.” Jack comes around the couch and sits on the other side of Charlie. The dog turns, pressing himself against Jack, who puts one arm around the dog and scratches behind Charlie’s ears with the other. The air conditioner kicks on and I shiver. I pull my hair over my shoulder and start braiding. It’s a nervous habit, though right now I can’t quite put my finger on what’s making me nervous.
“Hungry?” Jack asks.
“Kind of. Are you?”
“I’m always hungry.” He stands, and I get a half-second to check out his ass before he turns. “I’ll find you something to eat if you want.”
“Sure. Thanks.” I pad into the kitchen behind Jack. Charlie beats us there and is standing by the pantry wagging his tail. Jack turns on the bright lights, and we both blink from the harshness of the change.
“Cold?” Jack asks, running his eyes over me. He jerks his head away and turns, gripping the pantry door tight.
“A little.” I clasp my arms around myself, realizing that my nipples are showing through the thin fabric of my tank top. I didn’t even think about putting a bra on to come downstairs; I figured no one would see me and I’d be back into Veronica’s room in a few seconds flat.
“Put a sweatshirt on or something,” he orders, and I don’t understand why he’s angry.
“It’s upstairs.”
“Go get it.”
I blink, starting to feel awkward. “Maybe I’ll go back up—”
“Here.” He picks up a hooded sweatshirt off the back of a kitchen chair. It’s purple with some sort of lightning bolt symbol on the chest. I saw Jack wearing it the other day when he went for an early morning jog. With Charlie, of course.
“Uh, thanks.” I stick my arms inside the sweatshirt and pull it over my head. The sleeves hang inches past my fingertips, and the hem comes down, long enough to cover my sleeper shorts.
Jack looks at me, blinks, and turns away only to look at me again. “That might actually be worse,” he mutters.
“Well,” I start and take a step back. “You’re taking broody to the next level. I’m going back upstairs.”
“Wait.”
I cross my arms and lean against the wall. “Yeah?”
He opens the fridge. “You can stay.”
“Thanks for the permission.”
“It is my house.” Taking a step back from the fridge, he sighs. “Everything in here is shit. My mom’s on some lame diet where she only eats vegetables and juice.” He rolls his eyes. “She’ll be off it in a week. Until then, we all suffer in silence.”
“I’m no stranger to fad diets. I’m guessing there’s nothing around here that’s still open to order takeout from, is there?”
“There is one place that’s open twenty-four hours. They don’t deliver, but we can go pick it up.”
He said ‘we’ like he wants me to go with him. Only a minute ago, he was acting like the sight of me repulsed him. And they say women are complicated.
“Okay. What do they have?”
“Burgers, fries, milkshakes…typical small-town diner food. Is that okay?”
“A cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake—with a cherry on top of course—sounds really good right now.”
The smallest smile plays on Jack’s full lips. “I’ll phone in the order. It’ll be ready by the time I get there.”
“Can you just go out like this?”
“I have before. I’ll leave a note in case anyone wonders where I am. It’ll take twenty minutes.”
My grandma would skin me alive if she woke up to a note saying I went out for food. “Your parents are cool with you going out at night?”
He shrugs. “I don’t sleep much anymore. And I’m eighteen.”
“Right.” Age wouldn’t have mattered with Mimi. As long as I lived under her roof, she’d enforce strict rules. A wave of sadness crashes into me, and suddenly I’m alone on the shore, feeling the sand slip away from under my toes.
“Nora?” Jack’s brown eyes narrow with concern.
I blink away my emotion and push my shoulders back. “Yeah?”
He runs his hand through his messy hair. “I’ll put in the order. And put on pants. You…you should stay here.”
Without another look, Jack walks away. Charlie follows, and I sit on the couch in the living room again. The master bedroom is on the first floor, and I’m painfully aware of how close Mr. and Mrs. Harrington are to me. I tuck my legs up under myself and pull the hood up on the sweatshirt. It smells faintly like laundry detergent and cologne mixed with the outside air. It smells like Jack, and it's irritatingly intoxicating.
