Nina switched off the engine as she pulled to the curb opposite Jack's
apartment building. She climbed out of the car and locked the driver's
side door, what little use it would do. The car was a choice of reckless
abandon; she'd chosen to rent a convertible for the weekend, deciding if
she was going to rent a car over a national holiday weekend the extra cost
might as well go towards something good. It had a good engine under it's
silver bonnet, and Nina didn't for a second consider the name to be
important, but the car was a Mazda roadster, a make she rarely saw driving
around LA. Whilst she'd heard the well-known clichés about sports cars,
she was sure from both Jack's choice of car and from personal experience he
had no need for a phallic symbol, she thought he'd enjoy driving a sports
car, just for the weekend.
She walked up the steps to the entrance and buzzed the panel she knew was his apartment. The building super had yet to label it with his surname, even though he'd been there more than six months now. There was no answer, so she folded her arms and walked around the building to the parking lot. She wandered over to his parking space, empty. Confused, she made her way back out to the car as she saw his jeep pull into the parking lot.
As usual, Jack pulled into his parking space and broke so that he stopped a few inches from the wall. He jumped out of his car and slammed the door shut, pressing the door lock button quickly. "Am I late?" he asked, walking straight past Nina for the second apartment entrance.
"A few minutes." She replied, catching up with him as he held the door open for her. "Do you want to go get your things and meet me outside?" She fingered the key fob in her hands as she spoke, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.
Jack considered this for a moment. "Yeah." He eventually replied, and then started back up the stairs again. "I'll meet you outside in ten."
Nina went back towards the front entrance to his building and back out onto the street again. For rush hour, the road outside his apartment was unusually empty. She crossed it without having to wait for any cars to pass, and climbed back into the car. It was warm for a winter evening, unusually warm for a January evening, but Nina remembered that this was southern Californian, not the twin cities, and reached over to open the glove box and pull out her sunglasses.
She reconsidered, checking the handbrake and switching on the ignition, before she pushed the armrest up and slid into the passenger seat, then she collected her sunglasses and leaned back in her seat, listening to the radio.
"This is the car you rented?" Jack yelled incredulous as he crossed the road. He had a joking smile on his face. He was carrying his bag for the weekend over his shoulder, and Nina clicked the button to open the boot as he made his way closer. He put it in the boot and shut the lid. In a minute he'd climbed into the drivers seat and had pulled his sunglasses on. He wrapped an arm around Nina. "This is the car you rented?" He asked again.
"Thought a change would be good." She said, peering up from his arms.
"Well it's definitely a change." He agreed, hugging her even tighter for a moment before he let her go. "You know you're middle aged when..." He laughed at himself, and then put the car in gear. He checked his mirrors and blind spot and then pulled quickly out into the road.
-24-
Jack's cell phone rang a mile or two before the turn off for Los Padres national forest, the 166. Nina instantly recognised the ring. "Is that yours?" Jack asked, watching in the corner of his eye as Nina reached down into the glove box.
"No, it's yours." She retrieved his phone and checked the display. "It's your wife." She told him, as 'home' flashed up on the display. "Do you want to answer it?" She knew he wouldn't want her to do it, but this car didn't have an in-car phone system, so he couldn't hear the phone well.
Jack slowed the car and moved back into the inside lane, "No, I'll call back." He said. He pulled off the freeway into the forest, and drove until he found somewhere to turn off and stop. Nina handed him his phone as he turned the transmission off, and climbed out of the car. "This'll only take a second." He told her, heading into the forest.
Once the sound of the car radio was gone, Jack was satisfied he was out of earshot. He flicked open his phone and let it dial the last number, his home. It was Kim who picked up the phone. "Hello."
"Hey, honey, it's Dad. Did you just call?" He asked. He always returned his daughter's calls, and he never did so in front of Nina, she wouldn't want to hear it.
"No, it was mom." Kim said, curtly.
"Oh, well can you get her for me?" Jack asked, slightly taken aback by his daughter's tone. He was used to Teri speaking to him like that on the telephone.
"She's in bed now, crying in her room."
