More Than Anyone

[vale4eva]

Ciao tutti

Enjoy

Chapter 11:

“Geeze Jack, we’re only going for 5 days, and you’ve packed like your entire wardrobe!” she looked down at his 2 suitcases dumbfounded. “I thought I was bad!”

“Well I have to go prepared. You never know who you might run into” he winked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh nothing, but if I happen to run into another pretty blonde while I’m there, I’m not going to say no” he smirked.

Rolling her eyes at him she picked up her one suitcase. “Well, if that’s the case, I don’t think you’ll need any clothes then” she grinned back, before making her way out towards the car.

Unlocking the car boot she threw her luggage inside. Shuffling it along to the edge, she made room for Jacks TWO GIGANTIC suitcases.

“Ok, I’m all ready to go!” she called out to him as she stood beside the passenger side door, “you ready Jack!?”

“Yeah, coming!”

Heaving his two suitcases along with him, he dumped them inside of the boot. Shutting down the car boot he made his way around towards the driver’s seat. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” he exclaimed; rubbing his hands together with glee.

“Yeah alright, don’t get excited. Let’s just hope we make it there this time” she rolled her eyes as she fastened up her seatbelt.

“Oh please, we will. I’ve learned from my past mistakes” nodded Jack, “never under any circumstances, follow directions from your best friend” he smirked.

“Hey! It wasn’t my fault I couldn’t make sense of your damn map! It must have been a dud one” she quickly turned her head to the side.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. But anyway, now I’ve got my trusty satellite navigation system” he lightly tapped the satellite box in front of him, “we’ll get there in no time” he smiled.

……………………………

“Wow, this place is so beautiful Jack,” gushed Martha; “the perfect setting for a romantic getaway” she tore her eyes away from the picturesque scenery and turned to Jack. “Pity it’s you I’m here with” she muttered just loud enough for Jack to hear.

“Hmm, my thoughts exactly” he smirked back; playfully sticking his tongue out at her.

Grabbing a hold of the bags they made there way inside.

After going through all of the paper work and receiving the room key, they took the lift up to the 4th floor where their room was situated.

“Here’s your room sir, Madame, I hope you enjoy your stay” the porter welcomed them into there … DOUBLE room!?

“Erm, excuse me, we ordered two singles, not a double bed” Jack turned to the 30-something male that stood in the background.

“Oh really? Well I’m sorry sir; this is all we have left.”

“Oh, well perfect!” spoke a sarcastic Jack as he rolled his eyes.

“I can talk to the manager if it’s a problem. Maybe get him to sort something out” he offered.

“No its fine” Martha butted in as she strolled passed the two men and sat down on the bed, “we sleep together every night, this wont be a problem” Martha smiled over towards the now-bewildered looking man.

“Oh, well, that’s great then” stuttered the confused porter. “Well, enjoy your stay” he smiled before turning and walking away.

Closing the door behind him he left the … couple!? to it…

“Wow, I can’t get over how amazing this place is, I’ve barely seen any of it and I’m already in love” she beamed.

“Yeah, it’s pretty gorgeous isn’t it! Pity about the beds though” he groaned.

“Huh?” frowned Martha as she swung around to face him, “we sleep together ever night and suddenly this is a problem for you?” she raised her eyebrows.

“No, of course not, its just annoying when people can’t do there jobs properly.” Groaned Jack as he dumped his two cases beside the side of the bed.

“Oh well, it doesn’t bother me” she casually shrugged it off. “I can’t wait to explore this place Jack. It’s so huge! I feel like a little girl in a palace” she smiled as she flung her arms out at her sides.

“Yeah, well once were settled in we can go and examine the rest of the place.”

“Cool. So when’s your conference anyway?”

“Oh, tomorrow morning, I should be done around 1ish” he began, “I might have a meeting on Wednesday morning as well, I’m not sure though. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow”.

“Ok, cool. That means I can have a lie in then” she grinned.

He rolled his eyes, “Uh, you and your lie-in’s” he said before grinning back.

“Don’t complain. A girl needs her beauty sleep!”

……………………………………

Martha and Jack sat at the hotel pool bar, awaiting their recently ordered drinks, and although Jack was engaged in a rather deep conversation with Martha; a pretty blonde girl in the background couldn’t help but catch his eye.

Darting his vision too and fro, from Martha and back to the mysterious girl, he smiled. Maybe this trip away would prove to be more eventful than he first thought…

“Here’s your drinks,” the young waiter approached them holding their two glasses.

“Thanks” smiled Martha as he passed her the glass.

Taking a sip she proceeded with her speech, “So yeah, I’m fairly certain they’re ok now, it was rough there for a second though, none of us really thought they’d make it through” continued Martha as she played with the straw in her glass.

“Uh huh” replied a vague and distant Jack as he unconsciously kept his eyes focussed in the background.

Noticing Jacks lack of focus on her, she frowned, “Jack, are you even listening to me?” she waved her one hand in his face.

“Huh?” Jack tore his vision away from the girl making eyes at him, and looked back at Martha, “yeah, of course I am”.

“No you weren’t, you were too busy off in your own little world as usual” she groaned, “let me guess, there’s a pretty blonde girl sitting behind me isn’t there?” she asked, but that was more of a statement rather than a question, considering the fact that Martha already knew the answer to it.

“Maybe” he casually replied as he shifted his vision away from Martha’s glaring eyes.

“When are you going to give this up Jack!? This trip was supposed to be about us, just chilling out and having fun together, I hope you’re not thinking of ditching me and leaving me for some random one night stand” she frowned.

“Of course I’m not, and you’re right, this holiday is about us, and it’s going to be great, I can feel it” he grinned as he picked up his glass and clinked it with Martha’s.

“Cheers!”

……………………………………

(Later that evening)

Following several drinks at the bar, Martha had finally decided to make an exit. Heading upstairs she changed her clothing and climbed into bed; flicking on the television she waited for Jack…

(Elsewhere)

Although hesitant, Jack made his way over towards the young blonde woman that sat beside the bar's surface.

“Sitting alone drinking can never be a good sign” Jack smirked as he took the seat beside the young woman.

“Yeah well, I’m not alone anymore am I” she smiled as she turned to him.

He let out a soft laugh as he nodded his head. “I’m Jack” he held out his hand for her to shake.

“Nice to meet you Jack, I’m Lilly” smiled the petite young woman as she shook his hand.

Sitting in silence for several minutes they both drank their drinks.

“So, are you here for the conference?” she asked, “Or are you just on holiday with your girlfriend?”

“I’m here for the conference. My friend’s just along for the ride” he replied, placing emphasis on the word ‘friend’; just to be clear.

“Oh, sorry, I just presumed you were together; you seemed close.”

“Yeah, we are, but were just friends”.

“Cool,” grinned a relieved Lilly, as she processed the fact that her dream guy was in fact single. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the meeting then” she continued as she leaned further inward and sat on the edge of her seat; her eyes twinkling in the light as she flirtatiously looked up at him.

“Yeah, I guess you will.”

“Bye then” she smiled one last time as she pushed herself fully off the chair and walked away from the bar, leaving behind a very pleased looking Jack Holden; suddenly he couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s meeting.

Upcoming chapters: Despite his reassuring words to Martha. Will temptation prove to be too much for Jack?

[vale4eva]

I dont like this chapter! But I thought I best give you something. lol

Message to Krystal: I am so sorry for what I am about to bestow upon you

Just hang in there lol

Warning: content unsuitable for younger readers

Chapter 12:

“Hey, how’d you sleep?” Jack rolled over in bed to turn to a sleepy Martha.

“Umm, fine” she mumbled back, keeping her head stuck in her pillow, “you?”

“Yeah, great. These pillows are surprisingly comfy” he grinned as he moved onto his front and plumped up his pillow.

“Mmm” she sighed.

“Aw, still sleepy” he cooed as he leant over to her; wiping away a few strands of her hair off her shoulder.

Blowing gently onto her skin, he watched her shiver beneath him.

“Cold” she whined softly in her pillow as she felt the cool breeze glide across her skin.

He laughed softly as he straightened out her messy hair to one side, running his fingers through the separate strands as he did; waiting for her to acknowledge him beside her.

Pulling her head from out of her pillow she turned to him, “you’re supposed to let me sleep” she pouted.

“Aw, sorry” he mimicked her expression as he gently touched her wet pouting lips with the tip of his index finger. He smiled at how adorable she was; only Martha had the power to look this cute!

