Chapter 4: Assessing the Situation
~ December 28th, 2019 ~
It is Saturday, coming up on the second week of Winter Break, a few days before New Year. For the first weekend in a long time, Jackson was alone. Casey, Trinity, and Coco were all out of town with their families leaving Jackson to his thoughts. Each girl was unique save for their connection to Sienna. Casey and Trinity were also bonded by their love of dance and were amazing. Coco, while not a professional like the others was a good dancer (Jackson discovered) but she was not into the competitive aspect like her friends.
Corissa, as Jackson has taken to calling her except in school, was on the cheerleading squad, is a good gymnast (but again, not competitive), and does aerobics in her spare time. While normally pretty reserved Jackson has found that she can be very assertive as well as demanding (not so much with him) when she wants something or is representing someone. One thing is for sure, he would not want to be against her in a debate session.
Over the past few weeks, Jackson has taken up mixed martial arts to get into better physical shape and to learn how to defend himself. He has no aspirations of going professional, even he knows that he started way too late in life for something like that. But there is nothing wrong with getting into better shape and knowing how to defend one's self. Jackson probably never would have done that if he hadn't gotten to know the fiery redhead better.
Trinity, the exotic girl of Hawaiian descent (on her mother's side), was a born dancer. She has studied almost since she could walk and Jackson learned she loves Jazz dancing the most. Much like Corissa, Trinity has been into gymnastics since she was young. She had to decide which to pursue competitively and chose dance. Still, she never lost her love of gymnastics and practices during the summer. Trinity, seeing Jackson's lackluster dance moves, has spent quite a bit of time helping him in that regard and the two spend quite a bit of time in Paulo Alto dance clubs.
Casey, his first real kissing partner, seems the most focused of the trio as she is a dancer and that is her sole focus in and outside of school. She stays fit, watches her diet, and has only recently begun to allow herself time for matters of the heart. Much like Trinity, Casey has been teaching Jackson how to dance, and between the two he is less embarrassing to be seen with on the dance floor as opposed to only a few months ago. The pair have been traveling to clubs outside of San Francisco on the weekends that Corissa and Trinity aren't occupying his time.
Jackson informs his mother that he is going out for a drive and that he will be back later in the evening. Looking around, unless you were from this part of the country, you wouldn't believe that it was late December. While some parts of the country are covered in snow, It is still green and the temperature is 50 degrees in the evening. Jackson climbs into his shiny red Acura NSX. The car still has that "new car smell" as he slides into the black leather seats, inserts the key into the slot, and starts the engine of his car. Thankfully Steve taught Jackson to drive a manual transmission and he took his driver's test on Steve's car. When Jackson was presented with this car Corissa's father presented the car to Jackson (as the game MVP) he nearly went into cardiac arrest. This is a kid's dream car, and now it is his for considerably less than a 10-year-old version of this car. Adversely Corissa originally got mad at her father as she didn't expect Jackson to know how to drive it. Jackson just smirked and showed the pair what he was capable of.
As winter break was almost half over Jackson knew that he had to get the most out of his driving time as once school starts up again Jackson will be trading cars with Steve as he volunteered to chauffeur Ramona and a few of the girls from school to their homes as he will be in the area when they are finishing up. As a sports car only holds two passengers he "strong-armed" Steve into trading with him during the work/school week.
Jackson detours from the main city streets and takes an on-ramp to the highway. Opening his windows Jackson takes in the night air as he drives with no discernable destination in mind. After thirty minutes of mindless driving, pushing his car's engine as there are very few cars out on the road at this time. Jackson eventually takes an off-ramp and heads back toward San Francisco. Jackson's phone beeps and a quick look at the digital readout on his car indicates that the battery on his phone is almost dead. Jackson doesn't have a charger in this car so changing lanes, Jackson heads toward the nearest tech store which just happens to be at the mall.
Thirty minutes later, Jackson was walking out of the mall with his new charging cable. Opening the door Jackson inserts the adapter into the USB port. Next, he plugs in the cable and connects it to his phone. Jackson places the phone in the holder he has in his car and then starts the car. His phone chimes indicating that the phone is now charging. Jackson is about to close the door to his car and take off when he hears a familiar voice at an extremely high pitch. Jackson looks around the parking lot and spots a familiar girl getting out of a sports car screaming at the driver as she slams the door of the passenger side.
