Jack & Diane

by Hampton, Lena

  “Then fix whatever this is so I won’t have to choose.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “Good, now come dance with your sister.”

  ♥♥♥

  social network:

  Diane Sloan’s relationship status is now married.

  Jack Sloan’s relationship status is now married.

  Chapter 16

  Diane and Jack sat in the truck after the wedding headed to a cabin he’d rented in Kentucky.

  “Are we there yet?”

  “No, darling.”

  “I wish we’d chosen some place closer.”

  He smiled. “I’m excited too, darling.”

  “I’m excited, but I’m so tired I don’t know if I’ll be able to act on that excitement. For the past couple of months I’ve been practically attacking you. I’m like some addict that can only think of when I’m going to get my next touch or kiss from you, but right now I just want a nap.”

  “You can have me as much as you want for the rest of your life, so if we just sleep tonight it’ll be okay. Or you can just take a nap now.”

  She yawned. “I want to keep you company while you drive.” A couple of miles down the road she fell asleep. He didn’t wake her until they reached the cabin that was isolated by thick tall trees and had a stream in the back. Diane went to the bathroom to change. Jack brought the bags in, unpacking some of the perishable foods, and started a fire.

  When he walked into the bedroom, he stopped in his tracks. Diane was lying on the bed with only a sheer camisole and matching panties on. Her breast were full and peeped out of the top. The darkness of her areola was visible through the transparent fabric. The white fabric enhanced her smooth rich brown skin. Her nervous smile made her even sexier.

  “Wow.”

  “Thank you.” she said smoothing out the fabric.

  He wished that was his hand. He walked over to her and kissed her lips. “I love you. Let me change and I’ll be right back.”

  “Let me help you.” She said kneeling on the bed in front of him on the bed. He stood with his hands by his side. She started by undoing his tie, then concentrated on each button with shaky hands. His shirt fell to the floor and she rubbed her hands down his t-shirt clad chest until it reached the hem then she put her hands against his bare chest leaving her thumb hooked on the outside. Her hands inched their way up his muscled abdomen pulling his t-shirt up along the way. He snatched the t-shirt the rest of the way off and threw it to the floor, but it didn’t speed up her hands leisure caress. Her fingers traced the trail of hair on his stomach moving closer to the waistband of his pants.

  As her hands reached his belt he put his hands on her waist and pulled her in.

  “Do you know what you’re doing to me?” She raised her eyebrow with a coy smile on her face. The passionate look in her eyes drove him to cover her mouth with his. He held her closer and she threaded her hands into his hair. His hands caressed down her back, when his hands reached her round bottom he realized that she was wearing a thong. His large hands molded to its warm flesh. For months, he had fantasized about holding her like this and touching her everywhere and not having to control himself and stop. Tonight he wouldn’t have to.

  ♥♥♥

  Late the next morning sunlight streamed through the window onto the bed. The sheets were tangled around their bodies. Diane’s head lay on his bare chest with a leg draped over one of Jack’s. His arm was wrapped around her. The bright sun on her face prompted Diane to open her eyes. Lazily she began to run her fingers over his chest as she thought about how incredible it was to make love to her husband.

  Jack laced his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “Darlin’, I need a little more time to rebuild my energy after last night.”

  “One energy building breakfast coming up.” She picked his shirt up off the floor and slipped it on.

  Diane’s bare feet walked across the wooden floor of the cabin’s living room towards the kitchen. The floor was somewhat cold because the fire had gone out hours ago. She hummed as she opened the refrigerator and rummaged through bags, collecting the ingredients for pancakes and eggs. The aroma of fresh pancakes beckoned Jack into the kitchen. He stood in the entrance to the room wearing only navy boxers. His eyes were navigating her body. She turned to him and smiled. Her lips were soft and full and needed to be kissed.

  His eyes revealed just how much he wanted her, but more importantly they showed how much he loved her. His boxers confined his desire, but that did not make it any less obvious. Looking at her thighs prompted him to move forward. He began by kissing her on the spot on the side of her neck that always elicited a moan.

  “I thought you needed to rest and get your energy up.”

  “Seeing my beautiful wife standing in my shirt, cooking breakfast gave me energy.”

  “Since I’ve cooked, you will eat!”

  “Will you feed me? In bed?”

  “You can eat off of me if you want.”

  “Oh I want.”

  ♥♥♥

  As their honeymoon week was coming to an end, they managed to leave the cabin and enjoy the landscape and some shopping. One of their stops was in a bookstore. She found a book that interested her and pulled out her e-reader to purchase it while they stood in line at the store’s café.

  “Hi, what can I get for you?” the barista asked.

  “I’ll have a large black coffee,” Jack said.

  “A large house blend,” the barista rephrased as he pushed keys on the register. “That will be $2.50.”

  Jack reigned in his irritation at the barista’s rudeness for not taking Diane’s order . He turned to Diane and said, “Darling, what do you want?”

  She looked up from the e-reader. “A venti chai,” she said returning her attention to the device.

  “Sorry, I did not realize you two were together,” the barista apologized sincerely. “One large black coffee and one large chai. Is there anything else?” he asked glancing at the person behind them in line before returning his gaze to Jack’s perturbed eyes.