“Listen, are you going to be ok if I leave you here? I need to go downstairs and have breakfast”.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she nodded as she lay her head back down on the pillow.

“Ok”.

Pushing himself upwards he shuffled off the bed. Heading towards the bathroom he grabbed his work clothes for today’s conference, before closing the door behind him and freshening up.

15 minutes later and Jack reappeared, “Well, I’m off for brekkie. You want me to bring you something back?”

“Erm, yeah, some fruit would be nice” she grinned as she looked up at him.

“Ok, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“K, but don’t be loud when you come back in, I’ll probably be asleep” she yawned as she stretched out beneath the sheets.

“Alright” he rolled his eyes, “I’ll be as quiet as I can. See you later” he smiled as he leant down and kissed her forehead…

………………………………

Taking a break from his breakfast, he took a moment to glance around the room; his eyes taking in all of the many faces that surrounded the breakfast table.

Several tables away he spotted Lily, the girl from last night, sitting and chatting away with a young man; they appeared quite similar in their facial features, so Jack guessed it was probably her brother.

Catching her eye-line he smiled, and with a nod of the head, he acknowledged her presence.

Following several seconds of gazing, he turned back and continued with his breakfast. Time was quickly running out and the conference was fast approaching, and this was definitely not the type of thing Jack wanted to miss. And not because it would be the most thrilling and exciting of all meetings, but because if his boss ever found out he was, under any circumstances, slacking, he’d have his head for sure!

………………………………

“God that was boring” Lily turned to Jack as they made their way out of the conference room.

“Yep, that meeting pretty much sums up the definition of the term boring” replied Jack, “good job it only lasted 2 hours, otherwise they’d be in serious fear of having 20 comatosed holiday workers on there hands” smirked Jack.

“Yeah, you got that right” she laughed.

2 gruelling hours of speeches, theories, ideas and debates had finally come to an end, and Jack and Lily were finally free. Well, up until tomorrow that is, when they’d have to go through it all over again. But for now, they could finally begin to enjoy their free holiday.

“So” she turned to him, pausing slightly before speaking, “what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“Erm, I’m not sure yet, I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Oh right, well me and my brother hired this fishing boat for the rest of the afternoon, we were just going to have a picnic and float out in the ocean for a while, it should be fun, you and your friend are more than welcome to join us, if you’d like” she smiled, “but don’t feel like you have to though, its totally your call” she quickly added.

“Yeah, no that sounds nice, count us in”.

“Great! We’ll be down by the entrance in about 30 minutes, we’ll meet you there”.

“Cool. We’ll be there. Well, providing Martha’s up that is” he laughed.

……………………………

“A boat trip?” she frowned, “I thought we were heading into town today, we can sail a boat at home anytime we want Jack” grumbled Martha as she grabbed her sandals.

“Yeah, I know, but it sounded like fun. And anyway, I said we’d come now so were going” he told her.

“Urgh, fine” she rolled her eyes.

“Come on, stop whingeing” he teased as he took her hands and pulled her up to her feet.

Together the two exited the hotel room…

……………………………

After the introductions were made, the four individuals headed out towards the harbour, in search of their boat.

“Ooo, there it is” exclaimed Lily as she spotted their boat ‘parked up’ in the distance.

“Oh, yeah!” beamed Martha; imitating Lily’s sudden burst of excitement, before turning her head and rolling her eyes out of sight, “how joyful this will be” she sarcastically muttered under her breath.

As Lily and Henry (Lily’s brother) scooted on up ahead, Jack pulled Martha to the side, “We’ll be right there” he called out to the two individuals up ahead.

Pulling Martha by the arm he led her over towards a quieter end of the harbour. Swivelling her around, he held her by the waist. Gently forcing her to step backwards until her back hit the wall; he stood in front of her, trapping her in.

“Ooo, what’s this” she grinned as her back rested against the wall, “you’ve had every other girl in Australia and now it’s my turn. I’m not sure I appreciate my first time being shoved up a brick wall though Jack” she smirked.

“Hmm” he sarcastically laughed, “That’s Very funny.”

She nodded in response, “Yeah, I thought so. So what’s up?”

“Well, for one, you’re making snide comments, which are totally unnecessary” he looked at her with serious eyes before releasing a sigh. “Look, I know you didn’t want to come to this thing, but can you at least give it a chance? Give her a chance; she’s really nice.”

“Yeah, fine. Look I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything, and she didn’t even hear me, so it’s all good” she told him, “why do you care anyway? It’s not like you’re going to form some kind of serious relationship commitment with her. The only reason you like her, is because you know you can get into her pants” she smartly added.

He scoffed at her remark, (although inside he knew she was right) “No” he whined, “that’s not the reason. She just seems cool, that’s all”.

“Yeah, whatever Jack. You can’t fool me, so don’t even try” she shot him a look before gently pushing him away and heading towards the boat.

…………………………

“So, what’s the deal with you and Jack anyway?” Lily asked Martha as the two girls lay side by side on the one area of the boat.

“What do you mean? Were best friends, plain and simple.”

“Right” she nodded, “so, he’s not with anyone then?”

“Depends what you mean by ‘with’.

“Well, is he in a serious relationship?”

“Oh no, definitely not. The term serious relationship never existed in Jacks dictionary”.

“Right” she laughed softly, “Well, that’s not exactly a bad thing” she cautiously replied, “a bit of casual fun isn’t exactly criminal”.

“No I guess not. Look Lily, you seem really nice and all so I’m going to give you a piece of advice. If you want casual sex with Jack, then just go and tell him! I mean, god! Knowing Jack he’ll probably drop his pants for you within the blink of an eye” she rolled her eyes before looking back at her straight-faced.

Not knowing how to respond, she let out a nervous laugh, “well, I’ll keep that in mind”.

“Hmm, whatever”.

“What’s going on down here then” spoke Jack in his jokey teacher-like accent, as he arrived behind them. Crouching downwards he lay on his front, facing the two girls.

“Oh nothing, I was just telling Lily how wonderful you are and how lucky I am to have you” she rambled on, before flashing him a toothy grin.

“Oh no, what have you done” he narrowed his eyes at Martha inquisitively, before looking at Lily whose face showed slight embarrassment.

“Nothing” she smiled sweetly, “I love you” she leant forward kissing his cheek, before pushing herself upwards and scooting off towards the other end of the boat.

“What did she say to you?” he asked with slight worry.

“Oh, nothing” she smiled nervously before turning away from him.

……………………………

(Later that night)

Martha and Henry walked off into the distance, while Jack and Lily stayed beside the rocks on the waters edge. “So, what did she really say to you?” Smirked Jack as he looked to his side at Lilly.

“Hmm, what did she say?” she muttered before grinning, “Oh yeah, how could I forget. She just said that if I ever wanted sex with you then I should just tell you” she smirked before laughing.

“Ah, did she now” he grinned, looking over into the distance at Martha and shaking his head, “I’ll kill her later” he smirked.

“No, don’t. Because at least now I know” she raised her eyebrows at him; the glint in her eye from the previous night suddenly re-appearing.

“Hmm” grinned Jack as he looked across at her, “you know what; I think I’m going to like these next couple of days.”

“Yeah, me too” she nodded back.

Together the two leaned forward; their lips brushing together in a tender kiss. The moment however soon became a blur as their passion and hunger took over; sending them both into overdrive with desire.

From the waters edge, they hurried back to Lily’s hotel room (which coincidently turned out to be only 5 doors down from Jack and Martha’s). Clothes were then harshly removed and breaths and movements turned into a somewhat rhythmic motion; as they both allowed for temptation to overcome them...

Note: I think all of this JnM malarky has sucked away my writers mojo

So, sorry if it sucked

[vale4eva]

Thanks everyone

Enjoy

Chapter 13:

“Good morning.” Grinned an alive and kicking Martha, down to a droopy eyed Jack; who still lay half asleep in bed. “What happened to you last night? You got in really late. Or early, to be precise”.

“Huh? Oh, erm …” he scratched his head as he thought of a believable answer, “I got talking to someone” he replied vaguely.

“You got talking to someone?” She frowned back at him, “as in, just a random person?” she asked before laughing slightly.

“Er, yeah. About the conference” he continued to lie through his teeth.

He didn’t even know why he felt he had to lie to her, but for some reason, he didn’t feel that telling the truth would do much good here.

“Oh right”.

