Jumper: Cent's Story
Cent and John go on their third date together. Millie and Cent have a special conversation. Cent asks John to meet her parents for the first time. What happens now?
Chapter ten is finally here! Please read and enjoy!
Chapter Ten:
The One
Cent changed into a pair of cut-offs and a black t-shirt in the bathroom. She brushed her hair and brushed her teeth three times before being satisfied with herself.
Walking back into her bedroom, she sat at the edge of her bed, place her hands on the bed for support.
How am I going to convince him to do this? her mind was spinning.
The thought had nearly taken over her entire day with her mom and dad.
Her parents wanted to meet John for dinner tomorrow. But Cent had doubts about John wanting to meet her parents. She could imagine him saying no or making an excuse to miss out. She didn't want to scary him away all because of her parents. She hated the thought to see him go. She couldn't help it if they split up now. Her heart had invested to much emotion and affection for this guy. It would tear her apart.
"Honey?" came Millie's voice from behind the door. "You still there, sweetheart?"
Cent smiled and said, "Yeah. Come on in mom."
Millie entered the bedroom and smiled at her.
"Look at you!" she exclaimed. "Looking hot for your new boyfriend. I like it. Way to go girl!"
Cent and Millie laughed.
"Okay," Millie came and sat down on the bed with her. "Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Is it really that obvious that there is something wrong with me?" Cent chuckled and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder.
"Yes, with you it is that easy. But you haven't answered my question."
Cent sighed and said, "I'm worried. About asking John to come to dinner with us tomorrow. I feel like I will scare him off or something."
Millie nodded and said, "Go on."
"And I feel this..." she placed her hand on her heart, "... feeling... inside my heart. Every time I see him. Or talk to him. Or even kiss him." She paused. "I just... feel this feeling inside that wants more of him. It's like I don't want to leave him. I keep dreading the moment when we would have to part. I even found myself crying from our last date." She looked up at Millie. "What can I do to make sure I don't scare him off?"
Millie smiled and looked towards the floor.
"I remember feeling like this," she said. "I remember the first time that I met your father. It was in New York, I was visiting from Stillwater, where I was going to college at the time. We met at a broadway theater and things went on from there. We talked and I found myself getting more interested in him. It was at the moment that I felt something inside me. A feeling that I had never felt before. It just came out of no where." She laughed. "I dreaded the moment when I had to leave New York. I wanted to stay with him. Heck, I wanted to bring him with me. But I knew I would see him again. We made plans to go to a party in Stillwater later on."
Cent smiled at her mother's story. She heard it many times from her father, but never from her mother. It was about time that she was getting her mother's side of the story.
"Anyway, about a few weeks later, your father arrived in Oklahoma City. I was there to pick him up from the airport." She paused. "Over those few weeks, I was having the exact same feelings that you have been feeling. I worried that I may scare him off or ask too much from him. I also feared that I would have to sleep with him to repay everything. But I ended up seeing a different side to David. He was more worried about me than himself. He didn't want to make things complicated and even offered to fly back to New York to spare me these feelings."
Cent touched Millie's hand and squeezed it.
"It was right then," Millie went on, "that I realized that he was different from the other boys. He wasn't looking to sleep with me for a good time. He wasn't trying to use me to his advantage. He was trying to get to know me. He wanted to have a relationship with me. Although, I think he was very confused, as I was. So... I asked him to stay and we went to the party together." Millie began to giggle. "Things didn't go well for David. We ran into my cheating ex-boyfriend, Mark, who couldn't get it in his head that we were over. David had to jump him to Oklahoma City in order to get rid of him. I felt bad for him. I should have known that Mark would be at the party."
"That was when your guys's relationship had really taken off," Cent added.
"Yes," Millie looked at her and smiled. "Yes, it was. We arrived back at my house that night and officially made our relationship more serious. That was the night that David gave up his virginity to me." She smiled at the thought. "Such a handsome, young man. Could have had any other girl... and yet, he chooses me. A college girl from Stillwater, Oklahoma. And there I was, sleeping with other men from the age of eighteen before even meeting him. Your father will always hold that over me. He waited for his one true love." Tears fell from her eyes. "I love him so much. It hurts. It really does."
