Chapter 4It was probably two in the morning when Janet woke up, not
able to sleep. Deciding that a fresh glass of water was best, she crept out of
the bedroom and started to head for the kitchen. To her immense surprise, the
light was on and she heard voices as she stepped closer to the door. She
received an even bigger shock when she heard both of her friends discussing
something. “It’s the middle of the night. What on earth could the two of them be
talking about that’s so important it couldn’t wait until morning?”
However, thoughts of Jack and Terri gallivanting around behind her back
made her suddenly forget all about her insomnia.
They couldn’t have something
going on, could they? What if Jack and Terri were secretly in love and had been
seeing each other this whole time without me knowing? she thought. All of a
sudden, for seemingly no reason at all, she felt her heart sink to the bottom of
her stomach. She slowly inched closer to the door, wanting, desperately needing
to know what was going on in that room.
“I just don’t know, Terri,” she
heard Jack say.
“What, Jack? What’s the big deal?”
“The big
deal, Terri…let’s see, she could say no, laugh in my face, and never speak to me
again. I’d say that’s a very big deal!”
Janet sighed with relief as soon
as she heard the pronoun
she being used.
So it’s not Terri. “Then
who could it be?” she wondered, continuing to listen to the ongoing
conversation. “Anyone, Janet, anyone but you,” she whispered, a small tear
falling down her cheek and she made no move to brush it away.
“For God’s
sake, Tripper, how are you supposed to know how she feels about you if you never
talk to her?”
“I don’t know, Terri! This is really hard, and you’re not
helping. I just…she’s always been my friend. I promised her parents I’d treat
her like a sister. And now…I just want to be with her, you know? I just want to
hold her and kiss her and never let her go.”
Terri tried a different
approach to try and make her friend understand. “Jack, listen to me very
carefully, all right? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you were a boxer in the
Navy.”
“Hardly. I lost every time.”
“Yeah, but you always
competed. That’s what I’m trying to get through to you. Yes, there’s a
possibility that she isn’t on the same page that you are, but there’s a
possibility that she is. You’ve got to talk to her, otherwise you’ll regret it.
It’d be like forfeiting a boxing match because you’re afraid of losing. Jack,
just do it. I’m sure Janet feels the same way.”
Janet was shocked, but
extremely happy.
She was the girl they were talking about. They were
talking about his feelings for her. Jack loved her. He wanted to love her. He
wanted to kiss her and be with her.
Oh, God, please don’t let this be a cruel
dream. Please. She pressed her ear to the door. Now that she knew they were
talking about her, nothing could stop her from hearing the rest.
“Okay!
Okay! I give. You’re right. You’ve been right about everything. Thanks, Terri.
You’re a really good friend. I’ll try to talk to her today, after you go to
work.”
“You better,” she said, poking him in the chest, a slight edge of
annoyance in her voice. “Now I’m going to bed…again. And you better not wake me
up.”
“I promise. I’m sorry for that, by the way, but hey, Terri? Can I
ask you a question? And be completely honest. Do you think Janet has feelings
for me? I mean, could she look past the friend aspect and fall in love with
me?
She shot him a look. “You’re kidding me, right? Honey, people that
are just friends don’t kiss the way that you do. Remember, we saw you at the
beach. She said we didn’t interrupt anything, but take one look in her eyes and
I knew we did. Jack, she adores you. I know that and you know that too. She
loves you, and you love her. Everything will turn out all right. ”
Janet
tiptoed away from the door and went back to bed, careful to not let Terri and
Jack know she was ever there. Her life had just changed forever in the span of a
ten - minute conversation. The man who had held her heart in the palm of his
hand since the day they met loved her as well. Everything was good. Everything
would work out and fall in to place. Of course it would. It had to. Janet Olivia
Wood wouldn’t have it any other way.
*~*
Janet yawned, pulling the
pillow over her head in a futile attempt to get more sleep. But it was useless,
and she reluctantly crawled out of bed. She dressed quickly, and then spent a
good five minutes surveying her appearance in the mirror. “What am I trying to
prove?” she muttered, critically glancing at the tight jeans and periwinkle
clingy V-neck top she’d accidentally-on-purpose put on. She made her way to the
kitchen, where, as luck would have it, she ran into Jack. “Good morning!” she
trilled happily. Now that she knew Jack had feelings for her, nothing could ever
bring her down. She wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and shout to
the world how much she loved him. Nevertheless, she forced herself not to
mention anything to Jack… for the moment, anyway. She wanted him to come to her;
it was still her rules, her way. So Janet had to act as if everything was
normal, no matter how much everything wa s changing.
Jack walked toward
her, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. “Hey, you sleep well?”
“Like a
baby. So…what can I do to help?”
He smiled, handing her four eggs.
“Separate them. Not even you can mess that up.”
“They look pretty
separate to me.”
He laughed, coming up behind her to show her what to do.
“I mean separate the white stuff from the yellow stuff. Here.” Jack carefully
took both of Janet’s hands, told her to pick up the egg, and reviewed the
process again. She tried to concentrate on the words that he was saying, but it
was hard for her to even breathe correctly with him so close. His arms encircled
hers as he guided her through the motions. “See?” he said when they were finally
done. “I told you we’re a great team.”
She nodded, turning around in his
embrace to look up at him. “ We really are.” They worked together for the next
few hours; Jack doing most of the work and Janet helping out whenever she could
without ruining the cake. After the cake was fully cooled off, Janet got out the
many different colors of frosting. “I think we should use blue and purple,
seeing as those are Terri’s favorite colors.”
“Sure.” Jack replied, as
if on automatic. “You know what, Janet? You’re going to make a wonderful wife
someday.”
“Excuse me?” she cried, glancing at him suspiciously. “Where’d
that come from? I can’t even boil water and you honestly think I would make a
good wife? I don’t even have a boyfriend.” Janet began struggling with the tube
of blue frosting. “Hey! Something’s wrong! This isn't working.”
“Here,
let me.” Jack tapped the bottom lightly as he took it from her. “Maybe you did
it wrong.”
“Jack, how many different ways are there to squeeze a
tube?”
“Evidently more than one,” he responded as he squeezed and an
extremely thin line oozed out. But what happened next made Janet laugh out loud.
As he squeezed the tube a little harder, wanting to get a thicker line, a huge
glob squirted out and hit him right on the face. “Oh, you think that’s funny?”
he joked, catching Janet trying unsuccessfully to suppress her
giggles.
People are talkin, talking 'bout people
I hear them
whisper, you won't believe it
They think we're lovers kept under covers
I
just ignore it, but they keep sayingSilent tears were streaming down
her face, she was laughing so hard. She nodded. “I’m sorry, but you have to
admit it could only happen to you.” A moment later, Janet felt the frigid
coldness of the same frosting plastered to her skin. “Jack Tripper!” she cried.
“I can’t believe you!”
“Score!”
We laugh just a little too
loud
We stand just a little too close
We stare just a little too
long
Maybe they're seeing, something we don't, Darlin'“Oh, come
on, hon. Aren’t girls supposed to be sugar and spice? Well, you’ve got the sugar
part covered…literally,” he answered, wiping some of it off with his finger and
tasting it. “It tastes good.”
“Two can play this game.” Janet made sure
to step out of firing range as she scooped up a spoonful of icing, ready to
fling it at him. “Don’t mess with me.”
“Don’t you dare throw that at
me.”
“And just why not?”
I feel so foolish, I never
noticed
You'd act so nervous, could you be falling for me?
It took a rumor
to make me wonder
Now I'm convinced I'm going underJack scooped
up some icing himself. “Because if you hit me…I’ll have no choice but to hit
you.”
“Not if I hit you first!” she exclaimed, throwing it at him, than
instantly ducking behind a chair. However, she wasn’t safe enough. Jack crept up
behind her and squirted practically the entire tube into Janet’s hair. She stood
up, rubbing it out of her eyes as it trickled down her face and shirt. “No
fair!”
“I think it’s extremely fair.” Jack said. The next fifteen minutes
were a blur. Jack and Janet ran around every inch of the kitchen, throwing
everything messy they could get their hands on. The cake was sufficiently
ruined, but that didn’t stop the two friends from continuing the sticky game.
Finally, when there was no ammunition left, they had to admit that the messy
affair was over.
Thinking 'bout you every day
Dreaming 'bout you
every night
Hoping that you feel the same way
Now that we know it, let's
really show it, Darlin'Jack plopped down beside Janet on the floor.
“Gross,” she said, making a disgusting face as his clothes squished beneath him.
“Get away.”
Not paying any attention, he began to tickle her. Rolling on
top of her, he pinned her to the floor. “No way.”
Let's give them
something to talk about
A little mystery to figure out
Let's give them
something to talk about
How about love, love, love, love?Janet
found herself staring straight up into his liquid blue eyes as he rolled
slightly off her body. The laughter and silliness ceased. She gazed at him, her
_expression quizzical and slightly hurt before smiling brightly. Likewise, Jack
was now completely serious and her lips were his only focus. “May I?” he
whispered, his voice barely audible.
She nodded, her lips parting
slightly. Seeing this as an invitation, he leaned in closer. She sighed happily
as his mouth met hers. Like the time at the beach, she allowed his tongue to
open her mouth and tease hers. Janet sat up slightly and backed up against the
kitchen cabinets, never once breaking the kiss. She wanted so badly to tell him
she loved him. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring
herself to utter them. He’d have to do it first. Jack straddled her body in
between his legs, letting his lips rain down her neck and shoulders. She wrapped
her arms around his neck, holding him close. They would have played with each
other more, but Terri’s voice caused them to jump away from each
other.
“Guys! I’m home!”
*~*
“I swear to you, Janet. I didn’t
see a thing. I swear it.”
“I believe you. Besides, there wasn’t
really anything to see,” Janet responded, lying through her teeth as she took an
outfit out of her closet. Her hair was still wrapped up in a towel, it being
still wet from the shower. It had taken her a full hour and three shampoos to
get the icky icing out of her body and hair. “It was one of those things.
Nothing much.”
“Oh, come on. You two were practically making out and
there was cake – or what I hope was my cake – all over the floor, not to mention
on you.”
“See, this is what happens when you don’t knock.”
The
next thirty minutes were pure madness as they hurriedly got dressed. There was
no time to discuss the situation further because the two kept running back and
forth from the bedroom to the bathroom. Finally, though, they were ready. Janet
wore a halter style red dress with matching high heels. Terri was adorned in a
black spaghetti strapped mid thigh length dress with stiletto
heels.
Around 8:00, after giving the birthday girl her presents, the four
friends prepared to go to the club. “We
could have had a cake…but our two
fifth graders here decided that they wanted to wear it instead,” Terri joked,
turning around to smile at Janet.
“Let’s just go,” Janet said, not
particularly wanting to talk about the kiss.
“Shotgun!” Jack said.
Jack and Janet didn’t say a word to each other the entire car ride, the
tension in the car rising. They arrived at the club twenty minutes later, and
they all hopped out of the car. Terri and Larry went on ahead, leaving Jack and
Janet alone. “This place looks nice.”
Janet glanced at him, the surprise
evident in her eyes. Those four words were the first he had spoken to her sine
the antics of the afternoon. “Yeah…it does.”
They found a booth near the
dance floor, and Jack and Larry went over to the bar to get the girls something
to drink. “Have you talked to Janet?” Larry asked.
"No…I’m planning to
tonigh- hey, who’s that?”
“Looks like a guy, Jack.”
“You idiot, I
can see that. What’s he doing with her? And where is he taking
her?”
“Dancing.” The two guys turned to see Terri come up behind them.
“His name’s Taylor. He’s cute, so why not? For God’s sake, how can four drinks
take this long?!”
“Why is he dancing with her?”
“Well, I don’t see
you doing anything.”
“Dude, whatever you’re planning to do, you
better hurry it up,” Larry warned. “Before they fall in love or what not.”
“Not helping, Larry!”
*~*
Janet came back a few minutes
later. “Well?” Terri immediately asked her.
“Well, what? What’s there to
say? His name’s Taylor. Taylor Lambert. He’s here to take over his grandfather’s
business.”
“Nice guy.”
“The grandfather’s retiring, you bonehead,”
Janet said, irritated, as she swatted him with a napkin. “I don’t make fun of
your girls.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
“Terri, it was
just one dance. Not a big deal. If I see him, I see him, but if I don’t, I
don’t. We were just having fun. People seem to do that a lot lately…just have
fun.” She didn’t come outright and say it, but all four of them knew that the
last sentence was aimed in Jack’s direction.
Thankfully, the music saved
the day. A slow, almost achingly sexy song wafted through the speakers. Jack
felt both Terri and Larry’s eyes on him. “Come on, Larry, dance with me. It’s my
birthday, so you don’t have a choice. Do it now,” she muttered in a sing-songing
voice directly in her friend’s ear. “Now!”
I never knew I could
fly,
But something is taking me higher than ever,
Like something inside is
lifting me up
Until I'm touching heaven.
No matter what the world may
bring,
It all comes down to one thing.Jack sighed, as the lyrics
seemed to taunt him. He knew he had to do this now. Making his way to her side
of the booth, he pulled her to her feet and took her in his arms. “I’m not
letting that Taylor guy have you,” he whispered, his arms encircling her waist.
“Now that you’re here, I’m never letting you go.”
“Good deal.” She
couldn’t trust herself to say anything else, simply put her arms around his neck
as he pulled her even closer to him. Their bodies were merely millimeters apart
and became even closer as they really listened to the words of the song. It
could have been written for them, it hit so close to home. Without even thinking
of what he was doing, he started to stroke her hair as her head rested on his
chest. To the casual viewer, they looked like the ultimate couple, young and in
love. Contentedly, she allowed her eyes to shut as his words from earlier echoed
in her mind. Talk to me Janet. Please. She would. Just not right now. Later. She
was enjoying this moment too much. But she would talk to him before the night
was over. Within the next five hours. She owed that to him…and to herself.
Have you ever been in love?
Have you ever noticed how
The sky
never seemed so blue,
The whole world's in time with you.
Have you ever
known that someone
Is gonna be the one,
And no matter what you do,
The
sun still shines on you.
Like an angel from above,
Have you ever been in
love?She sighed again, never wanting this moment to end. Jack was
the only thing she had ever wanted. He was without a doubt the best thing that
had ever happened to her in her life. Being wrapped in his warm, strong embrace
was the most wonderful feeling she had ever experienced. It made the world seem
so simple. It was him, and it was her…and nothing else mattered. She felt safe.
Protected; like nothing could ever harm her. No other guy had ever given her
that security before, and she knew that no one else ever would. She opened her
eyes and saw him smiling down at her.
Oh, yeah. He’s my only one.
And if he takes my hand,
I'm carried away with the force of
the river.
And when there are mountains ahead,
They're easy to face if we
climb them together.
Whatever dreams the night may bring,
It all comes
down to one thing.The chorus began again, and the one line came back
full force. ‘Have you ever been in love?’ Yes, she thought softly. I am in love.
I am. Cupping his face in her hands, she let her mouth cover his in an earth -
shattering kiss. A kiss that poured out everything. A kiss full of wanting,
desiring…and hope. Hope that he’d admit what she already knew. Hope that he
could love her too. When she pulled away triumphantly, he didn’t respond or give
any indication of wanting to say a word for a few good moments. So she did the
only thing she knew how. She ran.
Have you ever been in love?
Have
you ever noticed how
The sky never seemed so blue,
The whole world's in
time with you.
Have you ever known that someone
Is gonna be the
one,
And no matter what you do,
The sun still shines on you.
Like an
angel from above,
Have you ever been in love?“Janet,” he called
softly but firmly, running after her. He was tired of playing games. Jack found
her on the balcony, looking up at the stars overlooking the city. Her red dress
contrasted against the moonlight, and as she whipped around, fresh tears
streaming down her face, to him, she had never looked more beautiful. She heard
his feet fast approaching and tried to turn around, but he grabbed her
arm.
“Let go…please,” she whimpered. “I can’t talk to you. I want so much
to, but I can’t.”
“Then I will.” Jack took her hands and sat in the
nearest chair, practically pulling her onto his lap. He brushed her hair out of
her eyes, touching her cheek softly before again talking her hand.
“Janet…sweetheart, I’m completely, irrationally, insanely, so much in love with
you. I want to be with you. I want to always be able to hold you and kiss you
and tell you that I love you. Because I do. I love you. I love you, I love you,
I love you.”
Janet didn’t say a word, simply started to cry. “Oh! I…I
love you, too.” She burst into tears as he wrapped his arms around her. “I love
you so much. I love you so much!”
Song Credits: "Something To Talk About"
- by Bonnie Raitt
"Have You Ever Beenn In Love?" - Kimberley Locke
Chapter 5
Even though they stayed at the club until
late in the morning, Jack and Janet weren’t tired at all. After the
initial shock of their feelings being mutual had worn off, the two had
talked and kissed on the terrace for hours. They spent the rest of the
time wrapped in each other’s arms, dancing the night away. The four
arrived at the apartment so late, they barely beat the sunrise.
“My
God, I’m glad I only have a birthday once a year,” Terri admitted, half –
asleep on Larry’s shoulder as she unlocked the door. “I’d be surprise if I
make it to bed without falling asleep.”
Larry jumped forward
and put his hand on Terri’s door so she couldn’t enter. “Well, if you need
any help with that…”
“I’ll manage. But thanks anyway.”
“That’s the last time I offer anything, and after all I did for
you tonight.”
She stared at him, her mouth agape. “What did you
ever do for me?”
“I kept you company, and danced with you for nine
hours straight. You could have been alone, with Jack and Janet off doing
God knows what. And besides, all the girls couldn’t keep their eyes off
me, of course, making it natural that all the guys would look at you,
wondering what it was that their girlfriends were looking at.”
“Go home, Larry,” Terri snapped. “I’m tired and I can’t deal
with you.”
“Fine. See you later, you guys.”
Terri went to
bed, leaving Jack and Janet alone in the living room. A tiny bit unsure of
what to do at this point, he took her hand, pulling her beside him on the
couch. She laid her head in his lap and he began absently playing with her
hair, just as they had done millions of times before. But now…it was
strange. Not necessarily bad strange, just different. Jack planted a small
kiss in the palm of her hand, smiling down at her. “Did you have a good
time tonight, baby?”
Janet nodded, looking up at him and grinning.
“You know it. Especially on the terrace.”
Jack chuckled, a low
growl coming from his throat as he rubbed his hand lovingly up and down
her arm. “You little devil.”
“But you love me.”
“I do. Hey,
Janet…do you…does this feel a little weird?”
Her eyes filled with
tears, which Jack saw and leaned down to softly wipe away with his thumb.
“A little bit,” she answered honestly. “But it’s worth it. I’ve always
loved you. Always…even if I didn’t always know it.” Crying softly, she
continued the tale. “You remember when you went out with that girl…Karen,
right? Roper’s niece? You went out on a date with her just to get back my
cameo that my grandmother gave me? That meant so much to me. I mean, you
had known me only for about six months, but you did all that, went through
all that trouble just to make me happy. You did all that just for me on my
birthday. And I think it was right then that I realized that if I let
myself, I really could fall in love with a guy like you. See, I know what
you were like, and that’s why I made that rule about us just being
friends. It’s the only way I could save myself, keep my heart from getting
broken. But, you know what? I’m glad I gave that up, because I love being
in love with you. So much you don’t even know. But…when you told us that
you were going to marry a girl you had just met, it broke my heart. You
don’t even know how much that hurt. How could you have married someone you
barely knew and never…never even noticed me after all these years?”