"Oh," He turned and leant against a tree, giving him a good view of where he'd walked from, and a decent warning if Nina came looking for him. "How are you, then, sweetheart? How's school been this week?"
Kim let out a loud sob that resounded in the telephone. "Is it true?" She wailed down the line, "Do you want a divorce from mom?"
"Ah, honey..." he cooed, not really sure how to answer. "It's been more than six months now, your mom won't talk to me."
Kim gasped for breath, obviously crying heavily now, "Have you guys tried?"
"Sweetheart, I'd like to, but your mom and I have problems, and I can't do anything if she doesn't want to talk to me." Jack told her. He hated telling his daughter that it was Teri's choice that they didn't talk, but it was true, and he couldn't have her hate him. He couldn't cope with that.
"But, Daddy, a divorce?" Calling him 'daddy' seemed to soothe Kim.
"Look, your mom and I need to talk about the divorce papers, but I'm giving her the weekend to think about them."
"Dad..."
"Sweetheart, I know you're upset." He sympathised, "but maybe in the long run it'll be better, for all of us."
"How will it be better?" Kim's tears were slowly drying up; her pitch was gradually lowering to its normal level.
"Just trust me, honey." Jack closed his eyes in frustration, he didn't want to deal with this right now, although he realised he'd probably organised this so he was forced to. "Look, I'm out of town this weekend, I'll be back Monday night." He took a few steps away from the tree and towards the car. "Tell your mom to call me, and we can talk about this when we get back, until then, don't worry about it."
"Okay," She said, her sobs having subsided significantly now.
"Are you okay?" He asked her. "I love you, honey. I love you so much."
"I'm fine." Then as almost an after thought, "Yeah, I love you too, Dad."
"So I'll call you on Monday, okay?" Kim was nodding on the other end of the phone line, it took her a few moments to realise she had to reply, and then she said her good-byes and hung up the phone.
Jack flicked his phone shut; he rested against a tree and wiped his face, his damp eyes, composing himself before he returned to Nina and the car. She'd obviously turned the radio up, but she turned it back down when he approached the car.
He opened the door as she sat upright. "Is everything okay?" She queried, fully ready to let him drive back to the city if anything had happened.
"Yeah, it's all fine." He dismissed her; he sat down in his seat, turning the key that extra bit in the ignition so that the car engine started. Nina reached over, covered his hand, and flicked the engine off, shutting off the radio at the same time.
"Are you sure?" Nina didn't want to know the details of his problems with his wife, but she had to ask out of concern for him.
Jack leant back in his seat, letting out a long sigh, Nina leant towards him, placing what was meant to be a comforting hand near his leg, her fingers resting gently on his thigh. He reached out a hand, smoothing stray hairs away as he caressed her cheek. He kissed her, quickly, softly and pulled back. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."
Nina regarded him warily for a moment, as he continued caressing her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her jawbone, stopping at the corner of her mouth, and then dipping the tip between her lips. Eventually she nodded, leaning into him and kissing him.
When the kiss added to the fact her hand slowly slid up his thigh, Jack ran his hand from her neck, down her chest, around her, pulling her to him. The kiss became more passionate, and as his tongue delved further into her mouth, he maneuvered her over him, pulling her on top of him. "Jack..." she groaned, as she felt him against her leg.
"Have you seen any cars in the last few minutes?" He asked her. He hadn't heard any car sound whilst he'd been on the phone, but she'd actually been sitting in the car. He kissed her neck, her collarbone, as he waited for her to respond.
"No." She eventually muttered.
"Then let's be brazen for the weekend." He pulled away to give her a chance to refuse. He considered how attractive she looked for a moment, her beige skirt hiked up to the tops of her thighs, giving him just enough room to rub her leg, and her khaki 'v' neck showing enough of a hint of cleavage. Her skin was flushed, and she'd shut her eyes for a moment, obviously as intrigued by the idea as he was. Eventually she leant forward, shaking her head, but smiling, with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes, and kissed him, deliberately touching, groping, moaning as he touched her, until she kissed him for the last time, and slid off of him back into her seat.
She leant her head onto his shoulder. "That was interesting." She said.
