The Dog
Gabrielle Jaeger kicked back and enjoyed being at her family farm for the weekend. Her childhood friend Julia Croft had dropped by and the two women were chewing the fat over beers on the patio. "You're looking well," Julia commented after a comfortable pause. The last time she had seen Gabrielle, almost a year ago, the poor woman had been struggling to support her ex, Steve Taylor, through the initial drying-out period of his alcoholism. She had looked tired and in desperate need of some RnR, which was why she had come to the farm in the first place. Now, she looked a lot more at ease, a lot happier.
Gabrielle shrugged. She'd gotten that comment a few times now, but she didn't get it. It wasn't like a lot in her life had changed. Well, other than the fact Steve had moved out and was managing his addiction on his own – those first few weeks had been exhausting and demoralising. How did you deal with watching your childhood sweetheart go through that? But now Steve had moved on, and she had relative tranquillity in her life.
That, and she had Jack. Her housemate and best friend was an absolute find. If his former housemate hadn't been blissfully in love with his new wife, Gabrielle was sure Dan would be kicking himself for the way he had treated Jack, prompting Jack to become so fed up that he'd started looking for someone a little more considerate to live with. Dan was a sweet man, but when he was in love – or even just infatuated – he could develop a chronic case of tunnel vision. Months before Dan and Erica had gotten engaged, Jack had been confiding in her how unwelcome her felt in his own home, that the only part of it he was welcome in was his room, and even then... So it had seemed natural when the final straw came – an engaged Dan inviting his brother Luke to live with them – that Gabrielle had suggested he move in with her.
They had hit it off from the very beginning. She had been a little apprehensive about having him in such close proximity to him – Jack had a reputation as a womaniser and heart-breaker. She had been worried there would be a constant parade of women coming through her house, or worse, that he would try to seduce her – worse still, succeed. But her fears had been unfounded. Jack didn't sleep around anymore, and she had found out later the reason why. He still had terrible nightmares about the sexual abuse he had suffered for two years as a teenager, and it had been the monster reappearing in his life last year that had sent him off the rails – and into the arms of whatever woman would have him, including Gabrielle's own staff, to prove that he was one hundred percent straight. But now he was seeing a counsellor who mercilessly made him confront his demons each week and seemed a lot happier for it.
That, and he was a great cook and so easy to talk to. When he had the day off or finished before her, she could almost always count on him to be cooking up something delicious when she got home. There was something so comforting about coming home to have the smell of home-cooked food wafting through the house. She returned the favour whenever she could, and what evenings they had off together were often spent on the couch, watching a DVD or just talking. It had been so long since she'd had a friend she could just hang out with and talk to – since she had left the farming community she had grown up with. Since Julia, really.
"What's that for?" Julia asked, noticing Gabrielle smile.
Gabrielle felt herself blushing a little to realise she'd been caught out smiling about Jack. "Just thinking about my housemate. He makes life a whole lot easier."
"This is Jack?" Julia asked slyly. She wondered how much of him 'making life easier' was to do with Gabrielle's new relaxed attitude. "You got a picture?" Gabrielle pulled out her phone and flicked to a picture that had been taken of him at her birthday a few weeks ago. She'd just opened her present – a gorgeous, costume, pendant that was of far better taste than anything Steve had ever thought to get her – and he'd helped put it on, and Dan had snapped the picture. "He's cute," Julia commented. "Very cute." She noted Gabrielle was wearing the same pendant that she was in the picture. "Just friends?" she asked.
"Of course!" Gabrielle said, a little too vehemently, in Julia's opinion. What single girl, when living with such a gorgeous single guy, one she had a terrific camaraderie with and smiled randomly over, had never thought that they might make a good couple?
"You ever think about kissing him?" Julia couldn't help but teased. Gabrielle's blush grew even deeper, and Julia swatted playfully. "You have!" she squealed like the teenager they had once been instead of the twenty-somethings they now were. She peered at Gabrielle curiously, trying to read her face the way she had done so well in the past. "Wait – have you guys kissed? You have, haven't you?"