Janet’s tears finally found a way out and streamed down her face.
“You see, this is precisely why I don’t talk to you about things like
this. It makes me cry…I hate crying.”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s all
right,” he whispered. “And if it makes you feel any better, you were
always my favorite. Out of all my roommates, and that includes the guys
down at the YMCA,” he said, making her crack a small smile. “Really…honey,
you were just so pretty and smart and fun to be around, but it scared me
because I knew I wasn't supposed to feel that way about you. I wasn’t
supposed to have dreams about kissing you.”
“You mean that?” she
asked, needing to believe him, her voice barely above a
whisper.
Jack nodded, as she sat up in his lap and cuddled
against him. “More that anything. It might not have seemed that way, but I
really did like you more than anything Chrissy ever did. And even though
…Cindy was wonderful; clumsy, but I loved her, you know that. But I kind
of didn’t want her to move in. I liked it when it was just us, cause we
got to spend more time together and I got to know you better.”
“I love you,” she murmured. He softly pushed her of him so he
could lay her down on the couch. His mouth crushed upon hers in an
intense, passionate kiss. She pulled back suddenly, only to meet his lips
again. Jack loved her, and he would never pressure her to do anything, she
knew. And she loved him. That was it. And that was everything. Everything
she’d ever wanted was holding her in his arms.
*~*
The next
morning, Terri was the first to wake up, around nine. She had to be at the
hospital early, and she was already rushing, so she decided to just grab a
bite to eat on the way there. All three of them had slept late to
compensate for the long birthday bash. On top of it all, the clouds looked
ominously dreary and it looked like it was ready to pour at any moment.
Janet woke up around 11:00, thankful that she didn’t have to be at the
shop until noon. She was applying a natural shade of blush and was
unscrewing the top to her lipstick when she felt a warm pair of arms wrap
around her waist. “Good morning, baby.”
“Hey there, stranger,”
she replied softly, giving him a quick kiss. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go
before the rain comes.”
“Looks like it’s going to anytime. I’ll
drive you.”
“Thanks…but lets go now.” Janet practically pulled him
out the door. “This outfit is most certainly not made to get wet.”
*~*
“Cool car,” Jack commented as he drove into the
parking lot. “Who’s it belong to?”
“Don’t know. Probably that
new business manager we’re getting.”
“Ah…well, I’ll see you
tonight. Terri’s working late, so it’s just us.”
“The way I
like it,” she whispered, getting out of the car. “Love
you.”
“Love you, too,” he answered, caressing her check before
kissing her one last time.
Janet entered the shop, the small bell
ringing behind her. To her surprise, she found a very familiar face
standing only a few feet away from her. “Janet! What are you doing here?”
Taylor Lambert wanted to know, hugging her. “Not that I don’t want to see
you.”
She laughed. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I
work here now.”
“Here? At the flower shop? You’re kidding me…so do
I. As a matter of fact, I’m the manager.”
“I wonder why?” he kidded
her. That night at the club, before the whole thing with Jack, Taylor and
Janet had talked for what seemed like an eternity, and oddly enough, had
never really talked about their jobs. Of course, in reality, it was only
twenty minutes, but they had become close. Nowhere near as close as her
and Jack, or even her and Larry, but it was nice to have another male
friend. “You’re just a little overachiever, aren’t you?”
“And
proud of it,” Janet laughed. “Jut wait one minute. I’ll go put my stuff
up, then I’ll be back and I can give you the grand tour and tell you how
things work around here.”
“Perfect.”
*~*
But
Taylor never got that tour, because he and Janet were kept busy for at
least the next three hours. Things finally slowed down around
mid-afternoon, finally giving the two a chance to talk. “You know, Janet,
I’ve got have to admit you do a wonderful job here.”
“I
try,” she responded, watering the newest plants. “God, I’m starving. I
woke up late and never ate lunch.”
“Well, I don’t want you
fainting on me. How about I take you out to…well, it’s too late for lunch
and too early for dinner…food? You can give me the verbal tour since we
didn’t get to the actual one, and we can discuss anything else we need
to.”
“I’d like that. Let me get my purse and get the keys to
lock up.”
Ten minutes later, they were both safe and dry,
seated at a table at Angelino’s. “I hope you like Italian food.” Taylor
said.
“My favorite…actually, I am half-Italian.”
“Should’ve known. That’s probably where you get your fiery
spirit.”
“Hey!”
“That’s a compliment…it’s one of the things
I like about you.” After they had ordered, and while they were waiting for
their food to arrive, Janet and Taylor found themselves talking again
about anything and everything. “Hey…isn’t that the same car that dropped
you off this morning? Jack?”
“Yeah…he works here
actually.”
“Really? Janet, I know we’ve only known each other a
little more than 12 hours, but can I ask you something
personal?”
“Depends on what it is,” she said, casually taking a
sip of her coffee.
“Nothing too awful…just, what exactly are
you two? I mean, whenever you talk about him or I ask, your voice goes all
light and airy and I know that’s got to mean something.”
“Very
perceptive, Tay. No, we’ve been best friends since forever, but…that
night…he finally told me he loved me. I love him, too. We’re going to try
and work it out. We admitted that it was a little weird, you know, just
changing our whole way of looking at each other in a span of five
minutes…but it’s so totally worth it. He’s worth it.”
Taylor’s
face fell. So she had a boyfriend. He shouldn’t really be surprised that a
beautiful girl like Janet had someone special, but it didn’t make it any
better. But being a good friend forced him to be happy for her. He
plastered a smile on his face and told her congratulations and that he
wished her the best. And he did. He promised himself that he’d be happy
for her, no matter how much it was killing him inside. How much it killed
him to know that she was with someone that wasn’t
him.
*~*
“Oh, my Jefe!” Felipe called, rushing over to where
Jack was preparing the latest dish. “You won’t believe who’s out
there!”
“What?” Who’s there?” Jack asked, slightly annoyed.
“Felipe, I don’t have time for games right now. And neither do you.
Remember, Mr. Angelino told us that a very special critic is coming so we
have to be ready.”
Idly stirring the marinara sauce, Felipe spoke.
“Janet just so happens to be sitting out there with a very attractive
young man.”
“Are you sure that it was her?” When he nodded,
Jack handed Felipe the large spoon. “Here. Keep stirring this and don’t
you dare stop.” Jack walked over to the door, peering through the hole to
look out at and indeed see his girlfriend sitting with a guy. Without
thinking or caring, he walked over to Janet’s side, giving her a small
kiss on the cheek. “Hey, baby. What are you doing here?” Janet’s insides
seemed to melt as she felt the contact of his lips on her skin. Then he
turned to the man sitting merely a few feet away. “Lambert, right? Taylor?
Hi, I’m Jack, Janet’s boyfriend.” Neither one of the men would dare make a
scene in front of her, but all three of them knew what his fierce gaze
meant. So keep away from my girl…or else.
“Jack!” Janet hissed.
“You’re being rude.” She didn’t get a chance to say anything else, because
he took her hand and pulled her into a small hallway. He pushed her
against the wall, covering her mouth in a passionate kiss.
“I’m
sorry if I embarrassed you. I just can’t stand seeing you with that
guy.”
“Oh, honey, baby, listen to me. Taylor’s my friend. That’s
it. We just kind of connected, all right? And he works at the shop, so I’m
going to spend time with him. We have fun. But that’s all.” Janet smiled,
but when he didn’t respond, she sighed. “Jack, come on.” She began kissing
him, tugging on his collar as her mouth covered his lips and neck. His
resolve began to weaken each time her lips came in contact with his. “What
did you tell me last night?”
Cautiously, his arms went around her
waist, holding her tightly. “That I love you.”
“And what did I tell
you?”
“That you love me.”
“And I meant it,” Janet
whispered, kissing him again, and this time he kissed her back. “And I
meant it. I meant it with everything I am. I love you, Jack, and no one
else.”
Jack smiled. “I love you, too, Janet. Listen, let’s you and
I have a special dinner. We’ll have the whole night to
ourselves.”
"There’s nothing else I’d rather
do.”
*~*
A few hours later, everybody else had gone
home. Janet and Taylor found themselves alone as they got ready to close
the flower shop. Taylor motioned her forward and he locked the door. While
doing so, he thanked her profusely for accepting his invitation to lunch.
“I had a good time with you, and I liked meeting your boyfriend.”
Janet smiled. “Yeah…I’m glad it’s you and not some boring old
fuddy-duddy guy.”
“You’re not just saying that because I gave
you a free meal?”
“I promise,” she said, laughing. “I’m sorry,
I’ve got to go. Jack’s expecting me…we’re having dinner.”
“Why
don’t I drive you? I mean, it’s still raining, and I’m sure he wouldn’t
want you to show up looking like a drowned rat.”
“You know, if
I didn’t like you so much, I’d kill you for that.”
*~*
The
rain was just letting up when Janet and Taylor reached the apartment.
“Thanks again!” Janet yelled, running to the door. “I’m good…see you
tomorrow! Jack! I’m home,” she called. “Hey, honey.”
Jack came out
of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a spare dishrag. “Hey, baby. Dinner
will be ready in a few minutes. How was the rest of your
day?”
“Okay…hey, I really want to get out of these clothes. Let
me change into something more comfortable and I’ll be right back.”
He was putting the final touches on the romantic dinner when he
heard the pitter – patter of feet coming up behind him. He finished
pouring the wine, then turned to wrap his arms around her, kissing her
hard and long. “Gorgeous,” he proclaimed softly. She had changed into a
t-shirt and pair of jeans that hugged her curves nicely and pulled her
hair into a French twist, even touching up her makeup by adding some
mascara and the lip gloss that Jack liked so much. It seemed to have the
desired effect, because Jack kissed her again, wandering down to her neck
“Found that yummy stuff again,” he mumbled against her mouth. “I love you.
”
Janet giggled. “Love you, too. Jack, this looks delicious,”
she commented as they sat down. “Thanks.”
“Anything for
you.”
“How was your day since I saw you? Busy at the restaurant?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he sighed. “A food critic was
coming and of course it drove everyone nuts.”
“Oh, really? How did
it go?” she wondered.
“Great. He’s giving us a first-class
review.”
Janet laughed. “You wouldn’t have it any other way,
would you? No, really, Jack. I knew you could do it. You’re good. Really
good.”
“You like to make me self-centered, don’t you?”
“Of
course. Then it doesn’t make me look as bad.” Her soft and gentle laughter
turned to quiet and her face curved into a smile. “Hey, in case I haven’t
ever told you, thanks for always being there when I need you. I don’t know
what I would have done without you all these years when my life screwed
up. You make me happy. Being with you makes me so happy,” she whispered,
as he caressed her hand and squeezed it softly.
As the two ate
their dinner, Jack couldn’t help but to steer the conversation back to
Janet’s new friend. “So…is Taylor working with you for a while? How long
is he going to be here in town? Where does he live? Does he have a
girlfriend?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, taking another bite
of the delicious meal. “I suppose. He’s really a nice, sweet guy and I
don’t mind having him around.”
Jack didn’t sound convinced. “Do you
think he’s cute?”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous!” Janet teased.
“Of Taylor? No way…you don’t think he’s handsome, do
you?”
He was so adorable and sincere that she had to laugh. “Of
course not! He’s cute, and a nice guy, but I told you before. I don’t love
him…I love you. You’re just going to have to trust me on this. Because
he’s my friend. And friends don’t run background checks on each
other.”
The comment made Jack laugh, but he quickly became
serious again. “And I do. I do trust you, sweetheart,” he quickly assured
her, reaching over the table to touch her cheek before kissing her mouth,
playing with her tongue and then pulling away. He had to chuckle when he
heard her moan in pleasure. “You like that? There’s plenty more where that
came from later.”
“Evil. You’re really bad,” she said softly.
“You owe me later. But, anyway, I was thinking that maybe the four of us
could do something together: you, me, Taylor, and Terri.”
“Why?
Look, I don’t absolutely despise the guy, but spending time with him isn’t
too high on my priority list. Especially not when I could be spending it
with you. But if you want something kinky, why not?”
“Jack
Tripper!” she tried to look stern, but couldn’t help a small smile from
forming. “Stop! You know that’s not what I mean! I was hoping that we
could double date, and Terri and Taylor might hit it off. Bearing in mind,
of course, that she and Larry don’t up falling in love.”
Jack
laughed. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before that has a chance of
happening. Well, if Terri and Taylor say yes…does it really mean that much
to you?”
“It does.”
“Then I’ll go. Just to make you happy,
though.” All this time, the radio had been playing softly in the
background. Suddenly, a song came on that Janet thought sounded eerily
familiar, though she didn’t know why. Then she realized that it wasn’t the
song she recognized, but the singer. It was the same artist that played
the night at the club. Whoever she was, she was really good. Janet made a
mental note to search for the CD. Jack stood, crossed over to the side of
her chair, and pulled her to her feet, kissing her hand. “Would you care
to dance?”
Janet took his hand eagerly, stepping into the embrace
and accepting the request. “And I though chivalry was dead.” For what
seemed like an eternity, he held her in his arms tightly as they began to
move in sync to the slow, sweet melody of the music. Just like at the
club, she laid her head on his chest as he rubbed her back softly. When
the music stopped, he took her face in his hands and kissed her with an
intensity that she had never known. Her arms went around his neck and
entangled in his hair and his hands played with the hem of her shirt. It
gave her a rush of adrenaline when his hands made contact with the bare
small of her back, and she shivered in excitement. For reasons unknown to
her, she pulled out of his touch. “What was that?”
He touched her
arm hesitantly, and when she didn’t shrink away, he relaxed slightly. “I
did something wrong, didn’t I? You’re not ready for that. Okay, I’m sorry.
I’m really sorry.” Jack would have rambled on had Janet not placed her
finger on his lips.
“No, you were okay…it’s just you’ve never done
that before.”
Jack shrugged. “We’ve never been alone before like
this. Besides, I owed you.”
Janet laughed, tilting her head up to
kiss him softly. His lips met her eagerly, and once again she was wrapped
in his strong embrace. “All your debts are paid for,” she whispered before
their lips met again.
Chapter 6
“I don’t know why I’m bothering to ask you. I mean,
you’ve never kept a girl for more than a week.”
“Point taken,” Larry
conceded, finally getting the bartenders attention. “Give me a beer.”
“Me
too,” Jack added as they made their way to their usual Reagle Beagle booth. “So
what can we do?”
“Buy her roses or chocolates. Women love that kind of
stuff.”
“That’s nice, but it’s so…ordinary. I want our first month anniversary to
be special. Besides, Janet’s never really been a traditional kind of girl.
Besides, I – I kind of want to do something where we’re alone…you know, just the
two of us.”
“Well, I do know this place-”
“Forget it, Larry. Just
forget it. Janet’s not that type of girl. You know her better than that.”
“Hey, Jack, buddy, good luck coming up with something. I’ve got to
go pick up that girl,” he said, jumping out of the seat and running after a
leggy blond.
*~*
“Is that all for today?” It was a relatively
slow day, which was good because the other employee, Cassie, was out sick.
Taylor had been tied up in the back room all day, and Janet was just finishing a
sale with long-time customer, Mrs. Caldwell.
“Yes, Janet, thank you.
I’ve got to get home. Hunter needs his lunch.”
“Oh, you never mentioned
you had a son.”
“No, my husband,” she said, laughing, as she reached for
her car keys. “Have a nice day.”
“You, too.” Janet would have said more,
but heard her name being called from the back, and soon, she saw Taylor’s
adorably chiseled face appear in view. “Coming. What’s wrong, Tay? Did I do
something?”
He smiled at her, perching himself on the edge of the desk.
“Nothing. Just please have a seat.”
She did as she was told, nervously
sitting down. “Taylor, if I did something wrong, I want you to tell me straight
up so I can fix it.”
“Hey, calm down!” he said, chuckling. Taylor was
merely a few feet away from her, so he scooted back and pulled a glossy
invitation out of the top drawer. Handing it to her, he started to explain. “You
know I’m here to take over the family business when my grandpa retires. Well,
he’s having a really big, formal party to introduce me to all the important
people. Friends, employees, business partners, stuff like that. Now I love my
grandfather to death, but whenever I don’t have a girlfriend, or a date, for
that matter, he has a bad habit of fixing me up. The last time we did something
like this, the girl he said was absolutely perfect for me turned out to be a
neurotic psycho who convinced herself that she was a stripper.”
“Oh, I’m
sure it’s not that bad.”
“That was the best one!” So, anyway…since you’re
defiantly my best employee and not to mention the prettiest, and you’re my
friend, and you’re a girl, I was wondering and hoping that you’d humor me and
come along. I must really like you, because I’m willing to give you another free
meal. If you play your cards right, Janet, you may never go hungry again. What
do you say? Please?”
Janet smiled and was about to tell him that she’d
accept any excuse to get dressed up, but her smiled quickly as Jack came to her
mind. Jack. She was his girlfriend and she loved him like crazy. Taylor Lambert
was just her friend. She knew it was as simple as that, but had a feeling that
Jack wouldn’t view it as such. Janet knew perfectly well that he really didn’t
care for Taylor and wouldn’t like her going. She didn’t know how he would react,
but she knew that before she told Taylor anything, she’d have to talk to
Jack.
Sensing Janet’s inner confliction, Taylor softly spoke up. “Look,
it’s okay. I know Jack doesn’t like me very much, and I can understand why. You
probably want to talk to him about it first. You may even have other plans. You
just plain might not want to go. No matter what, I understand. I don’t want to
put any pressure on you or mess things up between you and your boyfriend. But if
it’s okay with him, and you want to go, I’d love to take you. It would mean a
lot to me, and my grandpa wouldn’t be able to hassle me anymore. Not to mention
the fact that I feel more at ease with you in a few days then I have with a girl
in a long time. It’s up to you, though.”
She finally felt she was able to
trust her voice. “First of all, Taylor, hear me out. I’ll have to get back to
you. I’m not saying yes and I’m not saying no. I’m honored that you asked me to
go with you; you have to know that. I’d love to go, but like you said Jack and I
have a relationship and I want to respect that,” Janet said nervously, finding
it surprisingly hard to think with his clear hazel eyes piercing hers. “Let me
talk to him tonight and see how he takes it. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell
you. I mean, I know he and I aren’t married or anything, but I love him very
much and wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin that. We tell each other
everything, and if he were taking some girl to a party, I’d want to know about
it. But if it’s okay with him for me to go with you, I’ll be there.”
Taylor jumped up, and without thinking grabbed Janet from her chair,
picked her up a few inches off the floor, and spun her around. “Thank you, thank
you, thank you!” He looked such like a little boy who had gotten his favorite
toy for Christmas that Janet had to smile. But when he kissed her on the
forehead, she quickly and gently backed away. “Sorry. But, really, you don’t
even know how big a favor this is.”
“It’ll be fun,” she replied,
confused at his kiss and even more so at his blasé reaction when she pulled
away. “So when is this formal thing?”
“The Saturday after next,” he
informed her. “My grandfather owns a chain of hotels, and we’ll have it in one
of them. Don’t worry; I’ll pick you up. It’ll start early but end early. 7:00 in
the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon.”
“That’s perfect. I’m glad it’s
not this weekend because I know it’ll take me at least all day to find something
else to wear when Jack and I celebrate our first month anniversary,” she said,
her voice brightening on the last statement.
“Wow…first month
anniversary already?” he asked. When she nodded happily, he went on. “So I guess
that means it’s ours too. We met that same night.”
