Kisses From Jack (The Kisses 1.5)

“I understand,” I tried to sound like it didn’t matter. My voice cracked, betraying me. I had been in this spot before; he wanted to get away while he still could. He pushed a tendril of hair behind my ear and turned my face to look at him. His expression was soft, but his eyes told me he was in complete control and he knew it.

“I will meet you here in two hours. Don’t be late,” he said right before he kissed me. I knew it was a goodbye kiss. I hoped it was only goodbye for two hours and not forever.

***

I watched him hurry off down the beach, talking forcefully into his phone, and then he slowly disappeared. My heart ached to see him go. I didn’t know what scared me more, the idea that he was never coming back, or that he would be back in two hours. Jack evoked such a range of emotions that I felt confused by them all. I searched the horizon for a single stationary object to help me keep my emotional balance, but found nothing. I wanted him to come back, but I was scared of what it meant if he did. The level of attraction I felt towards him wasn’t something I was ready for. This was only a vacation after all, and I was going to have to say goodbye to him eventually. I didn’t want to think about it.

I ate a small breakfast at the resort cafe and then hurried back to our spot on the beach. The tide was going out, so I passed the time looking for shells and shiny rocks. It was such a simple thing to do, but I found myself chasing the waves, trying to catch small stones and pieces of drift wood before the ocean could reclaim them. I giggled, feeling like a wonder-filled child, as I found a small shell and released it onto a wave, watching it drift away. I looked at my watch. It had been a little over the two hours, and I looked around full of hope. My hope quickly turned to an emptiness as I looked up and down the beach and couldn’t find him. My little floating shell had sunk quickly in the waves and I didn’t want to play anymore.

I bit my lip, ashamed that tears were forming along the edges of my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut as hard as I could and took a deep breath. Last night had been amazing and I would always have that. Jack was obviously a busy man, and this was only a vacation after all. This wasn’t real life.

“Sorry I’m late,” a deep voice said behind me. I turned to see Jack wading into the water, the cuffs of his shorts already damp from the waves. He smiled and my heart pounded like a drum in my chest. He came back. He had come back... for me.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” I said quietly. I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice. He looked at his hands and I realized he was breathing hard. He must have run the whole way here.

“Sometimes I hate my job. Even on vacation, I don’t really get a day off. I apologize for making you wait,” he replied somberly. His eyes shone with honesty as he reached my spot in the water. “What are you doing out here?”

“Chasing the waves,” I said. I had completely forgiven him. When he looked at me like that, I think I would have forgiven anything. “What would you like to do?”

He smiled and kissed me softly. My hands pressed against his strong chest as the water swirled around our knees. “Walk with me?”

He grabbed my hand and led me out of the water. My skirt clung to my wet legs as we walked along the beach. His hand felt strong in mine, like he would never let me go again. I wished that he didn’t have to, that we could stay in this sunshine filled moment forever. We walked for a while, the sand feeling good under my feet. There were some locals in tents along the beach hocking their trinkets, bobbles, and treasures. Each tent held gems, jewelry, liquor and paintings in all shapes and sizes.

“A pretty necklace for a pretty lady?” A strongly accented local called out as we walked past a blue tent. He was another in a long line of tents strung along the beach. I giggled and kept walking as the merchants called out their wares to us.

We stopped several times to look at the beautiful things for sale, but I never saw anything that I wanted until the last shop in the row. It was a simple silver pendant in the shape of a dolphin, but something about it called to me. I hadn’t seen another like it in any of the shops. Jack smiled as he saw me pick it up and admire it.

“The lady has excellent taste,” the shop keeper cooed as he saw me pick it up. “Put it on. See how it feels.”

Jack took the delicate chain from my fingers and deftly placed it around my neck. The dolphin fit perfectly in the hollow of my throat. Jack stepped back and smiled.

“How much for the necklace?” he asked the shop keeper. The old man frowned and looked at the necklace before answering.

“$100 American dollars. But for you, I sell it at $85,” he smiled, his teeth bright.

“$85? That is too much. Thank you though. It is beautiful,” I said quickly. I reached up to undo the clasp and return it to the jewelry tray. I knew that I could negotiate him down, but I had to act like I was going to leave it.

“No. The lady will have it,” Jack interjected, placing his hand on the back of my neck so I couldn’t reach the clasp.

“What are you doing? It isn’t worth that,” I hissed at him. He ignored me and fished money out of his wallet and handed it to the man.

“Thank you, sir. Enjoy the necklace, miss,” the shop keep said with a grin as he counted the money greedily. I shook my head slowly, but the proud smile on Jack’s face kept my mouth shut. If I didn’t know for sure he was rich before, I certainly knew it now.

We stepped out of the merchant’s stall and were immediately swarmed by the neighboring tents’ merchants. Every single one of them called out in sweet voices, trying to coax us like sirens to their wares. Every stall we passed had a salesman trying to pull us into their shop. One physically grabbed my arm to pull me under his tent to look at his jewelry, making me squeak and stumble away. Jack’s face twisted as though he tasted something sour, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the water. The merchants still kept hawking their wares, but at least they couldn’t pluck at our clothing. We walked through the waves, still following the white sandy line of the ocean. I secretly hoped we would walk around the entire island instead of turning around.

“I buy one thing and they all go crazy,” he said, looking back at the tents like they might follow us out into the ocean.

“That’s because you paid full price,” I said with a giggle. He looked at me and furrowed his brows. “I willingly admit that I am not the best haggler, but I could have gotten him down to at least $30. You flashed your money and now they know you don’t haggle.”

“Oh, come on, $85 isn’t that much! It isn’t something to justify the feeding frenzy of salesmen. Now I know how chum feels when the sharks gather.” He glanced back over his shoulder like they still might be chasing us.

“$85 is a lot of money to spend on a necklace, no matter how pretty it is.” I couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face, his head tilted slightly as though I had said the sky was made of chocolate.

“It isn’t that much,” he said. If I didn’t know better, I would have said a pout crossed his handsome mouth.

“It is to them. It certainly is to me. $85 is almost a full day’s pay.” I shrugged like it was nothing, but he stopped walking and dropped my hand in surprise. I fiddled with the silver charm, sliding it up and down on its simple chain. I hadn’t meant to bring up how different our economic situations were. He stayed quiet for a moment and then cleared his throat. I had a horrible feeling that he was thinking of bolting. “Thank you for the necklace though. I really do like it, even if it is a little extravagant.”

Jack’s face relaxed and he smiled at me. His shoulders dropped from his ears and he reached out a hand to me again.