I was very disappointed with the response to last chapter; it was one that I really thought people would actually share their opinions on, so that's part of the reason for the long time in between updates.
Oh, and with the whole issue of contraceptives... just assume that things like that are being taken care of, as I don't exactly like writing it into the story. Kind of ruins the mood, huh? They're being safe. Sorry for not bringing it up last chapter. :)
Chapter Eight: The Takedown
Kate felt bad for leaving Jack's, she really did. While it was true that she had a lot to do that day, she knew deep down that she was returning to protective mode, to the barrier she put up against nearly everyone she met.
She was lying flat on her back on her bed now, staring at the now seemingly infinite patterns on the textured ceiling. Her thoughts sprung back to the previous night and as wonderful as it was, she cursed herself for getting that close to someone again, for letting someone like Jack get so far into her life.
And why hadn't she learned her lesson? She'd already made the mistake once in her life, back in Iowa, although it was a completely different situation. Kate once again imagined Jack, who was great, really. He was everything she could hope for except one thing: he'd cheated on his previous girlfriend, yet Kate found herself trusting him.
Heather entered her room hesitantly. "Kate?" she questioned.
"Hmm?" she replied absent mindedly.
To her surprise, Heather came over and sat on her bed, fingering the sheets.
"So what's up with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I know we're not that close or anything, but you've been acting kind of weird lately. One minute you're smiling and singing to yourself and the next you're like this. Staring into space," she noted. "I mean, I know you're in love and everything…" she trailed off, teasing.
"What?" Kate snapped. Hearing someone else say it made it feel that much more real. That much more painful.
"You and Jack. I mean, you've been spending a lot of time together. You guys must be getting close," she added, now flopping down onto her back next to Kate.
Kate nodded. "Sure. I guess."
"It's not as good as it looks then?" Heather asked, confused by Kate's lack of enthusiasm.
"No. It's great, actually," she reasoned, more to herself. "But I guess I just get freaked out pretty easily. I don't let people in very often, in case you haven't noticed," she laughed.
The two girls expressed their amusement, as they both knew that for how long they'd lived together, they sure weren't very close.
"He seems really nice, Kate."
"Yeah, he is. That's the problem I guess. I don't want him, in the end, to just seem nice. I want him to actually be nice. You know?"
"Has he done anything to make you doubt that though?"
Kate sighed. "I think I'm just overanalyzing everything. We had this great night together last night," she blushed, "And then I freaked out and asked him to drive me home, and I made some lame excuse about having too much to do today."
Heather laughed at her story. "Oh God," she paused. "But if you really like him, just call him and try to put that behind you," she suggested.
"It sounds so easy when you say it like that," Kate laughed.
"Well," Heather started, sensing that their conversation was over, "If you ever want to talk about anything I'm here," she smiled.
"Thanks," Kate said softly, as Heather exited the room.
Reaching around her bedroom, Kate grabbed her purse and shoes and gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. She walked swiftly down the hallway, and was about to exit before she stopped herself.
She pulled her phone out and called Jack, choosing not to surprise him with another visit.
"Hey," he greeted her warmly on the second ring.
"Oh, hey," her words stumbled. "I wasn't expecting you to answer so soon."
"So what's up?" he asked, curious.
"Are you busy right now? Can I come over?" she asked quickly.
"Yeah, sure thing. Come on over."
Kate paced around the living room of her apartment. "Okay, I'll be over in a few."
"Is everything okay?" she heard concern from the other end of the line.
She paused. "Yeah. Yeah… I just need to talk to you, that's all."
Ten minutes later Kate stood on Jack's doorstep, Jack opening the door before she had the chance to knock.
"Saw you coming," he grinned, pecking her on the lips.
"So what's up?" he asked again.
She shifted on her feet, looking uncomfortable. "Oh, I uh, just wanted to apologize for last night."
A look of confusion passed over her face, and she cocked her head to the side.
"What do you have to apologize for?" Jack laughed, motioning for her to sit down in the living room.
"No, not that," she blushed, grinning and looking down at her feet. "I'm not apologizing for that. I mean how I just left. How I just asked you to drive me home and gave you some lame excuse."
"Oh, that," Jack teased, taking a seat next to her. "So why did that happen?" he questioned her, leaning back into the couch.
