They laid on their sides, with noses touching, the soft sheet just covering their lower halves. Their breathing finally reaching a steady crescendo. Jack stroked her shoulder, he then lifted a tendril of her silky hair and raised it to his nose so he could inhale her scent.
"You had me worried, you know."
Kate quirked her eyebrow in question. Jack elaborated, "When you didn't show up to Physics yesterday, I became really nervous. I saw you that morning in the hallway, so I knew you were specifically cutting my class."
She let out a small rueful, "Oh." He paused a few beats, hoping that she would explain.
She sighed, "Firstly, I think I was just too nervous to see you. I had already made up my mind, but … I don't know." She paused, not sure how to explain her reasons to him. "I think I was afraid that you may have changed your mind and regretted what you said to me. Maybe, subconsciously, I didn't want to give you a chance to back out."
Jack looked at her in wonder, if he wasn't so crazy about her, he would have found it deeply disconcerting that she had him so pegged. It was true, he had been trying to figure out a way to backpedal.
He kissed her, grateful that she didn't give him the opportunity to screw this up - at least not yet anyway. Her soft lips pressed down harder on his, and it took all his strength to stop her. It was just a little too soon. He imagined she was still sore from their activities and he wanted to give her a chance to digest everything that happened between them, physically and emotionally. Jack reluctantly pulled his head away. He detected the slightest look of hurt and confusion in her face.
Jack stroked her cheek, "Kate, how about we just rest now okay? Trust me, I want more, lots more. I just want you to adjust to all of this, to us."
Kate slowly nodded, "Okaaaay, but I just need you to know, that I wanted this to happen. I still want it." She blushed as she said it and Jack gently shook his head and gave her a chaste kiss to her forehead.
His brown eyes softened as he asked her, "Do you have to leave now or can you stay for awhile?"
Kate's stomach flipped with excitement, but she tried to mask it and in barely more than a whisper she answered, "I can stay."
They talked for a long time, sharing little pieces of information about each other. They laughed too. Before long, Kate's eyelids began to get heavy and she soon drifted off to sleep. He rested on his elbow so he could take her in. Her lips were slightly agape and her long eyelashes fanned the top of her cheeks. She was so beautiful, so natural and he couldn't describe it, but she seemed to radiate a certain health or innateness that exuded sex. He gently pulled down the sheet that covered her breasts so he could see more of her, he noticed a few small red marks and her nipples looked swollen and tender. He winced. Perhaps he had gotten too carried away in his excitement. As if to apologize for his unintentional roughness, he placed the most feathery kiss on the tip of each breast. She didn't react at all. Jack figured that she must have been either a heavy sleeper or this afternoon had worn her completely out.
For the first time since he could remember, he felt a kind of peace.
But that feeling was short-lived as he began to consider the complexity of their current situation. He had spent so much time fantasizing about this moment and now that it arrived, where were they supposed to go from here? He wanted to see more of her and not only like this. Any kind of conventional dating was out of the question for them… at least for awhile. She would be graduating in three months, perhaps they could openly date after then. Jack shook his head, he was already planning out a relationship that hasn't even started yet. And then he frowned, he knew she had applied to colleges on the east coast. He now regretted only applying to UCLA.
Kate slowly opened her eyes and let out a small yawn.
With heavy lidded eyes, she asked "How long was I asleep?"
He stroked her cheek as he answered, "About an hour."
Groggy, she told him, "I better get going."
Jack tried to smile through his disappointment, but instead yielded to his lament, "Kate, I want to take you out for dinner, I want to drive you home -"
Kate shook her head, "Shhhh… Jack, you can't drive me home and we can't go on 'dates'. If anyone saw us, you would be in so much trouble. No one would understand."
He let out a heavy sigh, "Oh Kate. What have we gotten ourselves into?"
She smiled at him and stroked the side of his face "Jack, we'll figure this all out. I know it. I don't want to leave now and I wish I could sleep over, but I don't think my dad would appreciate that-"
Jack held up his hand and half-jokingly told her, "Trust me, I don't want to upset your dad, he's an Army Ranger, right? He knows how to use a gun -"
With a big smile, Kate let out a loud laugh, "Stop it. I would never let him shoot you!"