“I’m sorry” he sighed as he pushed himself up into a seated position; “I didn’t mean to leave you alone” he spoke in a regretful tone.

“That’s ok. I was fine” She smiled as her eyes glanced from Jack, and back to the neatly piled clothes, which she had recently folded. “Don’t you think you should be getting up soon, your conference is in less than an hour.” She raised her wrist to him; showing him the time.

“Oh, god” he groaned, falling backwards onto the bed, “yeah, I’m getting up now”.

Forcing himself out of bed he took to his feet, turning towards his suitcase, he pulled out his clothes.

A knock at the door however, prevented him from making any further progress. “I’ll get it” Jack called out to Martha, who walked through into the bathroom out of sight.

Opening the door, he was presented with a somewhat excited Lily. However ‘somewhat’ appeared to be an understatement, in fact she was practically bouncing around in the doorway.

“Hey Jack!” she beamed up at him, before her eyes couldn’t help but glance down at his naked tanned torso.

“Hey, sorry, I’m kind of running late this morning” he politely tried to force her out of the doorway.

“Yeah, me too actually!” She laughed, “I guess it just shows how tiring last night was huh” she raised her eyebrows at him, “not that I’m complaining”.

“Hmm, yeah” he awkwardly laughed.

“So, I’ll see you down there then, I’ll make sure I save you a seat” she grinned, before placing her cold hand on his chest and leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips.

Pulling away, she smiled, before turning on her heel and happily scooting off down the hallway.

Closing the door behind him, he sighed; wiping his wet lips he shook his head. Why was it suddenly feeling as if Lily was about to cause a lot of unnecessary hard work for him? Not to mention giving him a major headache along the way.

But unfortunately for Jack, the headache was about to arrive sooner than expected, as he turned around to face a not-so-happy-looking Martha.

“Martha!” he exclaimed in surprise; slight worry hindering his voice.

Shaking her head, clearly unimpressed at his behaviour, she spoke up. “Got talking to someone did you!?” she began, “it sounds like you did a little more than that Jack.”

Releasing a heavy sigh he walked over to the bed; taking a seat, “I know, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I even lied to you, I just …” the words drifted away as he sat with his head bowed down.

“Do I mean so little to you, that you felt that you had to lie?” she asked; visibly upset at their current situation.

“What!?” he looked up at her; his eyes shining like crystals, as the evident sadness he was experiencing seeped onto his face, “Of course not. You know you mean the world to me. Like I said, I don’t even know why I lied …”

“Look, whatever” she shook her head, “You know what Jack, it doesn’t matter. You’re free to see whoever you want, it shouldn’t matter what I think anyway.”

“Well it matters to me.”

“Well it shouldn’t. The only person I feel sorry for right now, is Laurie, who is actually a really sweet girl might I add. She’s probably the nicest and most genuine person you’ve ever gone out with. You know, in the one-night-only sense” she rolled her eyes.

“Oh please!” he scoffed, “Why should you feel sorry for Laurie! She’s probably out doing the exact same thing as me.”

“No Jack, she’s really not” she began, “she’s probably waiting at home, thinking about this wonderful guy that she met, praying for the days to just fly by so that she can see him again”.

He shook his head at her comment; adament that he had nothing to feel bad about.

“I think that’s a bit of a bold statement Martha” he said un-amused as he stood up and grabbed his clothes.

“How is it?” she shot back, “that’s exactly what I’d be doing” she looked across at him with sad eyes; her face displaying so much sincerity.

Looking into her eyes, he again felt overcome with sadness, maybe she was right, maybe he really was being a jerk. But why should he change himself just because others didn’t approve!

“Look, like I said, it doesn’t matter; I don’t want to argue about this, so let’s just go down and eat,” she resolved to end the brewing argument, “get dressed, I’ll wait for you”.

……………………………

“Hey Jack,” grinned Lily as she noticed Jack make an appearance, but her face quickly fell as she saw Martha trailing behind him. “Oh, sorry, I only saved one seat” she apologised as she signalled to the one seat beside her.

“Oh, that’s ok, I’ll go sit over there” spoke an unenthusiastic Martha, as she gestured over towards the far corner.

“Don’t be silly, we’ll pull a chair around, you can sit with us” Jack looked at her through sad eyes.

“No, its fine, there’s a spare table over there, I’ll sit there, I’m not fussed” she continued as she glanced back at Jack for a brief moment, before making her way over towards the spare table in the background.

A sad and hurt Jack looked on at his best friend, sitting alone and ‘un-wanted’ in the corner of the room.

“It’s ok Jack, Henry’s coming down in a bit, he’ll sit with her” Lily looked up at Jack, who continued to fix his eyes on Martha. “Jack” she called out softly, tugging his hand a little to gain his attention, “you’re not going to sit down?”

“Erm” he paused, looking down at Lily and then back at Martha. It broke his heart to see his best friend sitting all alone in an unfamiliar environment. How could he just leave her there like that!? “I’m sorry, I’m going to go and sit with Martha, I don’t want to leave her alone” he looked down at Lily with a sad smile before turning and walking away.

A rejected Lily sat sulking in her chair as she watched her new found love, go off and sit with his supposed best friend. Rolling her eyes she continued with her breakfast…

“Hey, can I sit here?” Jack asked softly as he stood silently beside Martha’s table, waiting for her to (hopefully) welcome him back.

“Jack, you don’t have to sit by me just because you feel sorry for me, I don’t want your pity.”

“Pity?” he whined back, “and here was me thinking I’d just rather sit with my best friend” he smiled.

She let out a weak smile as she looked up at him, “fine, you can sit there”.

His face lit up into a relieved smile, as she finally let her guard down; and moving his chair around to the side of the table, he sat closer to her. Sitting down beside her, he placed his arm around her waist; while his hand couldn’t help but trail up and down her back comfortingly; just to show her he was there for her.

Leaning over, he removed a few lose strands of her hair away from her face, before placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

Martha couldn’t help the blush that began to creep onto her cheeks; she always did love it when Jack paid so much loving attention to her. And right now, she felt like she needed it...

All the while, Lily sat several tables away; her eyes glaring daggers at the brunette beauty that cosily sat with her knew found love. She inwardly cursed the interaction before her; clearly unimpressed by the intimate display of love and affection that occurred between the two.

Just friends!? Yeah right! Who were they kidding!

[vale4eva]

Rach, you broke my heart *wipes away tear*

Sorry *cries* but this chapters just for you

See Rach. Too many other chicks. You've got poor Puja thinking that Lily is Laurie.

I didnt actually notice that until you said it

Sorry for confusing you Puja Next time I'll make sure I pick names that use different letters I confuse myself sometimes aswell. lol

Thanks for the comments, here it is, finally. lol

Warning: Chapter contains content that is unsuitable for younger readers

Enjoy

Chapter 14:

“What time will you be finished?” asked Martha as she sat with crossed legs on the bed.

“Erm, well it finishes around 1, so I’ll be back at about 1.15”.

“Hmm” grinned Martha, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I doubt you’ll get away that quickly; not if Lily’s got anything to do with it” she smirked.

“Yeah” he laughed through gritted teeth, “I’m starting to regret ever sleeping with her, she’s awfully clingy” he groaned with a frown on his face.

“And this is coming from the guy that not twenty four hours ago, told me to, and I quote, ‘give her a chance; she’s really nice” she put on her man-ish accent before grinning smugly.

Jack just stayed silent, his head bowed downwards as he tried to avoid her eye contact.

“Well, I guess she just likes you a lot Jack, I mean, what do you expect, of course she’s going to fuss around you.”

“Yeah, but there’s liking someone, and then there’s just plain scary obsessiveness” he turned to her with wide eyes. “But” he sighed, “I guess it’s my fault it even happened, so I’ll just have to grin and bear it”.

“Oh what a good boy you are” she teased.

“I know, I’m too good, that’s the problem” he sighed, before grinning. “Ok, I’ll see you soon” he walked over towards her “I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he looked directly into her eyes as he spoke; making it certain that he would fulfil his promise to her.

Leaning over he placed a kiss on her forehead, before turning on his heel and heading for the door.

“Jack” she called over to him sotfly.

“Yeah” he turned around to answer her as he reached the door.

“Don’t make promises” she looked at him with sad eyes; both of them knowing full-well that he would probably end up breaking it.

His eyes stayed fixed with hers as he silently stood at the doorway, his face continuing to fall as he processed her final comment. She had every right to say that, and even though she hadn’t explicitly said he wouldn’t keep his promise, he knew that’s what she meant.

