JACK DARCY

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, she moves against me. It’s soft and subtle, but her curves are warm and inviting, and I lean in to her.

She wiggles against me, her bottom pressing to my hips. I try not to wake her with my growing arousal, but I don’t have enough self-control to pull away from her.

One night with Allie isn’t enough. I’d known that going in, and now all I can do is hope that somehow, in the span of a few hours, I’ve convinced her that this is enough. That I’m enough, and we’re enough, and that this, us, is worth a shot.

She stirs against me once more, and I feel my limbs getting warmer by the second, hot and turned on as she moves in her sleep.

I can’t handle it anymore; I’m starving for her. I’ve laid here all night, waiting for her to wake, desperate for more. Apparently, she’s all worn out, which normally would put a smug smile on my face. Today, it’s just making me anxious.

Both Allie and I have somewhere to be this morning. It’s her first day of school, and I have to be at the airport by seven. Finally, I glance over and see that the clock blinks 5 a.m. My alarm would sound in a few minutes anyway, so I reach for my phone and switch it off before it can wake Allie.

Standing, I prolong my morning stretch and savor the opportunity to watch Allie as she sleeps. She’s curled in a ball, her face tender and soft against the last rays of starlight peeking through the window.

I’d say she looks like an angel, but after last night, I’m not sure that’s a fair analogy. She’s got a devilish streak in her, a dark-eyed gleam that arrived when she called my name. The thought of us finishing together has me growing harder in an instant, and I turn from the bedroom and hightail it to the shower before Allie wakes to find me standing over her like this.

I flick the shower on, adjust it to the coldest setting, and climb in under the pelting stream. It’s like needles against my body, but sadly, it does nothing to deflate the excitement happening below the waist.

I lean against the shower wall as I shampoo, running through a list of bones in the foot. Usually, reciting technical details helps me pull my mind off Allie, but not this time. This time, my body knows what it’s missing.

“Jack?” The voice is soft, startling me to attention.

I hadn’t heard the door creak open, and the sight of Allie reflected in the mirror has my heart pumping.

“Did I wake you?” My shower is one of those fancy things without a real door, so I poke my head into the main room. “I’m sorry, I tried to be quiet.”

She grimaces as the spray of water bounces off my shoulder and hits her in the face. “That’s freezing!”

“Yeah, and it’s not working.” I give her the most fleeting of smiles, a shiver suddenly wracking through my body. “I’m sorry if I—”

“Do you mind...” Allie trails off as she turns to look at her own attire, which can hardly be called fully clothed. “Can I join you?”

I lose my words as she begins to lift the borrowed t-shirt over her body. I know from having been curled next to her exactly how little she has on underneath it.

“Uh, yeah, sure, er—” I’m completely thrown into shock, stuttering until I see the prickle of goose bumps lifting her skin and finally, I leap to attention. “Yes, please.”

Flipping the water to a much warmer setting, I watch as she runs a hand underneath the stream, eventually stepping into the shower with a lidded glance in my direction.

“Thank you,” she says, when the water finally reaches normal temperature.

She moves her body to stand under the stream, and my knees suddenly turn into melting ice cubes watching the water run over her skin.

Her eyes close as the water dampens her hair, then soaks it. Pulling her locks over her shoulder, she adjusts so the water caresses down her back and leaves her front exposed, tiny rivulets of water streaming across her curves, over her breasts, down her sides.

“Well?” she prompts, when I don’t show any signs of moving. “Are you going to join me or what? You’re creeping me out just standing there.”

“Sorry,” I mutter, but I still can’t make a move. I shake my head and study her a second longer. “I’m sorry,” I say again. “I can’t...you’re so beautiful. I saw you last night, but it was dark, and this...” I shake my head. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

She blushes, her cheeks already pink from the warm water. “Jack, it’s just me.”

“It’s you,” I whisper. “That’s the most amazing part of all.”

She turns to catch the stream of water, ducking her face into the spray, then letting it slide across her hair, her shoulders, her gloriously bare bottom. I bite my lip, feeling suddenly empty. Starved, wild.

My hands reach for her, startling a gasp from her lips as my fingers encircle her hips and pull her toward me, hard, fast, pressing her naked skin to mine. My erection, which I’d tried so hard to dissipate, is pressed against her, and as our bodies collide, I feel her moan before I hear it.

I tuck her against me, every curve of hers a perfect fit. My lips press to her neck. Goose bumps erupt as a hot kiss joins with the chilled air, sending her writhing in my arms.

“I want you again,” I murmur in her ear. “And again, every day. Come with me to Florida.”

“Jack—”

“Please, think about it.”

She spins to me, and the second she pulls away there’s a vacuum between us. A frigid, horrifying gap that I can’t stand. We’re frozen like this, apart, for too long. One second, two maybe, and then I crash against her, my lips dragging a sigh from her as our kiss propels us against the shower wall.

My hand braces for the impact while her arms rope around my neck. She’s more desperate than me, this time driving us forward as one leg wraps around my back and nudges me closer.

I lift her, easing the path for her legs to wrap around my waist. She pulls me against her, begging with a silent plea for me to slip inside her warmth, to distract both of us with the intensity of our pleasure.

“Tell me why.” I nip the lobe of her ear as my arousal teases at her core, dragging out frustrated little moans that tell me she doesn’t want to talk. “Allie.” I press again against her, harder, slipping inside ever-so slightly. “Why?”

“Stop teasing me,” she whispers, her eyes closing as she leans her head against the wall, her face constricted in a pained need. “Please, Jack, we both want this.”

