"Where on Earth are you taking me Jack?" She sighed, looking out the window trying to find any street that looked familiar to her. But every street looked the same and Jack was seemingly taking her round the true backstreets of London so who knew where they were going to end up.
She only agreed to come out with him tonight because she had nothing better to do. Well, that was a lie that she told him so his ego wouldn't inflate; and she was sure that it would if she had told him the real reason why she wanted to go with him. However, she was beginning to wonder what she had actually agreed to. She hoped that it would be food, something romantic but she was doubting that very much now. And she supposed she should've known it would be something out of the ordinary, it was Jack after all; he wasn't exactly the most predictable person.
"It's a surprise," he grinned.
Nikki rolled her eyes, "You know I don't like surprises," she was looking at him now. He was too busy focusing on driving to turn his head in her direction. She was rather grateful that he couldn't see her now for the blush creeping across her cheek as she took in his profile. She couldn't pinpoint the moment when her feelings for him had grown stronger. Nikki had always been fond of him, always had a soft spot for him, she knew that. But lately, with it just being the two of them, she found she was looking at him in a different way. The way she used to feel when she seen Matt, even Harry.
She turned away from him, her thoughts filling her head. Harry. After him she promised herself she wouldn't fall again, she didn't want to go through that heartbreak all over again. She'll never forget those few months after Harry left, they were hard to say the least. Of course, she wasn't a poor, helpless woman, Nikki would never let her life be defined by a man. But it still hurt, especially when everything reminded her of him.
That was until Jack came along, he sat in Harry's seat, he leaned on the same spot of the counter. He'd buy her a coffee in the morning and flirt with her in any way that he could. He never replaced Harry, he just gave her a different meaning.
"Tell me," she begged.
Jack chuckled, shaking his head slowly as he turned the car around the last corner of their journey. "We're almost there, you'll see."
Nikki closed her mouth, her own eyes now focused on the road. She still couldn't place where they were, he truly had taken her on a mystery tour. Well, that was until she spotted the various posters on the lampposts as they drove past. She didn't see the names but she had spotted the boxing gloves and bright colours.
"Jack you better not be taking me to a boxing match," she glared at him.
Jack held his hands up, "Before you argue, I was going to take you somewhere else and then someone offered me free tickets for tonight."
"And that makes it better because…" she trailed off.
Jack pondered for a moment, not quite sure how to answer that one because she did have a point, a boxing match was hardly comparable to a fancy restaurant. But his mate had begged him and he had turned the offer down too many times, he just didn't expect to receive two tickets and Nikki was his only option (not that he felt begrudged to have her there, he'd use any excuse to spend more time with her) and he certainly wasn't going to ask Adam, no matter if they had grown on each other.
"You might enjoy it."
"Not likely," she scoffed as Jack pulled up. "I've told you so many times what I think of it."
"It could be worse, I could be the one fighting," he winked.
"You better not be."
"Of course I'm not," he opened the door and let himself out, walking around where Nikki met him. "What if I was fighting though?"
"I wouldn't watch."
She had said it so quickly and so bluntly Jack had almost stopped in his tracks before he could feel the grin spreading across his face, knowing that he now had ample opportunity to wind her up, "And why's that? Can't bear with seeing me get hurt?"
"No," she spoke honestly. "It was bad enough when you'd come in with stitches above you're eyebrow let alone seeing the punch that caused it."
"Careful Dr Alexander, people would start thinking that you cared about me."
"I do care about you," her tone was serious now.
Jack wasn't quite expecting her to say that and he wasn't sure how to reply, not that he was given much chance to as they approached the queue and he distracted himself with getting his tickets out. He felt the flutter in his stomach as a warm hand gripped his arm, "I'm just going to go to the bathroom, I'll be back now."
"Sure," Jack nodded. He watched her as she walked away, quick to notice how the various men's heads had turned in her direction. He scowled, maybe it wasn't such a good idea bringing her here after all. It had been so long he had forgotten the type of people that came to these places, he made a mental note to never let her out of his sight after this point.
"Jack Hodgson!" Jack's head shot towards the voice, he had recognised it immediately and his lips twitched as the man joined him, shaking his hand and patting him on his back. "Can't believe you've actually made it. Still can't tempt you to get back in the ring?"
"Uh no, not anymore," he shifted his weight across his feet, suddenly feeling awkward.
"It's a real shame that, you were my best fighter," the man beamed but his eyes glanced to the woman walking towards them and he quickly put two and two together as she headed for Jack. "Oh I see, the missus didn't want you getting beaten up anymore?"
