Everything is fine as long as we go to sleep or get distracted. We blind ourselves from reality... sometimes it's a good escape, a protection, but it can't last forever...
"Hey! Thanks for helping me out" Jack greeted Rose with a big warm hug when she arrived at the entrance of the RMS, little did they know, they had a giant storm ahead of them, but tonight, there was quiet.
Jack was a sobbing mess after Cal dragged Rose that night, she woke up and assured Jack she was fine and that Cal would take care of her, she agreed to go back to her suite afterwards. The photography thing was just an excuse to see her again... when will they stop needing excuses to see each other? He just wanted to know she was okay... that's all he wanted.
"No problem, extra credit?"
"More like 'we wanna make sure you're learning because you seem to be daydreaming all day'". Jack gladly grabbed Rose's bag and put it over his shoulder, then he pulled her in for a kiss, without separating their heads from each other, he whispered "how you've been? I was worried"
"I'm okay"
"Yeah?" His thumb caressed the skin on her arms and face. He had missed her touch, her warmth. "You sure?"
"Yeah"
"What did your mom say?" He changed the topic so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed, he didn't have a clue of her inner battle with herself.
"I told her I would have a sleepover with a friend"
"Alright friend, do you have a change with you?" Jack asked, feeling the lack of packing in her small tote bag.
"Yes, I do"
"Okay..."
He was happy to have Rose by his side, at least for tonight. He would make sure to keep her safe. Rose felt relieved in his company, she didn't ever want to leave him. Jack silenced all the ghosts.
They walked to Jack and Fabrizio's cabin. Jack had a very specific idea of what he wanted to do. They entered to find Fabrizio watching Queer Eye on his computer, which he closed immediately before the couple could tell what it was on.
"Out"
"I thought it was tomorrow..." Fabrizio mumbled as he grabbed his laptop and headed to Tommy's.
"Alright... whatcha wanna listen to?" Jack said as he turned on the mini-Bluetooth speaker.
"Um... I don't know... whatever i guess"
"Alright" he put one of his playlists on shuffle; cheers by blackbear and wiz khalifa started playing. Jack went quickly through all of his drawers looking for a white shirt that Rose could wear and that would look oversized on her, then he grabbed his camera and adjusted the settings. "Here, can you put this on?"
"Yes" she replied and changed shirts.
"Just leave the shirt on" Jack said, not looking away from the camera. He had already drawn her completely naked but something felt different this time, lack of adrenaline maybe? Posing for Jack was something neither of them would ever get used to. Rose consciously unzipped her jeans and took off her shoes. She was nervous, but tried not to show it; Jack could definitely sense her so he didn't make a big deal out of it, after all, it wasn't the first time he would be photographing someone naked... but we're talking about Rose, and everyone who knew Jack, knew the beautiful redhead had managed to break his walls and held a special place in his heart. The artist had full control of the charcoal, the pencil and the brush, a camera however... captured every little detail.
Finishing with the settings of his camera, he approached her and closed the space between them.
"Do you trust me?" Jack asked.
"I trust you" She had never been more sincere. Taking in her answer, his hands traveled to her back and undid her bra, he slipped the stripes through her arms and lifted the shirt a little bit to take it off. He folded it and put it away with the rest of her clothes.
"You said you wanted to be an actress?" Jack teased as he grabbed the camera again
"Yes" Rose giggled
"Sit on the couch, hands on your head in frustration" she did what she was told. The sound of the camera shooting accompanied the music and created quite an atmosphere in the room. "Good, now look away... bring your knees to your chest"
When they finished on the couch, Jack turned the place upside down but managed to move the mattress of his bed in front of the window. When he was satisfied with the sheets, he turned off the cabin's lights.
"Come here baby girl"
Rose obeyed, taking in the sight of the beautiful golden boy in front of her, the sweat in his forehead, marked muscles due to physical effort, the nickname was the icing on the cake. When she was close enough, Jack instructed her to lift her arms and took off the only piece of modesty that covered her upper body, along with her jewelry.