"Julia, it was nothing. It was this stupid drunk thing at a wedding." She didn't add that seeing Steve with Amy had made her jealous and she had wanted him to know what it felt like to see her with someone else. Jack had been furious with her for the better part of a week over involving him with in her childish games. Although for some reason, she could still remember what it was like to kiss him. For a second, he had kissed her back, before pulling away. Their tongues had met, and she had felt the hardness of his body against hers in a way that was totally different to when he let her cuddle up against him while they were watching a movie.
Then he had pulled away, called her a taxi, and avoided her for a week. By the time they had hashed things out, whatever heat they had shared in the moment had well and truly passed, and neither of them brought it up again. Which wasn't to say she didn't remember how hot it had been. "It was nothing," she repeated stubbornly. Julia eyed her disbelievingly, but didn't pursue it.
Shortly after, her father and brother returned from working on the farm all day. Their live-in housekeeper and cook, Gina, had prepared roast beef, her favourite, in honour of her visit. One downside about Jack – or, rather, his cooking – was that he was something of a gourmet and a pub staple such a roast was beneath him.
Julia stayed for dinner, so the small group, including Gina's husband Billy, enjoyed casual, warm conversation over dinner. "Gabrielle, I almost forgot," her father, Russell said when dinner was over and they were enjoying tea and apple pie. "Magda had a puppy who's lame – gimpy leg – and he can't run well. He gets bullied by the other dogs, and he can't work as a farm dog. Since you're here, I was hoping you could take him back to Sydney with you and give him to a shelter. He's the most placid, friendly of animals, he'll make a good pet, he's just of no use to us."
Magda was one of their breeding kelpies. Gabrielle was well aware that dogs were considered to be assets just as much as equipment on an operational farm like this one, and any which couldn't work were of no use to the Jaegers, nor any of their neighbours. If the puppy didn't go to an animal shelter – of which there were hardly a lot around in this part of the country – he would be put down. "Of course," she said. Hopefully a family looking for a pet would be less discerning than a farmer which needed a working animal.
When she met the puppy the next day, she saw exactly what her father meant. He was small for a kelpie puppy of his age – a few months – and one of his forelegs was badly deformed, and he walked with what looked like a bad limp. He couldn't be in much pain if it kept walking, even running awkwardly, but he lacked the speed to be a working dog.
What he lacked in speed he did, as her father had said, make up in friendliness. He licked Gabrielle's face enthusiastically, and obeyed the orders Gina had taught Him. He was even house-trained. He had to be, Gina explained, the other dogs picked on him constantly and he needed to be kept indoors most of the time."I'll take you home with me," Gabrielle promised the puppy. "I'm sure there's a good home for you somewhere in Sydney."
Gabrielle returned too late to Sydney to take the puppy straight to the shelter, so she let led him to the backyard and created a makeshift bed for him. He looked at her soulfully, not used to sleeping outside, but since Gabrielle didn't know how Jack would take to having a dog in the house – for all either of them knew, he could be allergic – she couldn't have him inside. "I'll take you to the shelter tomorrow, and they'll find you a good home," she promised the puppy. Damn, but he made her feel guilty for leaving him outside.
The next day after work, she came home to hear what she thought was someone squealing with laughter in the backyard. She made her way through the house to see Jack with the kelpie. Even from a few meters away, she could see Jack had invested most, if not all his day off with the dog. While the kelpie had never been neglected, no-one had bothered to take a lot of care in grooming him, and now his coat was shiny from being washed and combed thoroughly. Where Gabrielle's makeshift bed had been last night now stood a big – and expensive-looking – doghouse. The lawn was littered with dog toys and draped across the roof of the doghouse was a brand-new leash. Jack himself was busy chasing after the kelpie. "If you don't give the ball back, I can't throw it to you!" he tried to explain, but the dog seemed intent on keeping hold of his new possession.
Jack brightened even more when he saw Gabrielle. He temporarily abandoned his attempts to retrieve the ball and bounded up to her. The kelpie, losing interest in the ball as soon as Jack had lost interest in retrieving it, dropped it onto the ground and bounded after Jack. "Hey," he said, and his eyes were shining about as brightly at the dog's coat. His hair was tousled, and there looked like there was a tiny bit of colour in Jack's usually-pale face. Had he taken the dog to the park instead of sweating it out at the gym? "Thanks. I didn't think you'd remember my birthday. This is the best present ever. I always wanted a dog. My brothers were allergic so we never had one."
