Dislcaimer: All characters are property of the seven network.


Summer Secret

-Part 1-

Martha sat on the beach, taking in the beautiful scenery. The bay blossomed at this time of year; early summer. She smiled to herself as she let the gentle breeze slide up her skin, refreshing her body. She then felt a hand on her shoulder that sent a shiver across her tanned arm. She grinned up at him.
"Good evening." He smiled, "may I take a seat?" He asked politely. Martha giggled a little and nodded, gesturing for him to sit beside her. Jack sat on the sand and handed Martha a beer.
"Thanks." She smiled. "Hang on, it's half empty!" Martha exclaimed. Jack grinned cheekily.
"Or half full. Depends on how you look at it." He remarked. Martha laughed as she playfully hit him. "Okay, okay. No need to get violent." He joked, swapping the drinks over. Jack looked at Martha, watching her sip the beer. She looked so beautiful, just like she had always looked. Jack lifted his beer. "It's been one year since we met, Miss Mackenzie." He smiled. Martha beamed back and hit the bottles together.
"And I don't regret it for one minute." Martha smiled happily, leaning up and planting a quick peck on his cheek. Jack looked confused.
"Don't you remember the night?" He laughed, surprised of the thought that she had forgotten. Martha shrugged. Jack smiled as he rolled the bottom of her top up and slightly lowered the waistline of her skirt, showing a small black blodge. Martha laughed.
"Oh, THAT night… yeah, I remember." She giggled. "Okay – I'd change that." Jack laughed.
"I wouldn't" He grinned sweetly, kissing her forehead.
"Now you're just sucking up." She laughed. "So you don't cringe when you think of what happened then? Actually, I suppose you don't… I came off worse."

-

"I hate him." She said to herself, slamming her hands onto the balcony railings. "I can't believe he made me look like such a fool!" She grumbled angrily. Martha had had to get out of the bay and to a hotel in the city to cool down after the Jesse ordeal. She knew she needed to chill. To have a night without any reminders of Jesse was the remedy. She looked down at her watch, which read five. "I best go meet her in reception." She told herself, walking out of the suite.

-

A group of guys were forming in reception. Every couple of minutes a new member would join, adding to the pack. The leader looked at his watch then gathered everyone's attention.
"Right, let's go check in! The names under Marshall." He said, picking up his suitcase.
"What about Holden?" Someone asked.
"He said he'd try to come, but you know, with Chambers and his new location… I assume he hasn't made it." They nodded understandingly.
"Who hasn't made it?" Jack grinned, walking through the doors.
"Holden!" Craig exclaimed, hugging his friend.
"Whoa." Jack said, pushing him off. "Careful, I don't want people getting the wrong impression." Jack laughed.
"I didn't think you'd made it." Craig admitted.
"How could I miss your stags night?" Jack smiled. "Especially since it's in this posh place. Big enough Craigy boy?" Jack asked, slapping his hand on Craig's shoulder as he gazed at the beautiful décor in the hotel.

Jack joined the end of the line that had formed at the desk, and watched his pals drool over the attractive blonde women that walked by. Sure, they were beautiful, but there was nothing unique about them. Their short skirts, skimpy tops, and blonde hair were mirrored on all their friends. Of course, Jack couldn't fault them. He had been a victim of these looks before! He could think of no straight guy that would be able to resist their looks.

One girl however stood out to Jack. Not only was she rolling her eyes and muttering abuse at the party under her breath; she was breathtakingly stunning. More importantly, she was unique. She was … perfect. Jack watched in awe as she floated through the room and sat down on one of the many comfy chairs in reception.

Jack couldn't stop gazing at her beauty. Even as she impatiently looked at her phone she was gorgeous. He watched as one of his friends began to chat her up. Initially he felt threatened. He tried to listen to their conversation, but soon realised he had nothing to worry about. Jack watched on, witnessing his friend being well and truly humiliated by the girl's flat out refusal. After his friends escape, she stood up and headed outside. On her way to the door Jack caught her eye. She couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. He looked incredible in his board shorts and t-shirt. She studied him, his clean-shaven face and his gorgeous brown eyes. The eyes that were looking straight back at her. She looked away, blushing, and continued out the door.

"Can you just look after my bag? I'll be right back." Jack asked his friend before him in the queue. Jack almost ran outside, fearing that she'd gone. He didn't know why, but he had this urgency to talk to her. She was intriguing and different, and Jack loved it. He strolled out the doors and looked around. There she was, sitting on the wall, staring at her mobile. She looked up at Jack, and the blush returned to her face.

'Oh my God, I'm doing it again!' She thought. 'Why am I like this? Get a grip girl. He's not that good looking.' She looked up at him, watching him walk over to her, flashing a cute smile. 'Okay, maybe he is.'
"Hey," he spoke softly, "just wanted to apologize for my mate bothering you. He does that to girls sometimes." Jack laughed, trying to make conversation.
"Really? You and your mate have a lot in common then." She gave a quick, fake smile and looked back to her mobile.
"Oh, you're a comedian then." Jack said sarcastically, sitting down beside her. "What's your name?" Jack asked.
"Haven't you got the message? I'm not interested in being your Stag night girl." Martha answered, not looking up from the display screen that reflected the late afternoons sun. Jack nodded.
"That's a pretty long name…" Jack sighed, making it clear that he wasn't going to give up easily.
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Jack asked curiously.
"Can you hear that?" She asked. Jack and Martha both sat still on the wall, listening carefully. "It's silence - no one finds you funny." She told him, standing up. Jack couldn't help but laugh; she was going to be a challenge. Jack stood up and walked behind her.
"Who's stood you up then?" Jack asked over her shoulder. She spun around, offended.
"No one's stood me up." She defended quickly. Jack chuckled.
"Boyfriend?" Jack guessed. Martha sighed angrily as she walked past him.
"None of your damn business. Jerk." She said as she stormed off.

Martha stomped into her room and slammed her phone onto the bed. She was furious. Martha didn't have a boyfriend because he had turned out to be more of a jerk than the guy downstairs. All the feelings of embarrassment and stupidity came back as she thought about Jesse. She fell back onto the bed, thinking of how aggravating the guy was downstairs. She'd spent 10 minutes thinking about how furious she was with this stranger, when something finally dawned on her. She'd forgotten about Jesse. She sat up with a smile, realising that she had actually calmed down about the whole situation. It was like all the anger and frustration that she had towards Jesse was being directed towards this new man. She happily skipped to the balcony, planning to make the most of the lovely summer weather.

As Jack slowly undressed in his room, his mind was troubled with guilty thoughts. He felt bad for upsetting the girl; he'd obviously hit a nerve. He would apologize but he didn't know where she'd be! He hadn't even had a chance to find out her name, so how would he track her down? He also felt a little upset at her having a boyfriend. It was clear that she had one, which explained why she acted so extremely uninterested in him beforehand. She was just being a good girlfriend; not playing hard to get. Jack changed his trousers, and began to button up his shirt when he heard a familiar female voice. He followed it out onto the balcony. He casually peered over the wall separating his balcony from the neighbour's, and there she was, on the phone.

"You mean you're not coming?" Martha asked. "Awwww. It's okay, honest. I've got some Stags to keep me company." She laughed. "Yea, big rowdy lot." Martha rested back on the chair and looked out to the view, the view with Jack's face. "Jesus!" She exclaimed. "Sorry, I've got something on my wall. Talk later." She slammed the phone shut and looked at him with anger.