Cent was in tears as well.
"Do you regret it?" Cent asked. "For not waiting for him, as he did for you?"
Millie nodded.
"I really do regret it," she forced the words out. "But your father didn't care. He didn't care that I slept with Mark or any of the other guys I've been with. He loved me and he was willing to forget my past relationships just to be with me. He made me into a better woman. And, in a way, I made him into a better man. We were made for each other. Once we had met in New York, there was no way we were going to be torn apart." She paused. "Even when we broke up, our love was pulling us together. I couldn't stand being without him. I found himself missing his touch, his face, his scent, even his body. I missed the mornings when I would find myself right next to him in bed. I never felt this way with anyone before. That was the moment when we finally realized that we were truely in love."
Millie exhaled and continued, "The thing about love is this, some people, meaning Mark, are the type of people who make us into someone we aren't. They pretend to be something else, just to get you interested in them and they use you. They bring us down and try to keep us down. They use words to discourage us. And they make us feel horrible about who we are on the inside."
Cent nodded, listening very carefully to her mother's words.
Millie smiled and said, "But then... there are people who make us better. People who make us love who we are on the inside and help us to be better. They encourage us, with words and actions, to move forward and reach for the sky. David is that kind of person, my knight and shining armor. It was the very reason I fell in love with him. The same kind of love that will never die."
Cent smiled even bigger as she heard the words from her mother. She loved the idea of someone being able to make her feel better about herself, even make her better than she ever imagined. Was John that kind of person for her? She hoped so. She wanted him to be. She wanted him to be all hers.
Millie moved her hand on Cent's cheek and stroked it. "My beautiful Cent. Just remember what I told you. Remember to watch for what he does and how he acts around you. If he is like Mark, then he is wrong for you. But, if he is like your father, or even better..."
Cent and Millie giggled together.
She continued, "... or even better than David is, then he is the right man for you. It means that he is the type of person who will never betray you. That he will protect and provide for you. You will have to find out just who he is. Test him. See who he truely is on the inside."
Cent hugged her mother and whispered, "Thank you. I feel so much better now. I think I can do this."
"I know you can do this," her mother stated. "Now, you better get going. Don't want the poor guy to think that you are missing out on him." She got up and walked right out the door, winking at Cent as she disappeared, down the hall.
Cent laughed and got up from the bed.
Then... she jumped.
Cent arrived in the living room of John's place.
"John?" she called out.
His voice came from his bedroom.
"I'm in here! Be right out!"
Cent giggled and said, "Alright!"
She collapsed on the couch and allowed herself to relax.
John emerged from the hallway and smiled at Cent.
Cent studied him over and laughed.
He was in a pair of swimming trunks and a loose t-shirt. He also wore some sandals too.
"Whats so funny?" John asked as he sat down right next to her.
Cent leaned forward and kissed him, arms around his neck.
John kissed her back and pulled her closer to him.
"You," Cent said as she pulled away from him. "You're in a pair of swimming trunks. It makes you look cute... and hot."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Well, thanks for the comment. Which brings me to why I am wearing these." He clapped his hands. "Have you ever went swimming off the coast of Italy before?"
Cent shook her head and said, "No, I don't believe so. But I have been to Italy before."
"Well," he moved his arm around Cent's shoulders, "it just happens to be a great time to be swimming off the coast. I know a place. Nice beach. Private. Even a little cave. And... it's beautiful at night too."
Cent smiled and said, "Sounds fun." She kissed him again. "But I forgot to bring my bathing suit."
John smiled back and got up from the couch.
"That is why I'm taking you shopping."
Cent's eyes widened.
"Shopping?" she asked in shock. "With me? Have you ever dated before? Rule one pal. Never go shopping with the girlfriend."
John shrugged and said, "Who cares! We can stop in Rome and shop at this mall there. I can wait. And no... I have never dated before."
He stretched out his hand towards her.
Cent giggled and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to him, into his embrace.
"Lets go to Rome then," he said and jumped.
They spent nearly three hours at the Mount Berry Square Mall. Cent tried out almost every single swimming suit store there was. She enjoyed it. Even John seemed to be liking it too.