Jack laughed, after he'd caught his breath. He leaned in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her torso. He found it hard to break the kiss, his hand lowering to the raised hem of her skirt, ready to reach under it, until he thought the better of himself, and pulled away. "We should get back on the road." He said sensibly, the sky was already quite dark.
"Yeah," whispered Nina, breathlessly. Then, glancing at his trousers, "Do you want me to drive?"
She walked up the steps to the entrance and buzzed the panel she knew was his apartment. The building super had yet to label it with his surname, even though he'd been there more than six months now. There was no answer, so she folded her arms and walked around the building to the parking lot. She wandered over to his parking space, empty. Confused, she made her way back out to the car as she saw his jeep pull into the parking lot.
As usual, Jack pulled into his parking space and broke so that he stopped a few inches from the wall. He jumped out of his car and slammed the door shut, pressing the door lock button quickly. "Am I late?" he asked, walking straight past Nina for the second apartment entrance.
"A few minutes." She replied, catching up with him as he held the door open for her. "Do you want to go get your things and meet me outside?" She fingered the key fob in her hands as she spoke, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.
Jack considered this for a moment. "Yeah." He eventually replied, and then started back up the stairs again. "I'll meet you outside in ten."
Nina went back towards the front entrance to his building and back out onto the street again. For rush hour, the road outside his apartment was unusually empty. She crossed it without having to wait for any cars to pass, and climbed back into the car. It was warm for a winter evening, unusually warm for a January evening, but Nina remembered that this was southern Californian, not the twin cities, and reached over to open the glove box and pull out her sunglasses.
She reconsidered, checking the handbrake and switching on the ignition, before she pushed the armrest up and slid into the passenger seat, then she collected her sunglasses and leaned back in her seat, listening to the radio.
"This is the car you rented?" Jack yelled incredulous as he crossed the road. He had a joking smile on his face. He was carrying his bag for the weekend over his shoulder, and Nina clicked the button to open the boot as he made his way closer. He put it in the boot and shut the lid. In a minute he'd climbed into the drivers seat and had pulled his sunglasses on. He wrapped an arm around Nina. "This is the car you rented?" He asked again.
"Thought a change would be good." She said, peering up from his arms.
"Well it's definitely a change." He agreed, hugging her even tighter for a moment before he let her go. "You know you're middle aged when..." He laughed at himself, and then put the car in gear. He checked his mirrors and blind spot and then pulled quickly out into the road.
-24-
Jack's cell phone rang a mile or two before the turn off for Los Padres national forest, the 166. Nina instantly recognised the ring. "Is that yours?" Jack asked, watching in the corner of his eye as Nina reached down into the glove box.
"No, it's yours." She retrieved his phone and checked the display. "It's your wife." She told him, as 'home' flashed up on the display. "Do you want to answer it?" She knew he wouldn't want her to do it, but this car didn't have an in-car phone system, so he couldn't hear the phone well.
Jack slowed the car and moved back into the inside lane, "No, I'll call back." He said. He pulled off the freeway into the forest, and drove until he found somewhere to turn off and stop. Nina handed him his phone as he turned the transmission off, and climbed out of the car. "This'll only take a second." He told her, heading into the forest.
Once the sound of the car radio was gone, Jack was satisfied he was out of earshot. He flicked open his phone and let it dial the last number, his home. It was Kim who picked up the phone. "Hello."
"Hey, honey, it's Dad. Did you just call?" He asked. He always returned his daughter's calls, and he never did so in front of Nina, she wouldn't want to hear it.
"No, it was mom." Kim said, curtly.
"Oh, well can you get her for me?" Jack asked, slightly taken aback by his daughter's tone. He was used to Teri speaking to him like that on the telephone.
"She's in bed now, crying in her room."
"Oh," He turned and leant against a tree, giving him a good view of where he'd walked from, and a decent warning if Nina came looking for him. "How are you, then, sweetheart? How's school been this week?"
Kim let out a loud sob that resounded in the telephone. "Is it true?" She wailed down the line, "Do you want a divorce from mom?"
"Ah, honey..." he cooed, not really sure how to answer. "It's been more than six months now, your mom won't talk to me."
