I open my eyes once we've stopped and I suck in a breath at the beauty of the landscape around me. Tall trees that seem to reach the sky and surround the house that Jack has parked in front of. The house isn't large but it isn't small either.
"Where are we?" I ask as I take the helmet off, placing it on the bike. I smooth out my hair as Jack gets off the bike.
"My house," I furrow my brow.
"Why did we come here?" I ask, eyes widening in surprise as he takes my hand, smiling, and he leads me towards the house.
"My mom is home and she can look at your lip," I instantly stop walking and he looks back at me, confused.
"Your mom is home? She'll know we skipped school!" I say in a hushed tone. He laughs.
"It's alright, I promise," I give him a skeptical look, but he just pulls on my hand. He opens the door for me and I step inside.
"In the kitchen, sweetheart!" I hear a woman's voice call from the kitchen. Jack smiles reassuringly at me, taking my hand and leading me past a set of stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Seated on a stool at the island, reading a magazine with a glass of wine in front of her is one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen. She smiles at us as we approach. Her eyes are the same shade as Jack's, but she has blonde hair.
"You must be Riley," his mom says, holding her hand out. I take it and shake it. "I'm Lilly, Jack's mom."
"Nice to meet you," I reply and her eyes drop to my swollen lip. Her eyes widen before she leans forward, looking at it more intently.
"What happened here, sweetheart?" She asks kindly and I glance at Jack who nods. I swallow hard and she gets up, heading for the fridge.
"I, uh... um," Lilly gets an ice pack from the freezer and wraps it around a towel as Jack gestures for me to sit on the stool beside Lilly's. "I fell."
"Are you sure that you fell and weren't pushed?" I remain silent as she approaches, putting the ice on my lip. I wince at the cold contact.
"Hold that there for about twenty minutes, okay?" I nod and she smiles warmly at me. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Mom," Jack says warningly, but she just waves him off.
"Oh," I say, glancing at Jack. His cheeks are the reddest I've ever seen them.
"Yes, Jack is really fond of you," she says and Jack clears his throat, rubbing his neck, embarrassed.
"Oh." Lilly searches my face before looking at Jack. It's silent and I look between them and it's as if they're having a conversation with their eyes.
"Okay, well, um, thanks Mom," Jack says, taking my free hand and tugging me out of the kitchen.
"Please stay for dinner, Riley!" She calls after us. Before I can reply, Jack is ushering me up the stairs. I follow behind him and he pushes open a door at the end of the hall. We enter the room and he lets out a sigh.
"Sorry about her," he apologizes, laughing nervously. I can't help but smile at him, as his cheeks are still red. He looks so cute when he's embarrassed.
"It's okay," I say. He smiles at me.
I sit down at the end of his bed, looking around, while still holding the ice pack to my lip. His walls are a dark blue, his sheets white, and I see a few photos spread throughout the room of whom I assume are family members.
"Can I see?" Jack asks, crouching in front of me. I put the ice pack down and watch as Jack intently looks at my lip.
"The ice is helping," I state and he nods before making eye contact.
"You aren't very clumsy, Riley," he says, giving me a knowing look. "What really happened?" I look away and sigh.
"It was Jessica," I glance at him, my own eyes widening in surprise at the outrage that suddenly sets in on his face. "It's okay, really. This isn't the first time." But that seems to only make him angrier. His hands are tight fists on my lap and his eyes seem to darken.
"Jack, really, it's fine," I urge, but his expression doesn't change.
"Why did she hurt you?" He grounds out between his teeth and I swallow hard. I know he isn't mad at me, but it's hard to see someone who is always so cheerful look so angry.
"The picture," I say softly and he scoffs. I watch him carefully and he isn't looking at me. It's as if the gears in his mind are turning. But I need him to know that I'll take care of it and he doesn't need to worry about it.
