Chapter Three

Ronnie lost her concentration and in doing so poked her mascara wand into her eye. "Ouch!" That wasn't any of the many replies that Jack had expected. A tear slowly rolled down Ronnie's cheeck as she rubbed at her eye. Without thinking Jack moved from the bed onto the stool that she was sat on. "Are you O.K?" he asked, "Here let me help you." She flinched at his touch, as his hand moved to wipe away the tear on her cheek. She still couldn't believe what he had said, maybe she had imagined it, as he hadn't mentioned it again. "Really I'm fine," she didn't think that she could cope with his touch at the moment. Despite her obvious discomfort with his presence Jack reached for the box of tissues and started to wipe away the smudged mascara around her eye. "What are you doing?" She held her breath as he reached for her face with his other hand, holding it still and gently stroking her skin with his thumb. "Cleaning you up," he replied, stating the obvious again, "just trust me." It was more of a request than a command so Ronnie sat still, her eyes focused on a spot in the centre of his forehead, trying to avoid looking into his eyes. "I have trust issues, remember?" She regretted saying it as soon as the words came out of her mouth, it was yet another reminder of what had been. Jack seemed to be remembering as well, and said softly "just try." Their eyes finally met as he placed the tissue on her dressing table.

Ronnie was unsure how long they had been sat there just looking into each other's eyes, but it felt like hours, when in reality she knew it could only have been a couple of seconds. Abruptly she broke from his gaze and reached for her make-up bag. Jack watches her curiously, and his eyes fix on a round red tub that she draws out from a bag, "What's that?" he asks. Ronnie catches his gaze in the mirror and smiles slightly, "lip balm" she replies, somehow managing to say it in a flirtatious manner. Just the mention of her lips managed to send Jack's heart racing, "sticky?" he asked questioning her. Tingles were going up Ronnie's spine just because of the close proximity of his body to hers, though they weren't touching. She could see that his eyes were firmly fixed upon her lips as she slowly moved her fingers over them, rubbing the balm in. "Nope, not sticky, but it does taste of raspberry." He tongue quickly darted out of her mouth and licked her lips. "Really?" he asked. She turned to face him, so their bodies were opposite. His eyes moved up to meet hers, as her hand drifted down to his. "Really?" His voice quiet and gentle now. She felt her body leaning in towards his; they were so close that she could feel his breath on her neck. Using his free hand, Jack gently stroked down her arm with his index finger sending shiver through her body. "Yeh" She muttered so softly that she wasn't even sure if he heard her.

Ronnie tilted her head to the side and her lips brushed against his, pausing for a second and then their lips met again, her arm moved upwards as her fingers curled around his neck. Jack felt waves of emotion rushing through him that he never even dreamt of, his arm hooked around her waist, never wanting to let her go again. As their lips gently broke apart, and their foreheads rested on the others, Ronnie took a deep breath, turned and ran out of the room, knocking into the door as she left.