Chapter 28
The Fourteenth Friday
Iopened the door to my apartment almost too quickly. Jack was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show off his tattoos. Giddiness filled me to see him there, and I smiled, bouncing a bit on my feet before moving forward and kissing him.
Jack’s hand came up to cup my face as he kissed me back, our lips lingering.
“Sorry, that’s meant for the end of the date, isn’t it?” I laughed as I pulled back. “I guess I’m excited.”
“It was just right,” Jack said, letting his hand fall back to his side. “I’m glad to see you, too.”
After our weekend together—I hung out at the bar Saturday night just to be around him more, and we went record shopping on Sunday like usual—we hadn’t seen each other all week.
I got up early in the morning for my financial job, and Jack worked late nights at his bar.
It wasn’t unusual not to see each other until Friday.
We’d been doing that all along, but the past week had felt different.
Guilt twisted in my stomach as I turned to lock the door. It was Friday, but we weren’t headed to The Muse. “Are you sure tonight is okay?” I asked, the hand on my key in the deadbolt lock growing still. “I could have waited until you’re off on Sunday.”
Jack moved closer, his arm wrapping around my waist from behind. “I couldn’t. Fridays feel like our nights.”
A shiver ran through me as I leaned back against him. He wasn’t wrong. Despite how it had started, Fridays felt special to me, too. “Okay. As long as you’re sure. I know your bar is important to you.”
“Hailey.” Jack turned me to face him. “You’re important to me. I had no trouble prioritizing our first date.”
I nodded, my throat tight as I stared back at him.
He smiled at me gently. “You’ll get used to it.”
I blinked at him. “Used to what?”
“To being put first.” He reached behind me, removing my key from the lock and letting it drop into my purse.
Then he linked his hand with mine. “I wasn’t kidding before.
I’m all in.” He hesitated, his hand squeezing around mine.
“If it ever gets to be too much, let me know. I can—” He cleared his throat.
“I can take feedback if you need me to back off sometimes. I don’t want to scare you away. ”
“I’m not scared of you, Jack.” I looked down at our hands. “I’m all in, too. I just don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Believe me. Everything I’ve done so far I’ve wanted to do. Including this date tonight.” His smile returned.
“Where are we going?” I asked, following him toward his truck.
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “I’ve actually planned too much, but I wanted options depending on how we were feeling. It’s okay if we don’t get to it all.” He glanced at me. “Do you do better knowing ahead of time? Or are you okay being surprised?”
I was used to being the only one doing any of the planning.
The idea that he’d put that much thought into it sent butterflies dancing in my stomach.
“I don’t mind being surprised.” There was a lightness to my steps as I realized there was nothing for me to worry about.
Jack was taking care of everything. “As long as I’m dressed okay? ”
Jack paused in the act of opening the truck door, his eyes skimming my dress down to my bare legs and the short heels I wore. It was another outfit my college friend had helped to pick out.
That intent look was back in his eyes. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Oh. I meant—” I broke off as heat filled my cheeks, and his eyes softened. “Thanks,” I said instead. My hand moved up his forearm to finger the edge of his rolled sleeve. “You look good, too.”
His face drew closer, and my heart thudded in my chest, but he pulled back before kissing me. “Date. We’re going on a date,” he mumbled, pulling open the door.
The giddiness from before bubbled as I sat in his truck, and I couldn’t help bouncing a little as I buckled up, excited by whatever was to come.
The first stop was a candle bar. I’d never heard of anything like that, and Jack explained we could pick out our own scents to make unique candles.
There was a whole wall of scents to pick through, what had to be around a hundred.
The place wasn’t too busy, and Jack didn’t seem to be in a rush despite all the plans he’d said he made.
Instead, he encouraged me to smell each one.
Some made me wrinkle my nose, and others didn’t smell anything like the attached name.
We had a lot of similar scents we were drawn to, and some we disagreed on, but each time our heads bent together to smell, there was no judgment over our preferences.
Jack had a lot of options written down by the end. I had a very select few since I already knew exactly what I wanted the candle for my apartment to smell like.
