by Paige Powers
“Ignore it,” I whispered. He nodded and then his hand came down to my jeans. He went under them. I was so hot and it wasn’t from the water! His hand accidentally went over the front part of my pants and I moaned in his mouth. This made him groan as I gripped his back with my hands as tight as I could. “Back in black!” rang again. I rolled my eyes and pulled back. Jack sighed and pulled his hands away from me looking over at his glowing phone on the floor.
“It might be important,” he said, still out of breath. I nodded and he lifted me off him. I sat back down in the water and tried to get my head straight on again. What were you just doing with him? His hands were...very close to me. I wish maybe we could have---.“Mom?” Jack answered kicking me out of my thoughts. Which was a very, very good thing! “Yeah, yeah I’m fine...Mom, I can’t!...where are you?” There was a pause. He rolled his eyes. His pants drooped in the front and I forced my eyes to the window. “Right now? I’m busy...yeah, I know...OK fine. Yes, I will pick it up. Okay. Be there in a while...love you, too,” he whispered quietly. I smiled and got out, knowing we were done. Which was probably a good thing. I didn’t trust myself with him anymore. He looked back at me and his face was sad. “My mom wants me to pick something up and take it home.” I nodded.
“OK, that’s fine.”
He smiled slightly.
“Want to come along?”
I smiled.
“Sure,” I grabbed my shirt and sighed as the rest of my body was wet and soaking wet that is. So was Jack. I looked at him and he went to the other side of the room and came back with two big white towels.
“I think we’ll have to stop at your house for you to change quickly,” he said. I laughed.
“Yeah I think so.” He gave me a towel.
“We’ll put this under us when we get into the car.” I nodded and yanked on my shirt and pulled my jacket around me. “It’s going to be cold.” he warned as we headed back to the window. I nodded.
“Yeah, I know,” I said, already feeling the cold air. We got out easily and ran across the field shivering, but laughing. He put his arm around me and I could feel the warmth from his body next to mine. I laughed as our teeth chattered. We ran to the car and got in. It was still a little warm. “Ugh, I’m freezing!” I said and rubbed my wet hands together. Jack chattered his teeth and I laughed. We started up and drove out turning the heat up so our skin tingled and burned. “Thanks, Jack,” I said with a smile. He glanced over at me and shrugged.
“Yeah, sure,” he answered with a small smile. I turned the radio up and listened to some music.
Chapter 22
We got back to my house about 2 hours later. I dreaded getting out of the car and into the cold air. “We’ll make a run for it,” Jack said, reading my thoughts. I nodded. I jumped out of the car when Jack did, laughing as we ran to the door. I pushed open the door but it was locked. I laughed. “Lidia!” Jack yelled. I pulled my keys out of my bag but with my hands shaking they fell out and Jack laughed and chattered his teeth. “Just go!” he yelled. I laughed and pushed the key into the key hole and threw open the door. We stumbled in laughing. He slammed the door shut with his foot. I pulled off my jacket and threw it on the floor.
“It’s warm!” I yelled with pleasure. Jack laughed. “I’m going to go get changed. Do you need jeans?” I asked as I started for the stairs. Jack nodded.
“Um, yeah if you can find any.” I nodded.
“You can borrow some of my dad’s.”
I got changed quickly and Jack came in wearing a pair of my dad’s old jeans. They fit him pretty well. I smiled.
“Not bad, Mr. Walker,” I said and he rolled his eyes. I combed out my wet hair and was about to put on some makeup when a hand caught my wrist. I looked at Jack, frowning.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. His hand was gentle on my wrist.
“Don’t put any on.” I was watching his eyes. But they were just kind.
“Okay,” I said and put down my eye liner pen. I smiled.
“We have to go, anyhow,” he said as he let go of my wrist and cleared his throat.
“OK then, let’s go.” We went back to the car and this time I dressed warmer. We headed down the road and into the city. “Where are we going, anyhow?”
“My mom’s work. She works at a restaurant in the city.”
I nodded.
“And why are we going there?” I asked. He sighed.
“She wants me to pick something up to take home. Probably something for a friend.” I smiled. “Oh okay.” We drove up to a small restaurant and got out. I wrapped my scarf around my neck tighter and we walked up to the door. Our hands accidentally touched and then they automatically entangled together. It didn’t really feel like a surprise because we had always done it every time we walked into the school. We walked in and behind the counter was an older woman with dark blonde hair who was very short.
“Mom,” Jack said and the woman looked up from a note pad. Her smile brightened and her blue eyes gleamed. Now I know where Jack gets those eyes from.
“Hey, honey,” she said, coming out from behind the counter. She put her hands on her hips and beamed at him.
“Mom, um, this is Lidia,” he said, pointing down to me. I smiled at her. Her eyes went to our hands then up to me and gave me a heartwarming smile.
“So, you’re Lidia? Jack has told me a lot about you. But he never introduced me to you!” She gave him a mean look and then smiled at me. I laughed.
“Mom,” Jack mumbled, getting embarrassed.
