I could hear him talking to someone on the phone while he busy making breakfast. My heart picked a different pace as the memory of the short-lived kiss blinded my vision. It made my knees weak and my throat dry. Even if I could avoid facing the truth and instead blame everything on the drug they'd given me, deep down, the truth never left. Yes I was a little high, but I had taken my chances and did something that I would never do as my normal self.
I plastered my back against the wall next to the kitchen door.
Act normal Annie, Jack probably forgot about yesterday already. I consoled myself while pressing a hand on my chest.
Suddenly, the noise of metal clattering startled me, followed by an angry bellow.
"What do you mean you lost him? The client is paying us that money to always keep an eye on that fucking lawyer. If you can't do your job properly, I'll get another agent to deal with you!"
It fell silent.
Then, "I don't fucking care whether you move heaven and earth. Just get all the details required. If you can't do that, blow your bloody brains out!"
The sharp dagger of his words made me want to crawl under a table and hide there for hours.
What was he talking about? Keeping an eye on someone... someone's details...agents!
Jack was a CEO, his work wasn't related to any of whatever he had talked about on the phone.
"Get in here!" Jack ordered flatly.
That was for me. He fucking knew I was there... eavesdropping.
With my heart sinking in the bottom of my stomach, I made my way in the kitchen, saw the silver spatula lying on the floor...then the crossed expression on his face.
He turned off the cooker and proceeded to sit at the table.
"Come here!" Jack eyed me as his hand reached for the black band holding his hair in a ponytail.
A wave of relief washed through my body as I realized what he needed.
"You okay?" I asked stopping behind him.
As my fingers slipped in his silky hair, he let out a sigh. "Some work stuff. Nothing to worry about."
"Oh!"
I was honestly disappointed. He was clearly lying, but again, there was nothing I could do to have him tell me the truth. After all, I was just a child in his eyes. So annoying.
I'll be turning eighteen in a month.
"Annie?"
Jack's tone had changed. There was no more anger in it. Good. It meant my magic fingers were doing their job properly.
"Mh!"
"Tell me, do you...do you remember...um...what happened yesterday evening?"
Dear me! Who ever knew I'd see the day when Jack would struggle to ask me about something? The mighty strong Jackson Raynatt sounded like a boy asking his crush for an ice cream date.
I bit my lip in a proud smirk.
My eyes bounced on the kitchen counter, then on the window to the sprinkler outside busy whirling. The sun was out, the wind was blowing.
What a good day to lie.
"No. Not really. I passed out after the incidence at school, then woke up thirty minutes ago."
"Oh!"
"Why? Did something happen?"
Jack suddenly chuckled before sending a hand through his perfect hair, forgetting that my own hands were in it. He ended up touching my right hand, bringing his to a standstill.
I felt these soft claws inside my chest scratching to be free. Felt the warmth generating from our contact.
Before it got any more awkward, Jack cleared his throat, snapping me out of that trance that had almost consumed me.
We both broke the contact at the same time, leading Jack to get up.
"I'll um...finish making breakfast. Go get ready for school."
The damn man didn't even spare me a single glance. What could have possibly scared him? Certainly not a seventeen-year-old girl, right?
***. ***. ***.
After one weird day at school, students eyeing me, curious about the dads fighting episode of the previous day, I was back at the house.
From the locked main door, I concluded that Jack was surely out for work or whatever he did on his free time.
Thank heavens he wasn't home or he'd have to cotton up his ears to the loud music blasting from my room.
Thunder by Imagine Dragons, was on full volume, almost shaking the walls of the room.
"...thunder! Feel the thunder! Lightning and the thunder! Whooo!" I screamed like a maniac while jumping on the bed, throwing my head back and forth while playing an imaginary guitar.
Ooh! It felt so therapeutic, just screaming on top of my lungs, not sorry to our immediate neighbors. They could all toss themselves in a hole and put a lid on it.
I went on and did what I was used to when yelling out a song like a mad girl...taking my top off and swinging it round in the air.
The curls had blinded my vision to the constant jumping and singing. The merry mood had me forget that sometimes, people show up unexpectedly.
I was in the air when the music suddenly died. The immediate silence felt like needles in my ears promoting me to check what had happened.
Panting, I jumped around. "Bloody he- Aaaaah!" I screamed to the sight of Jack with the controller in his hand.
He saw them...the C-boobs out in the open. "Jesus Annie!" He cried as his left hand shot to cover his eyes before whirling around.
I dashed off of the bed while pulling the top back on.
Why was I tensed? I hadn't meant to show him my boobs. He's the one who showed up.
"Why are you even naked?"
Jack wondered, still facing the open door.
"Why didn't you knock?"
"Oh I did. How could you hear me over the bloody loud music?"
I bit my lip, feeling so embarrassed.
And having no more courage to face him, I jumped under the covers and pulled them right up to my hair.
"Are you decent?"
"Mh!"
There was a string of silence, followed by a laugh. "Come on now Annie! There's nothing to be embarrassed about."
I shut my eyes and gripped the covers tightly. The more he tried to comfort me, the more I felt humiliated and dumb.
No man had ever laid eyes on my boobs. Jack was the first, and it wasn't exactly how I'd have wished it to be.
"Look, it was my fault. I'm sorry."
"It's o...okay!" I stammered.
"You sure? It'll help if we talk about it. No sweeping things under the carpet, remember?"
Oh so now he wants us to talk? No bottling up things he says? What about the kiss? Why not talk about that?
"You can leave Jack, I'm honestly fine."
"Okay! Okay, I'll go. But you can find me in my room if...you wanna talk!"
"Mh!" I agreed.
After a few seconds, the door shut in a soft bang. I kicked the covers off of me as hard as I could, then took a sharp inhale. I was frying under those bloody covers. The heat had been torturous but I had had to wait till Jack left.
"You're so fucked Annie. How will you get out of this one?" I whispered to myself.