Sighing loudly, a dejected Jack made his way out of the hotel room…

…………………………

“You fancy coming back to mine for a bit?” Lily’s eyes opened wide with desire as she looked up at him. He knew exactly what she had in mind.

“Erm … well …” he began to hesitate as he looked down at his watch. The time now read 12.45; it was a little earlier than anticipated, due to the meeting unexpectedly finishing within the hour.

“Oh come on Jack, it’s just a bit of fun” she grinned, moving further forward and stroking his one hand with her index finger, “and I can’t have fun on my own” she pouted. “Well, I can, but I’d rather you were there with me” she added with a smirk.

He sighed, rolling his eyes; why’d he always have to back down so easily when sex was involved!?

“Fine, but I can’t stay long” he told her.

“That’s fine by me” she grinned; feeling awfully pleased with herself as the two walked away.

…………………………

Walking down the corridor, Jack couldn’t help but glance regretfully at his hotel doorway. Just thinking of Martha being in there, all alone, waiting for him, was enough to make him want to drop everything and head right back to her. But with a rather desperate Lily practically tugging at his arm to pull him into her room, he didn’t really have much of a choice.

She seemed so genuinely excited, the way her face suddenly lit up as soon as he’d agreed to spend some time with her; and he’d hate to be the one to just cruelly crush her happiness. And so, he would go back with her, but only for an hour-or-so; he had made a promise to Martha, and he was going to honour it. I mean sure, Lily was sweet, but Martha’s happiness would always be far more important to him.

“Well, at least that meeting didn’t last as long as yesterdays” spoke a delighted Lily as they finally approached their destination.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a plus.”

“Yeah, totally. Less time for work means more time for something else” she smirked; placing the key in the lock and turning it, before turning back to Jack with a cheeky grin.

“Hmm” he chuckled softly. Despite her tendency to get over excited and a tad possessive, he had come to the conclusion that she really was a nice girl; she had a sweet personality and was probably a lot brighter than the average girl he would normally ‘date’.

Maybe spending some more time with her wasn’t such a bad idea after all…

……………………………

Lily and Jack now lay in bed, side by side; breathless, exposed, and rather sweaty. Their clothes were randomly scattered across the floor and the bed sheets were crumpled up into a ball at the end of the bed. The brief, but very passionate encounter they had experienced, had now come and gone, and a very satisfied Lily lay content and at peace on the one side of her bed.

“Mmm, I feel so relaxed” she sighed as she closed her eyes. “How’d you have the power to make a woman feel this good?”

“Oh please! Don’t! My heads already too big, says Martha anyway” he smirked.

Rolling onto her side she gazed across at him, “Well, you’re allowed to have a big head when you feel that good” she grinned with lustful eyes.

Shuffling onto his side to face her, he smiled, “you’re not so bad yourself” he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She released a small chuckle at his comment, before leaning further forward and capturing his lips. Lifting his arm up, she snuggled into the space beside his chest, before letting his arm drop down, and comfortably rest on her waist. “Mmm, I could just stay here forever” she sighed; feeling the heat radiate off his body, warming her up.

A slightly unnerved Jack began to frown; the tenderness of the moment was beginning to get a little much for him. She was talking as if they were soul mates that were getting ready to settle down! When in actual fact, they had only known each other two days!

Hadn’t Jack been clear enough with the whole ‘casual sex’ thing? After all, he was only here for the fun. He wasn’t looking for any kind of commitment! He was 20! Not 30!

“Errm” he mumbled from out of the silence, “sorry” he pulled away from her, “I have to go now”.

“What? Why?” replied a hurt and rejected Lily as she pushed herself upwards.

“I’m sorry, I would stay, but I don’t want to leave Martha, it’s already 1.30.”

“Oh god” she groaned as she slumped back down onto the bed, “here we go again. I don’t even know why I bothered asking. Ive only known you for two days and every single time were together, you end up leaving early to go back to her. It’s like she’s got you tied to some chains or something” she pushed herself back upright to look at him. “You are allowed to live your own life Jack; you don’t have to answer to her.”

“I don’t!” he was quick to reply, “It’s not like that. It’s just …” he sighed before continuing, “I invited her here on this trip, and I've barely spent two seconds with her since we arrived”.

“Well, why doesn’t she do what you’ve done, go out and find someone to spend time with, someone different, someone exciting” she raised her eyebrows.

“No, Martha’s not like that, she wouldn’t … she just … she wouldn’t.”

“Well it sounds to me like she’s got a few issues” she rolled her eyes before lying back onto the bed.

“She’s not got issues!” he again shot back, a little more forcefully than before however, as he quickly sat upright.

Looking straight ahead into the open air, he frowned, “she’s just …” his voice turned softer, “different.”

“Different? Different as in how?”

“I don’t know” he shrugged, “look, it doesn’t matter” he added, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing upwards, “I still have to go anyway, I can’t stay here all day”.

“Fine” replied a hurt Lily as she folded her arms over her chest in a sulking manor.

Pulling his trousers and shirt on he smartened himself up. His flattened down hair was then spiked back into its original style as he worked his fingertips through the ends. He didn’t really know why he was bothering though, it’s not like Martha wouldn’t guess he had just been with Lily. And anyway, if she asked, he wouldn’t lie to her; he had been down that road quite recently and wasn’t planning on doing it again.

“Ok, well, I guess I’ll see you around” he looked back down at her for one final time, before heading towards the door.

“Wait, Jack!” she hurriedly called back; pushing herself upwards and making her way over towards him.

Standing in front of him, her body bare and exposed, she smiled, “maybe tomorrow we could do something?” She reached out and gently stroked his arm in a seductory manor.

Looking across at her hopeful face, he sighed. His arm tingled from her gentle touch as he answered her back, “yeah, sure”.

“Great” she smiled. Before walking further over to him and kissing him softly on the lips.

He gently kissed her back, his hand cupping her cheek as he did so; the tender moment soon transforming into something much more passionate however.

Truth be told, having a naked woman standing in front of him, at his mercy, willing to devour him, right then and there, was just that little bit too much for Jack to handle, so, he proceeded to deepen the kiss, his mind and common sense being thrown out of the window as his hormones yet again took over.

Getting lost in the moment, he wrapped his arms around her warm and soft body, his hands trailing around her back and to her front as he pushed her up for more.

She moaned through pleasure as his hands worked her front, her body was now tingling all over; right from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She had never felt so alive!

Gasping for breath, they both pulled away, “oh, god” he spoke softly in between panting, as he realised the moment had caused him to get carried away, “I really have to go now”.

She nodded and smiled back, her face flushed from the intensity, and her lips pink and puffy from his passionate kisses. “I’ll see you soon” she grinned, before walking away from him and lying back onto the bed.

“Hmm” he nodded with a smile, before taking a deep breath and composing himself, ready to face the outside world … and Martha!

…………………………

(Elsewhere)

Martha sat on her bed, her eyes continuing to glance down at her watch as she silently wished the hours away. It had only been 15 minutes since Jack had left and already she was bored to tears.

So much for their fun and exciting adventure! She rolled her eyes as she thought back over the last couple of days.

As much as she’d hate to admit it; her high hopes for this holiday had unfortunately died the second they had arrived. They had spent over half of their time in seperate places, with seperate people. And even when they did spend some time together, Lily was always there, hovering around him like some kind of a bad smell.

Ok, she had to admit it; she was a tad jealous of her. And not because she was having sex with him, but merely because she got to spend so much more time with him, something that Martha craved more than anything.

The jealousy had however brought one positive factor to the forefront. And that was making her realise just how much she really does loves Jack, unfortunately however, the constant attention he usually gives her back home was gradually disappearing. And as much as they’d both hate to admit it, the truth was, they were drifting apart.

They were getting older and venturing down new paths, well, Jack was. And Martha was certainly starting to notice a change. Even the little things that had never used to bother her so much, such as the fact that Jack cant keep his pants shut for longer than 24 hours, was beginning to get under her skin. And the constant female attention was starting to make her feel slightly left out, like she was suddenly no longer the single and most important female in his life. And that thought alone, saddened her down to her very core.

Maybe Tasha was right; maybe she really was too attached to him…

[vale4eva]

JnM central Minus the last part, but we wont mention that

Enjoy

Chapter 15:

Following Jacks return, they had headed into town to do some shopping; the markets and stalls were the hotspots for tourists, and considering they were tourists, they decided to go and check them out.

