Kennedy leaned her head around the seat and gave me a funny look. Maybe it was because I had a weird laugh, because honestly I did.
“Sorry.” I said, covering my mouth.
She busted out laughing, and shook her head. “We’ve heard that a time or two. Right Jack.”
Jackson smiled back at me. “Tucker is sort of the black sheep.” He admitted. “His name is fitting.”
We pulled into a long driveway that led to a two-story home that could only be described as mansion like. It was huge. I’d seen homes like this before, but never knew the people that lived inside. It was almost dark out, but with the fancy lighting outside I could plainly see the place and just how beautiful it was.
I was still gawking out the window when Kennedy tapped on it from outside. “Nice place.” I said as I opened the door.
“Thanks. You can get up front now.”
I closed my door and grabbed her door that she was standing next too it.
“I won’t be at work for the next couple of days, so I guess I’ll see you Sunday.” She said.
“Okay. Have a good weekend.”
“You too,” she winked before walking away.
“You getting in.” Jackson called out.
I moved swiftly inside and shut the door. I still could not take my eyes off of their house. I swear my head was glued to the window. The second story had a huge balcony that overlooked the front yard. It had a really pretty white railing on it that looked like it was carved in some intricate design, and I wondered what it would look like up close.
I heard Jackson chuckle from the seat next to me.
“I’ll take you in for a tour next time.” He said.
I looked over his face and then back to the house. Next time, I wondered. “Okay,” was my only response as we backed out to leave?
The drive was quiet as we made our way back through town and past the library.
“It’s only about two more blocks from here.”
“Okay,” he replied.
We passed through the last stop sign and I pointed to Aunt Darcy’s place. “Just there.”
He pulled his car up to the curb and parked directly behind Aunt Darcy.
The quietness between us was a bit unnerving. It didn’t calm my already upset stomach. It made it worse. He followed me up the broken pathway and onto the porch. I used my key to open the door, and walked us inside.
“This is nice.” He said.
“Thanks.” I said. “We can study in the kitchen.”
“Sounds good.” He followed me there.
“Aunt Darcy,” I called out.
“Coming dear.” She yelled from the back room.
Jackson stood stoic in the doorway of the kitchen, never saying a word. He seemed much more relaxed then me.
“You can sit your stuff down over on the table. Would you like something to drink?”
“Water would be good.”
“Sure.” I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge.
“Hey guys,” Darcy said as she walked into the kitchen. She pulled me into a brief hug, which still felt awkward to me. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to it.
“This is Jackson.” I introduced him as he walked from around the table and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you Jackson. I’m Darcy, Grace’s aunt.” She smiled and took his hand.
“Nice to meet you.” He replied.
“I’ll let you guys study. I’m going to be doing some laundry, so if it gets too noisy then you all can study in your room.” She glanced up at me.
“Ooookay.” I said not meaning to sound like an idiot.
She gave me a big, goofy grin. “Nice to meet you Jackson. Hopefully I’ll see you again some time.” She called out over her shoulder as she walked back down the hall.
“You too.” He said back to her.
“Sorry about that.” I said.
“She seems nice.”
“She really is.”
“So where is the rest of your family? I mean your mom and dad.” He questioned as we took our seats at the table.
“My mom, dad, and brother all live in Oklahoma.”
He eyebrows peeked with curiosity. “So what made you want to move here?”
“It’s really complicated. I just needed to get away.”
He obviously sensed my unease. “Sorry.” He said solemnly.
I shook my head and brushed it off, because he would’ve had no idea the complications that my past held. He was just striking up conversation.
We spent the next hour and a half talking about Jane Eyre and it had taken me that long to break down the story. We hadn’t even touched on really writing the paper yet. It was going to be a long night.
“It sounds like a really sad story.” He said, catching me off guard.
I felt myself being sucked in by his words. His curiosity. He had really been listening as I was rambling on and on about the book, and there was such sadness behind his eyes. I barely knew this guy, but one thing I did know was that I’d never seen this kind of emotion from him before, or any emotion for that matter. He seemed like the type that wouldn’t let down his guard, so strong and outspoken. He had never been this real with me.
I liked it.
It made him appear not to be so masculine.
His smile stretched wide across his face when he caught me really staring at him. It embarrassed me a little, but I shook it off.
“It is sad.” I responded. “But it’s also classic love at its best.”
I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms wide over my head. We’d been sitting there for a long time and muscles had grown stiff.
“Do you want to take a break?” He asked.
“Yes,” I said too quickly, causing him to laugh.
We stood up from our chairs and walked back to the patio. It was my favorite place. His hand gently brushed the small of my back as we maneuvered around the patio furniture. My body tightened, because I wasn’t expecting the small gesture. I hoped he didn’t notice my frigidness.
I found myself watching him as his arms stretched high above his head. His shirt slowly rose up and I could see the tanned, tight skin underneath.
“Like what you see?” He asked.
“Uh,” I choked and looked anywhere but at him.
“I’m teasing you.” His hand caught my elbow and I looked back at him.
“Right.” I said. Teasing me.
My face was probably lit up red, but I tried to hide it. There were so many emotions going on in my head, and all of them led back to this one guy. I stared ahead and didn’t say anything more. I just wanted to get this night over with and mark it down as a mission accomplished. Well, sort of. I laughed out loud at my thoughts, and hoped that he wouldn’t read too much into it. He seemed to analyze my every move, and it was intense at times. So much so, that it would leave me flustered and withdrawn. I was acutely unaware of the emotions he brought out in me, and scared to say the least.
10
Jackson
“Do you always wear skirts like that?” I asked pointing at the yellow and white skirt that flowed around her ankles.
“Yeah.”
“Never pants, or jeans,” I eyed her curiously.
“No.”
“Why?” My tone sounded a bit more clipped than I expected. I wasn’t trying to push. I was just curious.
“It’s just the way I was raised. I don’t know. No one has ever asked me before.” She said.
“Do you want to wear something different?” I asked.
She let out a soft laugh, and I loved it. I loved hearing her laugh. It was so hearty and deep, so much different than you would expect from looking at her.
“No I don’t. I like how I look and what I wear. It doesn’t bother me, so I never care if it bothers anyone else. People have always looked at me differently. I don’t plan on changing myself just to please other people. I am what I am.”
“So you don’t care what anyone thinks of you.”
“Nope.” She smiled. “Come on. We better get back to work.”
“Yeah okay.”
She was so different. I’m not even sure different was the right word for her. She was bold in her own way. She wasn’t like any of the girls I’d ever been around before. Never had I ever heard a girl say that they didn’t care what other people thought of them. It was just weird, and it didn’t go unnoticed that she was so uptight around me either. She flinched every time I touched her, but for some reason I couldn’t stop touching her. I found every excuse to do it.