Janet looked up, her
eyes leaving the invitation and rising to meet his. Feeling a little uneasy, she
fingered the shiny paper. Something about the tone on his voice when he said
those last five words gave her a strange feeling. “Well, I better get back to my
job, and you should too. I promise to call you tomorrow either way, all
right?”
“I hope he doesn’t have a problem, but then again I guess if I
were him I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone either. So I can understand if
you can’t make it. Go home. I’ll lock up.”
Janet dazedly walked out of
the shop, heading to her car and throwing her purse in the back seat. She
couldn’t seem to put the key in the ignition, however, because a familiar face
kept haunting her vision. But it wasn’t her boyfriend. It wasn’t the man she
loved. It was Taylor. Her friend. The friend, that, oddly enough, she couldn’t
seem to get him off her mind now. It was giving her chills just remembering the
_expression on his face, the sincere voice, and the honest yet heartbroken look
in his eyes that he had when he told her that if he were Jack, he wouldn’t want
to share her either.
*~*
The next day, Janet called Terri at the hospital and asked her if they
could have lunch together. She really wanted to talk to her friend and find out
what she thought about the situation. The two met at a quaint restaurant close
to the hospital.
“What do you think he’ll say?” Janet asked, finishing
her story as she took a bite of her cheeseburger.
Terri sighed, taking a
long sip of her coke. This was really becoming complicated. Why couldn’t a girl
have male friends and a boyfriend? “To tell you the absolute truth, Janet, I
don’t know. He probably won’t like it, but he’ll understand...or at least try
to. I mean, it’s for work, kind of, so that part will be okay, but the fact
remains that Jack doesn’t like Taylor. He’s not going to be so thrilled about
you going anywhere with him.”
“But why?” she wanted to know. “Jack’s
never told me why he doesn’t like Taylor.”
“He knows you guys are
friends, and that bugs him. He met you that night at the club, when you guys
started all your…you know…but he keeps hanging around, so Jack told me he feels
like Taylor’s moving in on you. I haven’t told you this yet, but you know the
other night when he came over to the apartment so that you and him could talk
about whatever it is you talked about? Jack was jealous. He was so jealous. He
thinks Taylor might have somehow developed a certain interest in you other then
a simple co-worker.”
Janet couldn’t think of anything to say. “Excuse
me?”
“He thinks Taylor has a crush on you.”
“I don’t think so,
Ter.” But a flashback of the last few moments in the back office came into mind.
The seemingly innocent hug and kiss now seemed so weird.
“I do,” Terri
insisted. “And why shouldn’t he think that? The guy’s always driving you home or
taking you out to lunch or even coming over to the apartment to discuss
‘business’,” she said. Trying to make her point, she put air quotes around the
word business, a trait that Janet had always found incredibly annoying. “And
don’t forget that night of my birthday, he asked you to dance. Why would he ask
you to dance if he wasn’t interested in you?”
“Thanks a lot, Terri. He’s my friend. Aren’t I allowed to have friends that
are guys?” Janet responded, beginning to get a little ticked off. “Besides, I
haven’t even given him reason to believe that. I told him I have a
boyfriend.”
“You haven’t stopped him from believing it, either. Actions
speak louder than words,” Terri said, deciding to stop right then as she saw
Janet’s eyes became overcast with a cloudy _expression. “I’m sorry, Janet. I
don’t mean it to come out that way. I don’t want to sound pushy or overbearing,
but I just want you to know how it looks to me. Look, I love you both. You’re
more siblings to me than my own sister. I know what you two mean to each other.
I know how much you care about and love each other and don’t want to see either
of you hurt.”
*~*
After her eye-opening little chat with Terri, Janet decided to bail out of
work an hour early and came home. She walked into the apartment, expecting to be
alone. She went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich, shrieking when the
door swung open and out came Ralph Furley. “Hello.”
She stumbled back,
only stopping when her feet got twisted in the couch. “Oh, Mr. Furley. You
scared me. Where’s Jack?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual and
indifferent. Furley knew about the two of them, but it didn’t stop Janet from
being paranoid. Ever since she was a teenager with her first love, she had
visions of someone opening the door on them or seeing their most intimate
moments. And they all knew Furley never knocked, and they never locked their
doors.
“Don’t know. Out. I just came up to fix the sinks. Terri told me they were
clogged, remember?”
Janet had to smile as he finished up. “No need to
rush on that. We told you they were clogged five days ago. Now do you know where
he went? I…kind of need to talk to him about some things.”
“I think he might have said something about going upstairs to Larry’s.
He’ll be back later. Sorry, Janet, but I’ve got to go fix Ms. Murphy’s toilet.”
And with that, the landlord left, letting the wind blow the door shut behind
him.
Janet sighed, going into her bedroom only to change clothes. She
wanted to be comfortable, so she put on some old khaki –green jeans and a
camouflage type shirt before entering the living room. She sank onto the couch,
flipping on the television and channel surfing, until she finally turned it off
in disgust. She needed something to occupy her mind so she wouldn’t keep
thinking about Jack and Taylor. Just as Janet picked up a book and was about to
read, a cool burst of air brushed her face. Jack was home. “Hey, this is a nice
surprise. How long have you been here?”
She smiled as he came over to
her, kissing her. “About thirty minutes. RF told me you were up at Larry’s but I
figured it was just some guy thing…I didn’t want to bother you.”
“You’re
not a bother. You’ll never bother me. I love you, and I’d rather spend time with
you then with anyone else.”
“Always say the right things,” she whispered
softly. She reached her arms up to him, wanting him to kiss her again. He didn’t
disappoint. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she concentrated
everything on kissing him back, willing the problems to go away. But they didn’t
and finally she pulled away.
“Okay…what’s wrong? You’re right here, but
you might as well be a million miles away.”
“I’m sorry,” she said,
sitting beside him on the couch and forcing a smile on her face. “I’m just being
weird.”
“Come on, honey. This is me. I know you better than anyone,
remember? Just tell me. Talk to me.”
Janet took his hand, not quite sure
how to phrase this with the least amount of hurt. “Well, Taylor has this big,
formal party he has to go to so his grandfather can introduce him to all the
important people. Next Saturday, so this weekend we can still do whatever we
want for our anniversary. I wouldn’t let anything spoil that.”
“Okay…”
Jack started slowly, not sure he liked where this was going. “What’s the big
deal? So the guy has to go to a party. What does that have to do with
us?”
“Taylor asked me to go with him,” she said quickly, speeding
through those seven words and turning to look at her boyfriend and how he took
the news. He didn’t seem too upset, and at least he was still holding her hand.
“I told him that I’d like to go, but that I’d have to run it by you before I
could tell him anything. I’ll call him tomorrow. I don’t really see a problem
with it. Of course, if I had a choice, I’d rather go with you, but still…” her
voice faltered off a little.
Jack placed a tiny kiss in her
palm, which made her feel a little better about the whole situation. “Sweetie,
you’re a big girl. This is entirely your decision, and I can’t tell you what to
do. I have to admit I don’t like the guy much, but hey, he’s your friend. And if
you want to go to this…thing, it’s fine with me.” He took a deep breath,
caressing her cheek. “Janet Alyssa Wood, I love you, and you love me. I know
that, and I trust what we have. Nothing can ever change that. If it really means
that much for you to go with him, I’ll support that. Just like you’ve always
supported everything I do.”
A huge smile crossed her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you
say that.” Janet titled her face upward as his lips met hers. “I love you. And I
promise I’ll make it up to you. The night of our anniversary, I’ll be entirely
yours.”
“You know, I could take that to mean a lot of different
things,” he murmured sexily, and she blushed. “Kidding. I can’t make you not go,
but if Taylor Lambert dares to even touch you, I’ll make sure he never comes
near you again.”
“Jack!”
“I’m sorry. I just hate the way he wormed his way into our
lives and gets to be near you all the time. I know it shouldn’t bother me, but
it does.”
“Jack, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. Taylor’s a nice guy. Not
like you, but he’s nice.”
*~*
The next morning, Jack was sure to wake up extra early and placed a bouquet
of red and white roses in a vase next to Janet’s bed, tucking into the glassware
a small card. Luckily, Janet had been up most of the night working on next
week’s schedule for the shop so she woke up a little later then usual. The only
reason she did was that her stupid alarm clock kept blaring, but when the fresh
aroma coming from the kitchen attacked her, she decided to go find Jack.
Instead, she found a card on her pillow, and not long after that, the vase of
roses on her dresser. Smiling, she opened the tiny white envelope and pulled out
the card.
‘Pride makes us do thing well, but it is love that makes us do
them to perfection.’ – Unknown
I hope this is good enough. You
need the best. I’m promise to give you the best for the rest of my life. I love
you, Janet. Happy Anniversary.
My love Always,
Jack
P.S.: 24 roses for each hour of the day that I think about
you.
Janet sighed. She had always denoted pick-up lines to be incredibly tacky
and cheesy, but now the words warmed her heart. He was so adorable. She loved
him so much. After placing the card back in the vase, she stepped into her
favorite fuzzy slippers and headed in the direction of the kitchen. Jack was
there, smiling, and greeted her with a hug and an especially wonderful kiss.
“Did you get my present?”
“Yeah, and I think you’re quite possibly the
sweetest man I’ve ever known,” Janet said softly, his lips lowering down to meet
hers.
“Like it?”
She nodded. “Almost as much as I love
you.”
He pouted. “Only almost?”
Janet laughed as he tightened his
grip on her body, but then became serious. “Baby, I could never love anything
more than I love you. I love you so much, Jack.”
“However much that is, I know I love you ten times more.”
“Oh,
yeah?” she teased. “Prove it.”
“I think I will. Plus, I just love kissing
you,” he whispered, her arms reaching up to his neck. The look in her eyes
reminded him of the time they had danced at the club. In that dress, with her
hair up, she had looked extremely sexy, and his response to her had been
impressive, and instant. His tongue explored her mouth gently, and she moaned as
it became more intense.
“Don’t you dare stop,” she mumbled against his
mouth, her words getting lost in the passion that they both felt. Almost exactly
like the day they had made Terri’s cake, nothing else seemed to matter as the
two lost themselves in the kiss. Janet didn’t even notice that the cabinet knobs
were wedging into her back as Jack pushed her semi-roughly against the hard
surface. “So good,” she murmured as his hands went down, resting on her hips.
“So good.”
“I love you, you crazy thing,” he responded, his hands moving
up, touching the flannel fabric of her pajamas before slipping under, touching
her bare skin.
She finally pulled away from him, breathless. And not a
moment too soon because Terri walked in, evidently saw what they were doing,
mumbled an apology, and left. Janet laughed softly, her forehead touching his.
“Good thing, though. We better stop.”
‘I love you, Janet,” Jack reminded
her tenderly. “If you feel uncomfortable, tell me. Just stay the word and I’ll
always stop. You know that.”
*~*
The two spent the afternoon
simply having fun on the beach, playing and planning on a beautiful sunset
picnic. They were right on schedule, then, that the moment they decided to start
the picnic was the moment the sun went down. It still was a few hours before it
got completely dark, so they spent the rest of the time talking, kissing, and
cuddling.
“It’s so gorgeous out here,” Janet said softly, afraid to ruin
the serene mood by talking in a normal tone.
“So are you.” Jack gently
laid her down flat on the blanket and then started his game, smothering her
whole body in kisses. She shivered, half from the slight cold and half from the
effect he was having on her. She squirmed under his soft touch. Janet’s muscles
tensed as his kisses made their way onto her abdomen, and his hands soon
followed.
She loved him, and she knew she could let him continue, and
still be perfectly content, but nevertheless propped herself on her elbows.
“Jack,” she whispered softly. “Listen to me, okay? I would love to make love to
you right here and now, but it just doesn’t feel right. Bring me back in a
couple of weeks, okay?”
“I’ll do whatever you want.” True to his earlier
words, he kissed her lips softly, but rolled off her and let her go. “I love
you.”
Janet sighed and tears brimmed in her eyes as he turned away from
her. He quickly turned back, however, after hearing her quiet sniffles and soft
whimpers. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I
said no. I just…”
“Janet, sweetheart, I don’t care! Yes, it would have
been wonderful, but no way are we doing anything without both of us being
comfortable. When you are, we’ll come back here. Not a moment before. And I’m
sorry I got carried away. I just…we would have been on our honeymoon right
now.”
She knew immediately that he was talking about Denise and him.
Janet’s voice quavered as she turned to look intently in his eyes. “I know how
much she meant to you. Are you…do you regret not…?”
He interrupted her
fearful questions with a tantalizing kiss, and then after he pulled away, hugged
her close to him. “No. I don’t regret not calling off the marriage. I don’t
regret not being with her. I was just thinking that if I had married her, I
wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t be with you. And I love you so much. I wouldn’t
ever get to kiss you. I wouldn’t be here watching a beautiful sunset with the
most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
There was no need for words as
Janet kissed her boyfriend deeply. They were the only two people in the world,
and that was the way she liked it. Janet snuggled closer into his arms, laying
her head on his muscular chest. He absently played with her hair, kissing her
forehead lightly. Finally she spoke, “Jack, I…I love you more than anybody I’ve
ever been with. I couldn’t ask for anything more than what we have right now.
All I want is to have you in my life like this. You’re all I need. You’ll always
be what I need. I love you.”
Chapter 7
Jack still seemed wary of Janet going to the party with
Taylor the next day, so Janet suggested that he take her out on a date. The
truth was, though, that she just needed an excuse to be with him and try to
shake the nagging feeling that something awful was going to happen. As time
passed, the whole scenario started to bother her more and more, and she knew it
shouldn’t. Jack had assured her the whole week that everything was okay, that
they trusted each other, and spending an afternoon with Taylor was not the big
disaster she was making it out to be. Even so, he noticed that she was still
worried. The two had decided to attend the matinee. That way, it would be over
early enough so they could still do other things if they wanted.
Jack
and Janet arrived at the theater, hand-in hand. They bought their tickets, and
after much pestering from him, she finally allowed him to buy her a small diet
coke and popcorn. They then made their way in the dark theater and found two
available seats, which just so happened to be in the back row. When she was a
kid going to a movie with Jenny and Ryan, she had always sat in the middle rows,
but Jack convinced her that by being in the back, they could sneak out if the
movie was awful without anyone giving them a hard time.
Janet found
herself loving the movie, and the quiet time. She had been stressing herself for
no real reason about the party that it felt good simply to relax. However,
romantic lovey-dovey flicks were not Jack’s ideal type of movie, and he was
bored quickly. He glanced at his girlfriend snuggled up beside him, and wrapped
his arm around her. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her neck hungrily in the
one place he knew she couldn’t resist. Sure enough, she shivered slightly and
tried to swat him away. “This is a good movie.’
He chuckled softly,
going right back to kissing her again, raining them on her neck before he found
her lips. “That’s what VCR’s are for.”
Janet opened her mouth to
protest, but all arguments were long forgotten when his lips found hers again.
Her voice was low and husky when she finally spoke. “Let’s go.”
As they
walked out of the theater, Jack asked her if she wanted anything to eat. “We
rushed out of there pretty early and you didn’t really eat much of the
popcorn.”
“I’m not real hungry…but I could go for some ice cream. For
some reason, it sounds good right about now.”
“Your wish is my command,
m’lady.” Janet giggled as he raced her to the car. Jack and Janet drove to the
nearest ice cream shop, and when they got there, opted to go through the
drive-through because it looked like the inside was packed with teenagers. “I
have an idea, but I’m not going to tell you. It’ll be a surprise.” Their sundaes
were ready, and Jack pulled up to the window to receive them. Handing hers to
her, along with a bunch of napkins, he said, “I know the perfect place to go.”
Janet was forced to close her eyes, and wasn’t allowed to open them
again until he told her to. When he said okay, she almost gasped. Their car was
sitting atop a hill, and they were alone for miles. The stars were shining
brightly, and the dark sky accentuated the romantic mood. She turned to him, a
happy smile on her face. “I love you, Jack,” she whispered softly. “You’re so
sweet. This is absolutely perfect.”
Thank God they had a convertible,
because it was great for that night. They crawled into the backseat where they
would be more comfortable. Janet lay in Jack’s arms, snuggling against him as he
used the remote device to open the top. The rest of the night was spent,
kissing, watching the stars and moon go down, and more kissing. Jack showed her
the North Star and the Big Dipper, and Janet was very proud of herself when she
was able to point out Orion to him. “I love coming out here,” Jack
said.
“Yeah,” Janet said in awe. “We used to go camping and watch the
stars all the time when we were kids. All three of us, and about ten of our
friends; we had the best time. It was so fun just staring up at the sky, and
trying to see what we could find. I remember because one of our mutual friends
was dying at the time. The three of us made some pretty earth shattering
discoveries about life.”
“I’d like to hear it.”
“We realized that
life’s not perfect, and no one ever gets off scot-free. Everyone suffers at one
point or another. It’s the price you pay for being happy. And it seems you can’t
have one- happiness-without the other-suffering. It goes hand in hand, almost
like the dues you pay for being able to live in this world.”
“I don’t
understand,” he said, caressing her cheek. “Why do good people like you have to
go through pain?”
Janet smiled sadly. “You’re asking that life be fair.
No one knows how much another person hurts. You can’t walk in another person’s
shoes, even for a minute. Like we couldn’t help Logan get better. Sometimes
people reach out, and that really helps. But it’s up to us to find our own pot
of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s up to us to find the happiness in
everything.”
“Are you happy now, Janet?”
Janet turned to face him
entirely, so she could touch his face. “Yes. I’m happy now.” Their ice cream was
long gone, and it was a good thing, as Jack kissed her long and hard. He pulled
away, and she smiled up at him. Tracing her mouth with his finger, he leaned
down and kissed her again. Jack pulled her closer, almost onto his lap, as their
tongues danced in unison. Janet moved her body slightly, arching her neck as a
pleasurable moan escaped her throat.
His hands were playing with her bra
strap, and she knew that she was treading on thin ice. She was dangerously close
to experiencing an orgasm, to coming for him right there, and his sensuous
kisses weren’t doing her any good. She wanted their first time to be perfect,
and prefect did not include being in the backseat of a car. Nevertheless, she
was already slightly wet when she began to whimper. “No…not here. Tomorrow
night. We’ll be at home.”
Jack’s lips left her skin, and she cuddled to
him, wanting to feel him still. The words he spoke sent a rush through her
entire body, something that thrilled her to her core. “Terri will be gone; I’ll
make sure of it. Because tomorrow night, Janet Alyssa Wood, you’re going to be
completely mine.”
In her heart of hearts, she knew this was taking tings
a little too fast. After all, they had only been dating a month. But she didn’t
care. They loved each other, and she knew they’d be together and in love for an
eternity of lifetimes. Tomorrow night was going to be the night, and she
couldn’t wait. Nothing could spoil what they had.
Nothing.
*~*
Jack and Terri sat in the living room, waiting for
Janet to come out. Taylor was going to be there in less than ten minutes, and
Janet had still holed herself in the bathroom. She didn’t know why, but she was
really nervous. Terri had proclaimed her gorgeous half an hour ago, but she was
still skeptical. The skirt she wore was a bold print that she would never have
dreamed of wearing, but Terri had bought it for her, and she had to admit, it
was pretty. Her shirt was a quarter sleeve, deep v necked black shirt with a
faux wrap around the chest area. The dangly green earring brought out the subtle
stripe in the skirt, and her hair was twisted in an elegant bun. Minimal makeup
brought out her natural beauty and highlighted her pretty features.