"Look Jack, I can't make you any promises that I won't freak out like that again, okay? You should just know that," she started.
Jack nodded. "I wouldn't expect anyone to make a promise like that."
"So, for me, this is pretty serious. Us, I mean. So last night you know, things just got serious, and I flipped out. Because I'm scared to let people in, I'm afraid of being hurt, and I have all of that baggage that no guy wants to deal with," she rambled.
"Kate," he interrupted her rant. "It's okay. If you need time to adjust to this then that's fine. Because I could probably use it too," he laughed slightly. "And I don't know what happened to you that causes you to act like this, but I'm not going to pressure you to tell me if you're not comfortable with that. I can only hope that you'll want to tell me sometime," he finished, making somewhat of a speech of his own.
She looked at him with warm eyes, thanking him silently. "Can we just pretend that this never happened?"
"Pretend what never happened?" Jack asked, his best serious look crossing his features.
Kate slapped his arm playfully. "Shut up," she grinned, unable to resist putting her lips to his in a sweet kiss, but she soon found her hands running under his shirt and up his back.
"We're in the living room," he laughed against her.
She took it as a suggestion to part them, but Jack stood up and held his hand out to her. He smiled playfully at her, leading her to his room where they fell on the bed roughly, Kate's frame on top of his.
"So," Jack began. "What should we do now?" he pretended innocently, but couldn't hold back a chuckle.
Kate pressed her lips against his a bit roughly in an openmouthed kiss and Jack responded immediately. Her hands gripped the sides of his head, and he quickly got the message that she wanted to be in charge.
Her aggressiveness was something Jack hadn't experienced yet, at least not in the physical sense. They broke apart when she pulled his shirt up and over his head, but her mouth attached right back onto his. He couldn't be sure if her assertiveness was because she wanted to feel in control of just something in her life.
Jack's fingers fumbled to the buttons on the front of Kate's shirt and began to undo them one by one, letting his hands run down her chest and stomach. He reached around her back and unclasped her bra, his lips coming in contact with her neck and sucking lightly on a sensitive spot. She laid against his chest, both of their upper halves bare and warm to the touch.
He felt her tongue flick his earlobe and such on the skin just underneath it, her hot breath hitting his neck. "I have to be to work in a half hour," she breathed.
"We can work with that," he told her breathily, working on sliding her jeans down her legs, taking her panties along with them.
She was straddled over him, hovering and driving him crazy. She teased him by rubbing over his obvious erection through his jeans and he hissed.
"No time for that," he gritted, and she agreed, pulling his pants down.
His length was free from the confines of his boxers soon after, hard but ever expanding as his arousal heightened. She looked at him and noticed how his eyes had seemingly darkened, staring back at her intently. Lightening the mood, she gave him a mischievous smile, moving her body in between his legs and her mouth dangerously close to his erection.
Softly blowing on his length, Kate giggled when his hips thrust up involuntarily as the air hit him.
"Kate," he whined, his hand running through her hair.
She was just putting up a front however, because she was starting to become as desperate as he was. All she offered was a smirk in his direction, and then lowered her mouth onto his tip, her tongue swirling over the sensitive head. His hands automatically found the back of her head, resting there as she worked her mouth over him. Jack opened his eyes and watched her head bob up and down on his shaft, the site arousing him even more.
Slowing down her moves on him, Kate let her tongue tease his head again, tasting the precum that was forming there. His hips bucked up against her and she decided she'd teased him enough and herself too.
By now Jack was sitting with his back against the headboard of the bed, Kate sitting on his stomach. He could feel her wetness all over his tip as he whispered into her ear.
"I'll pay you back for that, I promise," he told her, gripping her hips as she rubbed herself over him.
"I don't care about that at all, I just need you now," she breathed.
Her small hand grasped his length at the base, and she lowered herself onto him. Fully embedded in her, she began moving up and down, picking up the pace. Soon Jack's hips were rising slightly off the bed to meet her on the way down, their connection becoming passionate and quick.
She could feel his legs tightening underneath her and realized that she was getting close too as she continued to move over him. Kate suddenly felt herself being flipped over, Jack's body now draped across hers. He held himself up on his forearms and thrusted into her, their new position allowing for quicker movements.
Soon they were both on the edge and Jack sent Kate over when he pressed his palm to her sensitive clit, the pressure alone enough to get her there. She tightened around him, pulsing. The tightness got to him and a few hard thrusts later he joined her.