  “Yes, one of those carrot cake cupcakes and a slice of chocolate cheesecake,” Diane added.

  “First name?”

  “Jack.” He got his change.

  “Aren’t you going to get anything to eat?” Diane asked.

  Jack bent down with his mouth almost touching her ear. “You’re going to share your goodies with me,” he said softly with a wink.He kissed her cheek. He did not have to see her skin go flush with color to know she was blushing at the double entendre, it showed in her eyes. He took her hand into his as they found a seat.

  They sat across from each other at the small wrought iron bistro table sipping on overpriced beverages and enjoying the sweet treats she’d ordered. He was flipping through AR Rifleman while she was immersed in the beginning chapters of the latest Sue Grafton novel.

  “That didn’t bother you?” Jack asked.

  “What didn’t bother me?” she responded confused.

  “The cashier ignoring you.”

  “I didn’t think he ignored me.”

  “He didn’t acknowledge we were together.”

  “It’s an understandable enough mistake,” she said dismissing the thought with a flip of her hand.

  “It’s not understandable to assume we’re not together because we’re different races.”

  “I think it’s more you’re John Deere and I’m Prada, than the black and white thing. You’re all down home country charm and I’m city slicker. I think it’s pretty understandable to not assume we’re together.”

  “We’re too opposite to be together?”

  “Not at all. I’m just saying that at first glance, we may not look like a couple.” She reached across the table and put her hand on his. “We’re like two puzzle pieces, it’s our differences that make us fit together perfectly. ”

  He slid his hand up her arm, and drew small circles with his thumb in the fold of her elbow then slowly care
ssed his way back to her hand. “We do fit together perfectly. You want to go back to the cabin and prove how well we fit together?” She bit her lip in anticipation and nodded.

  They were a great fit, but how long would it be before his country ways ceased to be charming. He wondered if he could keep her happy enough that she wouldn’t regret living in his world. He had his doubts that he could, especially since he didn’t even know who or what Prada was. He hoped it wouldn’t matter and, like his parents, the honeymoon would never have to end.

  ♥♥♥

  Jack knew the honeymoon was over as soon as he saw Misti standing at the table with a smile on her face. Her joy was usually bad news for him. Diane was smiling at Misti but cut him a look that ripped out a part of his soul. He knew the smile was just for show. Diane would rather die than to let Misti know she’d gotten the better of her.

  “Misti, what are you doing here?” Jack said with more than a hint of aggressiveness in his voice.

  “I was just asking Diane here if she was helping you figure out the custody and child support for our baby,” she said venomously sweet.

  Jack moved his hand over his face to calm himself. “We don’t know that that’s my baby. And if it is that’s something you should discuss with me and not my wife.”

  Diane remained quiet as her face grew more and more expressionless. Jack feared what was going on in her mind.

  “I know you have your doubts about that night, but I don’t. Jack I know this is your baby.” She rubbed her stomach as she spoke to emphasize its swell. “Why can’t I talk to Diane about it? I want to get to know our baby’s stepmother better.”

  “Misti, you should go now,” Jack said seeing Diane’s hand tense and relax around the bottle neck.

  “But Jack, we’ve been dancing around this for months. Why not discuss it now. The baby will be here sooner than you know.”

  Diane stood calmly. “If she doesn’t want to leave, I do.”

  “Oh I get it,” Misti said with a look of triumph on her face. “You hadn’t told her about our baby yet?”

  Jack did not respond. He threw a few bills on the table to cover the tab and followed Diane who was already leaving out the door. She was waiting at the truck’s passenger side door when he walked out. He walked behind her to open the door and help her in as usual.

  “I don’t need any help,” she bit out.

  Jack waited to be sure she didn’t. The height of the truck usually gave her trouble getting in and out, but fueled by simmering anger she hopped in with ease. Jack went to his side and got in, briefly praying that this would all work out somehow and berating himself for not having told her sooner. He started the truck and began to drive silently. He wanted her to take the lead on this conversation so he could gauge the exact temperature of her anger.

  A few minutes into the drive she finally spoke. She stared directly out the window, not able to stomach looking at him and asked, “How far along is she?”

  “About seven months.” He knew she was doing mental calculations. “If I’m the father, it happened about a month before I met you.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “Since the bachelor party.”

  She let out a sound that was somewhere in between a gasp and a sob and let the tears that had been collecting in her eyes fall.

  “Di, I…”

  She shook a hand in his direction for him to stop. “Jack I don’t want to hear why you lied to me as you were confessing your love and honesty at our wedding.”

  “Di, I didn’t lie to you.”

  “You did Jack. You said you’d never keep a secret from me and this is a doozie of a secret.”

  “I wasn’t trying to keep this secret from you Di. I didn’t want to bring into our marriage something that I didn’t believe to be true. I have very little memory of the night that she claims we conceived. It was a Halloween party and just that morning we’d found out Dad was out of remission. I drank a little more than I should have and can only remember waking up the next morning in my bed.”

  “Then why not tell me that?”

  “Because I didn’t think you’d react well to it.”