Jack sucked in a deep breath, "There are a lot of aspects to this that I didn't take into consideration."
She gave him a warm and reassuring smile as she moved to sit up.
Kate threw her sore legs over the side of the bed and began her quest to find her scattered clothing. Jack got out of his bed to help her with the search. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at him and quickly faced down, still unaccustomed to his nudity- as gorgeous as it was. It was so surreal she thought, days ago she was thinking about this moment and now it was a reality, she just slept with the one man that occupied her school girl fantasies for nearly 8 months. She felt like bragging to someone, anyone - she just had sex with the hottest man alive. Did she look different? Would people be able to tell? Oh God, would her dad notice?
A little awkwardly, they both got dressed and then headed into his living room. He grabbed his keys.
Kate looked at him questioningly, "Where are you going?"
"I'm at least going to walk you to your car, Kate. I feel like enough of a jerk that I am not taking you home."
Kate looked at him and the obvious question was lingering in the air between them, "Ummmmm, so Jack, what happens now?"
Kate sat on the edge of her bed. She flung herself backward and allowed herself to sink into the pillows, she laid there motionless as her legs dangled. She didn't even remember the drive home from his apartment, it was a complete blur. She rushed home so her father wouldn't wonder what she was doing all day and it turned out that he wasn't even home yet - she now completely regretted not staying with him longer. It was only 6:00 pm, she had plans to go out with Claire later and all she wanted to do was blow them off so she could go back to his place … so they could continue from where they left off. Every nerve ending in her body was singing, she closed her eyes and re-played the afternoon they shared together. She gently laid her hands over her abdomen and let out a loud giggle. This felt surreal, countless times she imagined them in that exact scenario and now it was a reality, an actual memory that belonged to her … and him. Kate wondered what he was doing at this very moment. Was he thinking of her?
She had no idea how long she laid still like that, but instinctively she knew she had to get up and ready her herself for tonight. She dragged her feet slowly to the full length mirror on the other side of her room. She didn't want to take a shower, she wanted to keep his scent on her body for as long as possible. She began to unfasten the buttons on her shirt and froze. That's when she saw the trail of faint purple marks. They were like shadows lying across her collarbone down to her breasts. Kate conjured him instantly. She made no noise, but her eyes were wide and then she let the smile spread across her face - it was Jack's mouth that left those slight bruises on her pale and delicate skin and that very thought made her excited. No, it drove her nearly crazy.
Sam finally walked through the front door at 7:30. Kate was waiting for him in the den and let out a muffled sigh when she saw the evident exhaustion in his face, "You look tired Daddy."
He sighed, "Yeah? I think I am. I'm sorry I was gone all day. I don't like working on weekends, I feel as if I haven't seen you in ages Katie."
She stood up from the sofa and went over to give him a hug. As they broke away from each other he rested his hands on her shoulders and took a step back to take a look at her.
"I'm guessing by the looks of it, you have plans for tonight. You're all dolled up."
Kate drew her chin into her chest and gave him a perplexed expression, " 'Dolled up'? What do you mean? I'm dressed like I always am."
With a wry grin, Sam told her "Take it easy kiddo, you just look a little extra pretty tonight, that's all. Do you have a 'hot' date?"
Kate smiled, "Yes, I do and my date's name is Claire." They both laughed and then Kate paused, "But seriously, Dad. I don't have to go. I can cancel and stay in. We can catch a movie on tv-"
"No way, Katie. I want you to go out and have some fun. Besides, I'm so tired I don't think I'll be up for much longer. I'd be lousy company."
They were silent for a moment. She didn't want to leave him alone. She hated the thought of him sitting in this house with nothing but silence around him. She knew she probably shouldn't it bring it up now, but she couldn't prevent the words from forming on her lips, "You know Dad, maybe you should be the one going out on a date. It's been years Daddy … I think it's time."
Sam knew she was well meaning and he smiled, "I'm too old for the dating scene, I'm afraid."
