Chapter 2
The next morning, when I awoke, my phone was buzzing none stop. Opening it to see what the fuss was about, I saw that I had two messages. One was from Grace and one from Jack.
'Hey, don't forget, house party tonight. Oh and Jack will help with the decorations. Grace' – said her text.
'I'll pick you up at 11: am, be ready. Need to shop. Jack'– read his text.
I groaned and looked at the time. 10:50 Am. Damn it. I jumped out of the bed and rushed to have a shower, all the while cursing Grace for not reminding me about the party last night. Why that girl has to leave everything to the last minute?
After the shower, I dried off and put on my clothes and ran downstairs to get something to eat but upon hearing Jack honk his car, I grabbed my keys and ran out of the house.
When I jumped in the car, my heart almost stopped. Jack was wearing a white top which made his muscles look like they might pop out or burst at any moment. His hair was out of his eyes today and he had the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen on a guy. His trousers also seemed tight and I wondered if it hurt to wear them.
"How did you sleep?" – Jack asked, bringing me back to earth.
"Huh? Oh yeah, great. You?" – I asked back.
"Wonderful, dreamt about you" – He said with a grin, and I could help but blush, "Don't worry, it was P.G. rated."
"Gross. I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that" – I said and smirked.
"You can pretend all you want. It doesn't change the fact that I have seen it and have it stored in my memory" – He laughed.
I had a feeling this day will be very long.
Arriving at the mall the first thing he went to buy was alcohol.
"Are you allowed to drink? I don't even know" – He asked trying to be smart.
"I'm 21, so yes mister, I am allowed to drink. You on the other hand have a mentality of a twelve year old, so maybe it should be you who doesn't get to drink tonight" – I said and stuck my tongue out.
Jack rolled his eyes and put a few cases of beer in the shopping trolley.
"How many do we need?" – I asked him.
"Well, let's see, three for me, one for you and two for Grace. About the others I have no clue" – He said.
"How many people will be there?" – I asked.
"Her friends from work, so about ten I think" – He said.
"Great, that means Grace will spend all her time with them and I will have to fend for myself" – I grunted.
"Don't worry" – Jack said putting his arm around me, "I'll stay with you"
I hated to admit it but it did make me feel better.
"Alright, but we are gonna need more beer in that case" – I laughed.
"That's the spirit" – Jack laughed and we put more cases in the trolley.
When we got enough drinks to last us a month, we got some chips and dips and who knows what else Jack put in the trolley. Then we had to get some balloons and streamers and some firecrackers. Although putting it all in the car was a problem. When we started to put everything away, we realised that there wasn't enough space. So in the end, I ended up holding the food in my lap, a case of beer under my feet and even Jack had to hold something in his lap we looked ridiculous.
Unpacking everything at Grace's and putting the drinks in the cellar, we started on making her back garden on looking pretty, but Jack had other ideas as he opened a beer and gave me one.
"Do you know what time it is?" – I asked disapprovingly.
"Its 5o'clock somewhere" – he said taking a sip; "You need to relax more. Have some fun"
"What, you mean like you are? Getting drunk before 2pm" – I asked.
"Sweetheart, it's almost 4pm" – Jack said pointing at his watch.
"What? That can't be right. How long were we at the shop?" – I asked
"Long enough for you to forget the time" – He said, "Here, help me put all these streamers up"
I was half down with my 3rd beer when Jack bumped into me causing me to spill my drink on him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry" – I tried to say but I was laughing too much for it to make any sense.
"Oh, you will be" – Jack said while grabbing another bottle and shaking it and soaking me with all its contents.
We were both laughing and running around the garden trying to soak the other more and more. After 10 minutes of running, I got tired and stopped but Jack was too slow to react and ran into me resulting in both of us falling on the ground, him on top of me.
We were still laughing without realising how close we were to each other. When I had stopped laughing, I realised that he was looking at me. His face was so close to mine that without intending to do so, I wrapped my arms around his neck while tilting my head to a better angle.
We stared at each other for a moment, and when he leaned closer, I closed my eyes awaiting his lips on mine. But, they never came. Instead, he whispered in my ear "I can't" and pulled away.
At that moment, my eyes flew open and I pushed him away from me even more while I got up.
"What?" – I asked, shocked at his behaviour.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. I had no right to" – Jack said, barely looking at me, "Come on, I'll take you home"
At that moment I had completely forgotten that I was soaked in beer and now had grass stains on my back. Looking around, I grimaced, noticing how the garden looked like a mess, with streamers and balloons everywhere.
"Fine." – I said, and walked to his car without looking back at him.
We drove back in silence, lot looking at one another. When we arrived at my house, I was almost out of the car when he grabbed my arm.
"Wait, please" – He said, "I want to explain".