The afternoon had thankfully run smoothly, with both of them back to their usual happy selves; chatting, teasing, joking around and generally just enjoying each others company, and because of this, Martha had decided to push aside her growing fears and concerns. For now, she would let it slip passed, there was no need to bring up something like that at a time like this, it would only end up causing a potential argument to brew, and she certainly didn’t want that. So, for the time being she would keep quiet, and just enjoy spending some quality time with her best friend.

It was now early evening, 6.45pm to be exact, and Martha and Jack had found themselves on a local deserted beach.

Sitting cross legged, facing each other, they played there usual game of noughts and crosses...

“Hmm, what a pickle” Jack muttered teasingly as he looked down at his triumphant win; Martha had merely two more moves to make but it was obvious that Jack had won this round.

“Urgh, whatever. You win, I can’t be bothered with this anymore” she groaned as she threw her shells down onto the sand in annoyance.

“Oh please, you’re only annoyed because you suck at it” he smirked.

“Erm excuse me! I believe I am the reigning champion in this game! It was me that won 7 games in 10 rounds last week Jack. Remember” she smiled smugly as she gave him a poke in the chest.

“Nope, sorry, the minds a blank” he raised his eyebrows before casually turning away.

Martha grinned back at him, shaking her head from side to side as she heard him struggling to supress his giggle. He was such a big loser at times.

Seconds passed by and the moment dropped silent, where all that could be heard was the gentle sway of the waves hitting the rocks.

From out of the silence came a rather random question…

“Hey Martha, do you ever worry that you’ll just wake up one morning and your hands will be all wrinkly and old, and your hair will start to get all scraggly and grey strands will start to form?” he asked her as he lay backwards onto the sand.

“Erm … no, I don’t,” she replied uneasily; frowning and tilting her head to the side as she inquisitively narrowed her eyes, “are you trying to tell me something Jack?” she laughed nervously.

“What?” he looked up at her bewildered face, “Ooh” he laughed, “no sorry, I was just making a random comment” he grinned.

“Hmm, right” she laughed.

Looking down at him as he closed his eyes she grinned, “But, maybe it was a good thing you brought that up, because from where I’m sitting …” she paused as she ran a fingertip over his forehead, “hmm, it’s not looking so good for you Jacky. I can already see the wrinkles coming through” she looked down at him with a sympathetic-smile.

“WHAT!” he shot up in alarm, his hand immediately meeting his forehead with a slight slap as he felt his skin for any obvious wrinkles.

“Just kidding” she giggled.

He narrowed his eyes at her, “evil,” he pouted.

She flashed him a toothy grin in response, before shuffling on the sand and pushing herself upwards. “Ok” she clapped her hands together, rubbing off the sandy grit that stuck to her skin, as she looked down at him from above, “what do you feel like doing?”

“Hmm, how about nothing, how about we just stay here and chill for a bit” he spoke in a relaxed tone of voice as he kept his eyes closed shut.

“Booorring!” exclaimed Martha in a dumb tone of voice, as she laughed back down at him. Her feet shuffled along the sand until she was standing directly over him; each foot either side of his waist.

Jack just laughed back at her, opening one eye to look at his friend standing over him.

“Ok, well while you’re chilling, or, more precisely, being a lazy bum” she smirked, “I’m going to have a walk by the water”.

“Ok” he grinned up at her before shutting his one eye again for some peace and quiet.

Rolling her eyes she hopped away from him and headed down towards the waters edge...

Off with the fairies, and with her back turned to the main area of the beach, she failed to notice the cheeky young man that silently crept up behind her.

Without having time to react, she felt his hands unexpectedly grab her frame, and in a single and swooping motion, he scooped her into his arms.

“JACK!” she screamed out in alarm as she felt her feet lose the ground.

Ignoring her yelling he proceeded to run straight ahead; his feet splashing into the water as he trudged at a remarkably high speed into the depths of the ocean.

“JACK! NO!” she cried as she closed her eyes, feeling the splatter of water droplets hit her face. However he chose to ignore her and carried straight on; the water was now up to his waist as he continued to keep a firm grip of her whaling and fidgety body.

“Jack I swear to god! DO NOT…” but before she could finish her sentence, she was already head first under the water.

Coming up for air with an almighty splash, she faced him. Her hair was flattened down on her cheeks, and her unmistakeably beautiful blue eyes suddenly changed a darker shade of brown.

YEP! She looked well and truly pissed!

Jack on the other hand just carried on laughing; he couldn’t help but find the whole thing highly amusing.

“I! AM! SOAKING!” she roared in her tantrum.

“I know, its great isn’t it” Jack tried to stifle his laugh, “were the only two people in the ocean”, he drifted off, “look at all this space,” he flung his arms out into the air, “its all ours” he grinned as he laid on his back and swayed in the calming water, “Ahhhh, perfecto!”

Martha on the other hand failed to see the bright side, “MY CLOTHES ARE SOAKING!” she whinged, looking back at Jack for some kind of sympathy or apology; unfortunately she didn’t receive one.

“Mmm, isn’t it just gorgeous out here?” he smiled.

“WHAT!? NO IT’S NOT GORGEOUS! INFACT, ITS QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF GORGEOUS” she snapped back. He was really starting to annoy her. And the fact that he was ignoring her protests and shouting, only resulted in winding her up even more; of which Jack was utterly thrilled about.

Several seconds passed by, and still Jack failed to acknowledge her ‘pain’. With her eyes continuing to narrow and her breath becoming much heavier she eventually exploded.

“JACK!” she yelled out of the blue; smacking her hand down into the water and splashing his face.

“Alright alright! Now there was no need for that was there” he took to his feet again as he rubbed his watery eyes.

“Yeah well you deserved it! Look at me!” she moaned, “I look like a right state now thanks to you!”

“You look fine” he rolled his eyes, “Can’t you just enjoy the fact that we’ve got the entire beach to ourselves” he beamed.

“NO, I can’t, sorry” she whinged stubbornly as she folded her wet arms in front of her in a sulking manor.

“Geeze, you women are so damn hard to please” he rolled his eyes. “I mean, look at it! The ocean’s so calm and fresh and clean … it’s just … heaven,” he went on, before he cheekily grinned and signalled towards the space beside Martha. “Watch out for the crab!” he quickly added.

“WHAT!?” she screeched, before lunging straight ahead and wrapping her arms around his neck; clinging onto him for dear life as her head and eyes rapidly moved from side to side in fear of any oceanic creatures.

“Just kidding” he laughed as he held her in his arms.

Turning her head down to look at him she frowned, “I really hate you sometimes” she groaned back at him in annoyance…

“Aw, I love you too baby” he cooed back.

………………………………

“Gosh, what happened to you” asked Lily, as she tried to stifle her laugh at the two drowned individuals that approached her.

“Jack thought he’d be clever and decided to dunk me in the ocean” she replied with a sarcastic grin spread across her face.

“It was clever” he pouted, before flashing a cheeky grin Martha’s way.

“Hmm, yes, very clever Jack” she rolled her eyes, before turning back to Lily, “if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and wash the salt out of my hair” she glanced back at Jack un-amused, before walking off into their hotel room.

Jack muted his laugh as he watched her walk out of sight. “She loved every minute of it really” he smirked back at Lily.

“Hmm, I bet she did” she raised her eyebrows before grinning..

Preview: Jack gets a shock!

[vale4eva]

BIG chapter coming your way

Warning: Bad words included! Also, some content may be unsuitable for younger readers!

Sincere apologies to Krystal for using the dreaded H word

Enjoy

Chapter 16:

(Thursday)

There’s a reason why double ‘dates’ never work; mostly because one pair usually ends up slipping away for some casual sex, while the other pair just sits there, secretly willing the hours to drift away so that they can escape the awkward silences.

Well, that was certainly the case for Jack, Lily, Martha and Henry.

It had been over 45minutes since Jack and Lily had magically ‘disappeared,’ leaving a rather annoyed Martha to deal with Henry, who wasn’t exactly the most thrilling person to talk to.

“Damn you Jack Holden” Martha cursed her best friend under her breath, “damn you and your hormones”.

“Sorry, what was that?” Henry asked as he heard a mumble coming from Martha’s way.

“Oh, nothing” she smiled, “just thinking that maybe ordering a stiff drink would be the best option right now” she joked.