Kim gasped for breath, obviously crying heavily now, "Have you guys tried?"
"Sweetheart, I'd like to, but your mom and I have problems, and I can't do anything if she doesn't want to talk to me." Jack told her. He hated telling his daughter that it was Teri's choice that they didn't talk, but it was true, and he couldn't have her hate him. He couldn't cope with that.
"But, Daddy, a divorce?" Calling him 'daddy' seemed to soothe Kim.
"Look, your mom and I need to talk about the divorce papers, but I'm giving her the weekend to think about them."
"Dad..."
"Sweetheart, I know you're upset." He sympathised, "but maybe in the long run it'll be better, for all of us."
"How will it be better?" Kim's tears were slowly drying up; her pitch was gradually lowering to its normal level.
"Just trust me, honey." Jack closed his eyes in frustration, he didn't want to deal with this right now, although he realised he'd probably organised this so he was forced to. "Look, I'm out of town this weekend, I'll be back Monday night." He took a few steps away from the tree and towards the car. "Tell your mom to call me, and we can talk about this when we get back, until then, don't worry about it."
"Okay," She said, her sobs having subsided significantly now.
"Are you okay?" He asked her. "I love you, honey. I love you so much."
"I'm fine." Then as almost an after thought, "Yeah, I love you too, Dad."
"So I'll call you on Monday, okay?" Kim was nodding on the other end of the phone line, it took her a few moments to realise she had to reply, and then she said her good-byes and hung up the phone.
Jack flicked his phone shut; he rested against a tree and wiped his face, his damp eyes, composing himself before he returned to Nina and the car. She'd obviously turned the radio up, but she turned it back down when he approached the car.
He opened the door as she sat upright. "Is everything okay?" She queried, fully ready to let him drive back to the city if anything had happened.
"Yeah, it's all fine." He dismissed her; he sat down in his seat, turning the key that extra bit in the ignition so that the car engine started. Nina reached over, covered his hand, and flicked the engine off, shutting off the radio at the same time.
"Are you sure?" Nina didn't want to know the details of his problems with his wife, but she had to ask out of concern for him.
Jack leant back in his seat, letting out a long sigh, Nina leant towards him, placing what was meant to be a comforting hand near his leg, her fingers resting gently on his thigh. He reached out a hand, smoothing stray hairs away as he caressed her cheek. He kissed her, quickly, softly and pulled back. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."
Nina regarded him warily for a moment, as he continued caressing her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her jawbone, stopping at the corner of her mouth, and then dipping the tip between her lips. Eventually she nodded, leaning into him and kissing him.
When the kiss added to the fact her hand slowly slid up his thigh, Jack ran his hand from her neck, down her chest, around her, pulling her to him. The kiss became more passionate, and as his tongue delved further into her mouth, he maneuvered her over him, pulling her on top of him. "Jack..." she groaned, as she felt him against her leg.
"Have you seen any cars in the last few minutes?" He asked her. He hadn't heard any car sound whilst he'd been on the phone, but she'd actually been sitting in the car. He kissed her neck, her collarbone, as he waited for her to respond.
"No." She eventually muttered.
"Then let's be brazen for the weekend." He pulled away to give her a chance to refuse. He considered how attractive she looked for a moment, her beige skirt hiked up to the tops of her thighs, giving him just enough room to rub her leg, and her khaki 'v' neck showing enough of a hint of cleavage. Her skin was flushed, and she'd shut her eyes for a moment, obviously as intrigued by the idea as he was. Eventually she leant forward, shaking her head, but smiling, with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes, and kissed him, deliberately touching, groping, moaning as he touched her, until she kissed him for the last time, and slid off of him back into her seat.
She leant her head onto his shoulder. "That was interesting." She said.
Jack laughed, after he'd caught his breath. He leaned in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her torso. He found it hard to break the kiss, his hand lowering to the raised hem of her skirt, ready to reach under it, until he thought the better of himself, and pulled away. "We should get back on the road." He said sensibly, the sky was already quite dark.
"Yeah," whispered Nina, breathlessly. Then, glancing at his trousers, "Do you want me to drive?"