Currently writing this whilst nursing my first cold of the year :( as much as I love autumn, I don't enjoy the sneezes!

Thanks for the reviews :)

Chapter two:

It was silent for a while, with Jack stealing the odd glance or two as he tried to concentrate on the wheel, the road and everything which he should do whilst driving. Perhaps it was because the road ahead was flat, straight and required very little attention and so he found his mind wavering elsewhere. He could feel his breathing, his heart beat and how they seemed to be quicker than they normally would be. What was this affect which her very presence alone seemed to have on him?

He had seen attractive girls, beautiful even. He had dated them. Seen them in, well—not very much, and still just sitting beside this girl seemed to take his very breath from his lungs and not replace it with anything other than the need to gasp for open space and air! She seemed to be some sort of damsel in distress but it wasn't a plough to get his attention like most other girls, that seemed to be, different and refreshing, although worrying. The reason for her needing to escape the Grill rapidly had piqued his attention to get to know her more, even slyly if he had to.

''So, what's the deal with this ex?'' Jack asked, his voice low, as though it was almost a bid to not scare her. Rose turned to face him, with hazy eyes, watching his hands and how they steered the car with such control. Her hands clutched together in her lap, and he noticed her natural manicure, the urge to touch her lingered and he had to stop himself from wanting to hold her hand. Internally, he cursed himself, for acting as though he was a school boy in love with his attractive headmistress; the forbidden longing of an adolescent which he no longer was, and hadn't been for some years. This was far from the first bite of lust. This felt stronger, but stranger.

Rose still wore her headscarf and sunglasses so Jack couldn't read her face very well. He wanted to see that face. He wanted to read her facial expressions, how she reacted to his questions, to the boundaries between them and above everything else, how she reacted to him. He could read a person pretty well, and could respond accordingly to the other persons reaction provided.

''He and I broke up.''

Jack nodded. Obviously. She was very guarded and offered him very little. Part of him didn't blame her but then again, perhaps it was because he was such an open book that he found her to be too private.

''Did you love him?'' He needed to know more information, oblivious of his own way of intruding on her private life.

Rose gasped, laughing at the ultimate rude approach, she had never been asked such a direct question in her life.

''Pardon me? What business is that of yours?'' She faced the windscreen once more, directing her vision away from him, the way her stance straightened, he noticed the tension surge through her,' 'in fact please allow me to get out of the car.''

Jack raised his brows; they were in the middle of a main road which led into the main town of Santa Monica, surrounded by nothing but a grassy verge and then the field. He wasn't bewildered by her change in demeanour, nor was he about to allow her out of the car.

''No.''

''Now!'' She demanded.

''No, I will not!''

With a raised voice, Jack noticed how she winced beneath his view. Asserting any authority would not ensure for her to listen; he didn't mean to startle her. In fact, it was more of a demand she listens for her own safety and nothing else.

''Let me out of the damned car,'' she shouted, this time louder. Frustration tears came to her eyes but she blinked them back, not allowing him to see.

Jack slowed right down, coming to a clearing on the road, where he turned right and parked inside a closed gas station. This should be secluded enough but at that moment he didn't care. Running his fingers through his longer hair, it was a sign of his own nervousness. Knowing that this was a subject of sensitivity, Jack had no clue of just how to approach anything other than directly; it was how he was raised but he sensed this girl was not like him in any way at all.

''Look, I can let you get out here knowing full well that he could find you so easily or I can take you someplace where he won't even think of looking for you.''

Reasoning with her may have been difficult. His voice had softened to just above a whisper, in order to ensure that she never trembled before him again. A woman should never cower before a man and it seemed to be a spot which Jack wished to pick at thoroughly, but then he knew that this wasn't the right time to do it. Jesus, she was so fiery hot and then sensitive right after that. It was like mixing fire and ice. Chalk with cheese. Opposites. Explosives...

Just as Rose was about to respond, her ex's car passed the gas station where Jack had parked, Rose saw out of the side mirror, as the music blasted from the makeshift speakers that they had made in that damned car. Rose found she didn't even have time to duck down out of the way before he could have seen her.

''Shit!'' Jack rolled his eyes at them as they went, turning his attentions back to Rose as their eyes met. ''See what I mean.''

Jack heard Rose exhale, in somewhat of a frustrated way, in acceptance of some sort of defeat and she removed her glasses as she nodded to agree with him. As she studied her hands and didn't speak for several minutes, Jack found he needed to be in her head and know what she was thinking. She was such a closed book. A tendril fell from the side of the scarf and she tucked it back behind her ear, before pulling it around her neck, her hair flowing freely outwards and down her upper back; a wonderful contrast in colour to her off-purple dress.

''I apologise.'' Rose offered, weakly. ''I truly do.''

''Don't.''