“Yeah, sounds good to me” he smirked…

…………………………

(8.30pm)

“Damit, Martha’s going to kill me” Jack muttered as he quickly ran out of Lily’s room and back down the hallway.

Arriving at his hotel doorway he took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable argument that was about to begin.

Unlocking the door and stepping inside, his eyes suddenly shot open. Shock, fear and anger ran through his body as he was confronted with a situation he would never want to face…

“WHAT THE HELL!” Roared Jack as his eyes scanned the scene ahead of him.

There was Martha, laid on her back, thankfully fully clothed, but with a young man hovering above her.

The moment was about to get so much worse however, when Jack realised the full extent of the situation.

“Jacky!” giggled a rather excitable and out-of-character Martha.

The strange and very startled young man glancing too and fro from Jack, and then back to Martha. “Erm…I wasn’t …it’s not what it looks like” the young man stuttered as he shuffled off the extremely drunken Martha.

“Oh my god!” cried Jack as he went over to the side of the bed, looking down at his best friend who playfully bounced her legs off the bed with not a care in the world. “What the hell have you done to her!?” he screamed as he shot a deadly ‘I'm going to kill you’ look at the strange man.

“Erm, nothing. She’s just had a little bit to drink mate, she’ll be fine” he spoke in a nervous tone of voice as he tried to avoid his piercing glare.

“A little bit?” Jack scoffed as his voice turned low and sinister. “You better get outa here mate! NOW! Before I throw you out!” he warned in a menacing tone.

And without a moments hesitation the guy was gone, the door slamming shut behind him with a sudden thud.

A concerned and angry Jack looked across at Martha, who lay sprawled across the bed. Taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself, he gently reached out to her. “Come here baby, give me a hug” he called out to her in almost desperation, as she randomly giggled to herself on the bed.

Pushing herself upwards she scurried over to Jack, happily swinging her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

“God, why do you do this to me” he hushed to himself as he held onto her for dear life; her little body shuffling around in his hold, completely oblivious to the fear and pain that Jack was experiencing. Closing his eyes he swallowed away the tears; while his hands continued to grip a firm (but careful) hold on her body, as he held her closer to him, never wanting to let go.

As his eyes stayed shut, flashes of that moment when he opened the door, flooded his mind. Seeing his best friend, lying beneath some strange man that he had never even seen before, was the most terrifying moment of his life. If he had been 10 seconds later, god knows what could have happened! But that thought didn’t even bear thinking about for Jack, he was just thankful she was ok. Well, aside from the fact that she was severely dosed up on alcohol. And that thought alone didn’t exactly amuse him.

How dare that mongrel even lay his perverted eyes on his angel, let alone touch her! If he would ever see him again, he would definitely make sure he paid.

“Jacky” she spoke up in a child-like voice as she peeled herself away from him, “He was going to devour me!” she grinned in excitement as she looked at him through wide eyes.

“Hmm” he smiled back; “I bet he was” he spoke through gritted teeth as he turned away from her.

Looking back at her and holding onto her arms he spoke up, “Honey, do you know what he gave you?” he asked in a ‘parent to child-like’ manner, as he tried his best to get through to her.

“Nope! Just drink! It was pink!” She giggled to herself in hysterics as she moved away from him and stood up on the bed.

Her body swayed from side to side as she tried to gain her balance, before her arms swung out in the air and she gleefully jumped up and down on the mattress.

“No! Martha! Don’t jump on the bed sweetie, you’ll hurt yourself” he called out to her, desperately trying to grab a hold of one of her flapping arms.

Stopping her movements and regaining her balance she looked over towards the door, “where’d that boy go?” she frowned.

“He went away sweetie, and he’s not coming back.”

“Why?” she turned her attention to Jack.

“Cause he’s a spineless bastard” he muttered, “because he wasn’t very nice, so I sent him away”.

“But…”

“No baby, come on now, sit down” he pulled at her arm to get her to kneel with him.

“Can we do something Jack!?” she grinned back at him with eager eyes as she sat cross legged.

“Erm, no. I think you need to sleep off that drink of yours.”

“No” she moaned, “I don’t want to sleep” she fell backwards onto the bed, “I want to do something” she whined, before fidgeting around on the spot, “I don’t like this” she randomly uttered as she shook her head and sat upright, rubbing her hands over her body as she did so, “I need something … A shower!” she suddenly piped up.

“What?” Jack turned to her in confusion, “no, you don’t need a shower Martha, you need some sleep”.

“No, nu uh” she shook her head adamantly, “I need a shower! I feel dirty Jack, he made me dirty” she moaned as her face suddenly fell.

“You’re not dirty Martha, you’re fine, you just need sleep” he spoke to her calmly as he walked over to her, placing his hands on her hips to hold her still, “now come on, lets get you into bed”.

“NO!” she whinged, before pulling away from him and walking over towards the bathroom in a huff.

Rolling his eyes he followed her through…

Pulling the shower handle up, she switched on the warm water. “Mmm, look’s nice in there Jacky” she spoke dreamily as she watched the water spray down into the basin.

“Mmm. And you know what else is nice; a warm and comfy bed” he tried his best to persuade her.

“Nope, I’m having a shower” she grinned, before unzipping her trousers and letting them fall to the ground.

“Look Martha, I really don’t think this is a good idea …” he carefully warned her. However before he had chance to react, she had done the inevitable; pulling her top off in one swift motion and casting it to the ground.

Spinning around, she stood before him, her front completely exposed. Grinning from ear to ear she stood rooted on the spot; looking awfully pleased with herself as she smugly showed off her front.

“Oh! … God!” he glanced down at her naked chest before quickly turning away. “Martha, please put your top back on, you’re going to cringe tomorrow when you realise what you’ve done” he called out to her as he kept his eyes fixed to one side and tried to control himself.

“Nope, I won’t” she grinned, before spinning back around and entering the shower cubicle.

“Martha” he called out as he hesitantly turned back round, trying to pull himself together and not focus on the fact that his best friend was standing before him, completely naked, well, apart from her swimming pants which she thankfully kept on. “Please come out of there, your in no state to be anywhere near water, you might slip baby.”

“I’m not going to slip Jack” she rolled her eyes at his constant fussing.

Bending down she picked up the various shower items. "Wash me” she grinned as she shoved the shower gel bottle in his face.

God! What was this! Some kind of hot-girl torture for him! “As tempting as that is, I’m going to pass; you can wash yourself” he told her.

She frowned back at him in a sulk, before flicking the bottle cap and squirting the liquid over her front. All the while, her eyes glanced from Jack, and back to the shower gel, as she cheekily tried to tease him.

Placing the bottle onto the ground, she stood with her arms held upwards, waiting for him to wash her down.

“I’m not doing it” he looked at her pouting face as she kept waiting for him to give in.

“Jacky!” she whinged, her arms now reaching out to him in a child-like manner.

“Martha!” he whinged back, mimicking her tantrum.

“Please” she begged.

“No, I’m not giving in this time! You can wash yourself” he told her in final.

Frowning in annoyance she spun around, keeping her back to him as she showered...

Several minutes later she turned back around to face him, her grin had now returned and her cheeky tongue bobbed out of her mouth, licking away at the water that sprayed from the shower head.

“Martha! Don’t!” he laughed as he watched her lap-up the hot water.

Closing her mouth and looking back at him she smiled, before pulling the shower lever back up and turning off the water.

“All done!” she cheered as she stood in the shower cubicle dripping wet.

“Hmm, very good” he grinned back at her; the blush now beginning to show on his cheeks as he forcefully fixed his eyes on her face, and nothing else.

Grabbing the towel off the rail he held it across his chest, ready to wrap up her soaking body, “right, let’s get you dried off.”

Frowning back at him she reached out for the towel, pulling it away from his hold she threw it recklessly into the back of the shower, before grinning smugly.

“No! Martha! What are you doing!?” he moaned in annoyance as he looked down at the wet towel that was no longer in his reach.

“What?” she looked at him innocently, “I didn’t want it”. A cheeky grin spread across her face as she unexpectedly lunged straight ahead. Wrapping her arms and legs around his body she held herself up.

“Oh, god” he muttered as the wet lump (meaning Martha) directly flung at his chest. “Now I'm all wet" he moaned. "this is looking awfully familiar. This wouldn’t be pay back by any chance would it?” he smirked as he held onto her wet body.

Shaking her head she giggled uncontrollably, whilst burying her head into the crook of his neck, causing her wet hair to stick to his face.