"Jack," he doesn't look at me, so I touch his face, turning his head to face me. His eyes soften as they meet mine and I smile at him reassuringly. "My parents are going to be home tomorrow night, okay? I'll tell my dad and he'll take care of it." That's a lie. He'll just tell Karen and she'll tell him that Jessica isn't violent. Yeah, unless she's provoked. And in this case, I threatened to take away her chance of getting with Jack.
"Why would she do that to you, she's your sister," I sigh and drop my hand from his face.
"Because of you," he looks at me, confused. "She really likes you and she sees me as competition. She thinks she can scare me away from doing anything with you."
"Like me or not, busting your lip is not okay," he says strongly and I nod, agreeing. "She can't always get what she wants."
"She's used to getting whatever she wants," I sigh and shrug. "How are you any different?" He cups my face in his hands and I stare wide-eyed at him.
"Because I don't want her," his pupils dilate. "I want you." My breath catches in my throat at the determination in his voice and eyes. He means that. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. The words are new and scare me a little; being what he wants is intimidating.
"B-but why? I barely know you," he shakes his head.
"That doesn't matter to me," he moves in closer to me. "There's something pulling me to you and I have a really hard time fighting that." I know what he means. Since the moment I met him, he's been captivating my attention and been in my dreams. I can't seem to get him out of my mind.
"I honestly feel as if I've known you forever," he breathes and I realize how close he is to me. His breath is hot against my lips and the world has faded from around us.
"Yeah," I sigh, heart racing and stomach alive with butterflies. He smiles at me as his thumbs smooth over my cheeks. Jack's eyes dart from my eyes to my lips and back again and I feel my breath catch. Is he asking to kiss me? My skin is crawling with goosebumps as his lips brush against mine. My nerves are high with anticipation of his kiss and I jump when there's a sudden loud pounding at the door.
"Jack! Are you home?" More pounding and Jack sighs, pulling away. Disappointment flares in my chest. He leans forward and presses a soft kiss against my cheek.
"That'll have to do for now," he winks at me and my face pounds.
"Jack!" The pounding continues and Jack laughs as he opens his door, crouching down, and welcoming a small body with blond hair into his arms.
"I'm here, calm down," Jack chuckles and I smile as a pair of small blue eyes meet mine. The boy gasps and pushes his brother away before scrambling over to me, eyes wide and curious.
"Hi," I say and the boy just gapes at me.
"Pretty," he says and I look at Jack who laughs.
"Um, thank you," I reply and the boy grins, suddenly hugging me. I pat his back as Jack approaches, crouching beside me.
"Nick, this is my friend, Riley," Jack looks at me, winks, before looking back at Nick who is just beaming.
"Hi!" Nick announces cheerfully and I smile. "Can we be friends too?" Jack laughs.
"She's my special friend, Nick, but she can be your buddy," I look at Jack, confused. Special friend? What did that mean? Nick beams at me, small dimples appearing on his cheeks.
"Okay! Buddy, do you want to play with me?" He asks and before I can respond, Jack is scooping Nick up in his arms.
"Riley and I have to work on some homework, maybe after dinner we can all play together," Nick frowns, and pouts with his arms crossed over his chest.
"But I wanna play now," he whines and Jack chuckles.
"I know, bud, but later, okay? Promise," Jack holds up his pinky and Nick grins, trying to get his own pinky isolated before wrapping it around Jack's.
"Okay!" Jack kisses his brother's cheek before setting him down out in the hallway.
"Go find Mom. I think it's lunchtime." Nick gasps excitedly before he runs off. Jack chuckles as he enters back into the room, closing the door behind him.
"He's adorable," I say and Jack smiles before sitting next to me on the bed.
"Careful now, he might steal your heart before I get a chance," he winks at me, making my face hot and he chuckles.
"Oh, is that what you plan on doing? Stealing my heart?" I tease and he nods, smiling.
"As I said, there's something pulling me to you and I wouldn't mind exploring that," his hand takes mine gently and he kisses the back of it, eyes meeting mine.
"I've never, uh, been with anyone," I say shyly and he nods.