Gabrielle found herself floundering as she remembered it was Jack's birthday today. She'd put it in her diary, but with her plans to go to the farm, she'd forgotten all about it. Well, what she could do but go along with it, unless she wanted to break Jack's heart by admitting she'd forgotten his birthday – and that the dog he had taken to so much was going to the pound? "I thought you'd like him," she said. "He's not a good working dog because of his leg, but he's really friendly."
"I don't care about that," Jack said, He scooped up the dog and hugged him. The kelpie responded by licking Jack's face. It occurred to Gabrielle that it was the most affection the dog had received in his life... and that part of why he had taken to the kelpie so much was because of his gimpy leg. This was a dog who, through not fault of his own, wasn't wanted, but had a lot of love, loyalty and companionship to give. Lord, how could she take him away from Jack now?
"I made reservations at Vincenzio's," Gabrielle said. It was a Monday, typically a slow day in hospitality, so she should be able to make a booking as soon as Jack could be distracted – and given the way he was carrying on about the dog, that would be soon enough.
"Oh, I don't really want to leave him alone tonight," Jack said. "He's probably disoriented. Thanks, but why don't we order in?" Gabrielle was relieved. "What's his name?" Jack asked. "I've been calling him 'boy' all day."
"He doesn't have a name," Gabrielle explained. Her dad didn't get attached to animals, and only gave dogs name when they were of use to him.
Jack scowled. "He's got to have a name," he insisted. "It's cruel not to give him one. Can I name him?" he asked.
"If you want." Gabrielle knew, as instinctively as she knew Jack would have called the dog Rebecca had it been a girl, what he would name the puppy.
Jack grabbed the kelpie by the waist and held him up so they were at eye level. "I'm going to call you Travis," he said solemnly. "Travis Quade. How do you like that?"
Travis Quade barked as if to say he liked the name very much.
"So what was I supposed to tell him?" Gabrielle asked their mutual friend and colleague, Charlotte Beaumont the next day. "That, sorry, I forgot your birthday, and by the way, that dog you just lost your heart to is going to the pound."
Charlotte laughed at the imagery. She wondered why it had never occurred to her at a dog would be perfect for him; he had always had a way with her own dogs. "If it's no inconvenience to you, then let him keep the dog," was Charlotte's advice. "It'll break his heart if you don't. He'd probably move out and take the dog with him."
Gabrielle had no doubt that was exactly what Jack would do. She had certainly never been able out make him smile and laugh like that, so she was confident that, if Jack was forced to choose, he would choose Travis. That Jack had named the dog after a dead man who she had nursed unnerved her a little, but if it was what he wanted –
Jack was just getting home when she got home. "Hey," he greeted her cheerfully. He opened the back door and Travis jumped out. Both of them smelled like sand and salt. Jack's hair was completely dishevelled, but he looked refreshed in a way that a gym workout could never give a person.
"Been to the beach?" she asked.
"Yep," he said. "And we both met girls. Didn't we, mate?" He reached down to put Travis's head, and the dog barked as if to confirm the fact.
"Really? What's her name?" Gabrielle tried to keep the jealousy out of her voice. After all, it could only be good for Jack if he met someone through an activity as healthy as taking his dog to the beach. She told herself that any jealousy was from the fact if Jack did start seeing someone, he would have less time for her.
"Princess. She's a border collie. Travis is way smaller than her, but Kirsten says in time they're about the same size." Which said a lot about Jack's knowledge of dogs, that he had no idea the size of an adult kelpie.
Gabrielle laughed at that. "I actually meant her owner."
Jack looked sheepish. "Sorry. He's name's Kirsten. She's twenty-three and really cute. Here." He fished his phone out of his pocket and flicked it to the gallery section, handing the phone to Gabrielle when he found what he was looking for. Kirsten was a walking ad for Australian beach culture – tall and slim, blond, a friendly smile. Gabrielle felt another small fission of jealousy. Kirsten was much prettier than her.
She handed the phone back to Jack. "She's pretty," Gabrielle conceded.
"She seems really nice, too. I didn't have much time to talk to her – Princess kept chasing after Travis and I was worried she might hurt him – but we're going out on Friday."