I nudge deeper inside of her. “I don’t plan on teasing you, I plan on having you.” Another inch, and a guttural cry escapes from her lips, along with a begging gasp.

In answer, I press fully into her, my muscles tensing, my mind easing into a sharp blackness. There’s a haziness around us. The shower runs hot down my back, prickles of warmth digging into my skin.

My mouth connects with her, giving into her pleas for this night, this morning, this moment. I need this, need her.

I pull back, push, pull again in a slow thrust, each motion causing a shudder from Allie. Her eyes are closed, her hands looped around my neck, her lips tilted in a pout.

“Oh, Jack,” she gasps. “Jack.”

“Open your eyes,” I tell her. “Allie, look at me,” I murmur, moving within her, faster, pressing her back hard against the wall. “Look at me, honey.”

When she doesn’t respond, I begin to pull back slightly, threatening to take away everything that’s holding us together. This gets her eyes to flash open. A shade of fear blended with desire. Her eyes lock on mine as her hips arch into me.

Fingernails dig into my shoulder, biting and hot as her need courses through me. The feel of her, the touch, the taste. I can’t handle much more. But I need this to last just seconds longer.

I meet those eyes I’ve known for years, now more intimately than anyone in this world, and I cup her cheek in my hand. “I am madly in love with you, Allie Jenkins.”

“Jack—”

Before she feels pressure to respond, our kiss resumes, and I press myself into her so completely, so fully, it wipes out any speech, any thought from existence. The finish that we both long for, the shattering of two hearts joined in a night that will be forever seared into my mind.

I feel her clench seconds before she calls my name, her head reaching back as my lips find her throat, pressing there, my fingers holding her steady as her body shudders against me, and she cries out again and again.

I follow her seconds later, every bone in my body, every muscle shuddering. I hold her, propped against the wall, nuzzled against her neck. The shower has turned into a steam room, leaving us both covered in a glistening sheen.

“Jack, I—”

“You don’t have to say anything.” I ease her down, take her chin between my fingers and tilt it until she’s forced to make eye contact with me.

“But you said—”

“Hey,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she curls against me. “I told you how I feel. I didn’t expect a response.”

“But—”

“I’ve decided not to go to Florida.”

“Jack, you have to. You can’t throw your career around for...for me, for this—whatever might happen between us. You have to go.”

“Turn around,” I instruct.

Though confused, she does as I ask.

My hands come up and caress her shoulders. I rub her there until she eases against my hands. She’s malleable, soft. When she reaches for the shampoo, I take it from her hands and rub it through her hair, the soap covering her body in a slick sheen.

After rinsing her hair, she turns to face me and, to my surprise, tears hold in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says. “Jack, I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” I call as she steps from the shower and grabs a towel. “Allie, where are you going?”

“This was a bad idea.” She turns back to face me, wrapped in a luxe white towel that frames her skin, giving her an angelic sort of glow. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Allie, wait—”

“Promise me one thing.”

“What? Stay here, please. This wasn’t a bad idea. I’m not asking more of you.”

“But you will, Jack.” Her hands reach for my shoulders and hold on, tight. “Promise you’ll go to Florida today. Let me go.”

“I can’t do that.” I shake my head, my fingers digging into the towel around her. “I’ll stay here. Something’s wrong.”

"Jack, you have a career and a life. You can't throw all that away for me. You owe it to yourself to see this through. Go to Florida. Decide what's best for you," she says. "We need time to think about things between us, what we really want. Give me time, Jack. Don't follow me."

“No, Allie.” I switch the water off and follow her into the bedroom. “Don’t do this again. Last time I let you walk out that door, I regretted it every second.”

“Last time, I wanted you to chase me,” she says, a quiver rocking her lower lip. “Don’t follow me this time.”

“What is this about?”

“You broke the rules, Jack!” She raises her voice as she drops her towel and fumbles for her clothes. “You weren’t supposed to tell me you loved me—not like this. You can’t give everything up for me.”

“This is us,” I tell her. “Me and you—best friends. This is not how we handle our problems.”

Allie’s too busy sliding clothes over her body to respond. She shakes her head, tears freefalling now. Her cheeks are dampened from steam, from tears, her eyes rimmed red.

“I can’t stand to see you like this,” I say, too afraid to reach for her again. I’m afraid if I push too hard, she’ll pull back for good. “What did I do? What did I say?”

My questions also seem to be the wrong thing to utter because a new wave of tears erupt as she looks up at me, finally dressed.

She grabs everything, marches to me, no longer bothering to hide her tears. “You didn’t do a thing wrong, Jack,” she says, reaching for me. Her fingers find my cheek and they’re smooth, cool against my skin. “You’re perfect.”

“I want you, Allie. I love you, and I need—”

“Stop.” She leans onto her tiptoes, her eyes leveling on mine, pausing before she completes the argument with the softest, quickest of kisses. “You are not the problem. It’s me.”

“I can’t get on that airplane knowing you’re like this.”

She drags a hand across her face, gives a tight smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Please. For me, go. I need time to think.”

“What’s there to think about?”

She gives a shake of her head. “For me,” she says, and there’s a hint of begging to her words. “For me, Jack. Give me time.”

She leaves my apartment, the door closing behind her. The click of it sliding into place, clinking shut with a finality that freezes my heart.

I move toward it, far enough to rest a hand on the knob, and that’s when I stop. Something about Allie’s expression, her plea for me to give her space, rings back at me, and this time, I don’t feel like I have a choice.

I have to let her go.