Next, we picked out the type of jar to fill. My eyes lingered on the three-wick one. I liked how those burned, not leaving any of the candle surface behind, but it was the most expensive choice. I started to turn away from it, but Jack was already reaching for two of them.
“This one?” he asked. “We can match.”
“Oh, um, I could pick something smaller.” I pointed toward the least expensive candle. One of those had a pretty blue swirl coloring.
“It should be the one you like the most,” Jack said, studying one of the glass jars in his hand. “Three wicks burn so evenly. I like that.”
“Me too,” I admitted, and he smiled at me, leading me over to the barstools along the counter.
The attendant turned to pull the bottles for my three selections while I leaned over Jack’s shoulder to see if I could help him narrow down his ideas. His finger tapped one of the words toward the end.
“I was thinking pineapple,” he said with a grin. “But they didn’t have a pizza scent to pair it with.”
I snorted, leaning into him more. “You really liked this one.” I pointed to the coffee scent.
Jack hummed in his throat. “That reminds me of you, too, and we both did like it. But do they go together?”
The attendant set my scent bottles down.
“I can get them for you and see what you think. I’ll add a couple of third options from your list as well.
” She focused on showing me the bottles.
“Give them a light press as you hold them together. You seemed very sure, but let me know if you change your mind.” She turned to gather the scents for Jack.
I held the tips together, puffing a mixture of Jack’s scent into my nose, my leg bouncing at how close it was—lavender, coconut, and palm trees.
“Can I smell?” Jack asked, leaning forward.
I carefully puffed the combined scent toward him.
Jack drew it in. “I like it. Makes me think of an island getaway.”
“Makes me think of you,” I said quietly.
Jack’s eyes locked on me as he swallowed, his ears turning pink. “Oh. That’s probably from my—” He broke off with a cough, glancing at the attendant.
I leaned into him, pressing my nose against his shirt and drawing in his scent. “I like the way you smell. I want it in my apartment even when you’re not there.” The last came out as a whisper. I pulled back.
Jack stopped my retreat with a hand on my cheek. He leaned closer, his lips brushing over mine. “Sounds like you might be a little stuck on me.” His eyes softened as he pulled away.
My skin tingled the longer he looked at me. I cleared the tightness from my throat. “More than a little.”
The attendant was back, and I looked away from Jack toward the window, raising my hands to cover my hot cheeks. The way his hand settled on my back eased the tension there, and I turned to smell his mixture of scents as well.
We left the candles to finish setting, planning on picking them up later in the weekend.
Next was a quiet Thai restaurant he’d picked out, which was the only part of the date I had guessed beforehand—dinner together—though I hadn’t guessed Thai.
Yellow curry was a favorite of mine that I didn’t get very often, and we talked through our food preferences over the meal.
Jack was allergic to shellfish and loved any type of pasta or rice dish, curry included.
I shared my willingness to try anything, as well as the weirdness I sometimes had over food textures.
He listened as if taking notes and figured out some of my absolute favorites with his continued questions, including that he’d gotten curry right and that sometimes I was addicted to chocolate, but only when the craving really hit me.
We both remembered the chocolate cake we’d shared at the bar together, and he was disappointed there wasn’t one on the menu, though I couldn’t have stuffed more food down even if there had been one.
Instead of returning to the truck, he took my hand, and we walked along the nearby river. We’d become quiet, but the need to fill the silence didn’t press on me. Being there with him, just together, was enough.
My fingers shifted between his, as if checking the fit, which was perfect. I walked closer, liking the way our arms brushed as we continued along the wooden boardwalk. Music drifted toward us from somewhere ahead.
“Is that jazz?” I asked, tilting my head to hear it better.
“There’s an outdoor festival tonight,” Jack said. “I thought you might like it. Feel up to checking it out?”
That swirl of excitement in my stomach returned. “That sounds fun. I love music.”
“I know.” Jack smiled. “Something else we have in common.”
“It won’t be too crowded?” I asked, seeing a body of people in the distance.
“Do you not like crowds?” Jack asked.