Jackson sets his cellphone up and switching to the video camera begins recording, just in case. The girl has long golden blonde hair which is straight but curled towards the bottom. Jackson soon realizes that Sienna Logan is screaming at one of his teammates, and based on the license plate it has to be Brady.
"I said NO!" Sienna yells again for anyone present to hear. "I told you when I agreed to go out with you again to keep your hands to yourself."
Jackson's phone easily catches the video and Jackson lowers the windows to make sure it catches the audio. Turning off the car, Jackson leaves his phone recording and makes his way over to the pair.
"Sienna, you know you're overreacting. Do you know how many girls would kill to be with me right now?" Brady asks Sienna.
"Do you need a ride, Sienna?" Jackson asks announcing his presence. Sienna turns her head and see's, Jackson. Elation washes over the young woman's face and she moves to Jackson's side. Brady watches as she allows herself to be wrapped in Jackson's protective arms.
"Jackson... what's up Golden Toe?" Brady asks playing off the situation.
"Nothing Brady. I just grabbed a charging cable for my new car." Jackson informs the Quarterback. "As I was about to leave I couldn't help but overhear Sienna so here I am to make sure everything is ok..."
Brady was the first QB taken out at the state finals by the opposing team. He was only in the game for part of the first quarter before he was knocked out by one of the defensive linemen. While he is featured in the Thanksgiving commercial with the whole team, he didn't get one of the top-tier cars offered to some of the team members. A sore point that Jackson has learned over the holidays.
"Sienna... are you all right?" Jackson asks. He instinctively wraps his right arm around her waist in a protective gesture. A move that does relax and reassure Sienna that Jackson won't let Brady near her again.
"Yeah... but I'm glad you're here," Sienna says. Jackson suspects this might not be one hundred percent true based on the fact that Sienna has a near-death grip on him. "Do you think you can take me home?" Sienna asks.
"Sienna..." Brady calls out.
"No... we're done. I gave you another chance and you didn't even make it half an hour." Sienna tells the Quarterback.
"Fine! I'm outa here." Brady climbs back into his car. "There are plenty of other fish in the sea." The lights to the car come on and Brady pulls out of the spot where he was just parked.
"Don't forget your life preserver," Jackson calls out as Brady's Honda Civic peals out of the lot.
Sienna lets out the breath that she was holding, not sure if Brady was just going to let this go. "Thank you, Jackson."
"Hey... it's all right." Jackson says turning around and looking Sienna in her face. If he didn't know better he would think that she was on the verge of tears. Jackson takes Sienna's hand and escorts her back to his car. Sienna moves so that Jackson can open the door for her and she slides into his sports car. Jackson closes the door and then makes his way to his side. Once he is in the car Jackson starts the engine. Sienna holds her hands over the vents to warm them up. Jackson takes her hands in his and rubs them to help generate some warmth.
"Again... I can't thank you enough for interjecting yourself into this. I don't know if Brady would have been so quick to back off and leave if you hadn't been here. Also, I don't know if any other guy from school would have interjected themselves in this." Sienna tells her savior.
Jackson is surprised, as he gives Sienna a good look, that she is lowering her guard with him. He has never seen her like this, so vulnerable.
"You don't have to thank me, I'm glad I could help you defuse the situation," Jackson says. It takes him a moment to realize that he is still holding her hands. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Do you think we can go get a bite to eat? Brady was supposed to take me out to dinner but he said he wanted to stop here to pick something up. What he wanted was to make out and grope me. We have gone out before and he was the same way but he promised that this time he was going to be a gentleman. That lasted all of the ride from my house to here." Sienna informs Jackson.
"Where would you like to go?" Jackson asks her.
"Nothing fancy... is Olive Garden ok?" Sienna asks almost sheepishly. Jackson grins, puts the car into reverse, and slowly backs out. Once clear he shifts again and the pair are off.
Dinner was an interesting affair for Jackson. It's safe to say that when he first met Sienna she was the stereotypical It girl with a mean streak to her. She was never mean to him, but he had heard things. There must have been something to it as he knows three girls that are going out of their way to keep their encounters with him under wraps.
