Jack & Diane

by Hampton, Lena

  “Unless you have other plans, I’d really enjoy your company,” Diane offered politely.

  “My only plan was to catch a nap while watching football.”

  “I’ve been watching Christmas themed romantic comedies all day waiting for the Bears game to come on.”

  “There are enough Christmas themed chick flicks to fill a day?”

  “There’s enough for more than a day. Someday I’ll torture you and make you watch them with me.” She bit her lip as if to trap the words she’d already said. He liked that she was thinking of them in the future even if she didn’t intend to share it. Her playful tone was also comforting.

  “If I’m with you I don’t see how it could be torture.”

  “Let me go change into something more appropriate for company.”

  He allowed himself to look at her body once again. “I think you’re dressed plenty appropriate.”

  “You don’t think this is a kind of revealing?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “What it’s revealing is mighty nice.”

  Quickly she walked towards her bedroom. He was somewhat mesmerized by the sway of her bottom as she walked away. The shorts barely covered her perfect backside. He shook his head to rid it of its unseemly thoughts. He needed to play it cool before she ran off like a frightened doe.

  He was unpacking the food when she returned wearing a Chicago Bears sweatshirt over a pair of leggings and she’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She was just as cute as she was sexy, and smart as she was funny.

  She stopped in her tracks when she saw the feast filling every inch of the counter. “All of that is for me? That’s a lot of food.”

  “I didn’t know what you liked so I brought a little of everything. It’s Thanksgiving, you’re supposed to indulge.”

  “The scale says I’ve indulged enough and need to slow down.”

  “The scale is a liar. You look perfect.”

  “There’s a pie and a cake here!”

  “My mom insisted I bring you both. She wanted you to experience the full range of her culinary skills.”

  “That was awfully nice of her. Wait, you told them about me?”

  “Yep.”

  She waited for him to elaborate but he did not. “What did you tell them about me?”

  “Stuff.” Again he did not elaborate.

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Just Stuff.”

  “Why are you being so evasive?”

  “’Cause you’re awfully cute when you’re flustered, Nancy Grace.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him playfully at the nickname he gave her. “Are you going to help me eat this?”

  “I doubt you’d be able to stop me. The only thing I love more than my momma’s cooking is my momma.”

  They sat on the couch eating and watching football. She was surprised at how good all the food was. She had only had chips and pop so far that day so she had quite an appetite. They both reached for the last piece of turkey at the same time. She hit his fork away with hers. He just smiled and watched her eat it.

  “What kind of pie is that?”

  “Sweet potato.”

  “Not pumpkin?”

  “She tried to get me to bring one of her legendary pumpkin cheesecakes too.”

  “That sounds delicious. You’re being selfish. I feel you were holding out on me by not bringing it. ”

  “I was. Plus, I need some leverage to get you to go on a third date with me.”

  “Third date? You’ve skipped from zero to three. You can’t count.”

  “You don’t know the definition of the word date.”

  “Just for that, I’m not sharing the pie or cake with you,” she said with false indignity.

  “I’ll be sure to tell momma how selfish you are.”

  “I’m sure you will since you apparently tell her everything.”

  She cut a huge wedge of cake and brought the whole pie and a fork back to the couch. She sat the slice of cake on the table and dug into the pie. She moaned with the first bite.

  “Thish is sho good,” she said with a mouth full of pie.

  “I’m glad to see you like to eat. I don’t date girls that don’t like to eat.”

  “We’re dating?”

  “So are you really not going to share?”

  “We’re dating?” she repeated

  “Yep, we’re dating Nancy Grace. Last night was our first date and I’m going to go ahead and count this as our second.” He said going to the kitchen and returning with a fork of his own and a slightly larger chunk of German chocolate cake that he sat next to hers.

  He moved towards the pie with his fork but once again met opposition from her fork. He hit her fork away with his, but she retaliated before he could get a bite of pie. She was quite skillful using her fork as a sword.