"You're working Friday."
He grinned at her. "I was kind of hoping you might talk to Steve. Something along the lines of if I'm preoccupied with someone else, I won't take up so much of your time."
"Jack! Steve doesn't think you take up too much of your time," she admonished him.
Jack poked his tongue out. "Says you." He and Steve had hit it off badly on day one, and things had never improved. On the contrary – Jack knew he and Gabrielle had a somewhat convoluted relationship, and while Steve knew he wasn't ready to date again, let alone someone he had such a mixed history with, he didn't want someone else dating Gabrielle, either. "Why don't you just... mention it to him, see what he says?" Jack suggested. He flashed Gabrielle a hopeful smile, and she couldn't help but agree to it.
"Steve, I thought you had tonight off," Bart commented that Friday evening.
"I did. I'm covering for Jack." Steve hadn't been all that happy about the idea, but then again, he never did much on Friday nights – there was too much temptation to go out and get plastered. And if it meant Jack had a date which might lead to a relationship which meant he wouldn't be sniffing around Gabrielle ,then so much the better.
"Why would you do that?" Bart asked. Everyone knew there was no love lost between the men, and it had only gotten worse since Jack had moved in with Gabrielle. Gabrielle kissing Jack at the wedding hadn't helped matters. Everyone in the ED was dying to know where the housemates stood with each other – you couldn't just kiss someone and pretend it never happened – but they were both keeping quiet on it.
"He has a date," Steve said, trying to sound casual, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, everyone in the ward got it. Steve was hoping a girlfriend would distract Jack from Gabrielle.
"Really? Since when does Jack date?" Charlotte asked, overhearing the conversation. She adored her younger colleague, but was well aware Jack was more inclined to sleep around than actually be assed going out with someone.
Steve shrugged. "Ask Gabrielle, she knows all the details."
"All I know is that her name's Kirsten, she's twenty-three, blond and has a border collie named Princess," Gabrielle said when inevitably questioned by Charlotte a few minutes later.
Charlotte wrinkled up her nose. "Younger?" she asked."In the five years I've known Jack, the closest he ever got to being interested in someone younger was Rachel." Except maybe Gabrielle; he certainly had a fondness for the Nursing Unit Manager. Like everyone, Charlotte was dying to know what went on in the privacy of their own home, but neither was about to share.
Gabrielle shrugged. "Well, he's interested in her. Spent more time getting ready than most women I know."
"Jealous?" Charlotte teased, detecting a clear not of jealousy in Gabrielle's voice.
"Of course not," Gabrielle said defensively. "I want to see him happy, just like you do."
"Of course you do," Charlotte said sweetly. "But you can't tell me you're not going to be the teensiest bit jealous if he'd rather be with his girlfriend then watch DVDs with you all night"
"I'd be happy for him if that's what he wanted," Gabrielle said stubbornly, resenting Charlotte's comments. Although deep down, she had to admit that she would be a little jealous if Jack no longer had time to spend with her because he was spending it all with Kirsten.
She was sitting on the couch with a beer, watching a DVD when Jack came home just a few hours after he had been due to leave. "You're home early," she commented, trying not to sound just a little pleased that things hadn't gone amazingly – or else he'd still be with her, wouldn't be? "How did it go?"
Jack went to the fridge, pulled out a beer, came back to the couch and slumped down into it, pulling the cap off his beer. "It went fine."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Just fine?" she asked. "You haven't had a proper date in, what, two years, and it was fine?"
He grinned at her. "Closer to three," he corrected. Not since Deanna had he bothered to take a woman out instead of just taking her to bed. He bit his lip, for a few seconds lost in thought. He'd really been burnt by her, and he hadn't realised it until recently how she had devastated his trust in women. It hadn't been until he realised how much he trusted Gabrielle that he had realised how little trust he'd had before meeting her.
"Fine. Closer to three. You haven't had a date in almost three years and all you can come up with is fine? It wasn't fun or sexy or – well, anything a bit more interesting than 'fine'?"