Charlie races down the stairs again and flies onto the couch. Jack emerges into the living room a few seconds later, wearing dark jeans and a blue Henley shirt with the buttons undone. I didn’t think putting on clothes would be hotter than seeing him in just his boxers, but somehow it is.
He grabs his keys and Charlie springs over, dancing and whining.
“Quiet, Charlie,” Jack tells the dog, making me think he’s not supposed to go out like he said. “Fine. Come with.” He clips a leash to Charlie’s collar and stops near me. “Want to come too?”
“Yeah.” I stand and roll up the sleeves on the sweatshirt. I don’t have time to go upstairs and get dressed, and honestly, I don’t even care. I just want to be with Jack. I get my shoes and meet Jack by the back door.
We get into his Jeep and something flutters in my stomach. We’re not doing anything wrong, yet I know I shouldn’t do this. I’m breaking a handful of my grandmother’s rules—leaving the house without permission, riding in a car with a boy to an unknown destination—and I doubt the Kellers would be too happy about this either.
“I’m surprised anything is open all night here.” I fiddle with the strings on the hoodie, watching the dark streets pass by.
“It’s off the highway. Lots of truckers stop in for food and fuel.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’re taking me to a truck stop?”
Jack gives me a sideways glance and smiles. “Yeah. I guess I am. The food is good at least.”
Jimmy’s Cafe is busier than I expected. Maybe I underestimated this small town. Since I’m in my pajamas, I stay in the car with Charlie while Jack goes in to get the food. I look through the windows of the diner and see a table full of kids from school. I don’t know their names, but I’m familiar enough with Dale Hollow’s blue and white letterman jackets to know they go there.
They greet Jack, smiling as they talk, and all Jack does in response is look their way and give a small nod. The others don’t react like Jack just blew them off, and it’s not the first time I’ve noticed it. Everyone at school is receptive to Jack. Teachers always say hi and ask how his day is going. The entire female population blushes and smiles when he walks by and a majority of the guys greet him with respect.
He’s attractive. Very attractive. I get the girls fawning over him.
He’s good at sports. I kind of get why the guys look up to him.
He’s quiet and keeps to himself. Maybe the teachers are thankful for that?
About five minutes later, Jack gets back into the car. He reaches into the bag and pulls out a burger, ripping off a small piece for Charlie.
“Did you get him his own burger?” I ask, seeing that it’s plain.
“I always do.”
I can’t help but smile. “Are people from school usually out this late?”
“After football games, sometimes. And the drive-in is closing for the season, so a lot of people went.”
“People still go to drive-ins? I thought that was just a thing in movies.”
Jack half-smiles. “There’s not much else here to do. Did you go out all the time in L.A.?”
“No. My grandma was pretty strict. If she knew I was out right now, she’d be livid.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But she wasn’t a tyrant or anything. She made sure I worked hard and stayed focused on school, but then she’d randomly let me skip a day and go to Disneyland.” I close my eyes and rest my head against the window, heart hurting.
We get back to the Harringtons’ house, and Jack goes into the kitchen to give Charlie the rest of his burger, tearing it into small pieces and putting them in his dog dish.
“We can go upstairs and watch TV or something,” he tells me. “So we don’t bother my parents.”
“Okay.” I hold both our milkshakes, feeling the chill from the drinks seep into me. Or maybe it’s just nerves. Jack leads the way into his room, which is set up just like Veronica’s but in different colors. His bed is centered between two windows with a dresser across from it. A large TV and gaming systems clutter the top of the dresser. Also, like Veronica’s room, there’s a tiny bathroom attached to the bedroom with a sink, toilet, and shower. Charlie’s bed is on the floor next to Jack’s, and it’s filled with dog toys. I’m guessing Charlie sleeps with Jack and not in his own bed, which oddly makes me feel even more attracted to Jack. He loves that dog, and it’s so sweet.
