“I’m guessing your dorm room only has a twin,” he said smirking as he stood hauling her up off the bench and leading her out of the building. “You know, I had planned on taking you through the museum.”
She smiled up at him as they entered the cold afternoon air. “I’m going to assume there will be time for that later.”
“Not if I can help it,” he said with a wink as he laced his fingers with hers. They trotted down the stairs together. He hailed a cab that drove them across town away from Central Park, Washington Square, and Park Avenue, to a rundown building with dilapidated paneling and a slew of broken windows. Lexi cringed at the sight, unfamiliar with the more unpleasant side of town. She followed him up four flights of stairs and stood before a door with three layers of off-white paint chipping from the frame.
He flashed an apologetic smile before entering the apartment. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief at the interior. Despite the disgusting outwards appearance, the inside was clean and well furnished even if nothing in the apartment seemed to match. “Sorry about this. I was staying with some family friends for awhile, but they ended up having their parents move back in with them so they could keep a better eye on their health conditions. That put me out of a place to stay, and I ended up here with this girl I met at my last job. I’m not sure if she’s around,” he said looking around the apartment warily.
“How many jobs have you had?” she asked curiously.
He squirmed under her question. “A few more than I would have liked.”
“Oh,” she stated unsure of what to say. “What are you doing now?”
“Uh…I’m a waiter, but I feel more like I’m in between jobs. I was working at this amazing job off Wall Street,” he told her his eyes glossing over with pride, “but they had to let a whole bunch of people go because of the economy. I moved up here for the job, and then it was taken out from under me. I’ve been talking to a lot of companies though. It’ll pick up.”
Lexi empathized with his pain. She had heard of so many people losing their jobs due to the economy. She was avoiding the real world as long as she possibly could and hoping everything would turn around by the time she was out of law school. Lexi reached out and touched his arm bringing him out of his bad mood.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he apologized guiding her towards a door. “This is where Stella is letting me crash until I can get on my feet again.”
He pushed open the door and revealed a room just large enough to fit a double bed, dresser, and TV. Not that he needed much else at the moment. He closed the door behind them as Lexi climbed onto the bed. She snuggled into the green comforter surprised at how comfy the mattress was. Jack crawled onto the bed after her, tucking his arm underneath her shoulders, and pulling her into him.
She let his kisses travel down her face, to her neck, and across her collarbone. It was a different feeling than she was accustomed to with Jack. He wasn’t in a hurry with her. It had been a long time since they had been together, and he wanted to savor every inch of her body. He paused at the base of her throat running his hands across the smooth skin left exposed by her sweater.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he said pressing his lips to her skin, “but this is the palest I’ve ever seen you.”
She laughed deep into her diaphragm. “There’s not as much sun here.”
Jack straddled her legs and reached for the purple sweater that was covering her pale form. He slid his hands up under the material dragging the flimsy tank top with it over her head. Trailing from her bellybutton across her ribs, up between her breasts, and then back to the hollow of her throat, he hummed softly, “Pale, pale, pale. Do, do, do.” Lexi couldn’t keep from giggling at his adorableness.
One hand snaked under her body and unsnapped the sheer lace bra she was wearing. He tossed it to the ground and yanked his own shirt over his head in one fluid motion. Lowering himself back down to her body, he made work with her breasts until she was squirming under him. The rest of their clothes followed and each took their time exploring and reacquainting themselves with each other’s body. She could tell he was getting close to going over the edge as she gripped him in her hands and used her mouth to pleasure him further. He shuddered and seized her shoulders pulling her on top of him. She gasped surprised by his forcefulness.
“You don’t want me to finish?” she asked wiggling her hips teasingly.
He smirked. “Yeah, I do,” he said as he pushed her hips down sliding inside of her. She groaned at his touch. Jack let loose a low moan at the feel of her encircling him. Lexi squeezed her muscles and felt him quiver underneath her. She leaned forward resting her hands on the bed and gave him a loving kiss before he started moving slowly inside of her. They both enjoyed alternating between who took control of the situation, the speed, and tempo that the other employed. As they both were getting close, Jack shoved her upwards and off of him. Without even giving it a seconds thought, he flipped her over grasping her hips in his hands and started where they left off doggie-style. They finished together, both spent from the physical and emotional rollercoaster from that day.
After cleaning up, Lexi fell back into Jack’s arms letting him hold her tight. He fanned out her hair letting it run loose between his fingers. “Better than the museum?” she asked playfully.
“Much better,” he said leaning down and kissing her on her temple. “Everything is better when I’m with you.”
She sighed heavily unable to believe that after everything they had been through and all the heartache and tears she had endured, she was finally getting the chance she deserved with Jack. So maybe they weren’t officially a couple, but at least they were something. She could deal with whatever came next as long as he was around. That would be good enough for her…for now. Then they could go past this, and work towards a real future together.
But right now, she was ready for round two.
CHAPTER 19
PRESENT
Lexi bounded into Jack’s room and quickly stripped off the band t-shirt he had loaned her. She looked longingly at the cracked bathroom door where steam was currently streaming from. She took one step forward, her heart racing with desire knowing that Jack was naked on the other side. She cautiously approached the bathroom door and peered into the room. Lexi could just make out Jack’s figure through the glass.
She had been so determined to barge in there even though she had just kept them from making the same mistake. She leaned her head against the doorframe and shut her eyes attempting to reason with herself.
Yes, Jack was naked in the next room.
Yes, he probably looked freaking amazing as the water ran down his body.
Yes, she wanted him.
All of these things were obvious to her, but she needed to keep a lid on her emotions. Just because she wanted Jack didn’t mean that she should have him. He was taken. Though she had never respected that in the past, she liked to think that she was a different person now.
As she was about to walk away, she heard soft humming over the drum of the water hitting the glass. The humming turned into a melody and eventually, Lexi could put the pieces together and make out the lyrics to Mae’s song The Ocean. She left her eyes shut tight allowing the lyrics to flow over her. She could have stood there indefinitely just listening to him sing so clearly over the water. His voice was mesmerizingly smooth and took her back to times when things had been easier. Or at least, she had thought they had been easier. In fact, they had been the calm before the storm.
She knew that if she rushed into that bathroom right now, it would be exactly the same. Jack would have all the control. It was hard enough turning him down twice in a twelve hour period. She wasn’t sure she was capable of doing it a third time.