  “When were you planning on telling me?”

  “When I had confirmed that it was mine.”

  “If the baby turned out to be yours were you just going to come home with a baby one day and say surprise it’s my turn for visitation? Or were you hoping the baby wasn’t yours so you’d just never have to tell me?”

  “It’s not just hope, I really don’t believe that baby is mine. I was drunk, but I could never be drunk enough to sleep with Misti.”

  “Whether or not the baby is yours isn’t the biggest issue, the fact that you kept the possibility from me is. You promised you wouldn’t keep things from me.”

  They were now parked in front of the house. He reached over to take her hand and she pulled away. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t fix things. We were so happy that I didn’t want anything to mess it up, especially unnecessarily.”

  She stared out the window. Her right hand played with the wedding rings on her left hand. “Perhaps I let my hormones make decisions instead of using rationality,” she said more to herself than to him. “Maybe we moved too fast into such a permanent situation.”

  Jack gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “Are you saying you wish we hadn’t gotten married? That this should have just been a fling but we took it too far.”

  “I didn’t say that Jack. Maybe we moved into this too quickly without thinking it all through.”

  “We or you? I know you thought you were the novelty and I’d move on once I got my fill, but now I see I should have been the one with that concern. You’ve had your fun with the white boy on the farm, but you’ve had enough and I’ve given you a way out that doesn’t make you lose face.”

  “How is this my fault? You kept Misti having your baby from me! What other secrets are you keeping?”

  “Diane, get off your high horse and stop acting like I’m the only one keeping secrets. You don’t think that I know you’ve applied to every law firm in Chicago? Or that your visit to see your brother was actually your interviews?”

  She looked at him for the first time since the restaurant. “What makes you think I’ve interviewed in Chicago?”

  “I don’t think it, I know it. I saw the e-mails with my own two eyes.”

  “How did you see that e-mail? Are you spying on me?”

  “A person without secrets can’t be spied on. I saw it the day you told me to review the application for organic certification. You must have forgotten your email was still open. I also saw you had an entire folder of applications and responses with only one being within a hundred miles of here.”

  “I applied to see if I could get hired. It was never my intention to accept any of those positions. I just wanted to see if I was good enough.”

  “Diane, don’t lie to me or yourself. This was about your friends moving on to these glamorous jobs and you regretting being stuck in the sticks with some hick.”

  “I’ve never said that.”

  “Not saying it and not feeling it are two different things. Diane, if you want to go, go, but don’t use Misti’s lies as your excuse. If I’m a mistake just say so.”

  Diane did not say anything. He had hoped for a blatant denial of her wanting to go, but did not get that. He looked at her face and only saw confusion. It was his turn to not be able to look at her.

  “It’s late and we’re tired. We should go to bed and discuss it after we’ve had time to think,” he said.

  She slept in the guest room she used to sleep in, leaving him alone in their room. Neither of them got much sleep. She was up early the next morning in the kitchen fixing coffee when he walked in fully dressed for the day ahead. He walked behind her wrapped his arms around her.

  “I missed you so much last night.” She remained stiff in his arms.

  “I think maybe I should go and spend time at my pa
rent’s and clear my mind. That’ll give time for the paternity of Misti’s baby to be determined.”

  He stepped back as though she’d just stabbed him.

  “It’ll be pretty difficult to work things out with you hundreds of miles away. Would this be a temporary living arrangement?”

  She looked down at her hands. “I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think you leaving is what’s best for our marriage. If you want to go, Diane, go. But I don’t know how welcomed back you’ll be.”

  “If I go to sort out my feelings it’s over?”

  “What feelings do you have to sort out Diane? Have I screwed up? Yes. Is it unforgivable? Not if you love me. You either love me and want to be with me or you don’t.”

  “There is more to it than that.”

  “One night of you two doors down instead of by my side and I knew which one I wanted. I knew I wanted to do whatever needed to be done to be with you.”

  “If you’re willing to do whatever then give me some time.”

  “If you don’t love me enough to know that you want me, absence isn’t going to make your heart grow fonder. Don’t kid me or yourself. If you go home you won’t be back.”

  “This is my home. If I come back will I be welcomed?”

  “If you’re going to go will you do me a favor and be gone before I return at the end of the day?” he left the house.

  ♥♥♥

  “I saw your bags in your car. I thought I asked you to be gone if you were going.”

  Diane had never seen Jack’s eyes so ice cold. “I didn’t want us to say goodbye like that.”

  “I don’t want us to say goodbye. We can’t always get what we want.”

  “Jack, I love you.”

  “Diane, don’t. Don’t give me hope. Please, just go.” He turned to her and she saw tears in his eyes. She walked towards him to comfort him but he turned and walked back out the house.

  ♥♥♥

  social network:

  Diane Sloan’s status: I’m confused, so very confused.

  Chapter 17

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Jack,” Diane said hopeful that this time he would talk to her and not just hang up. Sometimes Diane would call just to hear his voice say the two syllable greeting. She’d never meant for this to be the end of them, but things were more black and white for him. Her decision to take a break was viewed as her decision to leave him and he’d not spoken to her in those three months.