Cent appeared from the changing room, wearing a green and blue colored bikinni, and showed herself off to John, who was laughing.
"Whats so funny?" she growled.
John smiled and said, "You look hot for one."
Cent returned him a smile of her own and said, "What do you think anyway? Too much?"
"No," he said in a calm way. "I think you look beautiful in it."
Cent blushed and walked up to him, put her arms around his neck. Then she kissed him.
When she pulled back, John asked, playfully, "What was that for?"
Cent smiled, seductively, and said, "For being so honest and nice to me. I feel like I must repay you somehow."
"Well, in that case," he placed his hands on her hips. "You can buy that bikinni and we can call it even. I really think it looks amazing on you. Please, get it."
Cent giggled and said, "Alright. Lover boy. I'll buy it. But I do intend to get wet in it."
"That's what swimming suits are for," he kissed her again, softly and slowly.
Cent returned to the changing room and got back into her original clothes. She bought the bikinni, with John's money, and they got some to-go dinner from a Chinese resturant in the food court.
"You ready to head to my private beach?" John kissed her forehead as they exited the mall.
"Ready as I ever will be," Cent replied.
When they were out of sight, John took ahold of her and they jumped.
Cent was amazed by the sight of the private beach that John was talking about. It was truely amazing. John said that no body comes around these parts anymore, which was okay for Cent. She wanted to be alone with John.
They ate their dinner on the beach, under the full moon. They even did a "Lady and the Tramp" trick together. Eating a noodle together, until their lips met, which is when they did a long and passionate kiss.
After eating, they explored the cave for a while, holding hands.
Just as they emerged from the cave, John spoke.
"Want to go for a swim?" he whispered against her ear.
Cent felt that same warm and cold feeling again. It ran from her ear and down to her spine, which made her shiver.
"I thought you would never ask," she teased.
John smiled and said, "Better go change in the cave. I'll wait out here."
"Okay," she pulled away from him and ran to where they left their stuff. She grabbed her swimming suit and ran back into the cave, changing as fast as she possibly could. She ran back outside and found John, sitting on the blanket, where their small mess of Chinese food laid.
"You ready?" she asked.
John turned and smiled at her.
"Sure I am," he got up and pulled her against him. "You look absolutely beautiful."
Before Cent could respond, he kissed her.
Cent's arms went around his neck and John's arms tightened around her waist.
They pulled away and looked each other in the eyes.
"You know," Cent broke the silence. "If you keep up the gentleman act, there might be a little bonus after all of this."
John chuckled and said, "What makes you think that I am acting as a gentleman? Everything I do around you is real. What I feel, is also true too."
Cent smiled and looked to the water ahead of them. She could hear the waves and the sound of the wind. It made her more eagre to just jump right in.
John guessed what she was thinking and said, "Lets get going." He pulled away and was about to take off his shirt.
Cent stopped him by putting her hands on his shoulders and said, "May I take off your shirt this time? I wanted to see those scars of yours."
Cent had known that the scars on John's arms had extended to other parts of his body as well.
John nodded and raised his arms above his head.
Cent took ahold of his shirt and took it right off of him. She enjoyed every second of it.
Then... she noticed all kinds of cuts and bruises on his chest and lower stomach.
Cent gasped and put his hands over her mouth.
"Oh, John!" she began to form tears. "How did you get those?"
John's face dropped and said, "I sometimes run into Syndicate every now and then. They seem to be everywhere now. I sometimes barely escape with my life. They have these knives that have this chemical on them. It can make the mind feel drunk, making a Jumper unable to jump. They also use gun darts too. But they perfer knives. The cuts makes the chemical last longer."
Cent traces the cuts over his stomach and chest.
John turned around to reveal more cuts on his back, but they were much worse than they were on the front of him.
Cent began to cry, tears falling as if her eyes were pouring.
John embraced her and kissed the top of her head, burying his face into her blonde hair.
"It's okay," he whispered to me.
Cent buried her own face into his chest.
"Why do some people have to be so horrible?" she cried. "Why do they have to hurt you? They took away your parents and tried to take your own life. A person like you doesn't deserve this. You are the most caring, loving, and happiest person I have ever met. You are truely gentleman. Why does the world have to repay your kindness with horrible actions?"
