Chapter Nine


    The rain still poured down as JC was working on more of his writing. Angie had been sleeping for about an hour and JC tried to sleep, but surprisingly he couldn’t. So he pulled out his own Discman, another thing he couldn’t part with, and listened to Limp Biskit as he continued to write.
    He furiously scratched out a sentence, ripped out the page, and crumbled it up. He looked over at Angie who was on her side facing him, sound asleep. “Yo Angie,” he said and threw the wad of paper at her face. “Wake up!”
    “Ahh,” she yelped as something hit her face. She looked down and picked up the wad of paper and looked at JC’s grinning face. “JC, you little shit,” she cracked and just threw it back.
    “Come on, Morgan, wake up,” he whined. “I’m bored.”
    “Go to sleep. You love to sleep.”
    “I can’t sleep.”
    Her laugh muffled from under the sleeping bag. “Yeah, right. And I can sing like Britney Spears.” She showed her face. “Scratch that, I could probably sing better than her.”
    He winced. “Ouch,” he laughed.
    She chuckled. “I’m just playin’,” she said as she sat up. “So what do you suggest we do.”
    He shrugged. “I dunno. I tried writing for a little bit, but I’m stumped. But hey, I found a pack of cards in the bottom of my backpack.”
    “Really?” she asked as she still stayed in her sleeping bag, because it was still cold. “I’m up for a card game.”
    He fished out the pack and then shifted them out. “What do you wanna play?” he asked as he began to shuffle them.
    “Ever play Secret?”
    He gave her a confused look. “Never heard of it.”
    “I learned it at camp. It’s pretty simple, but fun.”
    “All right, explain it to me.”
    “Well, we each get five cards, and a secret card, but we can’t look at that card. We go through the deck and try to get the lowest hand possible.”
    “Are aces high or low?”
    “Those are one point and Jacks are zeros. You want Jacks.”
    “Okay, sounds easy.”
    “And then we add our points up, plus the secret card. The secret cards the key, because you don’t know what you have. Oh, and you can also pick cards up from the trash pile. Let’s say I discard a three and you have a five, you can pick up that three if you want.”
    “Got it,” he said and then dealt out five cards each and then an extra card. He then reached behind him and pulled out a can of salted peanuts and set it in the middle of them. “Here, a classic card’s game snack.”
    “So what kind of song are you writing?” she asked as she picked the first card. It was only a ten, but it beat her queen so she kept it and tossed the queen out.
    He picked up a card and smiled when he saw the Jack. “It’s not ready yet.”
    “I didn’t ask if it was ready,” she said annoyingly.
    He eyed her over his cards. “Just because I know you’re a fan, doesn’t mean I’m gonna tell you what it’s about.”
    “Okay okay,” she said as she discarded her five of hearts. “Will you at least tell me if it’s a slow or fast song?”
    He grinned and discarded an Ace. “Slow.”
    “You little twirp,” she said as she picked up his ace.
V“You have all the Aces don’t you.”
    “Guilty,” he said as he laid down his cards and had four Jacks and an Ace of Spades. That’s one point baby.”
    “Damn,” she said as she laid out her cards. “I got six. But let’s add our secret card,” she said as she flipped hers over. “Okay I got a four, damn that’s a ten.”
    He flipped his card over. “Ahh, jeez,” he said as he slammed the King of Hearts down.
    “Wahoo!” Angie yelped in triumph. “You see there, Hun, it all depends on that secret card.”
    “Yeah, Yeah,” he sulked and then just laughed when she gave him that devilish grin. “Okay, smartass, best out of three?”
    “You got it.”

    They spent the next hour playing more rounds of Secret, Angie winning most of them. They snacked on some peanuts and sipped some water. The rain was letting up a little bit, but it they still couldn’t go outside yet. “Damn, girl,” he said as he threw down his hand. “You have the best luck.”
    “I know,” she giggled.
    He just laughed as he shuffled the cards and dealt another hand. “So Angie, can I ask you something?”