He grinned at her. She certainly had a way with words. "It was... nice," he said, looking sheepish because it was pretty much the exact same thing as fine. "It was nice to spend time with someone and enjoy myself and be compatible with them – I think we could end up mates, if she can ever get over the fact I didn't kiss her goodnight." She had looked disappointed, even annoyed at that, and Jack couldn't say he blamed her. Someone as cute as Kirsten, he was sure men were lining up around the block to kiss her.
"Rachel said you didn't like kissing," Gabrielle mused, not-quite-entirely-teasing.
Jack raised his eyebrows at her. He found in unnerving that Rachel had confided so much of their night together in Gabrielle, and that Gabrielle now knew a lot of intimate details about him. "I'm sorry, she said that?" he asked.
"She said you could barely get you to look at her, let alone kiss her," Gabrielle confirmed.
Jack looked guilty at that. "I love kissing – it just has to be with someone I'm totally into. I could spend an afternoon making out with Deanna – there's this intimacy you get that you don't from sex. It's not something I can explain too well but there've been women I was totally into and women I was just kind of bleh about –"
"Like Rachel?" Gabrielle asked.
"Like Rachel. And when I saw Kirsten home, I realised it was something I wanted to do anymore – have sex with her just 'cos she was there. I want something more than that. I want to be totally keen on someone. I want someone who gets me and makes me laugh and cheers me up when I've had a lousy day. I don't want to settle for someone who doesn't make me feel – " he grunted in a way that made Gabrielle think of Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer whenever she talked about sex.
"That's crass," she said.
"You know what I mean. No – heat. I want to be with someone I'm totally hot for, or it just seems like a waste of time." He took a swig of his beer, then slumped further into the couch. "You know, you've totally ruined me for other women," he said dryly.
Gabrielle almost spit out her beer. Her eyes bugged out when Jack said that. "Excuse me?" she asked.
"Oh, don't look so shocked. You know what I mean. I come home and you're always here to cook me dinner or talk to me... I like having someone who knows what I like." And it wasn't even just the cooking. It was the way she encouraged him to put his head on her lap when he was tired and cranky and stroked his hair. It was the way she was eager to learn and actually enjoyed hearing him talk about things that had made Dan's eyes glaze over with boredom. It was the way she made him feel like she wanted him for himself and not for all the reasons – namely, that he was a good-looking young surgeon with a bright future – women had wanted him before.
At that explanation, Gabrielle relaxed. "What did you think I meant?" Jack asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing. Just the way you said it sounded odd."
"How so?"
"It doesn't matter? Look, drink your beer and be quiet, will you? I'm trying to watch Buffy."
"If I had known all it took was getting laid to make a person glow with health, I wouldn't have bothered studying medicine," Frank said, half grumbling and half admiring as he watched Jack chat to a patient on the other side of the ward. He was sitting cross-legged on a chair – a position that simultaneously looked uncomfortable yet super-casual – chatting with a patient. He smiled and laughed a lot.
"This Kirsten must be amazing for him," Charlotte commented. Funny how he never talked about her. She had always figured Jack wasn't the sort to broadcast it to the world when he was in love, but still, you'd think he would say something.
Gabrielle's brow furrowed. "He and Kirsten never had a second date," she said. Or a first kiss. Odd how that piece of information pleased her. Shouldn't she want Jack to find someone who made him smile and laugh like that?
Charlotte looked confused. "Then what's he so happy about? I swear, he's got a tan. That means he gets out in the sun instead of just sweating it out at the gym."
It clicked, and Gabrielle laughed. "Oh, that." She said. "No, that's just Travis."
"Who's Travis?"
"His dog."
"Is this the same dog you were forced to let him keep 'cos he thought it was for a birthday you'd actually forgotten about?" Charlotte teased.
"I didn't notice any birthday wishes from you," Gabrielle pointed out.
Charlotte shrugged and grinned. She figured it was the job of sisters and housemates to remember birthdays and tell everyone else. She turned her attention back to Jack. "It's probably the best thing that's happened to him," she agreed. "A tan suits him."
"He's at the beach almost every day," Gabrielle said. She didn't add that she could see the effect on his body. He'd always done a lot of weight work, but running along a beach keeping a rapidly-growing dog in tow was doing wonders for his physique that a mere gym workout couldn't.
