Page 11 of Fifty First Times (Sharing You 0.40)
I turned and left before Jack could ask me any questions. I didn’t even know I felt that way about him until he started spilling his secrets, things I was nearly positive he hadn’t said out loud to anyone else.
Later that night, I’d been in the kitchen slicing tomatoes from the garden for my mother when Dad opened the front door to let Jack in. One step inside our kitchen and I knew his scent from earlier had etched itself inside my memory. Despite the fact that he was no longer sweaty. He’d showered and put on a button-down shirt and khaki pants. He looked so handsome and vulnerable. But with my parents around the dinner table, my confidence from earlier had wavered and I couldn’t speak a word to anyone without my face flaming. After only a few minutes, I went completely silent and stayed that way for the entire meal.
Eventually, my mom forced me into the conversation by saying, “Audrey, you should show Jack your telescope.”
I nearly dropped my plate to the floor on my way to the sink. She wanted me to take a strange man into my bedroom? Was she that desperate to get her daughter to talk to a member of the opposite sex?
“I don’t think—” I started to say in protest,
but she waved her arms and shushed me.
“Go on, show him. You heard the boy. He’s never seen the stars away from the city.”
Had that been part of the conversation tonight? I must have missed it.
Not only did Jack and I make an awkward shuffle toward the stairs leading to my bedroom, but in addition, my parents decided that they really needed to abandon the dinner dishes and head immediately to the evening Bible study session because it was quite possible the leader didn’t have a key and would be locked out.
As we trudged up the steps, I heard Jack laugh softly the moment my parents had exited out the front door. “It’s Wednesday,” he said. “Bible study is on Tuesday and Friday.”
“I know.” I shook my head, feeling my face flame again. “I’m sorry for them. They probably just want to make sure that I can competently talk to strangers.”
He laughed again, but didn’t comment further on the subject. I opened the door to my very purple and white bedroom, and let Jack walk through before me. He spotted the telescope right away and headed over to the window. He repositioned it and took his time gazing while I stood in silence behind him.
Finally, he held the telescope in place and turned around to face me. “This star is particularly interesting, take a look.”
I stepped in front of him and leaned down to see. The second I got a glimpse of what he’d been viewing, not only did my face heat up, but my heart started pounding. The telescope was angled at his apartment windows across the field. My mouth went dry and I couldn’t imagine looking him in the eye ever again.
“Funny how it was positioned here before I touched it,” he whispered, stepping closer.
I held my breath, my heart racing even faster as his front brushed against my back. I squeezed my eyes shut. “It’s not what you think . . .”
“What I think?” His nose grazed the side of my cheek. “I think you notice things, Audrey. Just like me.”
I released the air from my lungs, my shoulders relaxing a little in the process. But that only lasted a second, then Jack shifted my hair to one side, his lips touching my neck. Warmth and goose bumps spread all over me. I closed my eyes again and leaned back into him.
“Thank you,” he said, his breath hitting my skin. “For listening earlier. I needed to tell someone even if I’m not supposed to.”
His hands landed on my shoulders and then slid down my arms. I reached up and touched his cheek. “I won’t tell anyone, Jack. I’m not like that.”
“I know.” He turned me around slowly until our eyes locked. “The first time I sat in your father’s church, I prayed for someone to listen to me, to hear and not judge or try to piece things together. I don’t even know if I believe in God, but I prayed for something and I got it. What does that mean?”
His eyes were clear, but I could hear the tears bubbling in his voice, and that was enough to cause tears to prickle at the corners of my own eyes. I shook my head. “I don’t know what it means.”
He took a breath and gently laid his hands on my face, then leaned down to kiss me. I almost felt guilty for the blissful sigh that escaped my lips because the conversation had been so somber. But I think the positive charge fueled Jack to draw me closer and part my lips, his tongue sliding carefully inside my mouth, his strong arms holding me against him.
We stood in my room like that, kissing for I don’t know how long, but eventually Jack pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “I doubt your parents anticipated more than talking when they left us alone.”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Probably not.”
“I don’t want to lose their respect,” he said, more to himself than to me, it seemed. He released me and stepped back, holding out his hand for me to grab. “I’d like to take you out tomorrow night. If that’s all right with you?”
My fingers landed in his palm. “I’d like that very much.”
I REACH UP and loosen Jack’s tie. He’s smiling and it makes my heart grow bigger. “So tell me, Audrey, how good is the view from your telescope?” he says, knowing the mention of my own spying methods will make me blush.
I tug his tie all the way off and loosen his top button. “Not very good. Unless you’re standing on the landing outside.”
Comprehension fills his face. His closes his eyes and brushes a kiss across my lips. When Jack first moved in, for weeks he’d go on these long runs with nothing but running shoes and gym shorts. Probably ten or twelve miles. Then he’d return to his apartment and stand on the landing in the hot sun, a step away from his front door, not going inside for water or to cool off, like it was a form of punishment.