Their breathing soon slowed from their activity, Jack's weight pressed against her.
"Fuck, it's almost 5 Jack, I've gotta go," she interrupted their silence, looking over at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
"Yeah, I was hoping you'd forget about that," he joked, rolling off of her. "When do you get off?"
She looked at him and burst into laughter, then Jack realized how he worded the phrase.
"From work…" he added, laughing with her.
"Nine, so I'm just going in for a few hours. Did you want to do something afterwards?"
He got up off the bed, finding his clothes and dressing along with Kate. "Uh, well my dad and I are going to have dinner, but I think he was hoping to see you again," he added.
"Oh," she said, her face blushing.
"He really likes you Kate. Believe me, that isn't an easy feat," he joked, pulling his jeans over his hips and buckling his belt. "Why don't you just join us at the restaurant when you get off? From work," Jack kidded again.
"That's fine, I guess," she added, fixing her hair. "Where are you going?"
The two made plans and then Kate headed to work.
Christian knocked on the door of Jack's house. He was nervous about tonight. When he'd made plans with Jack to have dinner, he wasn't planning on telling him. He wasn't planning on telling him ever, really.
"Dad," Jack smiled warmly and greeted Christian at the door.
"Hey Jack, how are you?" he asked as he walked through the door.
He smiled at him, for once not trying to hide his emotions from his father.
"Oh, I'm doing great, how about you?" he asked casually.
"Oh, you know, getting by," Christian joked. "Is Kate coming with us?" he questioned, looking around the living room.
"She's actually meeting us at the restaurant after she's done working."
"Sounds great," he told him. "So are you ready then?"
They got in Christian's car and drove to the restaurant. This time it had been Jack's pick, and he chose something less formal than the other's they'd been to recently.
The father and son chit chatted for awhile, with Christian asking about school and Kate again, teasing Jack about being whipped.
"Fair enough," Jack laughed. "She's really great dad."
"I happen to agree with you," Christian said, pulling a small bottle out of his jacket. He opened the cap and squeezed a few drops into his right eye.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked him, curious.
His father waved him off. "Oh, it's nothing. Just allergies I think."
"In only your right eye?" Jack asked suspiciously, craning his head in to take a closer look at his dad's eye. "Is something wrong?"
Christian sighed as he put the drops back into his pocket. "Jack, listen. I didn't want to tell you any of this since we've been getting along so well."
Jack rested his elbows on the table. "What? Just tell me, dad."
"I'm not here for a medical conference. You have no idea how much I wish I was."
He could see the look of concern etched on Jack's face. "I don't want you to worry about anything Jack, okay?"
"Please just tell me what's going on?"
"I uh, I was in surgery a few weeks ago and all of a sudden my vision in my right eye became so blurry that I had to call in another surgeon to finish for me," he explained. "I didn't think that much of it, and it went away. But then it happened again, and I started to get worried. So I went to an optometrist, and I could tell something was wrong as soon as I saw him."
Christian shifted in his seat. "So he referred me to an oncologist who could do some further testing-"
"It's cancer?" Jack interrupted.
His father nodded to him. "Yeah Jack, its cancer," he said gloomily. "So I'm here because my oncologist referred me to a specialist here in New York," he explained. "That's why I'm here. I've been seeing her for the past few days."
"So what is it?" Jack questioned. He could sense how hesitant his father was to tell him the severity of the cancer.
"It's called Metastatic Choroidal Melanoma. Basically there's a tumor in my eye that has been affecting my eyesight. Unfortunately the type of cancer I have is the type that metastasizes, so I'm at a huge risk of developing cancer elsewhere," he explained calmly.
"How bad is it?" Jack asked him.
"That's why I'm at the specialist, Jack. It's not good at all. Dr. Hart says that with the size of my tumor, it's unlikely that radiation will cure the cancer, and even if it does, there's the huge possibility that the vision will be impaired significantly."
"So what are your other options?"
"Well, there's really only one. And it would end my surgical career, for sure."
So what does this mean for Christian? How is this going to affect Jack? I (for once) actually have this story pretty much planned out, and I'm excited to where I'm taking it, so I hope that you guys like it too! Please leave a review. It only takes 30 seconds for you to make my day and encourage my writing...