In the time that he has known her Jackson can't remember one time that he ever saw her laugh but this evening he has seen her smile, laugh, and relaxes. Jackson opted for Chicken Parmesan while Sienna ordered Herb-Grilled Salmon. The pair split an order of salad and Sienna ate one of the breadsticks (she wasn't big on carbs).
"So, what had you out this eve?" Sienna asks Jackson. Up until now they only made small talk, told a few jokes, and just relaxed over food and friendship.
"I went out for a drive, it was such a nice night. I haven't done any long-distance driving in my new car so I took it out on the highway to give it a bit of a workout." Jackson states.
"How did it feel to let loose on the highway?" Sienna asks with interest.
"Exhilarating. Driving it around town is ok, but opening it up and giving the engine a real workout was awesome." Jackson tells Sienna.
"I wish I had been with you when you were on the road rather than fending off Brady the Octopus."
Jackson coughs at Sienna's statement. Not the part about being in the car with him, but the description of the Bayview Quarterback. Sienna chuckles realizing she made Jackson choke with the description of his teammate. She watches as Jackson pounds his chest to help whatever caused him to choke to clear and then drinks a large gulp of water.
"Are you ok?" She asks with mild concern.
"Yes..." Jackson says now that he was breathing right and his throat was clear.
The pair managed to finish their dinner without needing medical assistance. Neither finished their meals, taking them with them for the next day. "So, as Brady's replacement date what would you like to do now? I would hate for you to have such a lousy date on such a lovely night. So... ladies choice."
"Really?" Sienna asks in shock and awe.
"Really."
"Well... you said that it was exhilarating opening up the engine. How about you show me what your car is capable of?" Sienna asks.
"Well... you asked for it," Jackson says.
It was 9:35 PM when Jackson and Sienna returned to San Francisco. The pair had ridden the road for almost an hour. Even though the temperature dropped some the pair opened the windows and Sienna closed her eyes as the wind whipped through the car blowing her hair around. Jackson let Sienna pick the music and she found several tracks that made the ride even more lighthearted and enjoyable.
Jackson's mother called to check in with him and Jackson told her he met a friend, they had dinner and now they were just hanging out for a little while longer. He told her that he would be back by 10:30. After finishing the call Sienna asks Jackson to drive to the beach. As they had time and he had promised to allow her to pick what they did he pulls off the main road and into the parking lot of the beach.
"Jackson, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Sienna asks.
Jackson sensed that things were about to shift into serious territory. "Sure, Sienna. Ask away... but know that I may refrain from answering." Jackson replies.
"Fair enough. As we were talking over dinner I couldn't help but think back to the cafeteria incident at the beginning of the school year. Are you really Full Lips Fuller?" Sienna inquires.
"I can answer that honestly and say yes, I have earned that monicker. But that answer only became true after the fact. Rocki gave me her honest endorsement." Jackson informs Sienna. He lets that sink in for a moment and then continues, "Before your challenge and Rocki's endorsement, no I wasn't. However, since that time I've been approached by several young ladies in our school that wanted to find out for themselves if my skills were up to par."
"And? Who are they?" Sienna asks dying to know who these girls are.
"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell... other than Rocki as you and a large part of the school were there," Jackson states.
"Do I know them?" Sienna pries a bit further.
"Can't say. All you get to know is that I have their praise, that's all that is important to me."
"Ok, not prying into their identities, but do these girls know about one another? I find it hard to believe that any girl at Bayview would go for an open relationship." Sienna says.
"That is a fair question. They know that there are others but they, like you, don't know who one another are. However... the three mystery girls specifically aren't willing to date me right now. Don't ask why, it's a private matter. We get together, have a nice time but that is all they are willing to commit to at this time. As for Rocki, she doesn't like labels so she won't be my girlfriend. So we are all free to do as we please."
"Does it bother you that none of them are willing to commit?" Sienna is very curious now.
"Not really. I'm keeping myself busy until I find that special someone that wants to be my girlfriend. I just make do with the hand I am dealt for the time being." Jackson explained.
Sienna lets all of that information sink in. She has plenty of questions but for the most part, they lead to finding out who the mystery girls might be. As Jackson will see that he more than likely won't answer the questions.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Jackson asks Sienna who seems deep in thought.
"Same rules apply." Sienna states for the record.
"Of course." Jackson agrees. After all, fair is fair.