Blowing away her hair he looked down at the ground, his eyes searching for the floor as he tried to get his footing, before he carefully made his way into the bed room.

“I am never letting you drink again!” he smirked as he carried her over to the bed, “you are the worst drunk in the world!”

“I’m not drunk, I’m just happy” she giggled to herself.

“Hmm, yeah. Well you certainly don’t seem drunk” he sarcastically replied as he rolled his eyes.

Reaching the bed he placed her down, her body shivering from the damp cold as she looked up at him so innocently.

Pulling the sheets over her and tucking her in, he covered up her naked front.

“There” he smiled, “now are you sure you don’t want a towel to dry off?”

“Nope, I like the cold” she grinned through her shivers as she snuggled into the covers.

“What about a top then?”

“No, Jack I’m fine” she whinged.

“Alright alright alright”, he tried to calm her down, desperately trying to prevent another tantrum from forming.

Pleased that she had finally gotten her way, she settled down…

“Alright, you go to sleep then” he hushed as he placed a hand on her forehead.

“Sleep with me” she spoke in a soft and sleepy voice as she pushed her one hand out to grab him.

“No, I think its best if you just sleep alone tonight. I’ll be right over there though ok” he signalled to the chair that sat in the corner of the room. There was no way he would be able to sleep in the same bed as her tonight! Not only was the prospect of sharing a bed with a half naked woman (who just so happened to be his best friend) a mixture of temptation as well as torture. But he’d also have to worry about him accidentally grabbing something … or two things to be exact.

“Why not?” she pouted, the tears building in her eyes as she looked at him, “you don’t want me” she cried.

“What? No, Martha, it’s not like that. I just think that …”

“FINE!” she exclaimed out of the blue, interrupting him and harshly brushing away her tears, “if you don’t want me, then I don’t want you. Go away!” she whinged as she shuffled around, facing her back to him as she sulked.

Rolling his eyes at her, he finally surrendered. “Alright” he reluctantly gave in, before removing his sweater and throwing it onto the chair. Walking over to the side of the bed he climbed in behind her.

She giggled cheekily as she felt him behind her; happy that she’d gotten her own way again, before shuffling back around to him and snuggling into his chest.

An extremely awkward Jack stayed rigid and still, keeping his hands to his sides as to be careful not to touch her, as well as trying his best to get comfortable.

It was awfully hard to concentrate though, having your best friend, (who just so happened to be a total hottie) with no top on, pressed directly up against him.

This really was some kind of torture!

“Cuddle me” she moaned as she failed to feel his hands on her.

Although hesitant, he wrapped his hands around her waist, before stroking her back up and down in a gentle and soothing motion.

“You better not throw up on me missy!” he laughed softly as he held her to his chest.

He felt a soft breeze glide across his skin as she playfully giggled, before eventually hearing nothing but silence, the only sound coming from the occasional drunken snort from Martha’s direction.

Hours passed by and no sound could be heard, but Jacks eyes still stayed opened wide, his focus not once leaving the woman that lay so peacefully beside him.

As the minutes went by, a dark and sinisterly out-of-character surge, ran through his body; his breath turning heavy and his forehead creasing into a frown; he had never felt so much anger!

The flashes of that man on top of Martha still haunting his mind, as he continued to hold onto her so closely … so possessively…

“God, I should never have left you alone. I’m such an idiot” he ranted to himself in the depth of the night. “I’ll never let anyone touch you again … you're mine” he stroked her back lovingly; taking in deep breaths and trying to calm his way out of his anger.

As his tension settled and his mind was finally brought to ease, he reluctantly closed his eyes. Drifting off into a peaceful sleep…

Preview: Will everything be fine the morning after the night before? And will Martha remember the events of the previous night?

[vale4eva]

Enjoy

Chapter 17:

A delirious Martha stirred on the bed, her eyes slowly coming into focus, and her headache thumping like a drum in her mind.

“Uhhhh” she released a soft groan as she opened her eyes. “Ouchy,” she whinged through her dry and prickly throat.

“Good morning!” a smug Jack stood beside the bed looking down at her. “I’ll get you a paracetemol” he added before she had a chance to respond.

“What … huh?” she randomly uttered as her mind went blank.

“Well, you’re going to need one aren’t you, what with that headache and sickness about to strike” he smirked.

“Oh god” she continued to groan, “my head” she placed her hand to her forehead.

Feeling a draft across her chest she frowned, and reaching downwards she felt her slight lack of clothing. “Erm, Jack … why am I topless?” she asked in confusion as she clung onto the sheets.

“You don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” she asked with slight unease.

“Oh” he said with a laugh, “you know what, it’s probably best you don’t remember, saves us both from any embarrassment” he smirked.

“Embarrassment?” she repeated with concern, “oh god, what did I do? Something embarrassing?” she looked at him with a worrying expression, “I didn’t …” she paused, swallowing hard, “come on to you, did I?”

“Weelll” he teased as he looked away from her for a brief moment, “No, don’t worry, you didn’t. It was close there for a second though” he added with a smirk.

His smile gradually fell however and the moment quickly turned serious, “listen, what actually happened last night? You drinking. What’s that all about?” he sat down on the bed beside her.

“Erm, I don’t know, I don’t even remember.”

He nodded slowly before taking a deep breath, “when I came in last night, you were with someone. A guy” he paused, “he was on top of you”.

She frowned, pulling back slightly as she listened to his words, “I don’t remember”.

“He didn’t do anything to you; thank god. In fact, you seemed awfully happy about him being here” he added, unimpressed. “But still; you drunk, and with some random stranger; that’s not exactly a welcome combination”.

“Oh, god” she sighed. “I’m so sorry Jack, I don’t even remember him” she took a moment to think back, but her mind continued to stay empty; all that could be made out was the taste of that foul alcoholic drink, that still stained the taste buds of her mouth.

Turning back to him she spoke up, “but I’m sure it was harmless Jack, I must have known him if I’d brought him back” she innocently continued.

“What!?” he laughed in bewilderment, “What are you talking about? It was far from harmless. The guy was on top of you Martha! God knows what he could have done to you if I hadn’t returned!” he began to raise his voice.

“Well I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say” she helplessly cried.

He shook his head at her carelessness; the moment overcoming him as the images of the previous night flooded his mind, standing upwards and pacing back and forth he ranted on, “Do you know I could barely sleep at all last night! I was so god damn worried about you! I mean, did you even think before you started to drink that stuff!?”

“Stop yelling at me!” she cried as her eyes filled with tears, “I don’t know, I told you, I don’t remember”. She sniffed, wiping away at her moist cheeks.

He sighed, taking a deep breath as he realised his aggression had got the better of him, “god, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you” he sat beside her and took her hand, “I was just so scared … seeing you like that … it was just a bit of a shock, that’s all”.

She nodded in understanding as she sadly smiled back, “its ok. I’m sorry too. I wish I’d never drank anything, I was just …” she shrugged her shoulders, “feeling a little down, and depressed, the drink seemed the most obvious relief at the time”.

Placing his hand to his head, he released a loud breath; “this is all my fault,” he spoke regretfully, “this holiday was supposed to be fun. I way for us to spend some time away together, and all I end up doing is pushing you away, making you upset, and going off with the first random I can get my hands on” he kept on as he rolled his eyes.

“Jack, its ok” she gently rubbed his arm, “its fine. Really”.

“No its not” he looked at her with a straight face before rising to his feet. Walking over to the wardrobe he pulled out the bath robe, taking it off the hanger he gently placed it onto the bed, “there, put that on” he signalled for Martha to wrap herself up.

Grabbing the robe, she fidgeted around under the covers pulling it on; desperately trying to prevent him from seeing her naked body.

“Anyway, let’s not talk about last night, well, not unless you want to discuss the more amusing highlights of the evening” he smirked; trying to lighten the mood.

“Jack” she pouted, “you’re forever going to tease me about that night aren’t you!”

“Hmm, what a good question” he frowned as he shifted his eyes from side to side, “Yep! Most definitely!” he grinned smugly.

“Great!” she exclaimed with sarcasm.

“Ok, get dressed, were going to spend our last day together, doing whatever you want” he smiled.

“Jack, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I want to. In fact, do you want to go down and try out that spa you were eyeing up, I don’t mind, could be fun” he happily offered.

“Jack, you hate spas and pampering. You really don’t have to do this”

“But I want to. I want you to enjoy your final day here” he smiled, “so get dressed and we’ll get going!” he ordered with laugh.