''But I feel like I have to.''

''There is no need at all.''

For the first time, her eyes met his; full, and he sensed that she wasn't as hard as she made out to be and that beneath this icy exterior, something deeper rooted within was hurting her. Jack wanted to know so much more but she was so hesitant to share any information with him. He held his breathe for a moment and thought about anything which he could offer her; a peek into his own world to perhaps enable them to gather information about the other.

''I didn't grow up here, I grew up in Wisconsin.'' Jack tried to change the subject. He could talk about himself all day long if it meant getting even one piece of information about her. There was so much ground to cover with himself and he would reveal everything in his entire world if it meant getting to just find a snippet of hers. Perhaps this method would work.

Rose lifted her head and her mood seemed to shift immediately. She was engaged, interested.

''Really?''

''Yes. My Mother died two years ago and I thought I am not staying in this damned cold climate for the rest of my life and so I moved to the West Coast. I worked on a squid boat, I caught barely anything and so they fired me, I bar tended for a while but I smashed more glasses than I didn't, I drank more beer than I poured...''

Rose laughed for the first time and it was the most beautiful sound. So much so that he didn't stop. He longed to hear that again. It wasn't just the sound but the way her smile reached her eyes, crinkling at the corners and relaxing her entire body. Just minutes before she had been almost a quivering mess of stress and emotions.

''Then, I found this damned Grill and started burning the cheeseburgers down there but luckily, they didn't fire me yet.''

''Well, Jack, it sounds as though you've had quite a life.''

He wrinkled his nose, contemplating his own portrayal from another person's point of view. Yes, he could suppose that's how to put it very mildly.

''Not really but I make the most of it. You have to. You never know what life throws at you, right? You have to go with it. Live each day like it's your last.''

''Hmm,'' she smiled, lighting up the entire vicinity with that one, single look. ''I like that.'' He cocked his head to one side to process her; to watch her just move and be, so natural. It felt as though she had started to allow him in a little more, her guard was coming down, although not too much but for now it was enough. Enough for him to be able to reach in, just the tiniest part. He didn't want to remove anything from her, just to allow her to open up; let the barrier down, just a slight part.

Rose's gaze fell over Jack; he was around her age she would guess. His eyes were the palest blue and each time he pinned her beneath his intense stare, it was as though she was watching the ocean directly. Perhaps that was the reasoning for the intensity, as though to linger on his watch would cause her to act purely on impulse and it would impair her thoroughly. Impair her judgement and her behaviour about him, as though there was no care within their young lives. It felt almost freeing until she caught rein of herself. To be young and reckless would-be wonderful right now, but there was too much weight upon her shoulders to allow that to happen but she couldn't pull her guard back up to the top, not just yet.

''You'd like to live each day as though it was your last?'' He didn't hide his surprise.

''Yes.'' Rose placed her hands together within her lap and seemed to timid and small there in his passenger side. ''You never know when it could be your last.''

Jack pressed his lips together. ''Stick with me, I can take you all sorts of places.'' As he revealed gorgeous white teeth with his wonderful but wicked grin, Rose found it was absolutely infectious.

''And, what intentions do you have?''

Jack placed his hand on his chest, feigning offense.

''First you accuse me of dating those dolls in the Grill and now you believe I have ill intentions towards you. If I remember correctly, you are in my debt, for I saved you from that ex of yours.''

Rose raised her eyebrows in an amused way. ''I told you to let me out of the car but it was you who rudely refused.''

''Yes, and those idiots would have found you.''

The sound of a car revving broke their slight flirting. The black car which had passed earlier was about to pull into the deserted gas station. If panic was about to set in, there was very little chance for as soon as she had caught sight of the vehicle in the side mirror, just as quick, Jack pushed Rose down in her seat and he lay almost on top of her but was careful not to crush her under his weight. She didn't even scream as she allowed him to lay there. Their faces were merely an inch away from the other, his breathe was warm upon her cheek and his hands either side of her head, as his body pinned her down.

They heard voices, a door slam and the engine rev again. One of them had gotten out the car, footsteps came closer. Rose squeezed her eyes closed as though she was preparing herself to be found; with another man, no less. But she wasn't as fearful as she thought she would be. There was something hopeful about the whole situation, about this strange man. The slight tremble of her body wasn't from the prospect of her ex-boyfriend potentially seeing another man atop her. It was because of the man who was pressed against her with skin to skin contact and eyes so blue that she was almost starstruck.

''Hey,'' he whispered, as her eyes sprung open. ''It will be all right, trust me?''

Rose nodded, silently. She could feel his breath right there on her cheek and it wasn't frightening to her. None of this was. A part of her wanted to giggle, to break down into a series of fits and allow it to take over her body for the entire situation was ludicrous; but another part of her simply couldn't detach her watch from him as she regarded the way in which he seemed to protect her with his own life in some warped way.