"After Rocki kissed me in front of you and your friends, why did you take her word that I was really Full Lips Fuller and not verify for yourself?" Jackson asks her. His eyes are locked on hers and notes that Sienna's eyes go wide t his question.
"Honestly... I was afraid." Sienna answered with a slight blush.
"You? Afraid?" Jackson asks in surprise. He never expected to hear anything like this from her mouth.
"Yeah. I was expecting you to give me a little kiss and I would call you out as a fraud. After Rocki kissed you and gave you such a resounding endorsement I was caught off guard. I was afraid if I let you kiss me I might go weak in the knees like Rocki did and doing so in front of my friends... it wasn't an image I wanted to project at the time." Sienna tells Jackson.
"Do you mind if I make an observation Sienna?" Jackson asks the Bayview High It Girl.
"Sure."
"You worry too much about how people perceive you. When I first met you I thought you were so stunningly beautiful..." Sienna smiles at the praise from Jackson.
"However, then you approached me in the cafeteria, and personality-wise... you were a bit snobby and superficial," Jackson says. Sienna hears his words and looks hurt by them. "I'm not trying to be mean... I want to be honest with you." Jackson tells Sienna.
"Recently though I noticed a change in you during football season... you were being nicer to everyone, you were still very competitive where dancing was concerned, but that's ok. There is nothing wrong with wanting to excel in competition. But it was like you were letting more people in, you weren't putting others down as you tended to at the start of the school year. I even caught you smiling every so often... and I mean real smiles. You need to smile more often Sienna, it's a good look for you."
Jackson's words had Sienna's emotions all over the place. They started a bit hurtful, not because he was being mean, but because truth tends to hurt, and Jackson was being brutally honest with her. But then he flipped the script and told her that he had noticed her, something she had secretly worked on ever since the cafeteria incident. She had purposely changed her approach after that day. Secretly, she wanted Jackson to kiss her. But after Rocki cut her off she wasn't sure what the relationship was between the two.
So in an effort to better assess the situation she stopped her normal mean girl snobby routine and began getting closer to Ramona. She and her friends included the young Latina in their group and the pair talked. Sienna subtly began prodding Ramona for information on Jackson when they were alone, something around the others. His likes, dislikes, hobbies, everything. Normally Sienna would have probably ghosted Gibbler after their first session but she went against type and was glad she had. The pair have become good friends and Sienna found they had many common interests.
"You.. you really think I'm beautiful? Sienna finally finds the nerve to ask.
"I think you're STUNNINGLY beautiful. Also, after our dinner date today I've learned you are funny, witty, charming, and a pleasure to be around. I would love to see more of this Sienna, and get to know the real you." Jackson tells the lovely blonde girl.
Sienna decides she needs to be bold after Jackson has just told her all of this. Scooting over in her seat, she leans toward Jackson who moves in sensing what Sienna wants. After the Brady incident earlier Jackson wants Sienna to start this. He will then gauge how best to continue. Sienna's lips find Jackson and the kiss starts out tentatively. Their lips meet and the kiss is soft as their lips get a feel for one another. Sienna is holding her breath for a moment but releases it when she gasps. Jackson's tongue caresses her lips and the gesture shocks her at first. Not because he did it, but because he didn't just force his tongue down her throat like Brady had tried to do a short time ago. Sienna could immediately sense the difference between the pair. Brady is aggressive and all about fulfilling his own desires. Jackson, while not passive is patient. He is drawing this out and allowing her to be comfortable. He is being a bit playful but not in a joking way. Sienna parts her lips and allows Jackson access to her mouth.
Jackson, being given unspoken permission ventures further and begins showing Sienna how loving and passionate he can be. Sienna wraps her arms around Jackson's neck and Full Lips Fuller returns the gesture. The pair kiss passionately like that, Jackson never pushing Sienna farther than she is willing to go. Sienna's phone interrupts the pair. Sienna pulls back and fishes the cellphone from her purse and sees a message from her older sister asking where she is as it is almost 10:30 PM.
"Talk about a buzz kill." Sienna groans.
"Yeah... but unfortunately I have to be getting back as well." Jackson reluctantly states. Nothing more is said during the drive to Sienna's home. Jackson pulls up into her drive and turns off his car. Sienna is about to climb out when Jackson stops her. Sienna is puzzled but Jackson hops out and runs around the front to her side and opens the door for her.