I put the milkshakes on his nightstand, wondering if I should ask for coasters or not. There were certain rooms in Mimi’s house I wasn’t allowed to even bring food in. Setting a cold drink on a wooden surface without a coaster would have been a crime.
Jack lazily smoothes out his comforter, and sits, grabbing the remote from inside his nightstand. I get on the bed next to him, moving a pillow against the headboard to lean on. He flips through channels as we eat, settling on a horror TV series.
“Do you get scared easily?” he asks.
“Not usually. I like creepy things.”
“You continue to surprise me, Nora.” He tips his head in my direction and his lopsided smile makes my heart skip a beat.
“You really shouldn’t judge me.”
He holds my gaze, and a burning starts inside me, starting in my chest and spreading all the way through my body, gathering with an intense heat at my core. I fold my legs under me, forcing myself to take a slow breath.
“Cold?” Before I can answer, Jack reaches down and pulls his comforter over my legs. It’s covering his too.
“Thanks. I was cold.”
“If you wore more substantial PJs, you wouldn’t be so cold all the time, you know,” he spits, not looking at me.
“Typically, I go to sleep when I’m in my PJs, and I sleep in my bed under blankets that keep me warm.”
“You’re not in your bed though, are you?” He’s not looking at me again, and that’s when it hits me. My tank top and short shorts weren’t offending him. They’re doing the exact opposite.
Heat rushes to my cheeks and I hide a smile. “The blanket helps. Thank you.” He presses play, and halfway through the first episode, I’m done with my food and am totally sucked into the show. When that one ends, we start episode two.
“Getting scared yet?” he asks.
“No, but I will admit this is freaky.” I might have the blanket pulled tightly around me. Charlie got up a while ago and moved to the floor, and Jack stretches out, putting his body closer to mine. The scene intensifies, and I gather the blanket in my hand. Right as the characters are waiting to see if something pops out at them, Jack grabs my arm, making me jump.
“Jerk!” I shriek with a smile, shoving him back.
He playfully pushes back. “You said you didn’t get scared easily.”
“I wouldn’t call that easily,” I laugh. “You snuck up on me.”
“How did I sneak up on you?” he laughs back. “I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Yeah. You have.” Our eyes meet, fanning the fire inside me. I put my hand to my chest and inhale. “My heart is racing. Here.” I grab his hand and put it against my chest “Feel.”
Jack flattens his hand over my collarbone, splaying out his fingers. One finds the pulse-point on my neck. I swallow hard, and suddenly the humor is gone. I turn in, and Jack closes his eyes, sliding his hand up to my shoulder and down my back. He pulls me toward him. I reach forward, hand landing on his hip, and I slip my fingers under the hem of his shirt.
He lets out a soft moan when I find his scar. I carefully let my fingers dance over it, then move them up to the curve in his side. Everything about him is hardness and muscle, and the desire to feel every inch of him is burning so hot I might combust. I bring my head in, resting my forehead against his. His lips are just inches from mine, and I want so badly for him to kiss me.
Then he suddenly lets go, angling his body away. “Nora,” he starts. “We can’t.”
I swallow hard and nod, not able to speak. The heat is still burning inside, but the letdown is just as intense.
“You’re my sister’s friend,” he goes on, rubbing the back of his neck. He leans forward, shaking his head at himself. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“I won’t let you do anything I don’t want you to do.”
“You’re sixteen.”
His words hurt, and embarrassment floods through me, making me feel like a stupid little girl. “I’m well aware how old I am, thank you very much.”
Jack’s jaw tenses and he falls back, letting out a deep sigh.
“I’m gonna go back to Veronica’s room.” I pull the covers back and swing my legs over the bed.
“Nora, wait.”
I turn back around, bare feet hovering over the floor.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he says, deep voice barely louder than a whisper. “It’s because I do. But we can’t.” His brow furrows and he looks away. “Please don’t…don’t make it harder for me.”