The footsteps lingered nearby for just a moment and then trailed back to the car before the door slammed once more and the engine started before wheels screeched and the car left, speeding into the distance. Jack gave it a few seconds before he raised his head just a little and saw that the rest of the car park was empty. Pulling himself into an upright position, he found he was colder now that he wasn't pressed against the womanly feel of her body. Shifting back over to his own seat, he organised himself into a sitting position, before taking another quick glance about and moving his hair from his eyes.

''They're gone.''

Slowly, Rose emerged from the lain position which Jack had caused her to tumble into, as she bit her lip; running her tongue along the edge and Jack watched her. She placed her hand on her chest, her heart was racing and she didn't know if it was from the adrenaline of nearly been caught, the excitement or fear, of perhaps just been in close proximity to this stranger. She started to laugh, feeling alive all of a sudden. As alive as a seventeen-year-old girl should. Her hands were shaking and something was sparking through her veins, causing a switch within her. The entire notion was new to her; causing her to have heightened and accelerated emotions for the time being.

''My God,'' she giggled, ''that was close.''

''It was,'' Jack started the engine, ''let's get out of here before he finds us again.''

Rose ran her fingers through her hair to attempt to neaten it. The ends of it curled up and she found herself pulling at it to twirl it about her fingers in order to create something to focus her attention upon.

Jack drove out of the gas station and back out onto the road. Ahead there was nothing apart from fields, it was as though the roads were never meant to be built there. She thought of what it would have looked like years before; when it was just the beach here. No pier, no fairground. Just the ocean. A part of her longed to go back to then and just live by the nature, the ocean and the sand. How would live have been simpler without the division of people amongst them? Without the technology of today. Without life as she knew it now?

Turning her concentration, Rose watched Jack drive. He was focusing on the road; his eyes forward. She couldn't help but glance the odd once or twice just to gather new information about him. He dressed well, she decided. The sandy blonde colour of his hair was lovely, the way it was too long for the trends of today and hung awkwardly in his eyes but that was part of the appeal of him, in one way. Rose knew that he was used to working outdoors due to the slight swell of his arm at the top, and then the broader build of his shoulder, timidly she longed to question why he had taken employment indoors when he clearly sought pleasure outdoors. His skin was tanned, freckled in places and used to manual labour of some kinds. His build was slight but solid; with lithe arms which felt harder to touch than one would have initially thought, as she had noted as he had held his weight above her just a few minutes ago.

''Thank you, Jack,'' she broke the silence out of nowhere.

''For what?''

''For saving me.''

Taking his eyes away from the road for a second, he met a warmth from her which hadn't yet surfaced. The girl who sat with him felt different, another version of the icy reception which had met him in the Grill before. Guilt bit at him for a second.

''I was joking when I said that you were in my debt-''

''Maybe so,'' she cut him off, ''but I am very appreciative.''

Falling serious, Jack noted her sincerity. It was another facet of this woman; another reason to be evermore fascinated by her.

''Then, you're welcome.''

The road before them seemed to cull their silence, no music played and no other sounds but the road ahead of them and the tyres upon the dirt surged out. There was an element of excitement about Rose; she thought for a second. The journey into the unknown with a man that she only knew the name of seemed to be bustling with wonder; feelings coursed through her veins and mixed with adrenaline, her eyes couldn't keep off the way in which he steered the car, how he focused and then he removed his glance now and again to almost check that she was all right.

Rose had wondered about this man and she realised that her curiosity was stronger than it had ever been. Curiosity to know his story, possibly as much as he wanted to know hers.

''So, why the job at the Grill?''

He smirked. ''So, you get to ask me questions and I know nothing about you?''

She sighed, defeated. ''The truth is, Jack. There isn't much to tell.'' Her eyes turned vacant as she gazed out of the window. Another attempt to distract herself. It was the truth.

''I don't believe that one bit.''

Rose nodded. ''It Is true.'' She insisted. She wasn't lying, she felt she had nothing to offer him in terms of her own life's story. It was very—bland. Normal. Void of any sort of thrill. She wished that it was a different story but it wasn't.

''I bet your life is much more exciting than what you do allow me to believe.''

''No,'' she shook her head, in absolute truth.

''There is nothing fascinating about you, at all?'' Jack raised his eyebrows. He could think of several himself in that moment, and that was of less than an hour of knowing the girl. He wouldn't have listed them but didn't want her to believe he was prying too much.

''No.''

He raised his eyebrows. ''So, let me ask you something.''

Exhaling, she prepared herself for another cutthroat question.

''All right.''

Jack pressed his lips together. There was so much he needed to know but the first question came to his head.

''Why did you and that guy break up?''