  ♥♥♥

  To get comfortable he took off his sweater. As he did so his t-shirt came up a little too, momentarily revealing rippling abs. It was now her turn to ogle him. The t-shirt lay contoured over his pecks and stretched around his biceps. She’d seen something similar before in a museum in Italy, but Michelangelo’s David wasn’t quite this perfect. He caught her looking and just smiled that cocky little smile that showed his dimple under his facial stubble.

  As they sat next to each other his scent wrapped around her. The faint smell of outdoor mixed with his cologne was very masculine and appealed to Diane on a very basic level. The little things about this man were starting to add up to her being attracted to him big time and it bewildered her. She slid away from him so that his pheromones, or whatever, were out of range. She was simultaneously enjoying her body’s reaction to him while reprimanding herself for being attracted to him so soon after meeting him.

  They sat quietly watching football and binged on delicious cake and pie for a while. Every now and again she would get really excited about a play and jump up to either cheer or jeer at the screen.

  “You really get into football.”

  “My father worked really hard through the week when I was little. Saturday was his day to do yard work or odd things around the house. The best way to spend time with him was on Sunday when he was watching football. My father, brother and I would come home from church, and plant ourselves in front of the TV for the next few hours. He’d even let us stay up late to watch Monday Night Football if the Bears were playing.”

  “I like dating a girl that likes football.”

  “Once again, what’s this about us dating? We are not dating.”

  “I didn’t say we were. I just said that’s a quality I like in a girl I date. But we are dating.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. Eventually all the food she’d eaten caught up to her and she became drowsy. Her foggy brain did not tell her to stop when she laid her head on his chest. She cuddled into his warmth and fell asleep to the rhythm of his heart beating under her ear. He pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head, but he did not doze off because he wanted to enjoy the feel of her soft warmth nestled against him.

  Slowly she woke to an unfamiliar feeling. Her pillow felt harder than usual. Finally, her drowsy brain reminded her she was on her couch with Jack. Hesitantly she opened her eyes confirming her suspicion that she was not laying on a pillow but on Jack’s chest. Even more alarming was that in her sleep her hand had found its way under his t-shirt to rest on the bare skin of his well toned stomach. She yanked her hand from under his shirt and sat up, moving away from him. Of course when she looked at him, he was just smiling that smile at her.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” she said flustered.

  “No need to be sorry, you were comfortable. I liked it. I like when a girl I’m dating falls asleep on me.” Before she could say anything he said, “I know. I know. You don’t think we’re dating.”

  Diane hoped that his stomach was the only thing she touched. The fractions of her dream that she could remember had her investigating if his thighs were as muscular as they appeared.
She had been engaged to Dr. Insincere and he had never made her feel more than lukewarm. She’d known Jack for a little over twenty-four hours and he already had her hot enough to melt steel. Somewhere deep down inside she felt like less than a woman because of Dr. Insincere’s probable perpetual infidelity. Jack made her feel like the most desirable of women and everything he did reminded her how much of a man he was.

  Despite the reasons why she was reacting so strongly to Jack, she was going to have to nip it in the bud or at least apply the brakes. He had her so confused she was mixing metaphors. She needed to concentrate on school and her career, not deep voiced smiles. She scooted further away on the couch. Once her car was fixed and returned to her, she would have no contact with him. Of course she would pay for the repairs. Well, her dad would pay for the repairs, but after that she’d forget he existed. A voice in her mind was laughing.

  ♥♥♥

  social network:

  Diane Clark status update: I’m thankful for great food, good football and a new friend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  Diane Clark notification: Jack Sloan has sent you a friend request.

  Jack Sloan: Today, I’m most thankful for having my momma’s great food to share with a new friend.