“I won’t. Can we be friends?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
I get back into his bed, and Charlie gets in between us. We both pet him, and an episode and a half later, I drift to sleep. At some point, Jack must have turned the TV off and Charlie moved to the foot of the bed because it’s dark when I’m startled awake. It takes me a moment to remember where I am. I mentally check things off: I’m not at home. I’m not at Becca’s. I’m not at the Kellers’. I’m at Veronica’s, but I’m in her brother’s room.
I’m in his bed.
With him.
And right now he’s having a nightmare, twitching in his sleep. It’s two-thirty in the morning, and soft moonlight spills through the windows around us, illuminating his face just enough to see his jaw tense and his brows push together.
“Jack,” I whisper. “You’re having a nightmare. Wake up.” I put my hand on his arm and he jerks awake, blinking in the dark. “Jack?”
“Nora?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I think you were having a bad dream.”
“I think so too.” He sits up and his hand subconsciously goes to the scar on his side. I apprehensively reach forward and put my hand over his. Jack slips his fingers between mine and lays back down.
Are the nightmares why Jack doesn’t sleep much? I turn on my side, intending to ask him, but stop when I find him with his eyes closed. I move closer, and the heat from his body comforts me. He puts an arm around me, nestling his face against my neck. I don’t feel displaced laying here with Jack. It’s the most at home I’ve felt since I was ripped from mine.
“Goodnight, Jack,” I whisper.
“Goodnight, Nora.”
Chapter 5
Jack
It’s almost eleven in the morning by the time I wake up Saturday. Nora isn’t in my bed, and I’m both disappointed and glad about that. I get up, feeling the most well-rested I have in a long time. Bright sunlight pours through the windows, warming my room. I shower and get dressed, then head downstairs.
“He’s alive!” Dad says, doing his best Doctor Frankenstein impression, complete with throwing up his hands and ending with an evil laugh. I cock an eyebrow and shake my head, trying not to laugh.
“Funny, Dad.” I go right to the fridge.
“Morning, Jackie.” Mom come
s into the kitchen with a basket of clean towels. “You slept in today.” She’s unable to hide how happy it makes her, which is really sad if you think about it. The insomnia hit me hard and hasn’t lifted since. Taking those sleeping pills made me feel too out of it and didn’t keep the nightmares away.
Mom sets the laundry down and comes over, putting her hand on my chin and tipping my head down. I’m taller than her—I’m taller than my dad too—and she has to stand on her toes to get a good look at me. “I haven’t seen you without dark circles under your eyes in too long. I almost forgot how handsome you are.” She winks then pulls me in for a hug. I’m not an affectionate person, and how emotional Mom gets makes me a bit uncomfortable. I try to be understanding and hug her back.
“Where is everyone?” I hope it doesn’t sound obvious, and I hope no one knew Nora spent the night with me last night, that she’s the reason I was able to get eight hours of solid sleep. Just thinking about her body, soft and warm, pressed against me sends waves of comfort through me.
“The girls went down to the lake. You should go. Roni said a bunch of kids from school are going and it’s such a nice day out today.” Mom drops not so subtle hints that I should go out and be social like I used to. I always say no.
“I think I will. I haven’t been there in a while.”
Mom is so shocked she actually takes a step back and looks at Dad, who looks at me blinking before he smiles. Dad gives me money, telling me to take Veronica and Nora to lunch later. Mom makes me breakfast and then I take off, driving to the lake.
It’s at the base of the mountains and the water is always cold. There’s a small section of manmade beach and a restaurant along the water’s edge. I used to come here all the time, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I get out of my Jeep and walk through the parking lot.
Bright sunlight pours down on me, making me hot by the time I get to the sand. I spot my sister surrounded by her friends. They’re laying out tanning, and Alice, my least favorite of Veronica’s friends, sees me first. She sits up, adjusting her skimpy bikini top, and smiles.
“Hey, Jack!” She pushes her shoulders back, lifting her chest up into the air.
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