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I gripped his back, digging my nails into him as I came undone for the second time. In a matter of seconds, he, too, let go and emptied himself into me, collapsing on the bed beside me.
Something woke me,and I lay staring at the window of Jackson's bedroom, the light from the street falling through the slats of the blinds. Everything was silent, and I smiled to myself and snuggled down under the covers. I was just about asleep when I felt the bed move.
I rolled over and looked at Jackson, who lay beside me covered in a sheen of sweat. The look on his face wasn't restful. He looked full of torment as his head flopped side to side. I lay and watched him for a few minutes, remembering the nightmares he used to have right after Connor had died. I wondered if that was what he was dreaming about. I was just about to reach over and touch him gently to wake him when he seemed to calm down. I lay watching him for a few more minutes, and then rolled back over and closed my eyes to try and go back to sleep when the thrashing started again followed by a low growling sound.
"I tried. I tried," he repeated, his voice full of sorrow. "Sorry, I tried."
I rolled back over in time to see the torment was back lining his face. I was about to put my hand on his chest and try to wake him when he started yelling for help. I placed my hand on his chest and lowered my head onto his shoulder and quietly whispered in his ear just like I used to do.
"Jackson, you're safe. I'm here."
Instantly, he quieted, and I felt his arms wrap around me, a whimper escaping his throat as his chest heaved. "I'm sorry, I tried," he murmured as I lay in his arms. Finally, his breathing calmed, and he fell back into a deep sleep, yet now I lay awake, tormented by the thoughts of what he had been dreaming about. I listened to his breathing, felt the slow rise and fall of his chest, but the comfort I felt being in his arms soon outweighed my own torment, and soon I too drifted off to sleep.
I woke early the next morning. Jackson was still sound asleep, so I slipped out from under the covers, pulled his bathrobe from the hook on the back of the door, and wrapped myself into his scent. I made my way to the kitchen where I put on a pot of coffee and sat down to check my phone to see if I had any messages.
Just the usual from my mom, worried about me not being at home when she woke this morning. I sat there debating if I should just tell her I was at Jackson’s, but after typing out the message and re-reading it back to myself, I realized I still wasn't ready to let anyone know that Jackson and I had been messing around. So I deleted all the words and quickly typed back that I had spent the night at Cara's.
"Morning," I heard a sleep-filled deep voice behind me, and felt his large hands on my shoulders. I reached up and held them both, while he bent down and placed a kiss on the side of my neck.
"Morning. I put some coffee on."
"Perfect." I watched as he reached into the cupboard and pulled down two mugs. "Sleep well?"
"I did for the most part, yes. What about you?"
"Like a baby." He winked and set a full, steaming mug of coffee in front of me and leaned in for another morning kiss.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him about the dream he'd been having, but I thought twice. What if he didn't remember it at all? or if he did remember, perhaps he was too embarrassed to talk about it. After all, I could be totally wrong about what he was dreaming of, and if I was it would surely lead to another fight. I shrugged it off instead and smiled when he pulled down a box of pancake mix and held it in his hand, turning to look at me. "You've got batter duty," he said, smiling.
I nodded, got up from the chair I was sitting on, and went to work.
14
Jackson
We had parkedourself down at the beach and sunned almost the entire day, only running into the ocean when we needed to cool ourself off. Afterward, we drove to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner. I had just pulled my truck into my driveway and cut the engine when I looked over at Bailey, who flashed me a sexy smile.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
"Am I hungry? Yes! I can't wait to bite into those steaks we picked up," she said, hopping out of the truck and grabbing the bag of food we'd picked up after we left the beach.
"Well, then let’s get inside, and I will get the barbecue fired up."
Hand in hand we ran up the walkway to the front door and into the house. "I'll get the towels and blanket into the wash while you do that," she said, running back out the front door.
I couldn't help but watch as she ran down the driveway back to the truck to grab the bag of towels and blankets. I held the door open for her and she smiled, stopping to place a kiss on my lips before running off in the direction of the laundry area. I shut and locked the door and headed into the kitchen to first season the steaks and then turn the barbecue on.
After we ate, and both showered, curled up on the couch, and put a movie on. She curled up into my side, resting her head on my chest, and pulled the blanket down off the back of the couch covering us up. As the movie played, I could barely stop the thoughts running through my mind. Having her here, having her back, felt like we were becoming serious again. Since the wedding, we had spent almost all of our time together, and even though we had been apart for five years, it felt as if we had never been apart at all.
I ran my fingers through her soft hair as the credits rolled. "So are you ever going to tell me what you have been up to for the last five years?" I questioned.
"You don't want to know that, Jackson," she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes.
"Sure, I do. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know."
"Well, I moved a couple hours away from here. I had a job and started dating a guy I worked with. His name was Jim."
"Jim, huh? Well, while I sit here and pretend I am not jealous, why don't you tell me what happened to him?"
