Chapter 10 #2
Bella prided herself on keeping a well-stocked bar, with a good variety for guests.
She knew just which one to give him. Reaching for a crystal tumbler, she poured out two fingers’ worth, then carried both glasses over to join him on the sofa.
Taking the glass from Bella, Jack brought the glass to his lips and caught the scent of the scotch - smoky and complex - and he knew immediately she’d given him his scotch of choice, Laphroaig.
She remembered from the Taylor Swift concert, he thought.
He gave her a knowing look over the top of his glass as he took a drink, and she knew she’d made the right choice. Bella took a small sip of her prosecco and hiccupped - Dammit!
“I am so sorry, carbonated drinks always make me hiccup on the first sip” she said, embarrassed.
“I’ve heard so much worse - don’t forget I’m Navy, it’s nothing.”
At that moment Primrose came trotting over, with a piece of rope as thick and long as she was, her nubby tail wagging, and stared at Jack.
“Oh, she likes you - she wants to play rope toy with you.”
“Rope Toy?”
“Yes, it's like tug of war.”
Reaching down to take one end of the rope, Jack lightly tugged at the rope while Primmy dug her paws into the carpet and pulled at the other end.
While they played, Jack asked about Bella’s daughters.
Bella told him all about them, and they were both in transit back to their respective schools after spending time with their dad in Los Angeles.
“Jasper wasn’t their father?”
“No, Jasper was my second husband. My marriage to Peter ended shortly after Madeline was born. We were both too young, too Italian, and too hot headed to be married. But we’ve stayed friends and it’s a good relationship.
” Bella then went on to explain how she and Jasper had met, reconnected and married.
“But what about you Jack? I feel like you know everything about me and I know so little about you.”
“I grew up in San Francisco, my parents are both retired professors, they taught at Stanford - my dad in engineering and my mom in history. I got my master’s in engineering there as well.”
“Wow - how did you end up in the Navy?”
Jack described how he’d always had a love of flying, from when he was a little boy, and that led to attending the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and his first assignment at NAS North Island, in Coronado, a small island across the bay in San Diego.
“Is that where you met Susan?”
“Yes, she was a teacher in San Diego, she grew up there and her family is still there; the girls visit as much as they can - they are there right now in fact.”
“May I ask what happened? If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand, I know how painful it can be to discuss sometimes.”
Worn out from their game of rope toy, Primrose dropped her end of the rope and trotted over to her favorite spot in front of the fireplace and laid down, so Jack dropped his end as well, thinking he probably looked stupid holding the rope in his hand for no reason.
“No, it’s okay. We were living in Virginia - I was stationed there at the time at NAS Oceana.
I was deployed, she was late leaving school to pick up the girls, so she was rushing.
It was after Christmas, and it had just finished snowing.
She hit a patch of black ice and lost control of the car.
They say it was instant and she didn’t suffer, but that’s not much consolation, is it? ”
“The Navy got me home as fast as they could, but I still feel guilty for not being there, especially for the girls in the immediate aftermath.” With a grimace, Jack downed the rest of his drink and put the glass down on the coffee table.
“Jack, I’m so sorry” said Bella, placing her hand on top of his and giving a gentle squeeze.
He stood abruptly. "I should go; it's getting late. I’ve got to get back to Houston early tomorrow, the girls are home on Sunday, so I need to get the house cleaned up after living like a bachelor the last few weeks. Let me order an Uber.”
“You’re right, it’s been a long day.”
Bella stood up, picking up their glasses and taking them into the kitchen to be rinsed out in the morning. I should never have asked about his wife, I can’t imagine the guilt he feels for not being there even though there was nothing he could have done.
She felt his presence enter the kitchen before he even spoke.
“Bella. I’m sorry if I was rude - that wasn’t my intention.
Hell, I don’t know what my intentions are.
I’m a single dad, preparing for the most important mission I’ll ever go on - those two things have been my only focus these last few years, and then suddenly you pop up on my radar when I least expect it, and I find myself thinking about you more than I should. ”
Moving closer to her, she knew he was standing behind her, and she turned, finding herself almost instantly within reach of his arms. Their eyes locked, and the air seemed to grow heavy, and as Jack leaned in for the kiss Bella knew instinctively she’d been wanting since she met him.
Jack’s lips touched Bella’s and it was like a rocket launch to the stars, his lips firm but gentle, and slightly demanding.
Bella leaned into his chest, and she found her arms wrapping around his neck, her fingers finding that spot where his hair met the back of his neck, the feel of it coarse but soft.
I knew it would feel like this, she thought.
Deepening the kiss, a slight moan escaped her as she tasted the lingering peaty flavor of the scotch still on his lips.
She wanted this as much as I did. They broke apart, staring at each other as if in wonder for a second, only to quickly come back together, neither wanting to stop.
At that moment Jack’s phone beeped, signaling that his Uber was out front.
Ending the kiss, they stood forehead to forehead, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders, his breath warm against her face, the space between them charged.
Bella brought her finger to Jack’s mouth, tracing the outlines of his lips as though memorizing them, and Jack kissed each fingertip as they softly passed over. The phone beeped again.
Walking silently to the front door, they said nothing, neither sure of what was happening between them.