“My name’s Jane,” she said sweetly. I smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes, finally!” She gave Jack another look and I laughed. “So Lidia, what did my son here get you to do with him today?” I looked at him and he stared at his mother.
“Well he took me back where you guys lived. We went to Lisa’s Diner to eat.” His mom raised an eyebrow at Jack.
“You didn’t, did you?” she asked, almost laughing.
“Excuse me?” I asked. Jack looked a little pink in his cheek. She looked at me.
“Did he take you to the pool?” My mouth almost fell a little but I laughed.
“Yeah actually he did. I had a lot of fun.” Jane smiled at me and it had more of something admiring in it.
“Jack never takes girls there. You must be very important to him,” she said quietly and then winked. I blushed. I was the first girl he took there? Wow. That’s um...that’s really sweet. But stop thinking about him like that!
An hour later and Jane and I were still talking. She was so nice. Jack lounged beside me looking like he was about to fall asleep.
“Oh it was so funny! When Jack turned 10 he was still wetting the bed—.”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Jack said looking like he was about to jump out of his seat. I laughed.
“Oh, no, I want to hear this!” I said and Jane laughed.
“No, no, no I think it’s time we go now. Mom where’s the stuff to take home please?” Jane pouted, but smiled.
“Okay, fine. But on one condition.” Jack narrowed his eyes playfully at her.
“And that would be?” he asked. I smiled. She leaned over the table looking him straight in the eyes.
“You have to bring this adorable and amazing girl of yours to dinner next weekend.” He clucked his tongue and looked at me.
“What do you say?” he asked. I smiled and nodded. He looked back at his mom. “It’s a deal. And you never bring up that conversation again.”
“Well I don’t know—.” she started but he growled and she laughed. He creaked a smile. “Okay, okay, I will try not to say that you peed your pants during your play at school.” His mouth fell open and Jane and I burst out laughing.
“You little brat,” he said shaking his head, his cheeks a little red.
“Awe, look he’s blushing again!” I said, pointing to his cheeks. He grabbed my hand and chomped his teeth down close to
it. I giggled and pulled it back.
“You both are ganging up on me. It’s not fair,” he muttered. Jane laughed and left the room for a moment. He spun on the stool and looked at me.
“What?” I asked innocently. He shook his head and I laughed.
“Okay, here we go.” She brought out a bag with a bowl of soup and homemade bread. “Take this home and put it in the fridge right away. I don’t want it to spoil.” I saw a bruise on her arm as she gave the bag to me. I frowned. “Now you two have a good day and don’t get her into too much trouble,” she said pointing a finger at Jack. He smirked.
“I won’t but she might get me into trouble.”
I gasped.
“Will not!”
He grinned.
“OK, honey. Well, I’ll see you next weekend, Lidia,” she said and gave me a small hug.
“Thanks, Jane.”
She smiled.
“Oh and Scott will be there, too.” Jack almost lost his balance and looked at his mom. I stared at him, surprised. He was tense.
“What?” he asked his mom. She gave a nervous smile and nodded.
“He might come. I’m sure he’d be happy to meet—.”
“No,” he said suddenly, strong willed. I looked at him, surprised.
“Oh, come on, Jack!” I complained.
“No way in hell is she meeting him,” he said through gritted teeth, ignoring me. I was staring at him. What was going on?
“Jack, come on. It’ll be fun,” I said. He looked at me and his eyes were mean and something like hatred filled them. I flinched.
“We’re leaving,” he said and turned.
“Jack,” Jane called making him stop. His shoulders were so tight and his jaw was set. His eyes were blazing. He turned. Her eyes were teary. “Come here,” she whispered. He clenched his hands but walked over to her. “Give me a kiss.” He gently reached down and gave her a small peck on the cheek. She whispered something to him and I watched, my eyes a little wide. He nodded but his eyes didn’t change.
“Mom,” I heard him whisper, his voice pleading. I had never heard him sound like that before. They were whispering. “Fine.” he finally said. “But if anything…,” he whispered the rest.
“OK well you’re coming over this weekend. Don’t worry about it! I’ll make something very good. OK?” she asked me.
“Yeah OK.” I smiled. I was still so confused but nodded. Jack wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Bye,” Jack mumbled and started to leave.
“Have fun!” his mom called, her voice a little shaky.
“Bye,” I called back, feeling a little confused. Jack stormed off ahead of me and I followed almost at a run. “Jack! Jack!” I yelled. He put the food in the back seat and stood there for a moment then turned to me. “What the hell was that about?” I asked my voice making puffs of smoke from the cold air. He was biting the inside of his mouth hard trying not to yell.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.” I frowned.
“Jack…,” I said, stopping him as he went around the car. He looked down. “What’s wrong?” I asked. He looked up.
“Why won’t you listen to me?”
The words caught me off guard.
“What?” I asked surprised. He looked away, his jaw clenching. I heard him mumbling but I couldn’t hear. “What are you talking about?”
He shook his head.
“Never mind,” he said and moved around me, his head still low. He got in and it took me a moment to regain myself before getting into the car.