  Chapter 4

  Jack woke up later than usual on Friday. For the first time in a while he’d slept soundly through the night. He did not remember exactly what he had dreamt about, but he did remember who they were about. Dreaming of Diane left little room in his mind for the usual stress of his Dad’s health. Quickly he got cleaned and dressed to go downstairs and start his day.

  He walked into the kitchen to find his Mother cleaning breakfast dishes. He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Good morning sweetheart. There’s a plate keeping warm for you in the oven. Did you sleep well?” his mother asked.

  “I sure did Momma,” he said eating a piece of perfectly crisped bacon.

  “Does it have anything to do with that Diane you took food to yesterday,” his mother asked. He just smiled. “Did she like the food?”

  Jack smiled. “You know she loved it. I had to force her to share.”

  “So, she’s no salad eater?”

  “No. She has a sweet tooth.” A huge smile broke out across his face thinking of her savoring the bites of pie.

  “Don’t fall for her too fast,” she said looking at her son with concern.

  “I didn’t say I was falling for her.”

  “You didn’t, but your smile did. You’ve practically picked out the ring and the names of the first three kids. I just want you thinking through everything.”

  “Momma, do you have a problem with Diane being African-American?”

  “Heck no child, I just hope you’re not falling in love with just a pretty face and a nice body again.”

  “Momma, I don’t tend to make the same mistake twice.”

  “If you say so Jack, I just don’t want you to be hurt. Take things slow.”

  “I’m late getting to work. I don’t want Dad to overexert himself.”

  “Uh-huh ,” she said to his back.

  ♥♥♥

  Friday seemed to take as long to pass as Thursday night did for Diane. And Thursday night took forever with the restless sleep and dreams fueled by memories of earthy masculine scents and steel hard abs. She was certain that Jack would at least call. It wasn’t so much that she was certain. It was more like she was hopeful that he would call. Her intention was to not answer if he did, but she wanted him to call. She wanted to know that his night was as restless as hers. Seven times she’d picked up the phone to call him under the guise of getting an update on her car. Seven times she showed restraint. She knew he’d see through the guise and figure out that she’d been thinking about him. She did not want him to know she’d been thinking of him because she did not want to be thinking of him.

  She rationalized that the only reason she was thinking so much about him was because there wasn’t anything else to do. She was stuck in her apartment with no transportation. Even if she had her car, where would she go? Everyone was out of town enjoying time with their families. After finding out she had made it home safely, her mother had informed her to call if there was an emergency or she’d come to her senses and was once again engaged to Dr. Insincere. That was no idle statement from her mother, it was a dictate. She knew her mother didn’t want her to call for chit chat and end the call abruptly.

  Dr. Insincere had not bothered to call either. He’d sent plenty of texts, which she read with the humor she assumed they were sent. ‘You’re the only woman I love’ coming from him surely that was a joke, right? The joke was Diane acting like she wanted that phone to ring with anybody other than Jack.

  She was frustrated with herself for hoping he would call. When she was with him she felt…she just felt. Inside there was no longer the feeling of being cold and isolated, instead she felt like giggles, and confetti, and bubbles. Her grandmother would say she was smitten. Her grandmother would have been right. She was smitten with a guy that she’d just met and seemed so very wrong for her. If he was so wrong, why did he feel so right?

  Maybe that was just it. Maybe it wasn’t that he was wrong for her, but that he felt so right so soon. When she was with him she felt like a totally different person than normal, but seemed so very much like her true self. She did not feel the need to try and be perfect, instead he made her feel like she was absolutely perfect as she was. Dr. Insincere would have been appalled by the getup she had on yesterday. Jack seemed turned on and did not notice (or maybe even liked) the extra pounds Dr. Insincere had insisted she loose before the wedding.

  Was Jack really so good or was her former fiance just that bad? The possible answer was all of the above. It was also possible that she was falling hard and fast for Jack and the landing may not be soft. Diane did what she did best when frustrated, she ran from her problems and into her books. She studied away the rest of her Friday and dreamt of Jack all night.