"I love the smell of the beach on men," Claire spoke up. "I grew up in state housing miles from the beach. I still remember the first surfer I dated. There's just something so thrilling about the smell of salt and sand and water – it's so fresh and natural and sexy. Sorry," she said, blushing when she realised Charlotte and Gabrielle were both staring at her.
"I think you're going to have a little trouble with Jack," Gabrielle offered with a grin, cracking a joke to hide the flush she felt at such a sexy description. She herself had grown up a long way from the coast – even further than the inland suburbs of Perth that Claire had called home – so she wasn't familiar with what Claire was saying. But somehow, she didn't doubt it. She imagined the smell of the ocean would be something clean and natural and sexy. "I think he's too in love with that dog to care about women right now."
"Gabs, Travis and I are going to the beach," Jack told her a few days later, poking his head around the door to her room.
Gabrielle put her book down. She hadn't really been reading it. She'd felt bored and restless and suddenly a walk along the beach seemed like the perfect antidote. She'd lived here over two years now and was yet to make her way to the coast. "Can I come?" she asked hopefully.
"You sure? Travis and I like to run fast." She laughed to think about her horse which she was sure could run father than both Travis and Jack put together. "That's a horse, not you," Jack pointed out when she told him what was so funny.
"I'm sure I can manage it," she said.
Forty-five minutes later, she felt as if her lungs would burst and her legs would collapse into a pile of jelly. "What, they don't have sand on your farm?" he teased. Everyone knew it was a lot harder to run – or walk, for that matter – in sand than it was on a hard surface.
Panting, Gabrielle dropped to her knees and then onto her back. "You guys just pick me up on the way back," she panted.
Jack reached down to unclip the leash from Travis's collar. "Go have a swim, Travis," he instructed the dog. The dog happily ran into the surf. "He's a natural water-baby," Jack commented pleased when Travis dived into the water with all the enthusiasm – if none of the finesse – of an Olympic swimmer.
"I didn't realised you were one," Gabrielle commented dryly.
Jack shrugged. "I used to go to the beach all the time. Grew up in the eastern suburbs and hated it. Used to catch the bus to Bondi every chance I could get."
He sounded so much like Claire then, and for some reason, Gabrielle felt a fission of jealousy. "So what changed?" she asked.
"Dunno exactly. I mean, I know Patrick took a lot of pleasure out of life but... I guess more than anything it's one of those things where you get so caught up in achieving things that you forget about the little things that made you happy as a kid." He lay down on the sand and basked in the sun's rays. "I swear I am never going to forget about this again."
She rolled over so she was on her side, proper up on her elbow. When she had first met Jack, she would never have taken him to be someone who took such joy out of going to the beach with his dog. But somehow it made perfect sense in the Jack she knew today. "C'mere," he said suddenly, holding out his arms to her. Obediently, she drew into him, resting her head on his chest, feeling his arms wrap around her. "This is so nice," he murmured.
She wholeheartedly agreed. She rubbed her cheek against his shirt, inhaling the smell of sand, saltwater and the crisp air that it seemed you could only find at the beach. There was something so clean and natural about it. No wonder Claire found it so sexy.
"Sorry?" Jack asked.
Gabrielle blushed, and was glad that from his lying-down position, Jack couldn't see her blush. She hadn't realised she had said that thought aloud. "Nothing," she said.
"No, I'm curious." He had an attractive woman in his arms who had mentioned something about 'sexy', of course he was curious.
"Jack, it really is nothing."
"Well, if it's nothing, you won't mind telling me," he pointed out logically.
"It's nothing... just something Claire said. About there being something really sexy about the smell of the beach on men – clean and natural."
Jack laughed ruefully. "I don't think I'm either."
"I told you it was stupid."
There was a tone in her voice that made him stop and disentangle himself from her so he could look at her. He studied her face in a way that made Gabrielle feel uncomfortable, like he could read her thoughts. "But you think it's sexy?" he asked softly.
"Yeah," she admitted. She could feel her cheeks burning.
Jack stared at her for a second, then impulsively, brought his lips to hers for a kiss. For a few seconds, he held them there in a kiss that was simultaneously chaste and intimate. He could feel her breath and was sure she could feel his. He had thought about this of course, before, but it was always natural in his thoughts whereas now he was well aware of what he had to lose. It hit him that he was kissing his housemate, and how badly he could screw up another otherwise terrific friendship[p but pushing for more.