The
doorbell rang then, signaling Taylor’s arrival. The two men exchanged
pleasantries, but were saved from any other conversation when they heard a door
close. Both men turned around, and Jack felt his jaw drop when he saw her. He
thought she was gorgeous the night of Terri’s birthday…but wow!
“Hey, you
ready for this, Tay?”
Jack walked toward her, wrapping both arms around
her waist. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered softly. “Absolutely
beautiful.”
She blushed. “It’ll be fine. You know how much I love you,
and I’ll be back in a couple of hours. And then…tonight is ours,” she breathed
into his ear. “Can’t wait.”
“I love you,” he said, sneaking in one last
kiss. Turning to Taylor, he replied. “Take good care of her, you hear?”
“I will.” Taylor took her hand in his, ushering her to the door. Just
before exiting, she glanced worriedly at Terri, and then smiled softly for
Jack’s benefit. Sensing that he was upset, she gingerly extracted her hand from
Taylor’s.
Taylor noticed the change in mood, but wisely decided not to
push it quite yet. But when he started the car and pulled out onto the crowded
street and she still hadn’t said a word to him, he asked her what was wrong.
“You haven’t said a thing. Did I do something I wasn’t supposed to? By the way,
you look…stunning. Especially for so early in the morning.”
Normally, a
joke like that would have made her laugh or smile, but today it didn’t do
anything for her. Janet sighed, turning to him. “Taylor…Tay, look at
me.”
“Unless you want us to get in a wreck, I’d rather face this way,
thanks.” At that time, they approached a red light, and he was able to twist and
stare her straight in the eyes. “Hey, this is serious. What’s
wrong?”
“Taylor, I…I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about today. I
mean, I love the fact that you invited me, and I really do like spending time
with you. You’re the closest thing to a guy friend I’ve got. And you are my
friend. Tay. But that’s all you’re ever going to be, all right? I have a
boyfriend that I love. Very much.”
His voice was coated in gentle
laughter when he finally spoke. “I know that, Janet. You’ve made that perfectly
clear, and I respect that. I can’t lie and say that I’m not attracted to you,
but I’m perfectly happy just being your friend. So let’s just have fun.”
Janet forced a smile as he tousled her hair playfully. His words, though
flattering, did nothing to put her at ease about the situation. Terri was right,
at least about the part about him having a crush on her. But he, as nice and
sweet as he was, did nothing for her. He didn’t make her heart pound at one
simple touch. Only one man would ever do that, and his name was Jack. So,
hopefully, if she left this well enough alone, everything would fix itself.
Janet gasped as they walked up the steps to the ballroom of the hotel.
The one room alone was at least quadruple the size of their apartment. Decked
out in streamers and lace, it epitomized the level of elegance she’d see in
movies or proms or weddings. “My God, Tay, did you guys rent out a castle or
what?”
Taylor laughed. “Yeah, they can do a nice job when they want to.
Come on in, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” He briefed her on family relations
for a couple of moments, instructing her on little things to say and subjects to
avoid for each guest. Soon, Taylor’s grandfather met them. Janet was soon put at
ease by the old man’s easy, friendly demeanor. The three chatted for a few
moments, Taylor’s hand securely on her waist the whole time.
“My grandson
wasn’t kidding when he said that you were gorgeous,” the elderly man said,
making Janet’s cheeks burn red.
For the next ten minutes, Taylor took
her around the room, introducing her to all the guests. “Looks like you’re a
hit. Everyone loves you,” he whispered, another woman walking over. “Now this is
the Barone’s daughter. They’re great friends of the family.”
Janet felt a
small chill go down her spine, although she wasn’t sure why. She knew she had
heard that last name before, and the woman approaching them looked familiar.
Then it hit her. Barone…Barone…Denise. This was Denise, the girl who in not so
certain terms called her a tramp. She was about to come face to face with her
boyfriend’s ex-fiancée.
The aforementioned woman was now a few inches
from her, looking infuriatingly beautiful in a long, flowing, and strapless
dress. “I assume the polite thing to do would be to say hello.” Denise seemed
cordial, but Janet could see through the facade. She could win an Academy Award
for all the acting she was doing. The two women would forever be at odds, simply
because of Jack. Not that Janet minded. She could handle anything, as long as
Jack was the love of her life.
“Hi,” Janet murmured. “Nice to see
you.”
“I’m sure it is.”
To Taylor, the aura over the three of them
was extremely bad. Also, Janet looked like she was about to cry, and Denise
looked ready to kill. Blood would not go well on this carpet. “Do you two know
each other?”
“You could say that.” Denise’s tone was icy cold, but her
eyes penetrated fire. “She stole my fiancé from me.” Her voice soon dropped to a
nasty, conspiratorial whisper, but Janet was able to hear every word as she
turned to Taylor. “Be careful. She seems nice enough, but as soon as you have
something she wants, watch yourself.”
“First of all, you have to right to
talk to me that way.” Janet’s voice was hard and stern, and quickly gaining
momentum. “None whatsoever. I haven’t been anything but nice throughout this
whole sordid extravaganza. Second of all, I didn’t steal Jack away from you. He
would have called off the wedding eventually; you can’t blame me for that. He’s
a smarter man than you ever gave him credit for, and if he did make a mistake,
it was to let you into his life.”
“You and Jack seem to be doing so well.
What are you doing here? Finding another little boy-toy,
perhaps?”
“That’s none of your business, and I don’t have to answer
that.”
“You know, I have a cell phone right here, and I happen to have
Jack’s number. I wonder what he’d say if I told him that you were here with
another guy…and getting quite cozy.”
“For your information, Jack knows
perfectly well where I am. We talked, and he knows.”
“Oh,
really?”
“Yes, and he doesn’t care. He loves me.”
“I’ll bet,”
Denise snorted, and then her voice took on a phony condescending tone. “Poor,
poor little Jack. He probably doesn’t have any idea that his girlfriend is
nothing more then common s-.”
Taylor stepped in that moment, hoping to
stop a catfight before it got any worse. “Denise Barone, my mother is the
president of your father’s company, so that gives me the right to say this. Shut
up! Say one more thing and I’ll be forced to ask you to leave.”
“Sweetheart, you’re making a scene. People are beginning to stare,”
Denise’s mother hissed.
As she was being pulled away, she turned back to
Janet, faking a smile. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m warning you, if
I wasn’t enough to keep him, then you surely won’t be. Give it a week or two.
He’ll tell you you’re the only one and that he loves you, and then he’ll drop
you like a hot potato. And don’t you dare come crying to me.” With that, she
flounced off, her hair flowing wildly behind her.
*~*
“I’m so
sorry, hon.” Taylor had brought her to a small hallway next to the restrooms,
where he was trying to quell her sadness. Wordlessly, he handed her a few
tissues. “If I had known, I’d never have brought you here.”
Janet managed
a halfhearted smile for his benefit. “It’s not your fault. Denise and I have
some history.”
“I guessed as much.”
She laughed. “It’s a long
story that you don’t want me to bore you with. Trust me, just play some good
music and I’ll be fine.”
“Janet, if you don’t want to stay here, let me
know. We could go somewhere else.” Taylor lightly wrapped his arms around her
waist. It was such a friendly gesture that she didn’t care or pull away. “My
grandfather has these parties all the time. Technically, I already made my
appearance, so missing the rest of this shindig won’t hurt me any.”
“Still…Tay, you downplay it, but I know how important this is to you and
your grandfather. I already feel guilty for what just happened. And besides,
leaving now will just convey the message to Denise that she won. You know I’m
too stubborn to do that.” A smile graced her face, a real one this time. “This
is your night to shine, Taylor Lambert, and this is too expensive an outfit to
waste. Let’s go have fun.”
The next couple of hours, it was much easier
to forget about Denise and the unpleasant argument. Following a fabulous dinner
and a speech Mr. Gentry honoring his grandson’s skills, there was a big party
with many hours of nonstop dancing. As they danced, Janet couldn’t help
overhearing the murmurs throughout the crowd about Taylor’s business
accomplishments. “You’re a hit, too.” Taylor’s only response was to pull back
and caress her cheek, smiling before he clutched her close again.
She
blushed. Janet wasn’t expecting it, but something in the way he touched her
triggered a deep sensation that she didn’t really want to be feeling. But maybe
it was just a natural reaction. She had to admit Taylor Lambert was probably one
of the cutest guys she had ever met, not to mention one of the smartest and
kindest. She enjoyed the time she spent with him, and she loved being his
friend. However, a slow song echoed through the speakers, and Janet felt
uneasiness take over her entire body when she felt Taylor’s body press up
against hers and his soft breath in her ear. “I love you.” She was just about to
say something when other voices interrupted her thoughts. Taylor’s grandfather
was sitting at the bar, drinking champagne with a colleague.
“That
grandson of yours is going to give the rest of us a run for our money some day.
And he looks seriously in love with that girl he brought.”
“Janet?
Yeah…he met her at a club and plus she’s the manager at the store that he works
at now. They seem to have a lot in common and they have a good time together. He
told me that he really likes her. I’m glad for him. It’s time for Taylor to
settle down and start a family, and she seems like a perfect girl for
him.”
“Tay?” Janet whispered softly, tugging on his sleeve. “Can we
go?
“Well…sure. You okay? Did something happen?”
“No…I’m all
right. Just take me home, please.”
During the entire drive back to
her apartment, she let Taylor do most of the talking. It wasn’t hard, because
she wasn’t really in a talky mood. She just couldn’t stop thinking about what
she’d eavesdropped on. They were just friends, and he had already talked to his
grandfather about her? About marrying her and having babies? Janet couldn’t ever
do that with him; they were simply just friends. She felt a little bit guilty,
thinking that maybe she had unintentionally lead him on ever since they had met.
She couldn’t deny that she had fun that night, and every other time she was with
him, but she honestly didn’t see him as anything other then a friend. Gosh, how
things changed. Six weeks ago, she didn’t have anyone, and now she had two guys
fighting for her affections. Why couldn’t life ever be simple?
*~*
They arrived home sooner than she had expected, or maybe they had been
there for a while and she hadn’t been paying attention. Either way, he parked
the car, then came over to her side and opened the door for her. “Your home
awaits.”
“You’re such a charmer,” she teased, but her mind was miles away
as she took his hand “Thanks for tonight…I had a great time.”
“So did I.
I really enjoyed spending time with you, Janet. And I know I’ve said it a
million times, but thank you a bunch for coming and I’m sorry about the whole
Denise thing. I’ll have a little chat with her later.”
“You don’t have to
do that.”
“I know, but its okay. I care about you.” Taylor grabbed
Janet’s arm as she was about to go inside. She had let her hair down a few
minutes ago, and it rippled around her shoulders in small waves. Blowing in the
wind as she spun on her heel to face him, her hair cascaded down her back,
making her look so beautiful to him, and he was overcome by lust. Taylor didn’t
exactly know what possessed his lips to crush down upon hers, but a second later
they were kissing. Shocked, Janet initially tried to pull away, but soon she
warmed up to the kiss. It wasn’t so bad. She knew it was wrong, but ever since
her youth, she had been typecast as a good girl. Hopefully, it would pass, and
no one would be the wiser. What Jack didn’t know wouldn’t hurt
him.
*~*
The man in question was watching the whole scene from the
upstairs window. He had heard every word, every innuendo. And when Taylor’s
mouth and met Janet’s, he felt as if someone had socked him in the stomach.
Sighing, he closed the blinds, forcing himself to walk away and not go down and
pummel the guy. He knew that he had kissed her, but she didn’t pull away.
Actually, it looked like she was enjoying herself. How could she? He thought she
loved him. Last night…in the car…no one could fake the pure love and desire he
saw in her eyes. Tonight was the night they were going to communicate their
love, for lack of a better word. Janet had told him. And he hadn’t let on that
he knew, but when they were making out in the backseat and she was responding to
his touch. Jack loved that feeling, and he loved that he was doing that to her.
He loved her, and he would have loved to make her his right them. He had been
waiting in anticipation the whole day, half because he wanted to see her again
and half because of what would happen when she got home. He wanted to kiss her,
hold her, love her, undress her, and feel her with him. But that wouldn’t be
happening. Nothing would. He wouldn’t ever get to kiss her again. He sadly went
into his room, and for the first time in years, Jack Tripper began to cry.
Chapter 8
“Tay, no!” Janet was halfway to tears, shocked
over what she had just done. Jack had made it clear to her that he didn’t like
Taylor, and yet he let her go with him to the party because he trusted her. He
trusted her, and she had just let him down. Cheating on her boyfriend was not on
her list of things to do that day, but here she was, in another man’s arms,
letting him kiss her. How could she have done that?
“I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, you really shouldn’t have.” Janet was
aware that her tone of voice was short and harsh, but she didn’t care. Taylor
tentatively reached for her shoulder, but she twisted firmly away. “Don’t touch
me.”
“Janet, don’t do this. Don’t be mad at me. I realize that I
probably shouldn’t have kissed you, but now that I did, I can’t deny what I feel
anymore. That was incredible, and…and I think I’m falling in love with
you.”
“Taylor…you’re not, okay? You can’t be. Please don’t say things
like that.”
“Janet, I am! I love you. Meeting you has been the best thing
that’s ever happened to me since I’ve been here. And, Janet, you’re just the
most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“Taylor, you just got
caught up in everything. I can’t say I blame you. Tonight was amazing…but it
wasn’t real. Being with you like that, it was a seven hour dream.”
“It
wasn’t a dream,” he insisted stubbornly. “It was real, and it could be real to
you, too, if you let it be. If you let yourself feel what I
feel.”
"I was dreaming.” Janet inched away from him, her hand on
the doorknob. “It was a very nice dream. Now we’re going back to reality, and
I’m going back to Jack. I really don’t think we should be having this
conversation anymore. Don’t call me for a while till we figure this out, all
right? Can you do that one thing for me?”
“I can do anything for you,” he
told her. “If there’s anything I am, it’s patient. I’ll wait for you. It’s not
like I’m waiting around for you and Jack to break up, but if you do, you know
where I’ll be. You know where I stand.”
Sighing, Janet watched Taylor’s
shadow disappear into the darkness. Only when she stuck her key in the lock did
she realize that she left her purse in his car. Not wanting to go after him in
the pitch black, she decided to simply ask him about it tomorrow. She needed to
talk to Terri now. She needed to talk to her friend and tell her what happen and
have someone convince her that the kiss was a fluke and she wasn’t going crazy.
All together, she had a wonderful time that morning. Other than the Denise
fiasco, the whole thing had been positively enchanting. But she was so confused.
Janet knew that she didn’t have romantic feelings for Taylor, but she had no
idea how to explain the kiss and the conversation she had listened in on. And
she had to tell him; of that much she was certain. She couldn’t live with
herself if she kept it from him, but she had to admit she was a little scared of
how her boyfriend would react.
To her luck, Terri was the only one home,
lounging on the couch, reading a book. “Hey, kid. Did you have a good
time?”
She purposefully avoided the question. “Jack’s not here, is
he?”
“No. He said something about hanging out at Larry’s until you got
back. But he may have gone somewhere else, I don’t know. I’m not his keeper.
Why?
“Good. Terri, I absolutely have to talk to you,” Janet said,
flopping into the oversized chair as she took off her earrings and shoes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, before we get to the bad let me tell you
the good. The place was amazing. It honestly looked like a castle, and I
couldn’t believe that Tay was so nonchalant about it, like he goes to parties
like that every day. But he probably does. It was so great. I felt like a
princess. And he was so sweet to me the whole time.”
“Are you kidding me,
Janet? Where’s bad in that?”
“I ran into Denise there.”
”There’s
bad.” Terri’s voice had dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, as if someone was
listening to the conversation. “Denise, Jack’s ex?”
“The one and only.
Taylor’s dad runs her father’s company.”
“My God. Did she see you? What’d
she say?
“Oh, she saw me all right. She called me a whore. She seems to
think that I’m the reason they broke up and that I stole him away from
her.”
“Well, hon, you kind of are.”
“I am not! Besides, it’s none
of her business anymore. But everything turned out for the best. Taylor stood up
for me. He basically told her where to go and that if she said one more thing,
she’d have to leave.”
“It’s obvious that the man likes you.”
Janet
sighed. “Terri…”
“I know you don’t believe me, but if it’s anything I
know, it’s men. I grew up with a lot of guy friends and I know how they behave,
especially around women they like. He’s made it blatantly clear how he feels
about you. I mean, he’s done everything but just suck it up and tell
you.”
“He did.”
“Excuse me?”
“After the whole Denise thing,
when we were dancing, he was holding me close and I felt his voice in my ear
telling me that he loved me. And then, before I came in… he kissed
me.”
“Honest? No lie?” Janet nodded dolefully at Terri’s obviously
shocked _expression. “You have to tell him. He needs to know.”
“I know.
That’s what I’m afraid of.”
*~*
The door to Larry’s apartment
seemed to vibrate almost off the walls with the intensity of Jack’s persistent
banging. “There a tornado or you just mad at something?”
“Janet…Janet and
that Lambert guy, you know, the one she went to that fancy-shmancy thing with?
They were kissing outside the door of our apartment.”
“Seriously? I’m so
sorry, bud. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that
I really don’t want to talk to her right now. Can I stay here the night? I know
you don’t have a lot of room but I don’t care. The couch is fine. I just don’t
want to be around her anytime soon.”
“Sure buddy, what are friends for?
You going to be here for while?”
“I don’t know. I guess to whenever I can
talk to her without the overwhelming desire to strangle her.”
“I’ll bet
you anything it’s just a big misunderstanding,” Larry offered hopefully. “Janet
loves you more than anything and she wouldn’t play you that way. Talk to her.
Listen to her.”
“Maybe later. I just can’t now. And, besides, if she
really loved me, she wouldn’t have kissed him. I don’t care how I might have
felt about her before. There’s just no excuse for what she let
happen.”
*~*
“I really don’t mean to say I told you so, but…”
Terri had just finished hearing every detail of what had happened at the party
and during the ride to and from, and on the porch.
“It’s okay, Ter. Go
ahead,” her frazzled friend said wearily. “You couldn’t make this any
worse.”
Footsteps fast approaching interrupted the two, and they both
knew Jack was home. “I’d rethink that if I were you.”
Janet sighed as
Jack walked in. “Here goes nothing.” She went to his side, wrapping herself in
his arms and kissing his lips. “Hey…missed you.” His mouth gave no indication of
response, and she pulled back quizzically.
“Everything
okay?”
Jack didn’t trust himself to respond, just went into his bedroom,
gathered a few things, and prepared to leave again. Instantly, Janet grabbed his
arm. “What is wrong?! Will you just talk to me? Please?” Her voice was a mix of
pain, hurt, confusion, sadness…and anger that he wouldn’t tell her what was
going on.
“I really don’t think we should.”
Now she was really
angry. “Jack Tripper, you have no right to treat me like this! We’re mature
adults, or at least we’re supposed to be. Stop acting like a kid and tell me
what’s bothering you. I can’t read your mind, and I honestly don’t know what
this is. You’re just going to have to tell me.”
“I don’t have to tell you
a damn thing, little Miss missy, and don’t you dare talk to me about
honesty!”
A whimper escaped her throat, and even though Jack was furious
at her, he felt an overwhelming need to hold her and tell her that everything
would be okay, that they’d get through this. “Jack, I don’t know what the hell
you’re so mad about. Please, please just talk to me. I haven’t done a thing. If
I did, please tell me so I can fix it. Please.”
“I want you,
Janet. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life. I love
you. But you can't do this. You can't string me along when you've got someone on
the side. I told you all along, if you wanted out, all you had to do was say so.
