Chapter 4

As she took a sip of wine, she couldn't help but watch Jack stride over to her through the maze of tables. His intense blue eyes caught her gaze over the rim of her glass; she immediately averted her gaze, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Her pulses were racing so she breathed in deeply in a futile attempt to calm her nerves. She felt herself flush, not because of the wine but definitely what this man is doing to her.

"You wanna dance?" he spoke softly as he held out his hand. Secretly grinning to himself, he immediately remembered his dream last night about their dance and ... no, stop it there, Jack.

"Sure" she almost whispered as she glanced at him nervously.

"I'm a little out of practice, so you have to help me out." he admitted shyly.

She chuckled softly as he placed his hand on the small of her back leading her to the dance floor.

When they were on the dance floor, he grasped her left hand with his right hand while he placed his left hand on her bare back. The moment she felt his hand on her back, she felt a little jolt at the warmth of his hands. Her high-heeled sandals added another three inches on her so she was almost as tall as him.
They danced quietly, as they drew themselves closer together, turning their faces so their cheeks pressed together. They did not need to see each other's faces to feel the fire not in their eyes. She was almost certain that he could hear or feel her heart pounding with every step they took. Forgetting about their worries and lives for the moment, he brought their hands closer to his chest and closed his eyes.

Have you ever been in love
Been in love so bad
You'd do anything to make them understand
Have you ever had someone steal your heart away
You'd give anything to make them feel the same
Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart
But you don't know what to say
And you don't know where to start

The silence between them dragged on, but it was a comfortable one that they felt content about it. They secretly savored the moment; they didn't want it to end. But it did, and they reluctantly left the dance floor when a fast number came on next.

They decided to head outside. Rachel heaved a sigh of relief as soon as they stepped out.

"You okay?" Jack looked at her inquisitively.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I'm just a little tired, I guess." she replied. "This past week has been so hectic. There's a conference scheduled next week ... this time with Powell."

"So you're going to DC then?"

"Yeah, first thing Monday." she paused. "Well, let's not talk about my work, I don't want to bore you." she turned and glanced at him.

"Sure"

They found a bench to sit on along the far side of the garden. It was hidden by a row of tall spruce trees lined up close to each other. Relieved to have left the noise of the party, they sat down. For a brief moment, neither one of them spoke; they seemed content with the stillness of the night.

She stole a casual glance over at him and felt her heart skip a beat when she caught him staring at her.

"You're so beautiful." he muttered softly, almost caressing her with his velvety voice while at the same time looking intently at her face, then slowly focusing on her mouth, then her eyes.

Holding her breath, she opened her mouth to say something but found herself at a loss for words. For a moment that felt like forever, their gazes locked, her brown eyes with his blue eyes. Leaning closer, he kissed her lips, tenderly at first. Then as he framed her face with his hands, he deepened the kiss. He pulled back slightly and gazed at her face, her eyes were still closed. Then she slowly opened her eyes ...for a moment, they gazed at each other. Deeply. Hungrily. They knew they wanted more, so they kissed again. Jack leaned much closer when suddenly, she pulled back and uttered a squeal as she lost her balance on the bench. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist and caught her.

"Oh God, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he asked, a frown etched on his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm okay." she giggled, noting the seriousness in his face. "Come on, Jack. I'm fine." She chuckled as he chuckled too.

"Is everything okay down there?" a male voice called out.

"Yeah, we're okay." Jack called back, chuckling.

"Let's go back inside before anything we'll both regret happens."

She agreed and they stood up and headed back inside.

"Tell me Jack, what made you go back to CTU again?" she paused. "I mean, after your wife died."

"I never did have any plans of going back. But I can't turn my back when I realized that it wasn't about my wife anymore. There's so much at stake, and being selfish is hardly to be at that time. I have to admit though that going back somehow helped me forget the pain, the anger and the guilt of losing Teri, not permanently but it gave me hope to move on."

He let out a sigh as he turned to her. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but, how did your husband die?"

"He died in a plane crash while he was on a relief mission to Angola." she lied, turning her gaze away from him.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I tried to move on but it was difficult to go on working, staying there, since we were always on a mission together. So I decided to leave Geneva and quit my job altogether. I moved back here last year."

He remained quiet and glanced at her eyes as they became sad and distant.

"I thought that getting away from it all will make the pain go away. I think it did help but …" she trailed as the memory of it all brought tears to her eyes. She quickly wiped them off. She couldn't go any further, how could she tell him? They hardly knew each other, yet she felt comfortable being with him.

"I'm sorry for bringing this up. You don't have to go on." He said softly, taking her hand gently in his. "I understand."

His hands felt warm, they felt good, she thought. She felt a gentle squeeze and she didn't let go -- she felt a sudden mix of emotions she hadn't felt in a long time.

He stared into her eyes as they slowly smiled back at him again. Why did he feel comfortable with this woman? It gave him an odd feeling like he had known her for a long time.

Acknowledgement: Song lyrics from 'Have You Ever' by Brandy

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