"Excuse me?" Nikki raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, we're no-"
"-You've stolen my best fighter off me love but if my wife looked like you I'd probably want to stay at home as well," he winked, the grin that spread across his face almost sickening.
Nikki opened her mouth to throw a retort back in his face but stopped as she felt Jack snake an arm around her waist, "We'll see you later alright," she looked up to see the disgusted look on Jack's face as he moved them further up the queue, away from the bald-headed man.
"What a prick," she spat, trying not to think about how Jack's hand was burning into her skin and sending goosebumps across her body.
"You can say that again."
"Jack I don't think I can watch this," Nikki squirmed as she covered her face with her hands, turning into Jack's shoulder.
"He's fine," he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her.
"This is awful," she mumbled into him. "Can we please go home now?"
He looked down at her, finding his eyes dropping to her lips; her face inches away from his. He could feel her breath crawling across his top lip. "Nikki I-"
Nikki pulled away as she heard everyone cheering and screaming around them, she felt cold from the loss of contact. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she could feel Jack watching her, she tried to ignore the way her lungs felt as though they were being squeezed. They had almost kissed, that was the closest they had been since that day on the steps. When they hadn't spoken for months, when she had spent every night waking up in a cold sweat, when her hand would reach for the phone and she would dial the number she knew off by heart. When the number would just ring out and she'd hear the dreaded voicemail.
But she never once hated him, never once blamed him. She just wanted to talk to him, she wanted to hear his voice. She wanted him to comfort her. That day on the steps, when they had actually spoken properly, when it wasn't just two sentence conversations. When she was able to look him in the eye, to tell him how she felt. He had almost opened up. Almost. If they hadn't have been interrupted, if they had just been on their own, maybe things would've been different.
She could feel him leaning into her, the crowd drowning all the noise out, "Do you want to go?"
Nikki nodded, picking her bag up from the floor and following after him as he led the way out.
"Maybe taking you tonight wasn't the best idea," Jack let out a sigh.
"I didn't hate it," Nikki smiled. "Just think a takeaway on the sofa would've been better."
"Well, we can still do that?"
Nikki captured her lip between her teeth, "I think I'd quite like that."
They made their way back to Jack's house. It was a short drive but the journey seemed to last forever, stolen glances and soft blushes. They both knew what this trip was going to entail but neither wanted to put a name to it. It had been bubbling under the surface for weeks, touches that lasted too long and stolen moments between them where Jack would brush past her and she couldn't shake the goosebumps for hours. She was surprised it had taken them this long to get to this point but they were now, they were finally giving into those feelings (almost).
"Now, I still haven't quite finished unpacking everything but I have got a half a bottle of Bushmills left it you fancy it?"
"I won't say no," Nikki grinned as she followed behind Jack; his key already turning in the lock of his front door.
"Make yourself comfortable," Jack gestured to the sofa in the middle of the room, it was the only thing that had found its place in the house. "I won't be a minute."
Nikki smiled, looking around the room. She could remember when she moved into her house a couple of years ago, it looked empty for months; never quite finding the time to fill it. She had bounced between so many apartments, it was strange having such a large space to put things in. But her house certainly felt like a home now.
"Nikki?" Her head snapped to the sound, her heart racing as she saw the older man stood in the doorway. "What are you doing here? You and Jack finally come to your senses, 'ey?"
"Sorry?" She feigned innocence, she knew exactly what he was getting at but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being right.
"I thought I was going to have to bang your heads together," he chuckled, picking up the newspaper that sat on one of the many boxes. "I better leave the two of you to it, don't want to interrupt anything. Good night Nikki."
Nikki's mouth hung open as she watched him leave, a look of shock on her face as she digested the conversation she had just shared with Jack's father. They had grown rather close over the months Jack had spent in hospital trying to rebuild his strength. Nikki would take Conor to the hospital and make sure that he was getting the help he needed. She enjoyed his company, he wasn't unlike Jack after all, but it had been a while since they seen each other last.
"What's he said?" Jack appeared from the kitchen, two tumblers in his hands. He had spotted the look on Nikki's face within seconds and knew exactly who would've caused it. "If he's upset you-"
"-Jack," Nikki interrupted, moving to pluck one of the glasses from his hand; trying to ignore the shiver that ran up her arm as their fingers brushed. "Don't worry, he was just saying what everyone else is thinking."
Jack's brows furrowed, "I don't want to know," he scoffed as he edged towards the sofa.
"What's it like?" Nikki sat down next to him, a small distance between them. "Living with your father again?"