"Don't worry, we'll only be able to see your shadow"
They continued to shoot in front of the window, ocean breeze caressing Rose's body, making her look like a goddess in Jack's eyes. After a while, the boy gave her a rose to play with, and got some different shots.
"Do you smoke?" Jack asked her
"Sometimes, why?"
He handed her a cigarette "Would you mind smoking for a few shots?"
"Okay" Rose said as she put the cigarette between her lips and allowed Jack to light it up. She put it out no longer than 10 minutes later.
"Maybe something with your legs..." Jack thought out loud. Rose responded by lifting one of them up on pointe and laughed
"Wait, are you a dancer?"
"I haven't danced in a long time"
"But you know stuff"
"Well... yeah, i guess?" She interrupted him as he took his camera again "Wait but I'm not very good at it"
"It doesn't matter, can you do a cambré?"
"I can try..." Rose arched her back. After a few minutes, Jack broke the silence
"Why did you quit?"
"What?"
"You said you used to dance" He said, emphasizing the words 'used to'
"I don't know... I wasn't very good I guess"
"But that's the point of practice, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess... I remember i used to have fun but it turned into a competition and my mom always expected me to be perfect... or the best one at least... she took the fun out of it, so I quit"
He took his gaze from the lens to meet her eyes "I'm sorry"
"It's okay"
The silence made his way back to the room, they kept shooting "would you go back? If you could?"
Rose thought for a minute "Maybe"
Jack sighed, putting down his camera. "Alright, all done here, just one more on the bed" He said as he started to move the mattress to where it was on the first place.
"Why didn't we shoot it before you moved it?"
"Because I wanted to catch the sunset... you can dress if you want, I'm only gonna need your hands" Their little encounters at sunset were starting to become a habit.
"Do you have a shirt I can borrow?"
Jack raised an eyebrow "You told me you brought a change"
"No... you asked if I had one with me... and i did! You were with me" she smiled
"I knew it" he laughed and handed her a random tee "come here, lay on the bed" he said and turned on the lamp on the night stand "lift your arms, hands together... that's it" Jack climbed on top of her, one leg on each side "let me know if I'm crushing you or if i'm too heavy" Rose thought he was being insanely professional considering the position they were in. Jack put his left hand securing her hands in place and held his camera with his right hand. She barely felt his weight, which meant he was holding himself just with his abs... the thought somehow managed to turn her on.
"All done" he said, getting up. Rose was disappointed, oh well... if i want something, I have to work for it I guess "I'll have to pull an all-nighter editing thi-" she kissed him mid sentence. They deepened the kiss and starting walking towards Jack's bed. She made him sit leaning against the wall and climbed on top of him. His hands caressing her back and occasionally her face. Her hips started moving and his body responded at her touch. When both struggled to breath, they pulled apart. Rose's hands caressed Jack's face and his hands held her hips. Their foreheads met lovingly as they regulated their breathing.
"I... I have to... get to work"
Jack
I turned off the nightstand light and closed the curtain so the lights of the cabin wouldn't bother Rose. Taping fairy lights in the wall around the couch was the best idea Fabrizio could've had. I spent an hour looking through the photos to finally pick 8. The first one, Rose curled up into a ball on the couch with the oversized shirt covering her body, making her look vulnerable. The second one, a similar shot through a different angle, taken from the front, we could see Rose sitting frustrated on one side of the couch and the other side empty, meaning there was someone or something missing. The third shot, her looking at the sunset caressing a rose. The fourth one, the shadow of her arched body with a beautiful sunset behind. The fifth, her legs up in the air with the same background. The sixth, my hand securing her hands over the white sheets. The seventh one, her shadow on a different color sunset, smoking a cigarette. And the last one, another shot of her on the couch, symbolizing the cicle beginning all over again.