"Thank you," Sienna says as he takes her hand and helps her out. Closing the door, he escorts her to the front door of her home.
"Despite how my evening started I'm glad that it ended on such a high note," Sienna tells her date.
"Thank you for showing me the real you," Jackson tells Sienna.
"I like you, Jackson..." Sienna offers. "I don't know what it is about you but you but I like how easy it is to talk to you... not to mention that you are an amazing kisser," Sienna says with a giggle and her cheeks blush.
"High praise coming from you," Jackson says bringing Sienna's right hand up to his lips and kissing the back of her hand as they neared her front door. "I will let you decide how you handle that knowledge."
"I think we should keep this just between us for now," Sienna informs her escort. She then lets out a depressed sigh.
"Something wrong?" Jackson asks her, hoping it's nothing he did or said.
"My family is going out of town tomorrow until Friday night, otherwise I'd like to spend the rest of winter break with you," Sienna tells Jackson.
Story of my life. Jackson thinks to himself. "Well, I will be here when you get back. We can talk more when that happens." The pair stop at the step to the front door.
Sienna places her arms around Jackson's neck once more. As they are standing Jackson places his hands on her hips. Anyone that saw them at this moment would think the pair were dancing in front of the Logan family home. The pair kiss once again. Sienna can feel the passion being projected by Jackson and she whimpers as Jackson pulls her against his body.
The kiss is abruptly ended by a woman older than Sienna but only slightly. "Am I interrupting something?" The girl asks. Jackson quickly sizes her up. The girl while appearing older is a good three inches shorter than Sienna. Her hair is brown with her bangs dyed blonde and her eyes are brown. Their faces are similar and they have the same complexion so they must be family.
"SELENE!" Sienna screeches at the interruption.
"Your sister I take it?" Jackson asks Sienna.
"Yes." Selene states.
"My nagging older sister." Sienna states.
Jackson can sense the animosity between the pair. "I think you can let him go now, Sienna."
Sienna grins at her sister and turning Jackson's face back toward hers she gives Jackson a deep French kiss. Selene clears her throat to get her sister's attention but Sienna ignores her. Only when she is satisfied does Sienna end the kiss.
"I'll see you at school." Sienna states.
Sienna reluctantly releases her hold on Jackson and pushes her way past her less than amused sister. Jackson waits until the door shuts before he makes his way back to his car. He knows that his mother is probably hunting him down as it is past 9:30 but even if she yells at him when he gets home, it will have been worth it. As he starts his car Jackson looks up and from the second floor, he can clearly see Sienna looking down at him. She waves her hand and Jackson does the same. As he shifts into reverse and starts to back up she places her hand over her mouth and blows him a kiss. Jackson stops his car and Sienna watches from her window as he gestures to catch the kiss and place it on his lips. She then watches as he pulls out of her drive and makes her way home.
"The new year can't get here soon enough for me," Sienna says to herself.
Sure enough, after Jackson walked into the kitchen his mother scolded him for being twenty minutes late. Jackson handed her his keys and apologized to her. The keys were a good gesture on Jackson's part and DJ just sent her son to bed without anything else said between the pair.
As he, once again, lay in bed looking up at the ceiling of his room Jackson let out a long sigh. He knows that almost every straight guy in Bayview High would kill to be in his position at this moment. The thing that was nagging at him is that as amazing as each of the now five girls he's made out with are, he doesn't know if he could ever just settle down with one now. Not because he likes playing the field, but because each of the girls is so unique. Other than the dance team, each girl has various unique traits and their personalities were all different.
Rocki was abrupt and brutally honest but had a soft side to her. Casey was reserved but quickly becoming adventurous. Trinity was daring and full of life. Corissa is the most surprising of them. At school Coco was quiet, playing second fiddle to Sienna whenever they were together. Away from everyone that she knows she is free to be Corissa the capable and assertive young woman going for what she wants. Sienna is the most surprising to him. Behind the superficial image, she projects there is a caring, funny, interesting young woman. As Jackson drifted off to sleep his thoughts were of the five young women that have been occupying his time since the beginning of the school year. When he finally fell asleep the last thing he remembered was the feeling of each of their lips on his own.
To Be Continued