Don't say yes when you mean no. Don't say maybe when you mean never. Don't say
I'll tell you later when you know right now. I don't need this...” With that he
walked out of the apartment, out of her life, the door slamming behind him, as
if transpiring some of his anger.
As soon as he was gone, Terri hurried
to her friend’s side, trying to comfort her and all the while worrying that she
wasn’t helping a bit. “Oh, honey, he just needs time to cool off. You and Jack
can talk things out tomorrow. He’ll have time to think over whatever it is
that’s bothering him and he’ll tell you and you’ll be able to solve your
problems.”
Janet sobs turned in to occasional hiccups, though her face
was still stained with fresh tears. “I love him, Terri. I love him so much…and
now he hates me.”
“Aww, he doesn’t hate you. He’s just mad right now,
but he’ll get over it.”
“What did I ever do?”
“I can’t
fathom…maybe…unless he saw Taylor kissing you.”
“Oh my God! Just what I
need.” With that dismal thought, both girls went their separate ways. Terri left
the house to go have a chat with Larry and let him know that there might be
fireworks later, while Janet sadly entered Jack’s bedroom, hoping to fall into a
restless sleep. Tears once again filled her eyes as she surveyed the room.
Everything reminded her of him, of their fantastic six-week romance. A ticket
stub from the ‘movie’ they saw. The shirt that he had worn on their last date.
The aftershave that drove her wild. Suddenly, she started to cry, knowing that
he would never be her boyfriend again. This is precisely what she had been
afraid of, but Jack had convinced her that everything would be okay. He had
always been able to pick up the pieces when her world had fallen apart. It was
what she cherished more than the world itself, and what she would miss the most.
Janet hated that in one clean sweep, she’d lost her love and her best
friend.
Jack had to sigh as he entered his room. She was lying on his
bed, his shirt clutched tightly in her hand. Her face still damp with tears, it
was obvious that it had taken her a long time to get to sleep. It took all of
his willpower not to cross to the bed, lean down, caress her cheek and kiss her
on her forehead, like he had done so many times before. He hated being mad at
her; he always had even before they started dating. She was his best friend and
he loved her with all his heart. Not caring anymore, he walked over to her side
and knelt down so he was at her eye level. “How could this happen to us,
sweetheart?” he whispered softly. “I thought we were invincible.” Jack wanted so
badly to wake her up and kiss away all the pain and fear, but his stubborn pride
was stronger than the love he still felt.
He quickly grabbed the remains
of his belongings and left the room. Closing the door ever so softly, he was met
by none other than Terri. “It’s hard to stay mad at someone you love.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he bluffed, heading for the
door.
“Oh, I think you do.” She pulled on his arm, making him drop his
things. “We need to talk. Come on.”
“What?”
“Don’t give me that!
You know I’m your friend and I mean this in the sweetest way possible, but…what
the **** were you thinking, you bastard? Start explaining.”
“Terri, I’m
sorry, but I don’t owe you anything either. Janet and I…we had fun, but we’re
over, all right? If she thinks that I’m just going to be here whenever she wants
to play, and all the while shoving her tongue down that rich guy’s throat, well
she’s got another think coming!”
“Jack, this isn’t going very well for
you. You’ve got your girlfriend crying in your room, and you’re on my list, too.
Now, do us all a favor and break this up for me. Slowly.”
His voice had
raised to an almost yell. “I saw them when Taylor dropped her off. They were
kissing, and she sure as hell wasn’t pushing him away. This was supposed to be
our night, Terri! Ours! Not his.”
“Okay, quiet down. You’re going to
wake her up.” But it was too late, and a few minutes later they saw Janet’s head
poking cautiously around the door. “And that’s not even fair.”
“All girls
think alike. I should’ve known,” he muttered, pushing the swinging door so
violently that Janet stumbled backwards.
Nevertheless, Janet regained her
balance and ran forward to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm, forcing him
to face her. “Honey, can we…will you please talk to me about this? You hate me
and I don’t even know why. If I’m fighting with you, the common courtesy would
be to tell me what the fight’s about.”
“If you-”
“Janet?”
This was not the best time. She turned around, sighing and let out a
deep breath, trying her best not to look upset. She couldn’t keep the irritation
out of her voice, though. “Yes?” she snapped. “Oh…hey, Tay.”
“Morning,
you three.” He glanced around, evidently noticing the tension. “Um…I just wanted
to talk to Janet.”
“Figures,” Jack muttered angrily before Terri yanked
him out of the main room.
“Hi,” was all she could manage to say before
tears pooled in her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, Tay.”
“Hey, if this isn’t a
good time, I could come back later. I just came to give you back your purse. You
left it in my car.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you. Thanks.”
“Even this early in the morning, you still look beautiful,” he said
softly. When she didn’t even smile, his hand reached forward to touch her cheek.
“Hey…what’s wrong, kiddo?”
Janet shook her head, willing the pain and
heartache to go away, at least for now. “Nothing…nothing you can fix anyway.
Thanks again for the purse. Hey, you want to come in? I’d invite you to eat
something, but you’re my friend and I want to keep it that way. All I can manage
is coffee.”
Taylor shrugged it off. “That’s okay. Nothing to be ashamed
of. In fact, why don’t I take you girls out? My treat. I’d take Jack, too, but
he doesn’t like me very much and I really don’t relish the idea of getting my
head chopped off if I say the wrong thing.”
Janet laughed, and after a
good twenty minutes of pleading, he finally convinced the girls to go to
breakfast with him. Both of the girls. Terri wanted to go mainly to keep an eye
on Janet and reassure herself that nothing was going on and that Jack was wrong.
She briefly toyed with the notion of telling Janet the reason why Jack was so
upset. Telling her that the reason was that he saw Taylor and her kissing might
alleviate the argument, but it wasn’t her story to tell. Janet was hurting and
feeling guilty enough already. She had to talk to Jack and make him understand
that he needed to talk to Janet. Getting them to communicate without screams
would be the first step on the road to recovery.
The drive to the
restaurant as a quiet one, one packed with tension and furtive glances back and
forth. Terri never said a word unless Janet or Taylor asked her a direct
question, and even then her answers were short. Janet was silent as well,
staring out the window as another tears found its way down her cheek. Jack was
the only man she’d ever loved, and now he was gone. A bitter laugh escaped her
lip as she realized that she would have been waking up in his warm and loving
embrace. He’d roll over, kiss her softly, and when his lips were millimeters
away, whisper that he loved her. The picture was so clear that she felt like
curling up in a ball and crying. Taylor was a nice enough guy, but he was
nothing compared to her Jack. Janet felt like going back home and demanding an
explanation. She needed to know what happened, so she could make it better. Jack
Tripper was the only man she’d ever loved in her entire life, and she wasn’t
about to lose him.
*~*
After finishing their breakfast at a
quaint little diner, Janet excused herself to go freshen up. Both Terri and
Taylor watched Janet leave, and then he turned back to look at Terri. He smiled,
and Terri sighed, intently staring in her cup of coffee
Taylor drummed
his fingers on the edge of the table, nervously glancing at Terri. “God, it
seems like I’m batting 0 for 2. Jack never liked me, and it looks like you don’t
like me, either. Look, I like Janet, but I’m not trying to horn in on anything,
I swear. She’s told me she’s with Jack.”
“Not
anymore.”
“What?”
“They had a fight yesterday. About you. He saw
you kissing her and now he’s convinced that she’s cheating on him with you.
Looks like they broke up. She’s devastated.”
“Does Janet know what the
reason is? Does she know that is the reason why Jack is mad at her?” he asked,
taking a sip of his own cup of java.
“No,” Terri admitted. “I’m not going
to be the one to tell her, but Jack’s so mad at her now, I think I may have to.
At least that way she can talk to him and convince him that the kiss was a
one-time thing.” She glanced at him dubiously, eyebrows raised. “It was, wasn’t
it?”
Taylor nodded emphatically. “Yes! Yes, it was. Look, Terri, I can be
straight with you, can’t I? I love Janet. I. Love. Her. She’s everything I’d
ever want in a woman. She’s smart, kind, generous, sexy in her own way,
beautiful, and she’s a great friend. Janet Wood is everything I want in my life.
I’m so in love with her, but I just want her to be happy. Knowing that she’s not
happy and hurting makes me sad…and actually a little guilty. I mean, from what
little I’ve seen of Jack, he seems like a nice enough guy. She obviously loves
him and he made her so happy. And knowing that I wrecked all that makes me
really upset.”
Chapter 9
A month had gone by, and not much had changed in lieu of
Jack and Janet’s relationship. Well, not much. It was obvious that the anger was
still there, but at a less massive state then before. For the first week, Terri
barely saw Jack at all, and she was forced to sit by and watch as Janet cried
helplessly every night. But now, maybe, things would finally get better. They
were certainly looking up. The two seemed to be healing. Angry words and heated
fights had dropped to none. Jack stopped by the apartment every so often to see
Terri, but on the off chance Janet was there, they could speak civilly for a few
moments, but it was still awkward. And oddly enough, what helped Janet the most
was Taylor. They hung out often, and the times that they were together made
Janet happy, happier than Terri had seen her in a while. She sighed. Why
couldn’t things be easy? Even though they didn’t know it yet, Jack and Janet
were meant to be together. If only life were that
simple.
“Larry?” Terri whispered, peeking her pretty head through
the door. “Is Jack there?” Intuition told her that Janet wouldn’t be there, but
she still wanted to be careful. Her friend had been very emotional lately and
she didn’t want to be accused of betrayal or anything ludicrous like that.
“No…who wants to know?”
She sighed. “I do. I need
to talk to him about what really happened that afternoon with Taylor and
Janet.”
“Forget it. He won’t even talk to me about her, so I
doubt he’ll talk to you. And it isn’t for lack of trying. I’ve been trying to
get the scoop forever and I’m no closer than I was a month
ago.”
“Just, when he gets back, tell him that Janet’s going on a
date tonight. Taylor asked her out and she said yes. And, frankly, I’m glad.
Maybe this is just the push he needs to apologize.”
“Apologize?
Apologize for what? For believing that his girlfriend actually loved him and
then having the guts to call her on it when he sees her with someone else? He is
not apologizing for being two-timed!”
“Janet’s my friend,
Larry.”
“Well, Jack’s mine.”
They stood, glowering
at each other for a few minutes, before Terri finally looked down, heaving a
deep breath. “Look, Larry, they’re never going to get back together on their
own, so we have to help them, and we can’t do that if we’re
fighting.”
“Ter, I’d like for them to get back together, I really
would, but you’re forgetting something. SHE’S ON A DATE!”
“The
only reason she even considered going out with him is because I practically
begged her to. I thought it would give her something to look forward to. It’d do
her some good to be excited about something. You know, if she wasn’t such a good
friend, I don’t think I could take much more of this. In the last month, I have
heard every aspect of their relationship at least a million times, not to
mention the endless analysis. Janet’s completely lost all of her spunk, all of
her fire. All she does is-”
“Mope?” Larry finished for her. When
she nodded, he continued. “I knew it, T. Jack’s the exact same way. You know,
every day that they were together, he used to tell me how wonderful she was. And
now that they’ve broken up…he still tells me how wonderful she is. He’s
completely brokenhearted over what he’s lost.”
“So is she.”
Terri suddenly slapped the table in frustration, making Larry jump. “I’ve just
about had enough of this! We can’t keep playing mediator! We’re going to have to
get them to talk this out on their own.”
“I know, but they’re
both so stubborn. I thought that’s what made them good together…but now, it’s
just hurting them. They’re just hurting each other, for no reason at all. And
that’s not right. Keep this up and nothing we do could ever bring them back to
where we want them to be.”
Heads together, they devised a plan
for Jack and Terri to meet tomorrow at the Reagle Beagle. For once in their
lifetimes, Larry and Terri actually had a decent conversation. What’s more, they
weren’t arguing. But it was for a good cause. Both friends wanted the same
thing: to get Jack and Janet back together. They were too great of friends and
too much in love to let a simple, maybe not-so-innocent kiss ruin a six year
friendship and a six week relationship. Terri had to find a way to make him
listen, for everyone’s sanity and well-being. She had to make him understand.
She had to make clear to him what really happened that afternoon. But, at the
end of it all, she wasn’t Wonder Woman. All she could do was tell him the truth
and pray to God he would believe her. And hope that he would take what he told
her to heart and find a way to make things right with
Janet.
*~*
“You look amazing.” Honestly, Janet did
look great, but Terri thought she could use the buttering up. She was so
hesitant about this date. For twenty-nine days straight, she had slept in his
room. It was extremely painful, but it was also good therapy. Everywhere she
looked, there he was. She wore his old shirts to sleep, and hugged his pillow
tightly to her chest every night, as if inhaling the scent, almost afraid that
it would disappear. Sleeping in his bed every night was especially bittersweet,
but if she shut her eyes hard enough, she could feel him next to
her.
“Thanks.” Biting her lower lip nervously, she smoothed out
her skirt and glanced at Terri. “I want to thank you for putting up with all my
pathetic tribulations all this time. But really…going out on this date is
admitting that Jack and I are really over and I don’t want to do that.”
The doorbell rang and Terri went to answer it. As she opened the
door, she turned back to her friend. “I think that you should just go for it.
Sweetie, I hate to be this harsh, but it’s the only way to get through to you
now. Jack’s not coming back, at least not for a while. And here you’ve got a guy
that worships the ground you walk on. I say go for it.”
“Okay,”
Janet replied sadly. “You know, it’s an interesting feeling.”
“To
know that it’s over?”
“No. To be the only one in the world who
knows it’s not.” With that, she grabbed Taylor’s hand, who had uncomfortably
witnessed the whole scene. “Let’s go, Tay.”
They had just reached
the bottom of the stairs when Taylor stopped her. “Thank you for saying yes.” He
sighed and caressed, her cheek, tears already pooling in her eyes. “I know,
baby. I know this is hard for you, but just try for me. Please. Just try to have
fun tonight, all right?”
Janet smiled. He really was the nicest
guy she had ever known. “Thank you for caring. And understanding, at least a
little.”
“I know this may not be what you need or want to hear,
but I love you, Janet. I’ll do my best to make you happy this evening.”
At the exact moment that the two started to head for the car,
Janet felt someone behind her. She turned and her eyes locked with Jack’s. She
opened her mouth to say something, anything to explain to him what he was
seeing. But no words seemed adequate enough, and the next second he was walking
away. He glanced back a moment later, staring at her intently. They had always
been able to tell what the other was thinking. Tonight, all they could see was
pain. Clear, burning, intense pain. Taylor gently tried to pry her away, but
Janet’s feet were glued to the floor. As Jack walked away she found that every
neuron in her body was screaming for her to run after him, tell him she loved
him, and plead with him to talk to her.
But as Jack went upstairs
and dropped out of sight, Janet knew that it was hopeless. She had lost him. She
had lost the man she once knew and loved. Jack Tripper. Her best friend, her
great love. The guy that she could always run to when she didn’t feel as if she
could run anymore. The guy that made her smile and laugh like no one else. The
guy she always confided in. The guy that was honest, loving and caring. The guy
that was clumsy, funny and lovable. The guy that was gone. Forever and for
always. For good.
*~*
Halfway through the dinner,
Taylor set his fork down. “You’ve been so quiet all night. Can’t stop thinking
about him?”
“No,” she said softly. She sighed, fidgeting with her
napkin. Taylor was a really nice and sweet guy, and she was lucky to be with
him. But she had to be true to herself, to him, and to Jack. She would never see
Taylor as anything more than a friend. She’d always love Jack, even if she lost
him forever. She had to tell Taylor that she couldn’t see him anymore, and she
had to tell him by the end of the night. “I’m sorry I’m being such a bad
date.”
“Not at all…just being here with you makes tonight
wonderful.”
Janet sighed again. Taylor was being so sweet and
incredible, and he was saying all the right things. Then she glanced down,
noticing that he was idly stroking her hand with his thumb. She hadn’t even
noticed, and now he was looking at her with the same lustful look in his eyes
that she’d seem so many times with Jack. Great. Now he’d think that he had a
chance. Now he’d think that she was trying to get over Jack, when, in reality,
nothing could be further than the truth.
*~*
After
they had finished dinner, they drove off in his car. Minutes later, they arrived
at a destination unfamiliar to her. “We’re at my house,” he said in response to
her unspoken question. “I want you to see some
things.”
“Taylor…”
“Not that, you silly girl. Come
on.”
Janet visibly relaxed as they reached the roof of his
house. The view was breathtaking; they could see for miles. She shivered
involuntarily. “Cold.” Taylor took off his jacket, placing it on her shoulders,
and Janet murmured her thanks. “God,” she gushed. “This is beautiful. You can
absolutely see for miles.” She sighed, stepping as close as she could to the
edge without falling. “I can see why you wanted to move here. You’ve got a great
view up here.”
“The view down here isn’t so bad, either,” he
murmured. Janet pulled away, enough for him to know that he had done something
wrong again. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable or mess up again, he gave her
a soft smile. “Look what I have.” Janet had to smile as Taylor dragged her
across the sloped surface, being especially careful not to send either of them
tumbling to an imminent death. He was so excited; he reminded her of her and her
brother and sister at 6:00 on Christmas morning. He led her to where a huge
contraption lay, revealing to her a huge telescope. “It’s my favorite toy.”
“I’m impressed, Tay. I would never have pegged you as an
astronomy guy. I thought cars were more your forte than
stars.”
“I’m just full of surprises,” he said lightly, but Janet
shivered, and not from the cold. She had caught the deeper meaning behind his
words, and she wasn’t too sure she liked the image it brought to mind. “Nah…it’s
just one of my hobbies. I come up here a lot…whenever I’ve got stuff on my mind
and need to clear my head.”
“That shouldn’t take long,” she
teased, jumping out of his playful grasp. “Hey!”
“Well, just for
that, maybe I won’t say that the main thing I think about is
you.”
“Really? You…you think about me?”
“Always.”
They both sensed that Taylor spoke the utmost truth, and there was a long,
uncomfortable silence as their eyes locked. Finally, his soft voice broke the
ice. “Take a look.”
After adjusting and fiddling with a few
knobs and buttons, Janet was able to get a clear vision of the colossal sky. The
two found it to be a wonderful time as Taylor showed her and actually taught her
some things about the different stars and planets. Janet hadn’t expected to have
fun. She knew he was a great guy, but she was a bit skeptical of actually dating
him, and so soon after a relationship that she didn’t want to acknowledge was
over. But she was. She was having a great time and she didn’t exactly know what
that meant or if that was good.
“Here we go,” Taylor said
pointing out a star towards the right as Janet peered through the tiny hole.
“For their anniversary last year, my grandfather bought a star for my
grandmother and got it named after her.”
“That’s incredible.
Someone going to all that trouble just to make someone else happy. Now that’s
love.”
“Yeah…I know. My last girlfriend and I spent hours up here
at night. We had picnics and we just looked at the stars the whole night. No
real physical contact except the occasional kiss, but it was the best time I
ever had with her. The best time I had with any girl.”
All of a
sudden, her eyes began to water. She turned from him quickly, but he was able to
see her lower lip tremble and her shoulders shake slightly. Not a word passed
between them as he pulled her into his arms. Janet struggled against his grip
for a minute, but finally surrendered and burst into tears. Absently, Taylor
stroked her hair, whispering comforting words in her ear, and a full five
minutes went by before she was able to speak coherently. “Jack and I, we went to
the movies one night, but we got bored and skipped out. He bought me ice cream
and drove to the top of this deserted hill. We sat there for hours, looking at
the stars. He showed me the Big Dipper…I showed him Orion…we kissed a lot.” She
sniffled, and continued, feeling like he was a good enough friend for her to
tell the whole story. She honestly didn’t know why she felt the need to tell him
this, but it seemed to be doing her some good. “We kissed a lot. We were in the
backseat and we were kissing. The ice cream was long gone by this point. He was
on top of me and his hands were going up my shirt.”