“I—” My words died. Neil had hated crowds. Even a long wait at a restaurant had made him push me to leave. I’d learned to check for that beforehand so I wouldn’t be disappointed.
But did that mean I didn’t like crowds? Or was I just used to avoiding them for him? “I’m not sure,” I mumbled, a chill moving across my arms.
“Then we’ll try it and see,” Jack said, tugging me forward.
The festival had drawn quite a crowd. My heart raced at first when we edged along the outside, but the music pulled me in.
We found a space among those watching the stage, and Jack moved behind me, his arms wrapping around my hips and pulling my body against his.
I felt protected, and my head relaxed against his chest.
“Okay?” Jack asked next to my ear.
The music pulsed within me, beautiful even though it differed from most of what I listened to. And there was Jack, so close and comforting. “Okay,” I agreed, relaxing more.
It was the perfect date activity. Music and him in a crowd of people. People who would see us and see a couple. The idea of that tightened my throat as I placed my hands over his and let myself exist in the moment.
Jack walked me to my door, holding my hand like when we had left. He seemed to enjoy touching me, even in small ways. My body soaked in every caress.
I turned toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck and finding his lips with mine.
Unlike our earlier kisses that night, this one ignited, the way our kisses had from the beginning.
Jack pressed me against my door, his mouth slanting over mine as his hand found the back of my head, tilting it for an even closer fit.
We lost ourselves in the kiss. Our tongues stroked, our mouths moved against each other, and our bodies pressed together, lining up perfectly.
A door closed somewhere nearby, startling me out of the moment. I opened my eyes, not realizing I’d closed them in the first place, and Jack watched me as he eased back.
I clutched at him. “Come inside?” I asked.
“Are you sure?” His hand stroked my hair near my forehead, then lowered to his side. “You looked tired on the drive back.”
I’d drifted off, actually. Even now, there was a heaviness that the kiss hadn’t completely obliterated. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Then I’ll come in,” he said.
I fumbled for the keys, unlocking the door. Nerves, the kind that weren’t usually there with Jack, made my hands tremble as I hung up my purse. Did I lead him to the bedroom? The way I’d kissed him, and the perfect date he’d planned, made me feel like I should.
I’d enjoyed kissing him, but my mind spun as I avoided looking at him. Why was this so confusing? We’d already had sex, and it had been good. More than good. Amazing. I’d enjoy doing it again.
And I should do it, shouldn’t I? We were dating, and he was great tonight, and I liked him. I should have sex with him.
My eyes burned as the word ‘should’ continued to beat inside my head.
“Maybe some coffee?” I mumbled, but I couldn’t seem to step toward the kitchen.
Jack’s hands found my shoulders, rubbing them. “It’s okay to be tired, Hailey. You don’t have to wake yourself up. I can go.”
“I don’t want you to go.” That was the confusing part. I wanted him there.
His hands continued their gentle strokes. “Why don’t you go change into something to sleep in, and then we can cuddle on the couch and listen to a record?”
“Would that be okay?” I asked, turning so I could look at him.
“Of course it’s okay. It’s what I want, too. Just to be with you.” He kissed my forehead. “We’re more than sex, Hailey. Holding you is one of my favorite things, and I haven’t gotten enough of it tonight, though the jazz festival was a good start.” He smiled at me.
“I have the records you picked out for me in the front of the first case,” I said, moving away from him. My nerves settled as I changed into pajamas in the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and washed my face, then returned to the living room.
Jack had taken off his shoes before sprawling on the couch, and a song I recognized played softly in the background. I looked over at the record player, surprised by his choice.
“This was one Mrs. Miller loved.” It was by one of the heartthrobs Mr. Miller had teased her about.
“I figured. I want to listen to all of them over time, since they mean so much to you.” He held out a hand toward me.
I crossed to take it, not resisting the pull to curl up with him, his warmth drawing out the last of my tension.
The music filled the room, not too loud, a mellow sound in the background that let my eyes drift shut like they had in his truck. His hand rubbed along my back in soft, soothing motions that made it too difficult to overthink the perfect ending to our date.