    “Sure,” she said as she took a sip of her water.
    “Were you going to Fred’s other cabin?”
    She nodded. “Yeah, your mom said she’d ask Fred if I can use it.”
    “Why were you going up there?” he asked.
    She shrugged. “Just to get away. Have a little break from my family.”
    “Is everything okay?”
    She waved it off. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
    He kept looking at her and then placed his cards down. “Talk to me.”
    “JC, I don’t want to…” She stopped when he reached over and touched her hand. She looked down, and then at his blue eyes that were filled with concerned.
    “Talk to me,” he repeated. “Is everything okay with your parents?”
    Her eyes began to fill with tears. “It’s my dad,” she said as her voice cracked. “He…uh…” She took a deep breath and JC squeezed her hand. “He had a heart attack a while back.”
    His eyes turned soft as she began to cry. He scooted closer to her and she didn’t object when he pulled her on his lap. She was sitting side ways, with her legs stretched out and she buried her face against his chest. “I’m sorry Angie, I had no idea.”
    “No one does,” she choked. “My dad is still in the hospital, and he doesn’t want any one to know.” JC just rocked her as he let her cry it out. He rested his chin on the top of her head and rubbed her back to sooth her. “My mom told me I needed to get away, just for a while. And now this has happened and it’s just another thing for her to worry about.”
    “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “We’re gonna get out of here.”
    “What….What if I don’t see him again, JC. What if it’s too late and I…”
    “Shh,” he whispered and then leaned back, brushing his lips against her temple before cupping her face with his hands and looking down at her. “I’m gonna make sure you get to see your father again,” he said and then wiped the tears away with his thumb. “I promise.”
    She smiled up at him. “Thank you,” she said as she reached up and grabbed his wrists. “That means a lot.”
    He smiled and then looked up and let out a laugh. “Hey it stopped raining.”
    She listened for the rain, but only silence filled her ears. “It sure is.”
    “Come on,” he said as he motioned for her to get up.
    “Let’s get out of here, I got cabin fever.”
    “You and me both.”
    “I’m actually surprised we didn’t tear each other apart in there,” he teased as he got out.
    She smiled. “Yeah,” she said as she gave him a friendly nudge. “You ain’t so bad, JC.”
    He laughed as he put an arm around her. “Right back at you, Morgan.”
    She just laughed and then looked up at the sky. "It really doesn't look like it's done raining yet."
    JC looked up too. "Yeah, and it's almost dark. Just walk around and stretch your legs a bit, before we go back in."
    "Okay," she said. "Hey, you know what we should do tomorrow?"
    "What?" JC asked as he strolled over to the river.
    "Go on a hike."
    He leaned over and picked up a stick and turned to her. "A hike?"
    "Yeah, come on where's your sense of adventure."
    He gave her a look. "I think I've had enough of an adventure to last a life time thank you," he said and then threw the stick in the river.
    She rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's true. But I just can't stand here and twidle my thumbs twenty-four, seven. I mean come on, please?"
    "Well, I..." He was interrupted when a fat drop of rain hit the top of his head. "Oh, dammit, quick," he said as he grabbed her hand. "Back in the tent." They ran together holding hands, as the raindrops started to come down faster "Are you okay? How wet did you get?"
    "Not too bad," she said and then glanced up as the rain began to pour. "Damn, so much for stretching our legs." He ran his fingers through his wet hair and tiny raindrops exploded everywhere.
    "Hey, watch it," she flinched as a the drops splattered her face.
    He chuckled. "Sorry. Damn it's freezing, let's get in our sleeping bags.."
    "Fine by me I.....Oh, dammit!" she cursed when she felt the wet spot on her sleeping bag.
    "What?"
    "My sleeping bag is wet."
    "What? How?"
    "Ah, man, there's a leak over here."
    JC got up on his knees and examined the rip. "Yeah, it's pretty big too." He cursed softly as he sat back down and stared at her. He knew this was a bad idea, but he had no other choice. "Were gonna have to share a sleeping bag tonight."
