Traces

Jack laid on the couch his legs propped up on the armrest and on the other side he was using Janet's lap as his pillow. The two were spending their night in to watch a late airing of Dr. Zhivago; a movie neither had ever gotten all the way through.

Janet absentmindedly ran her fingers through Jack's hair as she watched the movie. He looked up at. Her large brown eyes accompanied by her round-rimmed glasses were fixated on the TV. Her dark tresses pulled back into a low ponytail, loose tendrils of hair softly framing her delicate face. With every second that Jack laid there looking up at her, her cheeks got noticeably redder. The corners of his lips tugged forming into a smile he could no longer contain.

Janet's gaze shifted from the television to Jack. "What?" she blinked.

He shook his head a little murmuring a soft "nothing".

The movements of his head made Janet aware of what she had been doing. She halted her caresses and withdrew her hand from the tangles of his hair. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized.

His hand took hold of hers and placed it back on top of his head. "No, don't stop," he pleaded. "It's soothing." He closed his eyes, relishing in her touch as she resumed stroking his hair.

"Jack," she crooned softly. "Aren't you going to watch the movie?"

"I am," he lied, his eyes still shut. The sensation of her nails lightly grazing over his scalp created a nice pleasant feeling. He let out a contented sigh, wiggling slightly as he made himself a little more comfortable. As he lay there he soon felt the cool brush of air on his face and he knew it was Janet's doing; she was gently blowing air over his face thus teasing him lightly. The cool breeze she produced was exactly what he needed to fall asleep.

…

Janet was hoping the gentle breath of air she blew would make Jack open his eyes. She soon realized her actions were futile when instead of opening his eyes, Jack emitted a soft snore. Leaning over slightly she whispered, "Jack?" wondering if he was actually asleep.

Knowing Jack, he could easily be pretending so he could later scare her or grab her and kiss her. The latter she didn't mind so much, or at all in fact. However, she would have to push him away, making sure they never crossed certain boundaries. Crossing those boundaries would be a mistake. They were merely two people whose close bond allowed them to be openly affectionate though still remaining in the vicinity of platonic intimacy.

If only she knew for certain… She shook her head as if the mere act would clear her of her thoughts. Janet didn't dare dwell further on her musings; she'd only be setting herself up. She felt a tinge of ache in her chest and knew she needed to shift her focus— like the movie perhaps.

Once again her attention shifted back to the man in her lap. She played with his hair, pushing it back. Getting bolder, she ran her finger down the length of his face: starting from the top of his forehead along his nose to those wonderful lips she had had the pleasure of feeling pressed upon hers. With two fingers she gently ran the width of his soft lips, almost if she was studying to keep in her memory. She saw his tongue dart out and lick his lips and she quickly withdrew her hand. She stared at him in trepidation, holding her breath, wondering if he had woken up to find her caressing him.

She was finally able to exhale when he began snoring again. She couldn't help it as her eyes noticed his eyes moving underneath his eyelids and her fingers grazed over those eyelids that shielded her view of those enchanting blue eyes of his; those deep pools of blue that always seemed to promise her with both joy and comfort.

Jack swatted at her hand and rested his arm on his eyes. He was still asleep but must have felt her light caresses.

What was she doing? It was getting ridiculous. She had to put a stop to her wandering hands.

…

Through his sleepy haze, Jack felt Janet softly tracing a fingertip on his forearm. At first, he assumed they were random squiggles.

He then noticed at one point she wrote a swooping W and followed up with two O's and a D. She had probably traced her full name on his arm. After she was done he felt her draw a heart which she seemed to quickly cross out as if she had actually written it in pen on his arm and it left a mark.

Then felt another swoop near his wrist, it was a J followed by A, C, K. Then she started again at the wrist, this time spelling out his last name.

He was just about to "wake up" when he felt her start over.

He felt the letter "i" being traced followed by

L …

O…

V…

E…

His heart beating faster with every second— it felt like an eternity between every letter.

She began at his wrist again.

And as he felt her write the letter "y" he almost couldn't stay "asleep".

Then the letter "o" followed and he swore his heart was about to jump out of his chest from the sheer force it was beating against his ribcage. He didn't know whether she paused or it was just taking too long. But it felt like the last letter couldn't be written fast enough.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

g. u. r. t

She finished and Jack's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, startling Janet.

"You're- you're awake," she stuttered nervously.

He positioned himself so he was sat looking at her face to face. "Yogurt?" he asked sounding a bit peeved.

She stared at him blankly then blinked.

"You love yogurt?"

"It's healthy," she simply stated suddenly unable to meet his gaze.

He took hold of her arm and began to trace letters on her arm as she had done to him.

"I," he said as he wrote it. "Love," he said, but this time he was no longer looking at her arm, but instead into her large dark brown eyes that were peering at him in total bewilderment.

"Jack," he heard her whisper.

"You," he finished looking expectantly at her. He hadn't even bothered to write on her arm this time. Having thrown caution to the wind he suddenly felt a wave of anxiety waiting for her to respond.

He saw the smile that crept up from lips to her eyes, and he knew then that she felt the same way he did.