“Sweetie…you
really don’t need to do this. I don’t know if you want me to hear where this is
going.”
“Yes…I do. I’m sorry, but I do. It helps. I know I’m
crying and I’m telling you some really personal and intimate stuff, but it
really helps.” She sighed, talking a deep breath before continuing. Tears were
streaming down her face, but she plunged on. “His hands were going up my
shirt…he always said he’d stop if I said so, but I didn’t. I loved it. Most of
our clothes were on…it didn’t make a difference. It felt so damn good. I knew…I
knew we couldn’t, and I knew we shouldn’t, so we stopped. But it didn’t matter.
It didn’t matter to me that we had gone a whole lot farther than I had initially
wanted. The feelings were already there, and I couldn’t stop it. I was going to
make love to him in the backseat of a car. Not the ideal, but I loved him that
much.” She started to cry softly again, though not as badly as before. “I love
him that much.”
He didn’t miss the use of the present tense.
Planting a small kiss on the top of her head, he once again wiped away her
tears. “I know, babe, I know. I know it hurts. And I know what makes it worse is
that you two were going to go all the way the night of my party. I’m
sorry.”
Janet glanced up at him in surprise, wondering exactly
how he had guessed that. She was too emotionally spent to question him on it,
simply buried his face in his chest. “It’s okay,” she said, even though they
both knew it wasn’t. “Nowadays anything and everything makes me cry. I’ve
just…invested so much of me in him…my life, my heart, my emotions…it’s hard to
do something without it reminding me of him.”
“I’m sorry,” he
said again, looking by helplessly as he saw her cry. Taking her chin and tilting
her face up so he could cup it in his hands, he peered into her eyes. All he saw
was a broken heart. He knew then that he could never have her. No matter how
much he wanted her to love him, the part of her heart that he so desperately
wanted was closed for good. And it would only open for Jack. Leaning down to
caress her cheek and wipe away the tears that trickled down her face, he saw the
sorrow and indescribable sadness, and that made his grip around her waist all
the tighter. Amazingly for him, Janet didn’t immediately recoil at his touch.
She was actually feeling a sharp tingle down her spine, with a touch of
familiarity. “Don’t be scared,” Taylor said, his voice husk and barely audible,
as his lips sought hers. Her body tensed when their lips touched, but soon
relaxed as his mouth gently teased her again and again. Janet sighed almost
imperceptibly as his lips found hers again. Gradually, his kisses grew to be
more passionate, falling from her mouth and traveling down her neck. It wasn’t
spectacular, but it was nice, and there was an attraction. “Tay…no…” she
whispered, finally giving into the kiss. “Tay…” she whimpered again, feeling him
pull her body closer. She let his tongue explore her mouth and his hands roam
her body before succumbing to the feelings that had came over her in the car. He
was hitting all of her spots, making her melt. Her voice was muffled against his
lips, but they both could understand what she was saying.
Taylor
instinctively knew what to do, and knew what she was feeling. He pulled her body
closer, letting his hands slide down, and his lips ravish her neck. “I love
you,” he murmured in the sexiest voice she had ever heard.
Something seemed to explode inside of her. She collapsed against
him; panting heavily with…he almost hoped to say…desire. “Oh, God,” she murmured
as he kissed her forehead. “Oh my God. I – I can’t believe I just did that.” She
straightened herself as best she could, twisting out of his grasp and turning
from him. “I’m sorry…so sorry, Taylor.”
“Hey, that was great,” he
whispered, trying to put his arms around her from behind, but she angrily
twisted further away. “More than great, actually. I loved it. And if what just
happened was any indication, it looks to me like you loved it too. Please let
this be real, sweetheart.”
“But it isn’t. You just hit me in the
right spots, is all.”
“Janet, you know this is hard for both of
us. But this isn’t just a physical thing, and you know that, too. Baby, I know
that when you leave you’ll forget this ever happened. In about 12 hours, you’ll
want to go back to us being friends, and being in love with Jack. And you know
what? That’s okay now. We can go back to normal tomorrow. Just…please…let us
have tonight.”
Chapter 10
Twenty minutes had gone by and they had both
descended the roof before she could even look at him. She couldn’t believe she
had actually come for her friend, and on a first date, no doubt. Janet regretted
not pulling back from the kiss to begin with. She regretted telling him
everything about her encounter in the car. Playing with fire was a hot and
dangerous thing, because someone was bound to get burned. Her greatest fear was
that that someone would be Taylor. He truly loved her, and she should have
stopped everything before it even started. Now she simply felt like everything
in her recent life was spiraling out of control. Janet had lost Jack’s love and
probably Taylor’s friendship; the two most important things in her world as of
date.
When they arrived at the apartment, they stood looking at each
other awkwardly before she opened the door. There wasn’t much she could say to
explain herself, but she owed it to her self-respect to try. “Tay…tonight was a
weird thing that wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just a fluke. Okay? And…I
don’t think we should go out anymore. I’m sorry.”
Taking a deep breath,
he forced a smile. “Yes…sure. I always told you it was your call, right? It’s
fine. See you at work tomorrow.”
Janet flinched, but didn’t pull away as
he caressed her cheek gently. He really was a nice guy, and he didn’t deserve to
be yanked around by her. It was a dangerous game she was playing. People’s
feelings were on the line. “Tay!” she called as he walked to his car. “Those
special orders are coming in first thing tomorrow, so be sure and get to the
shop early!”
A real smile crossed his handsome, chiseled face as he
winked, getting into his car and starting the ignition. “You got it, kiddo. Wild
horses couldn’t keep me away from you.”
*~*
Terri was sprawled on
the couch in an old sweatshirt and sweatpants, lying on her stomach, the latest
issue of US magazine open in front of her. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat
dragged in.” She shut the magazine and sat up, folding her legs beneath her.
“Did you have fun?”
“You could say that,” Janet replied, perching herself
on the couch’s armrest. “Tay’s a nice guy, and we had fun. Besides, it beats
stay home.”
“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess…?”
Janet started to begin the tale, and then sighed, pausing. She wondered
what she should say. In an instant, she decided simply to tell about the kiss,
and leave it at that. She had promised herself after last time it wouldn’t
happen again, and it had. But this was different. The kiss that night was full
of meaning, intensity, and a little bit of passion. What made it awful, however,
was that it was mutual. She had chances and ample opportunity to pull away, but
she didn’t. She went along with it. “Nothing much,” she said, hoping Terri
couldn’t hear her voice shake. “We went out to dinner and then we went back to
his house.”
Terri’s eyes widened as she heard the last six words that her
friend spoke. “Excuse me? His house? Janet Wood, what on earth are you trying to
pull?”
“Nothing, Terri. We climbed up the drainage pipe to get to the
roof. He has the greatest view. You can see everything from there. We looked at
the stars.” Her voice got smaller with every word. “Terri? I’ve got to say
something, but you’ve got to promise you won’t judge me.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“Taylor kissed me…and I didn’t stop him.”
“WHAT?” Terri
cried, her voice shrill as she jumped up. “Janet, how could you let all this get
this out of hand? Tell me!”
“I don’t know, Terri! I’ve never been in this
situation before, and I don’t know what to do! And you said you weren’t going to
judge me!”
Terri sat down again, trying to calm down. “I know, honey. I
know. I’m sorry. This is hard for all of us, and I’m just trying to make sense
of it all. Well, was it like last time? Did he kiss you?”
“Technically -
”
“No! None of that technically stuff! Did he kiss you or
not?”
“Yes, he kissed me, but I didn’t stop him. I let him kiss me, Ter.
I just let him kiss me.”
Her friend looked at her questioningly. She
seemed content, and not at all sorry about what she had done. Could she have
forgotten about Jack already? Maybe she was trying to move on. Maybe Taylor was
helping her forget. Maybe her relationship with him was better and farther along
then what anyone had expected. Maybe she loved him.
“But you know what?”
Janet’s question forced Teri to pay attention. “Do you know what I felt when he
kissed me?”
Terri chuckled. “I could probably guess.”
“Nothing!
Not a thing! Ten minutes ago, I told Taylor that I couldn’t see him anymore.
Terri, I am in love! And I don’t mean high school, puppy love…I’m talking about
the real thing! I’m in love with Jack Tripper, and I want to be! There’s no one
else for me, and there never will be! I’m taken!”
Terri hugged Janet
tightly. “Good for you! And, you know what? I’ve got something to tell you
that’ll make you really happy.”
“Great. With my boyfriend hating me and
my friend probably not speaking to me anymore, I could use a little happiness.”
Janet’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but there was an edge of sadness that
Terri could most definitely hear. She hoped this would cheer her up.
“I
talked to Jack.”
That perked her up. Her eyes suddenly sparkling like
they always used to, she turned to Terri excitedly. “When? How? What’d he say?
Tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
She laughed. “Hyper much? Relax,
hon. He came over tonight…a couple of minutes after you left with Taylor. He
just came down for more food or something. He was here when I came out of my
room. I talked to him and said that you deserved to have him talk to you. I said
that you weren’t going to put up with this for much longer and that he better at
least try to win you back.”
Janet only smiled.
***Flashback***
“Jack, come on! Don’t you think you’ve
been a tad bit unreasonable?”
“No! As a matter of fact, I don’t! But I
suppose I could have expected that from you. Girls always stick together. You’ve
always taken her, side, Ter, ever since you moved in.”
“You know, I know
you’re upset, so I’m just going to let that slide. Jack, believe me, I didn’t
just take her side. But we’re going to talk about that one later. The difference
is, that she has actually made an attempt to talk to me and tell me what’s going
on. So I’ve been able to form an opinion.”
“A one - sided opinion,” he
tried to argue.
“And whose fault is that?” she shot back. “What else do I
have to go on, Jack? I have no choice but to think you’re scum, because you
haven’t tried to tell me otherwise. Do you know what’s worse, though? You
haven’t spoken to Janet – your girlfriend - at all. You didn’t even let her
explain.”
“How, Terri? How could she possibly explain something like
that?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t know. You haven’t asked her.” Terri’s
voice rose, showing just as much anger and hurt as his. “And, you think you know
what’s going on, but you have no clue. If you made an effort to find out the
truth, you’d be surprised at what it says.”
Jack sighed. “Where is she
right now?”
“Out with Taylor,” she mumbled, knowing it would just fit
into his deluded version of events.
“See? I think I know perfectly well
what’s going on.”
“Oh, no!” Terri cried, throwing herself in front of the
door to the apartment, where Jack was heading. “You may be able to walk out on
Janet, Jack Tripper, but you damn well can’t walk out on me. God, I’m sick of
you two! I’m sick of Janet and I’m especially sick of you. For the millionth
time, talk to her. She’s the only one who’ll be able to tell you the real truth,
and you know that. You know she wouldn’t ever lie to you. Even after all the
crap you’ve put her through, Jack, for some strange, incomprehensible reason,
she still loves you. Talk to your girlfriend and find out what’s really been
going on. Every day that you don’t, you hurt her more and more, and you’re just
driving her that much further to Taylor.”
“Terri, if you forgot already,
let me remind you. She hurt me, too. How do you think it made me feel to see
some new guy stick his tongue down my girlfriend’s throat?”
“Honestly…you
guys are the two of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met. That kiss meant
nothing to her. Nothing. But don’t take it from me. Jack, will you please just
talk to her? After work at the Beagle?”
“I suppose I owe her
that.”
Terri gave a short, humorless laugh. “Honey, after all this, you’d
have to go to the moon and back to give her everything that you owe her.”
Jack finally laughed. “Don’t I know it. Look, I know I’ve been acting
like a jackass. To both of you, and I apologize. I’m sorry. Its just…Janet means
everything to me. I’ve never loved anyone like I love her. I’d go to the ends of
the earth to make her happy. And, when I saw then there, kissing…I just lost it.
Taylor’s rich, and he can give her anything she could ever want, and she seems
to like him. I didn’t - don’t want to lose her.”
“You won’t,” she
assured him. “Jack, she’s allowed to have friends. And she’s capable of having
male friends and a boyfriend at the same time. It’s kind of like walking and
chewing gum. It’s not that hard. Taylor is her friend, but you’re the one she
loves. You’re the one she wants to make her laugh and comfort her when she
cries. You’re the one she wants to hold her and kiss her at night. It’s always
been you, Jack. Just let her tell you that.”
Jack finally grinned, as if
he understood at last. He hugged Terri, unexpectedly picking her up a few feet
off the floor and twirling her around. “Thanks, Ter! You’re the best.”
Terri laughed. “I am, aren’t I?”
*** End flashback
***
“So…Jack will meet you tomorrow after work. And after all that,
you better be there!”
*~*
“Crap,” Janet muttered, glancing down at
her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Taylor laughed at his
obviously upset friend. “You just looked at the time five seconds ago, babe, It
couldn’t have changed that much.”
“You know, Tay, these people have a lot
of nerve. When they say first thing in the morning, they should mean it,” she
ranted, pacing back and forth in the small room like a caged animal. “In my
book, 5:00 in the evening is nowhere near the morning. And they just now
delivered the flowers!”
“You need to be somewhere or what?”
“The
Reagle Beagle. I’m supposed to meet Jack there in about ten minutes and now I
probably won’t.”
“You guys got back together?” he wondered. “Good
deal!”
“Not really…Terri just got him to talk to me. Hey, it’s a start!”
she responded at Taylor’s dubious look. “It’s better than where we’ve
been.”
“Grab your purse.” As soon as she had a hold of the strap, he
pulled her out to his car, thrusting open the door. “Hop in.”
Janet
sighed, noticing the immense pain masked behind his cheerful demeanor.
“Taylor…you don’t have to do this.”
“I know. But I want too.” He wasn’t
too self absorbed to realize that he was the main cause of the breakup. The
least he could do was try his best to rectify the problem. “He makes you happy,
and that’s all that matters to me. So, if you’d stop jabbering, we could
go.”
She laughed. “To the Beagle, and step on it, driver.” He gave her a
mock salute. When they were safely on the road, she turned and met his gaze.
“You’re really a great guy, Tay.”
“Yeah…it’s my one flaw.”
She
giggled, turning the radio on full blast to block out any other conversation
that they might have. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him; it was just
that she was too antsy to make idle chitchat. With any luck, she’d have her
boyfriend back within the hour. With any luck, she’d be back in the arms of the
man she loved.
*~*
Taylor and Janet arrived at the pub with about
five minutes to spare. She was expecting Jack at 5:30, and it had just tuned
5:24. “Thanks again for the ride, Tay.”
“Not a problem, hon. See you
tomorrow.”
“Wait!” Janet exclaimed, tugging on his sleeve. “We’ve got a
couple of minutes. Stay and have a drink. I remember you telling me you’ve never
been in here before.”
“But what if Jack sees me here with
you?’
“Tough. You’re my friend and he’s just going to have to learn to
deal with that.”
The two sat at the booth she usually sat at, sipping
glasses of white wine. Taylor smiled. “Once everything’s square with you and
Jack, remind me to bring you back her for a dinner date.”
It was time to
tell the whole truth, without holding back. “Tay…look. Whatever happens between
us tonight, whether we get back together or not, I can’t date you. Because what
Jack and I had was true love. It doesn’t come around that often, and I’m not
giving up without a hell of a fight.”
A long time passed before he met
her gaze. When he did, he seemed to penetrate into her soul. “That’s one of the
things I like about you, Janet. You’re straight with people. What you see is
what you get.”
She smiled sadly. “It’s an old Italian custom.”
He
kissed her cheek softly, his lips tasting like a feather against her skin. “Good
luck with everything.”
At that precise moment, though, Janet spied Jack
in the doorway. By the way he angrily strode over to them; it was obvious he had
been a witness to the kiss. “Great,” she muttered. “Just what I
need.”
Taylor scooted away from her, and a split second later Jack was at
their table. “I’m so glad I came all the way here for
this.”
“Jack…this isn’t…”
“You mean to tell me this isn’t a date?
You two aren’t hopelessly in love? Because, you know, Janet, it looks to me
like…it is! How dare you bring me down here for this?”
Taylor put his
hands up in mock-surrender. “Look, man, she’s telling the truth. This isn’t a
date. I just drove her over here.”
“Sure. I’ll just leave now. Janet and
her little rich boy have some making out to do.” Luckily, the evening rush
hadn’t yet come in, and the three of them were virtually the only ones in the
bar.
Tears trickled down Janet’s cheeks. “Jack! Will you just shut up and
let me explain something for once? You might learn a few things…like the fact
that I still love you! But I’m not mad at the whole jealousy thing…really I’m
not. Do you know what really gets me? It’s been the same way for forty days now,
Jack! And you haven’t listened to me at all. Not once.”
Jack took a deep
breath, touching her arm. As the words that Terri spoke ran through his mind.
How was he suppose to understand what is going on if he didn’t give her a chance
to explain. “I know, honey. I know. But I’m here now. I’m listening
now.”
If he had done and said that even two minutes ago, she would’ve
jumped into his arms and kissed him all over, but now she was just plain mad.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” she hissed. “This is simply the same thing that
happened that night we came back from the party; you jumping to conclusions. And
I see now that nothing I say will change your mind because you’re so determined
to be right about me. How many times am I going to have to apologize for
something that wasn’t even my fault? I’m just too tired of this, Jack! I’m just
tired. I’m washing my hands of this. I’m finished! I’m finished begging you to
talk to me. I’m finished apologizing, and I’m finished defending my friendship
with Taylor. In fact, I’m finished with you, period!”
Both men watched as
she disappeared in the blink of an eye, an angry black blur.
*~*
“You know what, Jack? I think we better talk,” Taylor began
hesitantly.
“I really don’t want to talk to you, if that’s all
right.”
“No…it’s not all right. I need you to listen to me and I need to
explain what happen.”
Jack eyed him suspiciously, the doubts nagging him
at his skull. How could he explain what they had done?
“First, let me
start off by saying that Janet loves you and wouldn’t ever hurt you for
anything. She’d rather die than deceive you. And that’s the truth.”
“Then why did she why the hell did she kiss you?” Jack asked him
angrily. “And why did she go with you to the party? Or on a
date?”
“Because I practically begged her. I put a lot of pressure on her,
and I realize now I shouldn’t have. She made it perfectly clear ever since day
one that she was off the market, but I wanted her to go out with me. I just
wanted her to spend time with me in a place other than work, so she could make
up her own mind how she felt about me. I wanted her to get to know me.”
“Well, she knows you now,” Jack muttered.
“Yes…but she loves
you.”
His head snapped to attention. “She told you that?”
“From
the very beginning.”
He sighed again. “But that was before the kiss.
Before she went out with you.”
“And after she went out with me. And about
two minutes ago, too.”
Taylor’s words finally seemed to sink in. Jack’s
face sunk into his hands, and a few minutes later, he looked up again, sorrow
clearly written all over his handsome face. “I have got to be the stupidest
person on this planet. I acted like a complete *****, and the most important
person in my life, I just let walk right out that door.”
“Jack, just go
find her and tell her what you just told me. She loves you. She’ll
listen.”
