Survivors

Chapter 6 -- Give me today and I will be happy

My hunch had been right, a trip to the store was just what Jack needed. He liked to play dumb, but the truth of it was that he was a highly intelligent person. We grabbed DVDs, video games, board games and a couple of hand-held electronic games.

Back at the motel the first thing Jack wanted to do was set up the Playstation; he was just like a kid on Christmas morning. He couldn't decide if we should watch a movie or play a game and I was having fun just watching him, as always. There was such a child-like quality about him. Like skating around in the toy store, and throwing a giant rubber ball at me. He actually reminded me of a cartoon character. He was like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.

The toys did just what I had hoped, they took both our minds off the fact that we were stuck in this same room, two healthy adults, and the tension was building. I was struggling to remind myself that he sort of belonged to someone else and I needed to just wait and see what happened. Something that was becoming harder and harder to do.

We spent the rest of the day playing a game called 'Area 51'. Jack joked about us 'saving the world from aliens, if you could tell the good ones from the bad ones.' I didn't get that, but I didn't ask for an explanation, either.

We finally stopped around seven PM because our hands were cramped and hurting. Mine were, anyway. Jacked seemed fine.

"Why don't you pick us out a movie to go with supper?" I asked him. To my surprise he picked out a romance movie of all things.

Now I'll confess to being a marshmallow when it comes to a good romance movie, but I didn't expect it from Jack, who bit his lip all through the tearful ending. Yes, he had a soft heart no matter what he did for a living, or how tough he liked to act.

I made my first critical mistake then, I reached over and patted his hand. It felt like a current of electricity raced between us and judging by the look on his face I wasn't the only one that felt it either.

"Sorry," I apologized, feeling anything but.

"No, it's... all right," he said, his eyes locked with mine. I could have kissed him right then. God knows I wanted to and if I hadn't moved away when I did I'm pretty sure he would have kissed me. I backed away quickly but not before I noticed the little grin on his face. He was enjoying this. Ohhh that made me want to get even, and why not? Two can play this game. That was where I made my second mistake. Never try to get even over something you really want to happen.

I went to the door and looked out at the still falling rain.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"Yeah just wondering about the guy out here with the big boat and all the animals."

"What?" he asked, rising from his seat on the bed before he realized what I had said. "Is he named Noah?" he asked me.

"Yep, that would be him," I replied.

"Don't worry about him, he's just opening his own zoo."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"I try too, yes."

"Except one question, you still don't know about your Sam, do you?" I wasn't trying to be mean when I asked it, it just popped into my head and out of my mouth. He just smiled at me.

"No, but I have a lot of faith in her, and faith manages to get me through a lot of rough times."

That made me feel even worse for what I had said. That gentle, calm, assurance. It was also like an instant cold shower. Nope, no sexual tension here.

"I didn't mean anything by that, Jack." I apologized.

"I know," he answered, "now come on, play me a game of F-15 --"

"You're too good at that one, I never stand a chance."

"I know," he gloated openly.

The next day the rain began to slow down and ease off to intermittent showers, and we both realized that tomorrow would be another day of travel, but for now we had one more day of rest. One more day of play, and we made the most of it.

By late afternoon my fingertips were raw from playing video games and my face actually hurt from laughing so much. I could tell you we had a blast, but that doesn't even come close to describing what that day was like. You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can in a year of conversation.

My back ached from sitting hunched over playing games, so I lay down on my bed to stretch it out. A second later Jack flopped down next to me.

"It's my night to cook, you in the mood for anything in particular?"

"Whatever you want is fine with me," I yawned. When I opened my eyes he was staring down at me with those soft brown eyes and I knew what was about to happen and I couldn't stop it. Hell, I didn't want to stop it. Our bodies were pressed against each other, mouths almost touching, then flesh connected with flesh and heat enveloped both of us. I yielded to the pressure of his mouth and a low moan escaped from his lips, it sent a tingle down my spine.

I wound my hands into his shirt and we rolled over, never breaking the searing contact of our mouths. The kiss itself had shifted with the movement, an intimate battle raged, each gesture intensified and returned. This was fast approaching the point of no return. I pulled away from him.

"Jack? We gotta stop this," I said breathlessly

"I know, I know, sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I said, tracing one finger along his jawline, "I'm sure not."

He smiled at me then went to make supper. I took a couple of deep breaths to help calm me down.

No great surprise as to what kind of dreams I had that night. Same goes for Jack judging by the noises he was making over there. As I tossed and turned in between fitful dreams of long, hot, kisses, I was glad we were leaving tomorrow. Too much time spent alone in this room and we would go too far. Hell, we had almost done it today. I cursed Jack and Samantha both for their stupid rules and relationship. Why didn't people understand that love was a gift, not something to be hidden away?

The next morning we got up early packed up and headed out, leaving most of the toys and games behind. All that lay between us and the state of Colorado was part of Missouri and Kansas. It weighed heavy on my mind that once we got to Colorado Springs I would lose him forever. I guess it was up to whether or not Samantha was there. We made good time, crossing out of Kansas City just before sundown and finding a motel, with two rooms this time, just before full dark.