Page 6 of Jackson
“Wow!” she said, as she stood on the landing and looked down to the open plan living space on the lowerfloor.
“It’s pretty amazing,right?”
“Itis.”
She made her way down the stairs and I followed, bumping her suitcase behind me. She walked straight over to the sliding glass doors that led to thebalcony.
“Let me show you,” I said, as I reached past her and unlocked thedoor.
“Oh, Jack, it’s…” she said as she steppedout.
“I know. I’ve never felt so comfortable anyplaceelse.”
She placed her hands on the balcony wall and looked out tosea.
“Why did you run, Jack?” she asked, without turning to faceme.
I took a step closer to her. The slight breeze ruffled her hair, and the closer I got, I could see her knuckles whiten as if she was holding ontight.
“Because…Because I was finding it hard to be aroundyou.”
I swallowed hard, waiting for her to speak; she didn’t. Instead, she turned to face me and simply nodded. She gave me a sad smile as she lifted my arm and placed it over her shoulder. She nestled against my chest and I heard hersigh.
“But notnow?”
“Notnow.”
I wrapped my arms around her again and closed my eyes. I felt like I had finally comehome.
* * *
Summer tried to stay awake,but as the day wore on I could see her struggling. We had taken a stroll along the beach; we’d sat on the daybed and drank beer. We talked, we didn’t stop talking and laughing. It was like old times, we fell instantly back into that easy friendship we’d alwayshad.
I watched her yawn and insist that she needed to stay awake to adjust to the time difference. Eventually, she gave in. I led her to one of the downstairs bedrooms, the one next to mine. I hesitated by the door after she’d walked in, towing her case behind her. I wanted to lay on the bed with her, to have her wrapped in my arms as she fell asleep. I wanted to kiss her goodnight, to make the sadness in her eyes disappear. I wanted to do so manythings.
“Good night, Jack,” she said as she turned away, leaving meoutside.
I could hear her moving around, the unzip of her case, and the opening and closing of closet doors as she put her things away. I heard the shower run, and at that point, I had to walk away. My cock hardened at the thought of her in the shower. I pulled off my t-shirt as the heat had it sticking to myback.
I grabbed another beer and sat on the daybed. The sun had set and subtle floor lights lit the balcony. I strained my ears, listening for any sounds from the bedroom. One of the many reasons I’d left her was because of the effect she had on me. No matter how hard I tried to conceal it, my cock was permanently hard when she wasaround.
However, it was the turmoil in my mind that had been my main reason for leaving. Summer didn’t know me, not the real me. She didn’t know what I did to myself and the closer I got to her, the more afraid of discovery I became. It was only having that time apart that I could think about that. Dexter had convinced me I could deal with it; I only hoped he wasright.