Chapter 11
Jack’s feet pounded the pavement beneath him as he ran as fast as
humanely possible to the apartments. Praying to whoever was holy in the
world that he and Janet could work themselves out, he rushed up the
stairs, taking them two at a time and failed to even notice when he
whizzed past Ralph Furley. He vaguely heard the landlord’s shocked murmur,
but didn’t stop, only quickly turned around. “Why is everyone is such a
hurry these days? The world’s not going to self destruct if you get to
wherever you’re going three seconds later,” the man wanted to know.
“Mr. Furley, I’m sorry, but in my case it will. Besides, I
don’t have time for this. Is Janet here? Did you see
her?”
“Yeah, I did. She was just as snippy as you, as a matter
of fact. Jack, you know I don’t mean to pry…” He chose to ignore Jack’s
guffaw at that comment. “Are you and Janet doing okay? I mean, you didn’t
fight or anything did you? I haven’t seen you two out together in such a
long time. If you don’t watch out, she’d going end up falling in love
with…who is it, Taylor? Travis? That nice guy she’s always with. He likes
her, I know it.”
“I told you I don’t have time for this. I want to
see Janet. Now. So that’s where I’m going.”
“She’s not up
there.”
Jack sighed, silently counting to three and letting out an
annoyed breath. “You said she was. I asked you and you said
yes.”
“No, you asked me if I saw her, and I did see her. She came
running up here, just like you, and it looked like she had been crying. I
asked her what was wrong and she just went spastic. Staring mumbling about
you and Taylor and how I couldn’t possibly fix it anyway.”
“So is
she there or not?”
“No. She was for a while, but then she left
again. Probably to the Beagle or your restaurant, I don’t know. She wasn’t
in a real talking sort of mood.”
“Thanks a lot, RF,” Jack called,
already making his way down the concrete steps in search of the girl he
loved. Janet. He had to find her. Find her and hold her and kiss all the
hurt away. Or, at the very least, get her not to hate him. But even that
seemed doubtful.
*~*
There you are, giving up the
fight.
Here I am, begging you to try.
Talk to me, let me in,
But
you just put your wall back up again.
Oh, when's it gonna
end?Jack must have walked the whole town – twice – before he
finally spied her signature messy bun in the crowded sidewalk. He finally
caught up to her. He desperately called her name, and it was an agonizing
ten seconds before she turned. She smiled, whipping around to face whoever
it was, but her happiness faded quickly after seeing who was in front of
her. Her lips parted slightly, and it took every inch of Jack’s control
not to want to ravish her right then and there. He loved her so much. He
wanted to touch her so badly. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered softly.
“You’re so beautiful, you know that? I love you.”
Janet’s eyes
were red and moist, an obvious sign that she had been crying. In fact,
faded tears were still streaked on her cheeks as she looked at him. The
raw pain in her eyes was enough to tear his heart in a million pieces.
“Jack, don’t.”
How far do I have to go to make you
understand,
I wanna make this work so much, it hurts, but I just
can't,
Keep on giving, go on living, with the way things are.
So I'm
gonna walk away,
An' it's up to you to say,
How far.He
took her hand, and even though she flinched slightly, Jack pulled her down
the block and into his empty restaurant. Looking her straight in the eyes,
he reached up to caress her check, but at the last second, let it fall
limp to his side. “I think you and I have to have a long talk.”
She
raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“Please, sweetheart.” Jack
softly reached out to stroke her hair, and when she didn’t pull away, he
became more assured. “I miss you, Janet. I love you…so much it
hurts.”
“That’s nice, but really, I have to be somewhere. You just
have to wait, I guess.”
“Touché,” he teased. “I deserve that,
honey. I deserve every single mean thing you have to say. But if you ever
believe anything I say to you, believe this. I love you, Janet Alyssa
Wood, and I’m sorry. I screwed up. I made a mistake.”
Janet
interrupted him, her voice eerily calm. “You made an awful lot of
mistakes, not just one. You didn’t want to talk to me before. Well, guess
what? I don’t want to talk to you now. I think everything’s been said,
anyhow.”
She tried to walk away from him, but he gently pulled her
back by her arm. “Baby, no. Everything hasn’t been said. Taylor and I had
a little chat. Actually, it was more like he chatted and he forced me to
listen, but still…he told me the truth. He told me about everything,
everything that’s been going on with you and him. Taylor told me what
really happened that night of the party. He told me about the kiss, and
how you didn’t want it. He told me how much you love me…how much I love
you…how much of a p-rick I was.”
All the pent – up anger, hurt,
confusion and every conceivable emotion she’d felt over the past two
months came flooding to the surface, and she began to cry again. Without
even thinking, she fell into his open arms, hammering on his chest wildly.
“You can’t do this to me!” she sobbed. “You can’t just say all that nice
and sweet and romantic bull**** and just have this…crap all go
away!”
Jack tenderly but firmly pushed him off her, still holding
her close, however. “Sweetheart, I know. I know I need to make this up to
you, and I’ll try. I’ll try every day for the rest of our life that we
spend together. I’ll show you. Please let me show you.”
“How,
Jack?” She was angry now, her eyes blazing wild with fury. “HOW?! How can
you possibly even think of making up not trusting me? Oh, just some
flowers and kisses and it’ll be water under the bridge. Well, you know
what? It won’t! You can’t. You can’t! Jack, you’re supposed to be in love
with me. Why’d you have to hear it from Taylor? Why couldn’t you believe
me?”
There's a chance I could change my mind.
But I won't,
not till you decide,
What you want, what you need.
Do you even care
if I stay or leave?
Oh, what's it gonna be?“I should
have.”
“Damn straight.”
“Janet…I love you.”
“You
can’t even hope to comprehend how much this hurts, Jack. You know, when I
was a little girl, I swore to myself I’d never, ever cry over a man. If he
didn’t want me, that was his problem, I said. But that kiss with Taylor,
and those nights and days yelling at each other, it just keeps coming
back. It’s like a car crash that you don’t want you watch, but yet you
can’t turn away. So then how come you won’t leave me alone? Why does
everything keep coming back, and why does it kill me every single time?”
Janet began to whine quietly, making soft cries that tore at his heart.
Fresh tears were sprouting. “You still mean the world to me, Jack, and I
don’t know why. I don’t know why I still love you, because we both know I
shouldn’t. God…I always thought we could talk about everything. Nothing
was off limits for us. You were my best friend, and I thought that’ s what
would make our relationship be so great. We were more than boyfriend and
girlfriend. We were friends. I thought that made us stronger, made us
better. But I was wrong. I was wrong to let myself believe that what we
had could overcome anything. I was wrong in getting my hopes up. I was
wrong in believing in you. Jack, I’d do anything if we could just go back.
I’d give anything to just go back to how we were before. This would still
hurt, but eventually I’d get over it. But I’m not sure I can get over
this.”
“Oh, sweetie…I hate this. I hate seeing you sad and knowing
that it’s my fault. I was a stupid, insensitive jackass; I know. You
wouldn’t ever do that to me, and I can’t believe I let myself think that
you would, even for a minute.” Jack kissed her forehead softly, pulling
away quickly when he saw rage in her gaze. “You probably won’t put much
stock in this, but I love you. Baby, I love you so much, and I want to
spend my life with you. I always have. I just…you have to understand how
upset I was when I saw you and Taylor kissing right in front of me. I
just…it was like my mind blanked out and all I could think about was
punching that Lambert guy in the nose. I just can’t bear the thought of
losing you. I couldn’t take it if I lost you, if I lost your love, your
friendship. You’re everything, Janet. You’ve got to know how much you mean
to me.”
“Oh. I see.” Janet took a hold of her purse, spinning on
her chunky heel to strut away when Jack once again pulled her back and
into his waiting arms. His lips crushed down upon hers before she even had
a chance to register what was taking place. Dimly, as if in a daze, she
recalled letting her purse fall from her shoulders in shock. His arms
wrapped around her waist as they had done so many times before. And
practice did make perfect, she thought wryly. Jack Tripper, if nothing
else, certainly knew how to kiss a woman. He mouth left hers and rained
down her body, touching her shoulder blade and then coming back to her
neck. He felt Janet beginning to really give out, to loosen up in his
embrace, and he heard the pleasurable moan that frequently came from her
lips whenever he hit her melting points. “Jack,” she whispered, eagerly
awaiting his hungry kisses and the hands that roamed her up and down.
“Love…right now…so good.” Her words were jumbled in incoherent mumbles,
but he didn’t care. Janet’s moans soon turned to soft whimpers, as his
lips touched hers yet again, becoming more intense, her mouth opening to
allow his tongue to enter. His tongue gently probed her mouth, teasing her
before finally kissing her hard on the mouth the way she liked. Sure
enough, at that precise moment, he heard her moan again, louder this time.
“Oh, God…keep that up and you’re going to make me scream.”
Jack
chuckled softly. “We’re making up for lost time.” He held her tightly in
his arms, touching his forehead to hers. “I bet Taylor the Wonder Boy
didn’t make you do this. I know you feel what we have, baby. What we still
have. He didn’t make you feel this way, did he?”
She immediately
wrenched herself out of his grasp. “At least he doesn’t make me cry.” With
that, within the blink of an eye, he had screwed up again. She was
gone.
How far do I have to go to make you
understand,
I wanna make this work so much, it hurts, but I just
can't,
Keep on giving, go on living, with the way things are.
So I'm
gonna walk away,
An' it's up to you to say,
How
far.*~*
It was a pitch black, quiet night when Terri
drove into the space that was informally hers, and the slight creepiness
had already set her on edge, so much so that when a dark shadow loomed
behind her, she screamed.
“Relax, kid. It’s just me.”
“You
idiot! Don’t you know not to sneak up on women in the dark?” Then she
smiled. “So…are things cool with you and Janet now?”
Jack heaved a
deep sigh. Thoughts of Janet had been running through his mind the whole
day, and the new image of the tears running down his girlfriend’s cheeks
and the undeniable hurt in her eyes wasn’t helping any. “No, not even
warm. More like freezing. I…I made things worse. I messed up
again.”
The two walked up the steps to Apartment 201, Terri
clutching her purse and keys in her hand. “No offense, Jack, but things
really can’t be any worse than they are.”
“I think I get that now,
thanks.” Terri swatted him on the shoulder, unlocking the door as he
followed her into the room. Jack stared at Terri, who was looking at him
expectantly. “I…he was there with her. He kissed her on the cheek just as
I walked in. We got mad and said some stuff. Mostly Janet saying stuff at
me. Actually, I’ve never seen her that furious. Said that she was finished
begging me to talk to her and finished defending her relationship with
Taylor. In fact, she said she was finished with me, period.”
“Well? Can you blame her?”
“Not really…Terri, I know it may
not seem like it, to you or to her, but I really do love her more than
anything in this world. She’s everything to me.”
“You’ve got a real
nice way of showing it.”
“I know…so I chased after her and said we
needed to talk. Didn’t go so hot. And then…then I kissed her. It was good
again, you know. God, Terri, she feels so damn good. I was holding her and
I felt her relaxing. And then – I don’t even know why I said it – I asked
her if Taylor ever made her feel that way.”
Terri was shocked,
which made him feel worse. “Jack!!”
“She just stared at me…man,
I’ve never seen her look at me like that before. It was…almost like I’d
slapped her or something. She pulled away from me and said that at least
he didn’t make her cry. Then she left. Again.”
“First of all, Jack,
let me ask you a question, but we’ll get back to that kissing thing later.
Suppose Janet saw you kissing another girl, but you swore up and down that
it didn’t mean a thing. What would she do?”
“Before or after she
murdered me in my sleep?”
“I’m serious…”
“So am
I.”
“See? You would have done everything to try and make things
right, to try and make her understand. Honestly, you would have been a
little pissed that she wasn’t listening to you. Well, Jack, how do you
think she feels? She must have told you a thousand times that that little
kiss didn’t mean squat, but do you care? No! You automatically assumed the
worst.”
Jack sighed, walking toward the door of the apartment. His
hand on the knob, he turned back to Terri. “I know you’ve done everything
for me, but can you do me another little favor? Just…just tell her that
I’m sorry about everything. Tell her that I love her and that I can’t wait
until she’s in my arms again.”
She smiled sadly. “That’s really
sweet, Jack, but I’ve told you. It won’t do any good coming from me. I can
try, but I won’t promise. I can’t guarantee results, because she needs to
hear you. This isn’t about me, hon. It’s about the two of you, and I have
a feeling none of us are going to get any sleep ever again until you two
talk and work this thing out.”
*~*
After chatting about nothing
for a few more moments, Jack had exited the apartment. Once the door shut
completely, she glanced around. The light she had so casually flipped on
seconds ago was the only source of light in the house and any indication
of life. Except, of course, the sound of the radio coming from Janet’s
room. Terri sighed as she peeked in. Janet looked so sad, laying facedown
on her bed, clad in only a pair of drawstring pants and an oversized
shirt. She clutched her pillow tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Terri wanted to cry if it wasn’t so serious. The song blaring at high
decibels wasn’t helping, either. Evanescence’s “My Immortal” was an
extremely disheartening song; it had the power to make the happiest person
miserable. Tears spilled down her cheeks as her pure, innocent voice
softly lifted in melody to the haunting lyric s.“I’m so tired of being
here / suppressed by all of my childish fears / and if you have to leave /
I wish that you would just leave / because your presence still lingers
here / and it won't leave me alone... / these wounds won't seem to heal /
this pain is just too real / there's just too much that time cannot
erase... / when you cried I’d wipe away all of your tears / when you'd
scream I'd fight away all of your fears / and I've held your hand through
all of these years / but you still have all of me...” The sobs semmed to
grow, deep, uncontrollable tears that wracked her entire body as she sang
the last line before flipping the knob to ‘off. Glancing up only when she
heard her name being called, Janet quickly tried to wipe away her tears.
“He y. I’m really pathetic, aren’t I?”
“Not at all,” Terri came to
her and perched herself on the end of the bed, putting an arm around her
friend. “I talked to Jack a little while ago.”
“Oh, so he goes
around talking to everyone else before he talks to me? What a
guy.”
“He told me some things that I hope you want to hear. I think
you’d find it very interesting.”
Janet sighed, climbing out of the
bed. “Terri, I really don’t want to hear anything that he has to
say.”
Terri chose to tell her anyway. “He told me to tell you that
he’s sorry for everything. He told me to tell you that he can’t wait to
hold you in his arms again. He really loves you, Janet. I believe that…you
should too.”
“I love him to death,” Janet admitted, tears pooling
her eyes. “We both know that. But the fact remains…he didn’t trust me. And
that’s why I’m not so sure love’s enough anymore.”
*~*
Janet
sighed, kicking the covers off her body. Insomnia had plagued her for
hours, Jack’s face appearing over and over in her mind. The kiss was a
memory that wouldn’t abscond, and she kept tossing and turning all night
long. She knew it was three in the morning and she was only in her
pajamas, but she had many times contemplated running up to Larry’s and
into Jack’s outstretched and waiting arms. She wanted so badly to be able
to tell him that nothing else mattered except him and her and their future
together. No words needed to fall from his lips except the murmured ‘I
love you’ and the lustful kisses that she knew would follow. She wanted
him to hold her and kiss away all the pain and the fear and the hurt.
Janet involuntarily shivered, imaging his warm mouth crushing down upon
hers. The feelings and emotions she had experienced whenever she was with
hi m were amazing, and almost too much to bear. She wanted him so much she
ached. She wanted him to take her in his arms and cover her mouth and neck
with kisses. She wanted nothing more than to feel him with her. She needed
his soft touch and gentle caress, needed him to hold her in his arms and
make her feel the way she did the night before Taylor’s party. The last
good night she remembered having. The night before the party that ruined
everything. Sighing, she grabbed her robe and went outside, hoping the
cool air would do her some good.
Meanwhile, upstairs the
uncomfortable couch was not doing Jack any favors at all. If anything, it
was keeping him awake and forcing him to think about Janet. All the little
things about her that he loved. How she used stray index cards as
bookmarks. How she cried at every single sappy old movie, no matter how
many times she’d seen it. The way her eyes danced when she laughed. The
way her nose crinkled when she smiled. The look in her eyes the moments
after they’d kissed that made him want to do nothing more than kiss her
again. Sighing, and at the same time careful not to wake Larry, he tiptoed
outside. Walking outside and staring up at the sky brought back a flood of
memories that only made her absence more prominent. The last time he had
looked at the sky, he had been holding Janet in his arms. Well, maybe not
exactly, he thought with a devilish g rin. They had spent a good portion
of that time kissing in the backseat. Jack smiled, remembering the
pleasure he had gotten from Janet’s body beneath his, squirming with
delight and on the brink of begging him to be inside her. His lips on her
skin caused her to moan, and the sensual look in her eyes made him want to
take her right then. The two had been dangerously close to coming
together, and her ecstatic screams along with the way she moaned his name
made him want to close the deal. He wanted nothing more than to feel her
with him.
Jack walked dejectedly down the stairs, only pausing
when he realized that from where he was at, he could see directly into his
window. He could see the faint markings of her shadow in the distance.
Life was finally going his way. Janet was obviously suffering from the
same two symptoms as he, lack of sleep and a broken heart. She, too, was
staring up at the crystal-blue sky, engrossed in thought. Little did he
know that the night in the car and the moments they shared were running
through her mind as well.
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way…”
they both whispered to themselves, unaware that they were less that a few
feet away from each other.
*~*
The next morning was Sunday, and
Janet had barely brought herself to get out of bed. All throughout
childhood and even college, Janet had not woken up before noon on Sundays,
and the habit had never really been broken. But, reluctantly, she hopped
up. She needed to clear her mind, and a change of scenery might do her
some good. She knew she wouldn’t get anywhere at the apartment, with
memories of Jack and their love following her everywhere she went.
“Going somewhere?” Terri asked, seeing Janet look halfway
presentable for the first time in weeks and clutching her purse in her
hand. “I knew something was up when you were awake and coherent before
noon.”
She made a face. “Very funny. But…yeah, I’m just going
out for a while. I need to take my mind off things. I’ll probably go to
the beach and then end up taking a walk. I just need to think…sort some
things out. Don’t think you need to baby-sit me, Ter. You’re working early
tomorrow, and I don’t want you waiting up until 11:00 just because I’m not
home.”
“You’re the boss,” her friend replied quietly.
On
that note, Janet left the apartment, heading for the shortcut to the beach
that she knew. The waves lapped the shore and tickled her feet as she
walked along the shore. In the distance, she spied a couple of teenagers,
happily running around. The guy came up and spun the girl around from
behind, and the girl giggled and squealed as his lips pressed against
hers. Janet smiled wistfully, knowing that that could have been them. They
were so happy the last time they came. Her mind seemed to travel back as
she recalled just how their last visit to this exact spot had gone. Her
boyfriend’s touch. Jack’s impish grin as his hands traveled her body, and
her fingers reaching up to entangle in his hair. She could still feel the
love, and if she closed her eyes hard enough, she could still feel the
warmth of him on top of her. She could feel his breath close enough to
graze her ear as their lips met. She could still remember how he made her
feel, how she had responded to his touch, and how badly she had wanted
him. And that, without a doubt, was the most painful thing of all. Janet
could still remember everything.
*~*
The flames were
creeping higher and higher when the doorbell rang. Terri grabbed a jug of
water and doused the now-burnt toast with the cool liquid. She gave a
small shriek in frustration. “My God, Jack and Janet better make up soon.
Our nutritional well-being depends on him being here.” Making her way to
the door, she was surprised to see Jack’s face smiling back at her. “Hey!
Since when do you knock? This is your house too, you know.”