"Me either," I gape at him, shocked, and he laughs. "What is so surprising about that?" He asks and I shake my head.
"I have a really hard time believing you've never been with anyone," I say skeptically and he shrugs.
"Well, it's the truth," he chuckles. "I would never lie to you."
"Why haven't you been with anyone?" He doesn't answer right away, as if trying to pick his words carefully. He looks at me, smiling.
"No one has ever really fascinated or intrigued me," he says, his hand squeezing mine. "Until I met you." My heart skips a beat and I fix him with a pointed look.
"What about me is so interesting?" He chuckles and shrugs.
"I really don't know," he winks. "Yet." I roll my eyes and he laughs, leaning over and kissing my cheek.
"But I can't wait to find out," he says softly. I smile shyly at him as his hand brushes some hair out of my eyes. "Let's finish that project."
~•~
We spend the rest of the afternoon working on our project and getting off topic a little. Every so often I would catch him staring at me, chin in his hand, and a lovesick expression on his face. We discussed our favorite colors, foods, movies, and relayed similar experiences to situations.
He even offers me advice on how to deal with Jessica.
"You want me to put her in a headlock?" I laugh, wiping my laughing tears away. He shrugs, smiling.
"She wouldn't ever mess with you again," he points out. "I could show you." I shake my head.
"That's okay, I think I'll pass on that," Jack shrugs.
"Suit yourself, but you'll know where to find me if you change your mind," he winks at me and I roll my eyes playfully, my smile never wavering.
"If you don't mind me asking," Jack says carefully and I look up. "What happened to your mom? You haven't talked about her." Dread fills my body and I look at my hands, remaining silent as I try to figure out what to say.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Jack continues and I glance up as he smiles warmly and reassuringly at me. "I'm just curious." I sigh and shrug.
"It's a long, sad story and I'd rather not get into it right now, if that's okay," he continues to smile at me as he nods.
"Of course," he places his hand over mine, squeezing my fingers and I meet his gaze. "I'll be here when you're ready." I force a smile and nod, enjoying the warmth of his touch. He doesn't take his hand back right away and I'm grateful. Anytime that my mom is brought up, I feel as if my world is spinning out of control. I'm glad he's here to keep me grounded.
It's silent for a while as we work, double checking and editing our project for minuscule errors. It isn't long before it's dinner time, and Nick has come to get us.
"Jack! Buddy! Dinner time!" Jack chuckles as Nick pounds on the door.
"We'll be right there!" Jack calls back, taking his laptop off his lap and placing it on the bed. He takes a deep breathe as I stand, smoothing out my clothes.
"You'll get to meet my dad, too," Jack says and I look up at him, suddenly nervous.
"Okay," he smiles warmly at me as I take a deep breath.
"You okay?" He asks, his hands touching my arms and squeezing them reassuringly. I nod.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he searches my face before nodding, kissing my forehead, and taking my hand as he leads me out of his room and down the stairs. The moment we exit his room, the heavenly scent of a hot cooked meal makes my mouth water and stomach growl.
"Hope you're hungry," he chuckles.
"We did skip lunch after all," his face reddens slightly and I can't help but smile.
"I guess I could have offered to feed you something," he grumbles, more to himself than to me. I squeeze his hand and smile up at him, his face relaxing. We enter the kitchen and dining room where I see a whole spread on the table.
"Buddy! Come sit by me!" Nick bounces in his seat, hitting the chair next to him.
"I'd love to," I walk away from Jack as he heads to help his mom finish setting the table. I take the seat next to Nick and he beams at me, his little smile adorable.
"Yay!" He grabs his sippy cup and takes a swig of juice before sighing happily. "Mama made lots of food." I hear Lilly laugh in the kitchen.
"We've got an extra friend with us," she calls back. "And Daddy will be eating with us too." Nick gasps happily.
"This is the best day ever!" Everyone laughs, including a new voice as they walk in from the back patio door.