It wasn't too much to edit really, but I liked to take my time to enjoy it. I started with the shadow photos, I only had to get the sunset looking the best it could look and add a little bit of smoke for the cigarette.
After a few hours of editing, I glanced at the clock. 2:06. I realized I had been sitting on the couch for three hours, I decided to stretch and check on Rose. We ate earlier one of Fabrizio's works, it was an Arabic dish I think, but I was still hungry. I grabbed my card and sneaked out to the vending machine. I returned and proceeded to eat my chips, making some final touches in the last couple of photos. Checking twice that I had them in the right format, I saved them to a folder named Temporary Fix and sent it to myself so I wouldn't lose it. Thank God the wifi was working. I heard moaning coming from the bed, it was 3:59.
"Rose" I whispered "Rose are you okay? Are you awake?"
"My back" she flinched in pain. I turned on the lights.
"Where does it hurt?"
"Lower"
She didn't warm up or stretch and I'd told her to hold the poses. I felt guilty, it was my fault. I massaged her back, but it didn't make her feel better, I reached for the gel we used at the gym and poured a little in my hand.
"This is gonna feel a little bit cold, okay? But it will make you feel better"
Rose nodded with her face buried on the pillow. She flinched when she felt my hands on her back but relaxed when the gel started to make effect. I massaged her back for about five minutes. I remember one night when we were playing truth or dare, she told me my hands were a big turn on, I laughed at the thought. I kissed her back and pulled down her ... my t-shirt. She was only wearing the tee and a pair of white lace panties, I wanted to caress her skin so bad, but i didn't; she was asleep, she wasn't conscious. Instead, I stroked her head and kissed it. I tucked her in with the blanket and turned around to prepare Fabrizio's bed for myself.
"Don't you wanna sleep with me?" Rose said with a raspy voice. I smiled yearningly at her request, she looked so innocent, like a toddler asking her parents if she could sleep with them after a nightmare. Every trail of lust erased from my body, I tucked behind her and spooned her.
Next thing I knew the alarm went off, i turned it off quickly so it wouldn't wake Rose. I got up and rushed to the bathroom to take care of some business that had grown bigger at night. I showered and proceeded to brush my teeth when I heard the cabin's door open, 'it must be Fabrizio' i thought. Little did I know, Fabrizio and Tommy were practically jumping on the bed.
"You're tired after last night huh?"
"Did you make her leave early?"
"You made a complete haymes of the room, didn't you? You dirty-
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I said loud enough. When they saw me standing at the opposite side of the cabin, they turned pale, a bunch of red curls emerged from the bedsheets.
"Aaah Gosh!"
"We're so sorry! We didn't..."
"Good morning baby" i said and kissed her temple "I'm sorry this fopdoodles woke you up"
"Hmmmmhmm"
"I have to get to class, you can stay here, I'll bring you breakfast in a bit"
"Hmmhmmhmmm"
"Alright" I smiled and kissed her lips.
Out in the hallway questions didn't take long to arrive. i was still sleepy so i only managed to catch the last one.
"Did you do it?"
"Of course they did, Italian!"
"We didn't"
"What?"
"We didn't do it"
"Oh c'mon Jackie, you don't hafta be modest in front of us"
"No I'm serious, we didn't do it... I'm not like that" I tried my best to hold a laugh at the last words. however the three of us bursted out laughing.
Rose
Did last night really happened? That was the second most erotic moment of my life and he didn't even touch me. It's amazing what can happen when you let yourself go. Jack looked at me and treated me like i was some sort of princess, he respects me, he listens to me, he actually cares for me. I really pray it's not a phase and he keeps doing it every moment in our relationship, right now, he has me enchanted.
Jack🙈💕: How's your back?
Much better, thank you. And thank you for taking care of me last night
Jack🙈💕: My pleasure. Open the door, I got you some breakfast
A few hours later, Jack returned alone to the cabin, his friends didn't want to be involved in any of the couple's business. As he took out his card to open the door, Jack heard sick noises coming from the inside.
Is she throwing up?