    Her eyes widened. "I don't think so," she said. "I'll be perfectly fine with my blanket."
    He reached over and grabbed it. "Which is also wet."
    She grabbed it from him and when she felt the damp cloth she cursed. "JC, I don't feel comfortable doing this."
    He sighed. "I don't either, but it sure beats you freezing to death. I mean at least we'll have clothes on this time."
    She shivered at the remembrance of waking up that morning next to him. She let out a sigh as she looked down at her lap. "Yeah."
    He studied her, watching her bite her lip, something she did when she was nervous he noticed. "Listen, Angie. If you want I'll sleep with the blanket and you'll get in the sleeping bag. If that's what you want then we'll do it that way."
    She looked up at him, his blue eyes fixated on her while he waited for her answer. She sighed. "No, I don't want you to be cold. We'll just share the sleeping bag."
    "Are you sure?" he asked.
    She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I mean were adults, right?"
    He cleared his throat. "Right, so let's not make a big deal about it."
    She nodded. "Okay."
    "Okay, let's get in, before we freeze to death," he said as he crawled in and opened the flap for her. She crawled over to him and then slipped in next to him. "You all in?" he asked her and when she nodded, he leaned over her to zip up the sleeping bag. At one point the zipper was stuck, and his face was close to Angie's. She watched him warily and he even shifted his eye to her. "Sorry," he said. "The zipper is being a pain."
    She smiled uneasily. "That's okay," she said as calmly as possible.
    He gave the same smile and then continued to work on the zipper. "There, it's about time," he said and then zipped it up. He then leaned back and they were so close that his shoulder overlapped hers. "Something tells me this sleeping bag is a little bit smaller than the other one," he grunted as he shifted to get comfortable.
    "I think you're right," she said. "Plus the fact we haven't showered in two days isn't helping either."
    He let out a laugh. "Thanks, Morgan."
    "The truth hurts," she mumbled as she shifted.
    "Dammit, there's no way I'm gonna get to sleep."
    "I know," he sighed and then lifted his arm around her. "Here, this might be better. Lift up your head." When she did, he tucked his arm under her. "All right lay back down." She shifted and rested her head against the crook of his shoulder. "Better?"
    "Yeah," she said softly, enjoying the feel of him against her way too much. "A lot better." Her voice was soft and that little sigh she made caused his whole body to tremble. "You're shaking."
    "Yeah, I tend to do that when I'm cold," he said between his teeth.
    "Smart ass," she mumbled as she closed her eyes. He smiled in the dark. "Get some sleep, Morgan. We got a hike in the morning."
    She opened her eyes and turned her body toward so she could look down at him. "Really?"
    He smiled. "Yeah, if you want."
    "Yeah, I want to," she said and then laid back down.
    "Hope you can keep up with me."
    He chuckled. "I think I can handle it."
    "That's what you think," she said and then shifted.
    "Still can't get comfortable?"
    "Not really," she said. "And I'm still cold."
    "Let's try this," he said as he rolled to his side and motioned her to do the same. He then scooted up against her and draped an arm around her. "How's that?" he murmured in her ear from behind.
    She shivered as she cranked her neck around to face him. It was dark, so she couldn't see his face very well, but she sensed he was close. She then could feel his warm breath on her lips and knew he was getting closer. "JC?"
    He answered by tasting her softly with his lips, letting his lips linger as he pulled away. He reached up and cupped the side of her face as he kissed her again, this time deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped slowly inside her mouth as he buried his fingers in her hair. He then nibbled at her lips, and lingered there before he pulled away. "Good night, Angie," he said huskily.
    Still shaken from the kiss, silently begging for more, she turned back around and laid her head down. "Good night, JC."
He laid down behind her and pulled her up against him. He knew he shouldn't of kissed her, he thought he lightly kissed the top of her head. But it just felt too right not to.



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