Chapter 23
We started out towards the bad part of town and I began to get worried. Jack didn’t talk very much. I didn’t know what to say. Remember we’re just faking this whole thing; he doesn’t have to like you. Which he doesn’t. He probably doesn’t even like being my friend. I looked out the window and realized that this was nowhere close to where I lived. This was a whole other country! This was the poor side of town. I lived in the fancy part. I looked at Jack and he seemed completely at ease.
“Jack,” I asked. He looked over at me for a moment and then back at the road.
“What?” he asked flatly.
“Where are we going?” He snorted.
“My home.” I gulped a little. My parents told me I could never come on these roads. They were dangerous but if Jack knew what he was doing then I should trust him. We pulled up alongside the curb and I looked up to see a run-down building. Trash was strewn across the walk and loud booming music echoed through the streets. Jack got out and got the stuff. I slowly got out and looked up again at the apartment building. “This is it,” Jack said looking where I was. “Home sweet home,” he muttered and started for the entrance. This is the exact opposite of where I thought Jack lived. I thought he lived where Kendra or Grant and I did. Some place nicer. “Hurry up,” Jack said and I ran across the walk beside him. We went up and Jack pulled out a whole bunch of keys then we went in. I followed him as we took the stairs and went up three floors. I could hear shouts from other doors and banging and music. It scared me a little. We got to a room and he unlocked several locks. Then opened the door. “Go ahead,” he said and motioned me forward. I went in quickly. He came in and relocked all the locks. I turned and looked at the apartment. It was a whole lot smaller than my house but it had a cute kitchen and a small living room then a hallway going back somewhere. Probably the bedrooms. Jack came in and sat the bags on the counter then put everything in the fridge. “Not what you expected, was it?” he asked in an amused angry/sad sort of way. I turned to him but he was loading stuff in the fridge.
“Not exactly,” I said quietly. He snorted.
“Did you think I lived where you did?” he asked. I shrugged and looked down. I did. I had never been here before.
“Has Kendra been here before?” I asked.
He stopped what he was doing and turned around to me. “No,” he said. I frowned. Why hadn’t she? They had been dating for what, a year? And he never brought her here. He finished and got a drink of water.
“Why bring me here?” I asked. He looked at me and put down his cup slowly. He looked down for a moment and then up, his eyes confused.
“I’m not sure,” he answered. It was silent for a while. “I think I’m going to go change my pants,” he said, looking down at my dad’s jeans. I nodded. “You can come with me if you want,” he said and we went down the hallway and to the first door on the left. It was a tiny room. There was a small single bed stuffed in the corner with a dresser at the end and a desk right across from it. The rest of the room was piled with clothes. He went over to the dresser and yanked the draws open. I looked around at the band posters and gray sheets messed up on his bed. It smelled like him. I walked over to his bed and sat down. It was lumpy and my butt went deep into it.
“So, this is your room,” I said as he went across the room and picked up a pair of jeans and sniffed them.
“Yeah,” he said and sniffed them again. He shrugged.
“It’s nice.”
He snorted and shook his head. “I’m sure!”
“No, really,” I said. He turned and looked at me. “It’s not like my house but sometimes I wish this is where I lived. Some place where it felt like home. My house is just an empty hollow cave. This,” I said pointing around to the room, “is cozy and feels like a home.” He looked me in the eyes and I gave a small sad smile.
“Mm,” he answered and turned around. He unzipped his pants and I gasped.
“What are you doing?” I asked turning around. He laughed.
“Changing! What does it look like?” I glanced over at him as he pulled off my dad’s jeans; he had red boxers on. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at his legs then up his body. He pulled up his jeans then turned to me and zipped them up and winked. I rolled my eyes. “Nothing you haven’t seen before,” he said. I blushed a little and looked down.
“Oh look, she’s blushing again,” Jack said coming over to me. I looked
up as he bent over a little and wiggled his eye brows. “Decided yet that you’re madly in love with me?” I shook my head.
“Not even close,” I said getting closer to him.
“Really?” he asked. I nodded. His shirt had come up from pulling his jeans on and was lifted to see his left hip. There was a bruise. I frowned. I reached up and put my fingers on it. Jack flinched slightly and stood back. I stood up and followed him as he walked backwards trying to get out of my reach. His back hit the wall. I kept my fingers on it. Then I lifted up the shirt a little so that my eyes could focus on the bruise. It was the size of a baseball. I looked up on the verge of tears.
“Jack…,” I whispered. His eyes were hurt but he was trying to cover it up. He reached down and took my hand and pulled his shirt back down over it. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I was shocked at this but just looked at him.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said and shrugged. “We should probably get you home soon, Princess,” he said with a geeky smile as he pushed around me to grab his wallet from his jeans. I stared at the wall. Why was he hiding something from me?
“What time do your parents want you home?” he asked. I turned around.
“Um, er, I’m not sure.” He laughed a little and nodded.
“OK, well let’s get something to eat because I’m starving!” he said, patting his stomach.
“When aren’t you?!” I said and laughed. He shrugged and grinned.
We got something to eat at his house and then headed back to mine. I got out of the car and he did, too. “Listen I should probably just go back home. My mom is going to be getting off work soon.” I nodded.