"No way Dad. You are so handsome and I know that there is some lucky lady waiting out there for you."
He knew better than to argue with her, "Will ya get outta here already." He gave her playful swat.
Kate was at Claire's in a matter of minutes. She strolled up to the door and rang the bell. Claire opened it and Kate took in her appearance, "Claire! You're still in your workout clothes. You told me to be here at 8:00 and you're not close to being ready."
Claire gave her a sheepish grin, "Ahhhh, I know. I lost track of time. I'm so sorry. I'll be ready in a flat. Just go into the family room and watch the tele while I get ready."
Kate was aggravated and it showed. She didn't even want to go out and was hoping that the night would end early. At this rate and with Claire's history of taking forever to do anything, she knew it was going to be a long evening.
"Whatever Claire. Just hurry, okay?" Kate walked to the family room and moved towards the sofa. She picked up the remote and aimlessly flipped through the seemingly thousand channels on the screen. She yawned and felt herself getting sleepy in the dark room that was only illuminated by the TV. She must have dozed off, because she slowly opened her eyes and had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She turned her gaze to the doorway and that is when she spotted the tall and familiar silhouette backlit by the wall of light emanating from the hallway. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
She straightened her back and shyly raised her hand, "Hey."
He lifted his chin as he looked at her, "Hey."
"Ummm, how long have you been at the house?" He looked at her as she asked the question, her head was tilted slightly to the left and she had the most innocent look on her face.
"My dad and I just walked in the door a couple of minutes ago. I heard the television and I figured it was Claire and I think you can figure the rest…."
Kate knew her face was reddening and that knowledge just exacerbated her sense of shyness, "How long were you in here while I was sleeping?"
Jack heard a dry and strange sound come from his throat. He shook his head in bafflement, now it was his turn to feel a bit embarrassed at being caught staring at her, "Not long, I wasn't sure whether to wake you or not."
Kate stared into his eyes and watched him walk towards her. She wondered if he could hear the loud gulp she took before she opened her mouth, "Oh…."
He switched on the light, sat next to her and turned to his right to look at her. She was still beautiful, of course. He let his gaze drift to her chest, waist and then her thighs. She was wearing a skirt and he couldn't stop himself from staring and wanting to graze the back of his hand along the curve of her knee. Kate recognized the burning look that came into his eyes. He began to lean in towards her when they heard the sounds of footsteps shuffling along the rug outside the door. They both quickly threw themselves to the opposite ends of the sofa and pretended to be watching TV as Christian appeared in the entryway.
"Jack-. Oh, hello Kate. I didn't realize you were here. How are you?" His brow furrowed as if he was suddenly worried about something.
"Hello Dr. Shephard, I'm fine thank you. Claire and I are supposed to go out tonight. I'm just waiting for her to come down."
Christian politely smiled, "I suppose you have been waiting for some time, then. Claire has a tendency to take her time with such things. I hope you girls have fun."
Christian then turned his attention to Jack, "I know you have to leave, but I wanted to discuss something with you before you left. Can you meet me in the study?"
Jack looked at his father and rubbed the top of his thighs before pulling himself up, "Yeah sure. I'll be right there." Jack watched Christian walk away before he turned to Kate.
In a hurried voice barely louder than whisper, he asked "Tomorrow?"
Kate nearly melted under the heat that emanated from his expression. She stood up and in a rushed and quiet voice she answered, "Yes. What time?"
"Whenever, just tell me." Jack looked over his shoulder and Kate could tell that he was nervous about being caught by his father.
"I'll be there at 3:00."
He didn't want to leave and he reluctantly felt himself drawing back, but not without brushing his fingertips against the top of her hand that was resting on the side of her thigh. Kate nearly sunk from the weight of his soft touch. She watched him nod his head before walking away. She flopped back onto the sofa and just sat there.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that gave me feedback. It really helps, like you would not believe. Based on the PMs and comments I have received there is an overwhelming response for me to work on both simultaneously. So that is what I'll try to do. Thank you also for your comments and critiques of the story. They are so helpful and let me know if I am on track with the storytelling.