"Actually, you are repaying me," he whispered to her. "Just being here with me. Being able to share my secret with you. All of it is payment enough. I don't need the world to give me money or a mansion. All I want is you. If I had a choice, I would always choose you."
Cent looked up at him, wiping away her tears and said, "Thank you. You have no idea how much your words mean to me."
John leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She kissed right back.
"Lets go for a swim," he led her to the water. "You'll love how things look at night in the water."
They slowly allowed the water to cover them. Soon, they found themselves almost a half a mile from the shore. They swam and did a few laps. They even swam underwater, despite the darkness. And they also held each other above the surface of the water, forehead to forehead.
About thirty minutes later, John kissed her and said, "We should head back to shore. I don't want to make enemies with your parents just yet."
Cent giggled and then remembered something.
"Hey, before you jump us back to shore, can I ask you something?"
John laughed and said, "You can ask me anything."
Cent bit her lip and said, "My parents were wondering if you would come to dinner with us tomorrow. At our place. They want to meet you."
She waited for it. The moment of truth. She was waiting for him to say no or that he couldn't make it. She even closed her eyes.
John kissed her on the forehead and said, "I would love to. What time?"
Cent's eyes shot open and looked straight at him. She was shocked by his answer.
"What... what?" she could barely speak.
"I would love to come," he repeated.
Cent shook her head and asked, "You sure? Won't it be a little awkward for you?"
"I want to be able to meet your parents and offically make our relationship more easier for us," he smiled. "I want to make this work. In fact... I think we should reveal my secret to them. So that they know that I'm not holding any secrets from them."
Cent's mouth dropped. She was about to protest, but John kissed her before she could.
Not fighting back, she kissed him back.
During the kiss, Cent realized something. Something that had to do with what her mother said. John was the right man for her. He made her feel special and more than just herself. He made her proud of who she is. He was careful, respectful, and loving. He was revealing his true self to her. Something that many people don't do.
He was the one!
They returned to the beach and dried off with the blanket... together.
Once Cent had changed back in the cave and came back to where John was, who had his shirt back on, she grabbed ahold of him and kissed him.
"What was that for?" he asked, holding her tightly.
Cent smiled back and said, "For everything." She kissed him again.
"So, what time shall I come over tomorrow?" he asked as he gathered up their things.
Cent thought about it and asnwered, "Around six o'clock. I'll be waiting by the front door for you."
John winked and said, "I'll be there. Can't wait to meet your parents."
Cent rolled her eyes and said, "All I care about is having you there."
John laughed and he took ahold of her.
They kissed and jumped.
Cent hated to say goodbye to John but she knew she needed to be back to her house again. It was nearing midnight.
They sat together on the sofa and kissed.
"Please don't go," John playfully begged. "Spend the night again."
Cent smiled and kissed him once more.
"Sorry, but no can do. I have to get back to my worried parents. They might actually send the police after me."
John nodded and said, "At least let me walk you to the front door again."
Cent couldn't help it. She took ahold of his hand and said, "Yes, please do that."
With that, John and Cent got up and jumped.
This time, they were literally at the front door of her parent's house.
Cent and John held on to each other and kissed.
"See you tomorrow," John said and pulled away.
"See you," Cent whispered as he jumped before her eyes.
Standing their for a little while, she finally entered the front door and closed it on her way in.
Just as she turned around, her mother was standing there, in her robe. She was smiling.
"So," Millie raised an eyebrow, "how was it?"
Cent laughed and said, "You were right." She walked forward and hugged her. "He really is the right man for me. He has agreed to come and join us for dinner tomorrow. I cannot wait for you and dad to meet him. He is so nice and such a good gentleman. I think I may be in love."
Millie laughed and said, "For a first date, I say that you have picked the right one. I'm happy for you."
Cent looked around and was surprised to see that David wasn't there.
"Uh, where is dad?" Cent chuckled.
Millie put on her wicked smile and said, "We had some wine and got straight to business. I think I may have worn him out."
Cent and Millie giggled together.
Without another word, they went straight to bed.
Cent changed into her Lord of the Rings pajamas and got into her comfortable bed.
She dreamt of John that night.
My biggest chapter yet.
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