  Saturday morning she tried lounging around watching movies, but her thoughts once again kept going to Jack. Just when she was about to give up on watching tv and call him, her phone buzzed with a new message.

  From Jack: Are you hungry?

  From Diane: Starved.

  From Jack: Good, I’m almost to your place with food.

  From Diane: Ok, but please don’t text and drive.

  Seconds later, instead of her phone buzzing with a response, there was a knock at her door. She looked through the peephole and saw Jack standing there looking more handsome than she remembered. She ran to the bathroom to do a quick check in the mirror. Though she wanted to change out of the old t-shirt and sweats she was in, she didn’t want to make him wait.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t text and drive.”

  “That was quick,” she said as she opened the door.

  “I figured you’re too nice to send me away if I was already here. I brought this just in case.” He said raising the bag in his hand. “I figured I could bribe you with more of my momma’s food.”

  She would have let him in if he brought nothing more than a half a stick of beef jerky and a chip bag with just the crumbs. It was his company she was hungry for.

  “Bribe accepted. Come on in.”

  He took a step inside just enough for the door to close from the warming, but still cold weather. “I just wanted to bring you this. I knew you didn’t have transportation still and thought you’d enjoy this more than pizza or Chinese.”

  “Are you always this thoughtful?”

  “Yes. I really wanted to see you again too and I didn’t have the excuse of your car being fixed yet.” He was disappointed that she wasn’t wearing shorts again, but she still looked cute.

  “Ulterior motives aside, thank you for thinking of me.”

  “I can’t seem to do anything else,” he said honestly. “Diane, I like you a lot.”

  “You barely…”

  He put two fingers to her lips. The heat his touch generat
ed left her speechless. “Shhh, don’t talk. Just listen. Don’t overthink this. Ok?” She shook her head. He looked into her eyes and smiled, nodding until she conceded.

  “I know we just met, but there’s something about you,” he said looking deep into her eyes. “I just want a chance to figure out what it is. Can you give me that chance?”

  She nodded her head but said, “I… It’s too soon. I was engaged two days ago.”

  “I’m not asking you to marry me. Just give us a chance to get to know each other.”

  He was standing close enough that she could feel his heat. His clean masculine scent was causing interference in her brain making it a struggle to think of anything but giving in to whatever he wanted. His eyes had her transfixed so she looked down at her hands that were interlaced to keep from touching him.

  “It’s too soon Jack. The timing is just not right.”

  “Maybe it’s not your timing, but God’s timing.”

  Her gaze snapped back up to him. He looked serious, which made her smile. “You think God is planning this.”

  Her smile made his eyes sparkle. “Maybe I do.”

  “I think the devil has more to do with some of these feelings than God does.” She thought back to how his skin felt beneath her hand and the sensations it caused in her.

  “You’re right. The devil’s telling you to run away.”

  “So it was God that had my hand touching you in not so appropriate ways? Is He responsible for the wholly unholy thoughts I’ve been having about you?”

  “Tell me more about these unholy thoughts about me.”

  “Jack, focus please.”

  “I am focusing on the important stuff,” he said with a wink flashing that dimple that was becoming her Kryptonite.

  “Jack. I am really confused right now. Calling off an engagement to one guy and having uncontrollable, somewhat irrational, and very foreign feelings for another man that I just met have me not knowing up from down. I just need some time to think.”

  “Okay, that’s reasonable. Let me give you something to think about.”

  He stepped closer. He cupped her soft smooth cheeks in his hard work roughened hands. He looked into her eyes for any sign of resistance, but only saw anticipation and desire. She inhaled deeply just before his lips touched hers. Her lips were soft and warm. He could taste her berry flavored gloss. Involuntarily her hands pressed against the solid warmth of his chest. A low, deep sound came from him at the feel of her hands. She could feel his heart beating faster than hers. Slow and tortuously her hands moved up his chest until her fingers tangled in the curls at his neck.