Jack rolled his eyes, "It's not that bad," his thumb circled the rim of the glass. "Wish he'd stop banging on about Ryan though."
"He's coming out soon though, isn't he?"
"Couple of weeks," Jack shrugged his shoulders as he glanced up at her.
"Is he going to be staying here?"
"My da' wants him here…"
"…and you don't?" Jack just shook his head, not being able to find the words to answer. Ryan wasn't exactly his favourite topic of conversation, especially not right now with everything going on with Cara. "Jack," Nikki placed her hand on his arm, squeezing it gently. "It's your house, if you don't want him here, then he doesn't have to be here. And you can't exactly blame yourself for how you feel after everything you have been through with him."
"My da'…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath. "He's not well Nikki, he wants his family around him. That's why I got this place. And I understand but, Ryan, I don't know if I can have him here. Not after-" he stopped before he could say more than he wanted to.
He hadn't told her, didn't know how. He didn't want her to think that he was that type of person and it was going to be hard to prove that after what happened with Chrissie as well. He wasn't an unfaithful person, he didn't sought out to sleep with Aoife, but he was a sucker for a desperate woman. He had seen how Ryan was treating Aoife, he had seen his brother sneaking out at night, an arm snaking around random women.
Aoife had come to him, she just wanted someone to talk to, someone to comfort her but one thing had led to another. He had always found her attractive and she had always made his heart swell but he had known that she was off limits, until that night. When it was her making the first move and when he couldn't find the self control to stop himself from succumbing to her advances. It was a moment of weakness that he kept returning to. Until she left Ryan and disappeared. Now he knew the real reason, he couldn't help but feel sick at the thought that she left, with a baby growing inside her that potentially belonged to him.
He had done the paternity test but it was yet to come back. Every time the post would come through in the morning he could feel his heart racing at the possibility of him finding out the truth. He wasn't even sure what he wanted the outcome to be, he liked Cara. She reminded him of himself in some ways but he wasn't sure if he wanted that responsibility yet. But Ryan, he doesn't deserve Cara. The thought of Ryan being her father turned his stomach, he didn't deserve her.
"How are things going between him and Cara?" Nikki asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He shook his head slowly, "I don't know. He's trying at the moment but he'll give up eventually, he'll push her out and he'll end up hurting her like he hurts everyone else."
"At least she'll have the best uncle," Nikki beamed.
Jack's eyes caught hers, his lip twitching. It was on the tip of his tongue; the confession that Cara could be his, that the chances are pretty likely. But he couldn't get it out, he couldn't find it within him to tell her. He was scared, scared that she would be disappointed in him. He knew, deep down, that she wouldn't be. It was only Nikki after all, she'd be the last person to judge him. But there was the smallest chance that she would and he didn't think he could cope with losing her now, not when they had grown so close.
"Besides, being a father isn't about biology. Look at me and Leo," she felt her heart sink at the thought of the late professor. "My dad, he- He was an awful person, he abused my mother and dragged me all the way to the UK just to leave us with no money and end up in prison. But Leo was the father I never had, and I loved him as if he was. What I'm trying to say is, if Ryan is her father then that's okay because she'll have you and she'll realise quickly enough that Ryan isn't a good person, I'm sure of that."
Jack stayed silent, taking in everything she said. She wasn't wrong, he knew that. She didn't talk about her father much but he had seen how she was with Leo, he had seen how close they were. He had held her whilst she sobbed after losing him, he had laid with her whilst she told all the stories about her and Leo. The way she talked about him was like a daughter talking about her father and he could see that the love between them was strong.
"Do you ever regret it?" Jack looked up at her again as she pulled her brows together. "Regret moving to the UK? Do you ever think about how your life would be different if you had stayed in South Africa?"
It was reminiscent of the conversation they had shared on the bench all those weeks ago, what if. The age old question, what if. What if she had decided to turn right that day instead of left? What if she had decided to cross the road instead of staying on the same path?
"Sometimes," Nikki let out a breath. "But if I never came to the UK, if I never made the choices that I did, I would never have met you," her heart was racing now. He had said something similar on the bench and now it was her turn. Her time to confess that she could never imagine her life without him now.
Jack chuckled, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I'll let you answer that one," she drank the remainder of the liquid in her glass, feeling the warmth trickle down her throat. She could see in the corner of her eye that Jack was mirroring her movements.
"Fancy another one?"
"Sure."