“After
they way I’ve acted, I probably don’t deserve to just barge in
anymore.”
Terri was silent. Deep in her heart, she couldn’t argue
with him, but it still made her sad to see her two best friends miserable.
“I talked to Janet yesterday.”
“What did she say?”
“Nothing
much…she’s really hurt by all this, Jack. She was in your room, with the
lights out, crying and listening to the radio.” For his benefit, she began
to quietly sing the chorus of the song. “These words won’t seem to heal /
this pain is just too real / there’s just too much that time cannot
erase…”
Jack, to his credit, looked down, seemingly fascinated by
the intricate pattern of his friend’s slippers. “I’m
sorry.”
“I know you are. But she needs to hear the words,
hon. She needs you to get down on your knees and grovel for forgiveness.
She needs you know that you want her, Jack. She needs you to prove how
much you love her.”
“Would you by any chance know where she
is?”
“I do, but I’m not at liberty to divulge such information.” A
small smile played at her lips. She just loved teasing him. He really was
such an easy target.
“Terri! It’s not like you’re spilling secret
plans or where the President lives. She’s not in the witness protection
program and you’re not a spy! It won’t kill you to tell me where she
went.”
“Lighten up! Breathe! In. Out. Good boy. She didn’t say too
much, and I figured it wasn’t my place to ask. She just said that she
needed to relax and sort some stuff out. She said something about the
beach and maybe going for a walk later -- ” Terri’s voice faltered off
until she became quiet, realizing that Jack was no longer listening.
He ran to the door, all of a sudden rejuvenated with new spirit.
This time the meeting wouldn’t be planned or set up by Terri. This time,
it would be all him. She had said that Janet wanted him to prove himself,
and he intended to. He intended to get down on his knees and beg for her
to love him again. He intended to kiss her so long and so hard that there
would be no doubt in her mind what he wanted. “Heaps of thanks, Ter. I’ll
be back later. I know where to find her.”
*~*
Janet sighed
as the sun began to set. The memories that were hovering in the far corner
of her brain would come back and smack her in the face, she was sure of
that. But the scene was so beautiful that she couldn’t bring herself to
leave. So engrossed in the orange colored sky, she hardly noticed that a
shadow was forming behind her. She didn’t see a man walk up from a few
feet away, kneel down behind her, and she only noticed when she felt a
warm pair of hands begin to massage her shoulders. A scream automatically
crossed her lips, but died there the moment she turned and saw Jack
smiling, glancing at her hopefully. Janet smiled, leaning slightly into
his embrace as his arms slid around her slim waist, resting on her
abdomen. He kissed the nape of her neck softly, making her shiver. No
words had been said, and for now they didn’t need to be. The love that
existed between them was intense, and obvious. Janet knew that they’d have
to talk about their problems. That they would have to work themselves out.
But, for this moment, the physical pleasure of being wrapped in his arms
was more than enough.
Janet must have been
breathing during the past twenty minutes, but she couldn’t swear to it.
Her eyes were shut and she was relaxed in his arms, but she had never been
more alert in her life. The scent of his aftershave, the feel of his
strong arms around her waist, the faint tickle of his breath on her ear –
all of those things were forever imprinted in her mind. She sighed,
drinking in absolutely everything about him that she could, almost afraid
that he really wasn’t behind her and that if she even as much as turned
her head, he’d be gone. But, alas, he was. Jack pulled her back to him
gently, strategically moving his body so that she was sitting between his
legs. “You know, it’s really not fair that you can just sit here and get
me thinking all these crazy things about taking you right here and
now.”
She giggled softly, unable to hide her smile. “I’m just
irresistible like that. A trait that I’ve learned to live with.”
He
kissed her lips lightly; wiping the smirk of her face that he knew was
there. “Don’t you make me come after you now.”
“I know you better than anyone, remember?”
Jack’s sweet voice sent a wave of electricity up her spine. He reached out
to touch her cheek, and the insides of her body seemed to go completely
numb. “Sweetie, you’re an open book. That’s one of the things I love about
you. I can read you.”
“Funny…the way you’ve been acting lately,
I’m not sure I can say the same.” Her tone came across as much harsher
than she’d expected, but she didn’t mind. It was her way of keeping
herself in control, of keeping herself from falling too fast again. She
didn’t want him to hurt her. She didn’t want to have the instant pleasure,
only to have the pain. She wanted him for real. For life. Forever.
“Honey…” Jack murmured softly, wiping away the tears that were
pooling behind her eyes. “I know. Whatever you say, I deserve that and
more. I’ll never fully be able to tell you how sorry I am, baby, but I’m
going to try, all right? I’m going to try and make you happy every day for
the rest of my life. Because when it’s all said and done, I don’t care
about Taylor. Okay, maybe I do. A little. But I’ll get over it. All I want
is you, Janet. You’re all I want. I wish there was someway we could change
things, but I can’t.”
“But we can control what happens now,” Janet
whispered, believing that with her whole heart and soul. “Especially if we
do it together.” She wouldn’t change the past. No way. Because the past
had led her – led them – to something that she didn’t even know she wanted
until it hit her over the head. And it had led them to this very moment in
the present, which was shaping up to be very, very interesting. Not to
mention the future…
She placed her index
finger on his lips to shush him. “I know. But how about we start over?
Let’s make this Jack and Janet, take two. What do you say?”
He
wrapped his arms around her tightly, inhaling the intoxicating scent of
her perfume. “I never would intentionally, but you might get hurt again,
love. Why are you letting me back in and letting yourself get set up
again?”
“Because I’m asking you to.” Janet took his hand in hers,
starting intently into his eyes. “This isn’t all about what you did. I
messed up, too. I’m sorry about Taylor, and all I want with you is a new
beginning. My God, Jack, the only thing I’ve ever wanted since I was a
little girl was to fall hopelessly in love, but I was scared. But you’re
just so damn wonderful, and thick headed, stubborn that I am, I didn’t
realize that it’s what I wanted until I had it with you.”
When she
looked up at him again, he was wearing the most incredible smile. “Janet,”
he murmured, leaning down to kiss her, a soft but passion-filled kiss that
told her that everything was all right. “I don’t want to push my luck
here, but what made you change your mind?”
Being as how he didn’t remember any Betty Jean, he
couldn’t for the life of him guess where his girlfriend was going with
that statement. “Excuse me?”
“Do you remember when Dean Travers got
you to teach that cooking class? I signed up, and his niece was in the
class, too.”
“Okay…yeah, I do a little. So?”
“Did it ever
occur to you that my being furious at you was a cover for something
else?”
“Not really…I didn’t really think that much into it.
Sweetheart, unless this story has any redeeming values, I’d suggest you
get on with it.”
“Jerk,” she muttered, but she was smiling. “Won’t
even let me finish. But yes…I’m not proud of how I acted. It was easier to
get mad then to admit I was jealous. Admitting I was jealous would have
been admitting I loved you.”
He grinned. “You were jealous? I
thought you were just PMS-ing.”
Janet’s mouth dropped open in
surprise, then she giggled. “You better not be thinking that every time
Terri and I get mad at you, buster. Honestly…I was so jealous. Completely
stark raving mad. And it was so weird…I wasn’t even your girlfriend. I saw
the way you looked at her, though. The look that was reserved for me, that
made me feel special, that made me feel that I meant something to you.
Maybe I thought she was horning in on my territory, I’m not sure.
Something inside was making me upset, especially when she kissed you, and
I had to go with that. But I was thinking about us last night, and that
situation came to mind. I remember how you wanted to explain and I
wouldn’t listen. I should have.”
“And I should have listened to
you,” Jack breathed into her ear. “I’m sorry, honey.” He tilted her head
back so he could kiss her full on the lips. Her hands immediately came to
find his, as she turned slightly in his arms. She moaned into his mouth
almost inaudibly, pulling away before it got too intense. “You’re
adorable.”
“There’ll be more of that later,” she mumbled, his lips
brushing against her forehead. “I love you, Jack Tripper, more than
anything in this world. I want us to be together always. But, baby, I’m
going to need you to promise me that you’ll trust me, and that whenever I
do something or whatever, I need you to talk to me, okay? I have friends
that happen to be guys, just like you have friends that are girls. That
can’t be a problem. I trust what you do, and I deserve the same in return.
I need you to give that to me. I want this to work out this time, sweetie.
One of the main reasons I was so hesitant to get involved with you was so
that I could prevent us hurting each other. That didn’t do me a lot of
good. I love you, Jack. I love when we’re together, and I want us to stay
that way. Just trust me. That’s all I’m asking.”
He took her by the
shoulders, gently spinning her around so she was facing him. She cocked
her head, glancing at him quizzically before smiling, and it was at that
moment that he knew he had found his life love, the woman he wanted to
spend all his time with. “I swear to God, Janet Wood. I want this to work
even more than you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it possible. I
will not screw this up again.”
Janet completely turned to face him,
taking his hand in hers. “Good, ‘cause I won’t let you.” She laughed
softly, his free hand playing with the hem of her shirt. “Hey,” she
whispered, her voice shaking slightly. “Remember what I said when we were
here last time?”
No other words were necessary, not that she could
have gotten any out, as Jack’s mouth crushed upon hers in a kiss that was
full of love and hope and passion and respect and commitment. All the very
best things in the world. The kiss quickly went from chaste to intense,
their lips quickly playing with each others, making up for lost time. Jack
gently picked her up in his arms and laid her down on the sand, making
sure first that she was comfortable before smothering her body in kisses.
Almost unconsciously, a moan passed through Janet's lips. She had missed
this so much. Seeing him play with the buttons of her shirt, she willingly
let him unbutton it, pulling it off her. Quickly, she pulled him beside
her, needing to be in his arms. He kissed her forehead, hearing her gasp
as his fingers played with the clasp of her bra. “You know I’m going to
have to take this off,” he murmured seductively.
She let out a
high - pitched giggle when his hands came in contact with her bare skin.
His shirt was still on, and she gripped it tightly, burying her face in
his chest. He pulled her onto his lap, letting his fingers drift into her
jeans. Her heart began to pound, and she felt her muscles tensing. Softly,
he traced circles on her thigh. “I love you, baby.”
She opened her
mouth as if to respond, but instead her lower lip trembled and she
couldn’t help another scream from emitting from her mouth. “Oh, God…”
He laughed quietly, not wanting him to think he was laughing at
her. “You’re a very vocal person, aren’t you?”
“This whole beach is
going to hear me be vocal if you don’t quit that.” She reluctantly crawled
away from him, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed and lips still moist.
“We really need to stop.”
“But I want you,” he whined, raining
kisses down her neck. “I want to have you.”
“I know…and you know
what? I want you, too. Just not here.” She kissed him on the mouth,
letting her lips linger on his perhaps a little more than she should. Her
voice was low, husky, and teetering on the edge of breaking when she
pulled away. “Take me home.”
Everything had fallen back
into place by the next morning. Though he hadn’t officially left, Jack
moved back into the apartment, and he and Janet were closer than ever. The
two went into his room immediately after returning home, and Terri had
found them curled up in each other’s arms that morning. Larry and Terri
were overjoyed, to say the least, to see their friends finally work out
their problems. Another good point to Larry was that Jack had vacated his
couch, which had become his permanent home for over the past month. Not
that he didn’t love his best friend, but he would’ve gone insane if forced
to hear one more tirade about how Janet did him wrong.
Jack
stumbled out of bed the next morning, trudging to the kitchen. Waking up
at ungodly hours to make breakfast was a sacrifice he would gladly make to
have his life back. To have his friends and the love of his life back.
Speaking of which, the girls were still fast asleep in their room, giving
Jack the time he needed to make a decent meal. He assumed the two girls
were in their beds, so he didn’t knock and risk waking them, instead
choosing to push the door slightly. Terri, however, was awake, and
squealed softly, covering her mouth with her hand. “Get out!”
“I
just wanted to see Janet,” he offered by way of apology as she quickly
pulled a shirt over her head and walked to the kitchen.
“Sorry.” Once Terri was gone, he crept up
to the side of Janet’s bed. She was sleeping soundly, and he reached down
to move a wisp of hair out of her eyes. He was afraid he’d woken her, but
she simply stirred and groaned incoherently. Jack touched her cheek
softly, letting his hand travel down her skin. It was as if she knew he
was there, because she opened her eyes, whispering his name. He kissed her
lips softly, letting his tongue tease her but quickly pulled away, causing
her to sit up and face him, whimpering softly. “Hey, baby.”
“You will,” he
vowed.
“I like the sound of that,” she murmured sexily. “But, right
now, I’m hungry and something smells really good. Let’s go eat.”
Jack laughed, tugging Janet out of bed as she started in a full-on
sprint to the kitchen. The three ate their food and had a good talk for
the first time in a while, but they then went their separate ways. Janet
headed to her room to get ready for work and Terri left to go to the
hospital, leaving Jack to clean up the kitchen. Once in the safe vicinity
of her bedroom, Janet leaned against the wall, sighing. She had been so
wrapped up in Jack for the last couple of hours that she hadn’t even
stopped to think about how Taylor would react. She didn’t even notice that
Jack had come up behind her until she felt a warm pair of arms wrap around
her waist. He kissed the nape of her neck softly, letting his hands rest
on her hips. “What’s wrong, babe?” he murmured into her hair.
“I’m
sorry,” she said, forcing a smile on her face. “I know I’ll have to tell
Taylor about us soon; I’m just not particularly looking forward to
it.”
Almost as if on cue, Jack’s hands left her waist, and he
released her from his grasp. He stepped away from her, enough to look her
straight in the eyes. “Why would he care?”
“I know, sweetie. I know. I’m
sorry. That was stupid,” he said remorsefully, reaching out for her
apologetically. She entered his embrace, and he immediately wrapped his
arms around her, stroking her hair and kissing her on the forehead. “I’m
so sorry.”
Then Janet smiled, kissing him softly and affectionately
running her hands through his hair. “You don’t have anything to worry
about, anyway. Look, Taylor...we have fun. He makes me laugh and he makes
me smile. I like him, and I like being with him. But I can live without
him. I can't live without you.”
“Jack, listen to me, all right?
And…and please don’t interrupt. Just let me finish.” He nodded, pulling
her close to him, and she began. “Taylor and I…I’m sure Terri told you
that we went on a date. Nothing real fancy, just dinner, then he took me
back to his apartment. He has this great balcony where you can look out at
the sky and just see everything. I don’t remember if it was something he
said or what, but it just reminded me so much of you, and that night we
went up to that little park, and I cried. I was really vulnerable, and I
know now that that’s not a good thing when you’re on a date with someone
who likes you. One thing led to another…and we kissed. And it wasn’t like
after the party, I…I wanted to kiss him. It was a real kiss, Jack. It was
nice, and I should have been feeling something, but I didn’t. There was
nothing there. No sparks, no fireworks, no feeling of being sent into
orbit like your kisses do. The minute his lips touched mine…I knew that it
was a mistake. You have to believe me. I didn’t feel a thing. I was
just…it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but it
wasn’t.”
“Hey,” he whispered softly, titling her chin with his
finger. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.” His arms wrapped around her
waist and he tugged her close, his mouth crushing upon hers in a
breathtaking kiss. Jack lowered her gently onto the bed before kissing her
again. He smiled, letting his breath tickle her ear as she wrapped her
arms around his neck. She moaned, squirming slightly underneath him.
“Janet,” he murmured his voice unusually tight. “God, sweetheart…”
She giggled, suddenly knowing what she had just done to him.
Taking his face in her hands, she let her tongue enter his mouth. “I love
you, Jack. But I really need to get going. You can kiss me again tonight,
I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.” Jack pinned her for a few
seconds, basking in the delight of watching her squirm, and then finally
released her, managing to steal another quick kiss before she exited the
apartment.
Oddly enough, Janet heard no immediate
response when she walked into the flower shop. She called Taylor’s name a
couple of times, and she finally got an answer. Walking into his office,
she was surprised to see him gathering a few if his small items and
putting them into a box that sat on his desk. Only looking up to say
hello, he concentrated on taking down his pictures. “Hey. You look happy,
so I’m assuming you and Jack got back together. Congrats.”
“Thanks
to you.” At his confused look, she continued. “He told me you talked to
him and straightened things out. So thank you. I don’t know what you said,
but it worked.”
“It’s like I’ve told you. I just want you to be
happy, Lissa,” he said, using the nickname that her sister had bestowed
onto her when they were kids. No one except Taylor and Jenny knew, though,
and she wasn’t sure why she told him. Nevertheless, she liked it. “You’re
happy when you’re with him, and that’s all I care about. I knew it was
mainly my fault, anyways, so I wanted to fix it.”
“W…what are you
doing?” Janet asked, noticing for the first time that he was moving things
back and forth from tables to boxes. “That’s real dedication if you’re
taking that much work home with you.”
The
simple statement sent Janet’s perfect world tumbling, and she was certain
she would have fallen if the table weren’t beside her. “W-what? Why? Why
are you leaving us? I thought you liked it here.” Her voice fell to a
whisper. “Why are you leaving me?”
Taylor smiled sardonically.
“This is such a breakup cliché, but it’s not you, it’s me. I’m not leaving
you, Janet. Well, I am, but…” His gaze seemed to penetrate her very soul.
“I do. I like it here. California’s so warm and pretty, I could stay here
forever. As a matter of fact, I love it here. But I also fell in love with
you. Not part of my job description. I asked my grandfather to transfer me
somewhere else. New York’s nice, isn’t it? The city that never sleeps. I
better buy some coffee on the way up.”
It was supposed to be a
joke, but she didn’t laugh. He didn’t expect her to. Janet reached out to
take his hand, still not quite sure of what to say. Finally, she heard
herself speaking. “Taylor, I think you and I have got to have a little
talk.”
He sighed. “Hon, this isn’t about the
work; it’s about you. I love you. I’m your friend and I love you more than
a friend should. And as your friend, it’s my job to make you happy, and I
can’t stand to see you sad because of me. I know that it was my fault that
you and Jack broke up. I kissed you that night, and I knew he saw us. I
took advantage of your vulnerability and asked you out on a date. And
kissed you again. The selfish part of me wanted you to fall in love with
me. I wanted you to be mine for eternity and no one else’s, but even after
the day you broke up I knew that wouldn’t happen. I knew you could trick
yourself into loving me, but that wouldn’t be good for either of us. I’d
always be vying to get that little piece of your heart to open, and I know
it never will for anyone but Jack. He loves you, kiddo. So much. You love
him the same way. It’s one of the sweetest things about you guys.”
“How did you know that Jack and I were back together? I mean, I
haven’t seen you since that night in the Beagle. Neither has he. I know,”
she blushed slightly. “He hasn’t left my side since we got back together
last night. It took us fifteen minutes for me to get out of the car when
he dropped me off.”
“Okay, Janet, trying to be happy for you here.
Don’t push it.” She giggled, and he continued. “I came by yesterday to see
how you were and Terri mentioned you were out on the beach and Jack had
followed you within ten minutes. I put two and two together. And, I saw
you two this morning.”
“Taylor…please stay. Please. We need you
here. I need you here. I need a guy friend.”
“You know it’s not.” Janet smiled…a real smile.
“You have become one of my best friends, Taylor Lambert, and I can
honestly say I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’ll stay.
Heck, I’ll do anything to see that smile everyday. And if you promise to
keep coming to me like you always have, I’ll do my best to try and resist
the overwhelming urges to kiss you. I need us to be that great team that
keeps this shop running.”
Janet kissed him on the cheek softly.
You’ve got yourself a deal, buster. And thanks. Thanks for
everything.”