He lost his nerve and pulled away. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Hey," she said. For a few seconds she had felt frozen in time, both wanting not to move and wanting Jack to take it further. They had been on the cusp of something that it seemed in those seconds they had been evolving towards for months... and then he had pulled away. "Don't be sorry," she said. "I wanted you to." She looked in his eyes and gulped. She had never been this forward before – well, apart from kissing Jack at the wedding, obvious, and that hadn't counted, she had been drunk. "I, uh... want you to do it again."
"Yeah?" His eyes were sparkling.
"Yeah."
She would never have thought a kiss could be so gentle, and now understand why Jack had complained, of all things, that she had been too rough when she had grabbed him. He ran his tongue over her lips slowly, savouring every minute detail of her lips until she was trembling. She fought against the urge to thrust her tongue in his mouth, knowing Jack wanted to do it his way, knowing Jack's way was the right way. Instead, she brought her hands around his neck, running her fingers along is bare, salty skin, twirling his hair in her fingers...
His hand went up to her neck. He loved feeling her pulse quicken under his fingers. He loved the way she released a little sigh which, this close to his mouth was like a roar. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, searching out her own, taking his time, slowly, slowly... He brought his free arm around her waist and drew her tightly against him as he began kissing her in earnest. She kissed him back just as earnestly. He wriggled around so he could push her onto the soft sand, his body on top of hers, their legs tangled together. "Sweet," he murmured softly as he began trailing kisses down her neck and collarbone. "So sweet..."
They were interrupted by a loud bark and then a spray of wet-dog-smelling water. "Travis!" Jack yelled at his dog for the first time since adopting him. "Bad dog!" Travis looked suitably contrite and Gabrielle laughed. There was something oddly touching about Jack telling off his beloved dog for interrupting their make-out session.
She sat up and threaded his fingers through his. They had held hands before, but this was different. On one hand, she felt like a nervous schoolgirl on her first date, and on the other, she felt like a longterm girlfriend. She had never dated someone she had been friends with for so long before, and something told her it would be a great experience. "Let's go home," she suggested. "Just leave him outside. I know you let him sleep in your room when you think you'll be up before me."
Jack laughed guiltily. He helped her to her feet and wrapped his arm around her after he'd reattached Travis's leash to his collar. "Agreed," he said.
"Hot enough for you?" she teased a few hours later.
"Mmmm-hmmm." Not a trace of Faith-esque grunting to be heard. He curled up beside her in a way that a few months ago she would have thought was decidedly un-Jack, but now... "I can't believe it's taken us so long to do this," he murmured.
She stroked his hair. It was damp, like the rest of his body, from the last few hour's exertions. The lingering smell of sweat on top of sand and saltwater was an ever sexier combination than the smell of the beach on it's own. "You're the one who avoided me and then flat-out rejected me after the wedding," she couldn't help but remind him.
"I was just being cautious!" he protested. He shut up when she dropped her fingers to the back of her his neck, curling them around the ends of his hair. "So does this mean we're dating now?" he asked.
"I don't know, you're the relationship expert."
"I am not, that's why I'm asking you. I've never dated a friend before. I don't know how this works."
And he thought she did? Then she realised Jack was actually nervous about screwing things up. He had been screwing around for so long he honestly had no clue as to what to do after. "Well, I think since you kissed me, you should be the one to ask me out," she suggested.
"OK. You want to go out with me?"
"Jack! You could try being a little more romantic!"
He flashed her that trademark smirk. "I think if you wanted me to be more romantic you should have held out on me a little longer," he suggested, his eyes sparkling with laughter that belied his deadpan voice. She swatted him playfully. He easily caught her hand, brought it up over her head and used it as leverage to get on top of her. "Gabrielle, will you go out with me?" he asked more seriously.
"Yes," she said in a small voice, suddenly overwhelmed by the seriousness of the situation. She hadn't realised Jack could look at a woman so intensely, and at the same time, she knew that he didn't look at just any woman that way. She knew this was different for him. It was certainly different for her.
Jack smiled brilliantly, and leaned in to kiss her.
Outside, Travis barked furiously, indignant that his owner had banished him so he could have fun of his own.