Jack plucked the glass back from Nikki and made his way into the kitchen once again; the bottle of whisky still sat on the counter. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest, he knew it was going to lead to this. He knew that one day they would reach the point where they couldn't hide their feelings any longer. He just didn't think it would be this soon and he wasn't sure of what his next move would be. He didn't want to rush her, he didn't want her to do something that she would regret. But she was sat there right now, in his living room, sat on his sofa; the glass in his hand painted with her lipstick from where she had taken sips. He could smell her perfume on him, she was all around him. He felt lightheaded.
Taking a deep breath, he poured them both another drink, a touch of dutch courage perhaps as he turned and walked back into the living room. His stomach dropped as he spotted Nikki standing in the middle of the room, her fists clenched at her sides.
"You're not going, are you?"
"Jack," Nikki started, walking slowly towards him. She reached out, taking the glasses from his hands and placing them down on the cardboard box to the side of them. "I don't want a drink." She stepped closer to him, her palm resting on Jack's cheek.
He felt as though he couldn't breathe, he thought he was going to have a heart attack with the speed his heart was racing. Her face was inching closer to his and just like at the boxing match, he could feel her breath running along his top lip, this was really happening. The wait for her lips to pressed against his was excruciating. He waited for a second longer, his eyes fluttering shut as he closed the gap between them; their mouths melded together as Jack's hand came to the back of her head, pulling her closer to him as the kiss deepened.
His lips left hers as they travelled down her jaw line before his face was tucking into her neck, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her body flush against his as he nipped at her flesh. He felt the gasp in her throat against his ear and it only spurred him on more as he moved them towards the sofa.
Jack's eyes peeled open as the light filtered through the blinds. For the first time in weeks he hadn't woken up with a shiver, but the warm body that was pressed into his side might account for that. He could feel her arm still wrapped around his waist and their legs were entwined. He turned slightly so he could rest his hand on top of her blonde hair, his lips following his movements as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
She stirred, her face tilting upwards so his lips would find hers. She pushed her body up, her hand on his chest as she smiled into the kiss. His fingers threaded through her hair. He could get used to waking up like this.
Nikki pulled away from him, "Should I make us breakfast in bed?"
"You're beautiful and you can make breakfast?" Jack beamed, he can't remember the last time he had woken up this happy. He shook his head, "You better not though, you'll only give my da' a heart attack if he sees you."
"Your house and I'm having to hide away up here like a teenager?" Nikki laughed, her head resting on his chest.
"No but if you went downstairs wearing just my jacket, he wouldn't know where to look," he grinned, stealing another kiss from her before pulling the blankets away. He reached on the floor for his fleece, passing it over to Nikki. "You might want to put that on, I haven't had chance to sort the heating out and it does get quite cold in here."
Nikki could already feel the goosebumps erupting across her skin from the loss of contact. She watched him carefully as he half dressed himself, pulling a dressing gown around his body. He was leaning on the bed again, his lips capturing hers briefly before making his way out of the room.
"I'll be back."
Nikki waited for as long as she could, taking in the surroundings of his room. Given that there wasn't much in it, there was definitely something very Jack about it. She chuckled at herself, she really had fallen hard and she was beginning to wonder why it had taken her so long to get to this point.
She pulled the fleece tighter around herself, pulling the zip up; it drowned her to say the least but it was providing some warmth as the cold breeze attacked her bare legs. She cuffed the sleeves as she made her way down the stairs. She stopped in her tracks as she reached the bottom, being met by Conor.
"Nikki, good morning," a smirk spread across his face.
"Mr Hodgson," Nikki shifted her weight across her feet.
"Please, I've told you, call me Conor," he spoke softly, his face far from judgemental. "Enjoy your breakfast, I'm going back to bed."
Nikki smiled awkwardly, warmth spreading across her cheeks as she made her way to Jack in the kitchen.
"I told you to wait upstairs," Jack called out noticing her presence in the doorway. He felt the blood rushing around his body as he turned to face her, his jacket skimming her knees and the sleeves rolled up so her hands could poke out at the bottom. It was a sight he had dreamed of seeing over the years and he never ever thought he'd get the chance. He moved towards her, his hands cupping her face as his lips captured hers.
His arms snaked around her body, lifting her up to place her on the counter, the height difference already putting a crick in his neck.
He pulled away from her, his eyes dancing across her face, taking in every freckle and every blemish. His lips twitched as he noticed her eyes mirroring his.
"I love you," it slipped out before he had the chance to think about it. His heart raced as her eyes widened.
Nikki's eyes flicked between his own and his lips, she couldn't believe the words that had spilled from his mouth. A shiver ran down her spine, "I love you too."
Jack's lips were on hers once again.