"There is no need for explaining. I understand. We were just messing around, had a few beers and made a mess. You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings" – I said and meant it. I didn't even like him, at least not until that almost kiss. But at the same time, I didn't even know him, or anything about him.
"I wanted to kiss you, back there, but..." – He said.
"But what, Jack?" – I asked.
"You don't know me, and we had a few beers, I didn't want you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you" – He said.
"What advantage? I had 3 beers. It's not like I was passed out" – I said. "Look, I won't tell Grace and I won't drink around you anymore, okay? Relax, I'm not a child".
And with those words sill in the air, I got out of his car and walked inside the house.
I watched him drive away and quickly took of my clothes and put them into the washing machine before the whole house starts smelling of beer, and had a shower.
An hour later, Grace had texted me asking why I wasn't at the party, and I quickly wrote back that I was on my way.
I decided to wear a dress, a simple silver number, which was backless. Good thing I had the figure to pull it off. With it I wore my new 2 inch silver heals and curled my hair. As accessories I chose a sparkling silver bracelet and my clutch which had my phone, house keys and lip gloss in. With one last look in the mirror, I headed out the door.
I was on my last step outside when I noticed him, standing by his car, with a single white rose. He looked dashing in his dark shirt and trousers. Like a movie start. I was pleasantly surprised but I knew I couldn't show it.
"What are you doing here?" – I asked, stopping right in front of him.
"Grace mentioned that you were coming, so I thought I would give you a lift" – Jack said smiling.
Oh, how I never noticed how perfect his lips looked.
"Plus, I was hoping we could talk" – He said.
Again with the talk.
"There is nothing to talk about" – I said, getting in the car.
"Please, just hear me out" – He begged.
"Alright, go on" – I said to him when he got in the car and we started driving off.
"I wanted to clear the air, so to speak. I do like you, a lot Marcie, that's why I asked you yesterday what you thought of me. Since I saw you, I can't stop thinking about you" – Jack said.
"Then what exactly is the problem?" – I asked, hoping my voice didn't sound as shaky as it felt.
"It's complicated" – he said.
"Okay, you know what Jack, I don't understand you. First you tell me that you like me, then you try to kiss me but at the same time you aren't acting on those feelings." - I said, frustrated.
"I just don't want you to do something you might regret" – He said.
"Regret what, kissing you?" – I asked.
"Yes, exactly that" – He said.
"Why would I regret doing that?"- I asked confused even more.
I turned my head to face him and saw that he was leaning closer to me, our noses almost touching. This close proximity wasn't doing any good for wither of us.
"So what do you want from me?" – I asked turning my head back, away from him.
"I don't want anything you aren't willing to give" – He said.
We were parked outside Grace's house by now, looking around making sure that no one sees us. I don't know why that was important but I had a feeling that if anyone will see us, it wont be good.
"And what if I want to kiss you?" – I asked looking at him.
"Then I can't stop you" – He said and leaned closer to me just as I was leaning closer to him.
"Are you sure?" – I asked.
"Yes, Marcie" – He said in a whisper and just us our lips were almost touching, I heard a knock on the window behind me.
"What are you two doing?" – Grace asked looking puzzled.
"Nothing Grace" – I said getting out of the car and then looking at Jack, "Believe, absolutely nothing"
"Okay then, come inside" – Grace said.
"How is the party?" – I asked her.
"Better now that you are here, you know its nota party till you get here" – Grace laughed.
I smiled at that and walked inside the house. There were people all around, talking and drinking beer. Outside in the garden, everyone was dancing to the music and my eyes widened in shock when I realised how tidy the garden looked.
"Wow, last time I saw the place it looked like a bomb went off" – I said, and received a quizzical look from Grace but I quickly recovered with, "Oh you know, it always looks like a mess"
"Alright fair enough. Come with me I want to introduce you to someone" – Grace said and took my arm, leading me towards the house.
"Okay I'm coming, no need to drag me like a prisoner" – I laughed.
"Marcie, this is Jeff" – Grace said when we stopped in front of a guy who was looking at us, then turned to him and said, "Jeff, this is Marcie, the girl I was telling you about"
The problem was, I knew Jeff, and I didn't like him, but I knew I needed to pretend otherwise, while Grace was near us.
"Nice to meet you, Jeff" – I said.
"You too Marcie, you are all the things Grace told me about you" – He said.
Ugh, sly git, I hate how he acts all sweet and nice.
"Okay, you two talk and I'll go mingle" – Grace said to us and left.
The minute she left, I turned to Jeff and whispered angrily to him. "What the hell do you think you are doing here?"
"I came to warn you. If you don't come back with me, things will turn very ugly Marcie" – He said, completely calm.
"I told you when I last saw you, I am never going back, and you know just as well as I do, there is nothing you can do to me" – I spat and turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.
"Maybe not, but your friends might not be so lucky" – He said in my ear and let me go.
Now that was something I didn't want to happen.