…………………………………

“You’re not coming in?” he looked up at her from inside the Jacuzzi.

“Nah, I don’t feel like it” Martha sat in her tankini; as her legs dangled into the warm and bubbling water.

“I came in here for you missy, now get that pretty backside of yours in here” he smirked as he grabbed at her hips and carefully lifted her into the water.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, she felt the warm water welcome her skin.

“Ahh, see! Isn’t that nice” he smiled as he kept a comfortable hold of her body; gently bobbing them both up and down in the water.

“Mmm” she nodded back, her arms and legs still tightly wound around his body.

Minutes passed by and Jack still held onto Martha, the two best friends just floating in the centre of the Jacuzzi; allowing for the world to just drift away…

“This is nice” she spoke peacefully as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Mmm” he mumbled back through the silence.

Pulling her head back round she looked at him, his big brown eyes shining at her so beautifully in the light.

“I really am sorry about how this all worked out, if I could go back and change it, I would” he spoke with sheer honesty.

“I know, it’s fine though Jack, we weren’t to know that it wasn’t going to end up like this”

“Hm, yeah” he laughed softly, “Well ones things for sure. I’m lucky you’re so forgiving. I have the bestest buddy in the world” he grinned.

“Yep! And don’t you forget it!”

“Oh I couldn’t if I wanted to” he smirked back.

Leaning down he placed a kiss on her wet shoulder, her body unexpectedly shivering at his touch as she felt his lips on her skin. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she released his waist; placing her feet on the ground. Her skin still tingling as her nerves began to get the better of her.

“You ok?” he asked with a smile; looking across at her as she stepped backwards.

“Yep, fine” she smiled shyly, before pushing backwards and resting on the far side.

“You sure?” he asked with uncertainty as he slowly approached her.

She nodded back, placing her arms either side on the wall and looking directly at him.

“You know” he began from out of the silence, “I’m surprised I can even look you in the eye after last night” he cheekily smirked as he moved closer towards her, firstly placing his hands on her hips to steady her, before moving further upwards and resting them on the wall either side of her; cornering her in.

“Don’t” she laughed through her embarrassment as she gently poked at his chest, “stop making fun of me, I’m already embarrassed, and I can’t even remember what I did!” she laughed.

“Well, whatever it was, I will say this; you were certainly looking your best” he teased, giving her a cheeky wink.

“What do you mean I was looking my best?” she frowned.

“Oh nothing” he causally looked away; chuckling to himself as he did.

“You’re mean” she pouted.

“You love it” he flirtatiously raised his eyebrows.

Their eyes locked in almost an intensely passionate gaze, their chests rising and falling together in rhythm as the water lay still around their bodies; their focus all the while, stayed fixed on each other.

The moment however, was abruptly ruined by the appearance of a young woman.

Standing at the entrance with her hands on her hips she looked at the intimate scene that was laid out before her.

“Lily” a startled Jack looked up at his ‘friend’.

“Hey Jack” she smiled, “Martha” she nodded in acknowledgment; saving the pleasantries for another time.

Peeling himself away from Martha, he awkwardly stood to the side.

“Erm, what are you doing in here?” Jack nervously asked; he didn’t even know why he felt so nervous, but it probably had something to do with the fact that it was quite obvious that these two women weren’t exactly fond of each other. And leaving him in a room, alone, with them, was not an entirely welcomed circumstance for Jack.

“I just fancied a relaxing day by the Jacuzzi” she smiled as she stepped inside the water.

“Oh, right … great” he smiled back.

The moment dropped deadly silent as the three individuals sat at separate ends of the Jacuzzi. Ordinarily Jack would strike up a conversation, but the moment had surpassed any pleasantries, and the awkward silence had now turned into dangerous territory.

Martha was the first to speak up, but only because she was hurrying for a quick escape, “I think I’m going head back, leave you guys too it” she smiled as she floated over towards the steps.

“What? But we were going to spend the day together” Jack replied with a sad smile.

“Yeah well, its fine, were leaving tomorrow anyway, so you may as well hang with Lily while you still can.”

“But …”

“No, its fine Jack, I’ll see you later” she smiled as she stepped out, “bye Lily”.

“Bye” beamed Lily as she watched Martha leave.

“Ok, well, stay clear of any alcohol” he tried to joke, but he couldn’t help that his face displayed so much sadness.

“Will do” she smirked back, before exiting completely…

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me then,” smirked Lily as she swam over towards Jack and cornered him in.

“Yeah, I guess so” replied Jack; who was currently feeling a mixture of sadness, anger and heartbreak; but he did his best not to show it as Lily flaunted herself in front of him, trying her best to entice him.

“What do you feel like doing then?” she cheekily raised her eyebrows…

Preview: Cracks are continuing to appear within the Martha and Jack friendship.

[vale4eva]

Thanks peeps

Welcome to the board Siana Pretty name

Enjoy

Chapter 18:

“Hey, there you are” Jack approached Martha who sat on one of the stools near the bar.

“Yeah, hey! Oh and don’t worry, its just juice” she smirked as she signalled to her drink.

“Glad to hear it” he laughed in response.

Looking across at her, he watched as she played with her straw, whizzing it from side to side in the orangey/yellow liquid as a distraction, as she sat with her head bowed down.

Twiddling his thumbs and tapping his feet, Jack sat there in silence.

It was highly uncommon that Martha and Jack would feel uncomfortable around each other. But for some reason, during this last week, these weird and awkward moments had began to crop up more frequently.

Unable to stand much more of the silence, Martha spoke up, “So … Where’s lily?” she asked as she glanced over to Jack.

“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since we left the Jacuzzi; I think she went to get changed or something”.

“Right” Martha nodded.

Once more the moment dropped silent, yet again an awkward feeling consuming the atmosphere as the two friends sat at their table, side by side.

“So erm, you want to go for a walk or something?” Jack suggested as a way to break the ice.

“Yeah, sure” she smiled back.

“Ok, cool!”

Standing up, and without thinking, he held out his hand to her; waiting to feel her fingers comfortably entwine with his…

Ordinarily Martha wouldn’t think twice about taking it, she would hold his hand almost as if it meant nothing; it was like brushing your teeth, it was such a normal and everyday occurrence for her. But at this current moment in time, it didn’t feel so normal, in fact, she felt awkward, like deep down she knew she shouldn’t take it.

Despite her jittery feeling however, she hesitantly reached out; meeting his hand with her own and allowing for their fingers to join together as one. Before following him out of the bar…

…………………………

(9.00pm)

Following their evening walk around the harbour, they had decided to head back and get an early night, they were travelling back home tomorrow morning and the journey alone would prove to be tiring, so it was decided that getting an early night sleep would see them well for their long car journey home…

Now, lying in bed together, Jack with his arm around Martha, they had finally returned to their normal giggly selves.

“Maybe I should secretly threaten him or something, send him random notes through the door, ‘give my friend a job or you’ll live to regret it’” he laughed.

“Hmm, somehow I don’t think he’ll take kindly to threats Jack” she smirked.

For the past 30minutes, Jack had been assessing some new ideas of how Martha could put Noah’s bar behind her, and move into a proper and more well-established career; preferably at Jacks work, but it was highly doubtful that his boss would take on a young and inexperienced person such as Martha. And Both Jack and Martha were aware of that…

“Its fine Jack, I’ll just wait it out.”

“You shouldn’t have to though” he replied with sadness for his friend, “You’re worth so much more than a just bar-job. If only others would realise that”.

Martha smiled to herself at his caring words.

“Thank you” she rolled over onto her side and gazed down at him.

“For what?”

“For … everything” she smiled shyly.

Smiling back, he leaned upwards and kissed her softly on the cheek, “you know …” he continued, before halting as he noticed her strange expression.

Pulling back slightly she frowned at him, her mind suddenly registering something familiar. But she couldn’t quite make sense of it.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked as he trickled his fingertips up and down her arm.

“Nothing … I just …” within a second she had jolted up out of bed; the images of the previous night beginning to flash through her mind. “Alcohol” she muttered as she tried her best to think back, “And … shower …” her eyes shot open in realisation as it all finally came back to her, “OH MY GOD!”

Frowning, he sat up beside her, before eventually the moment clicked, and he realised what the big issue was. “Oooh dear!” smirked a smug-looking Jack, “the old memory’s starting to kick in now is it?”

“Oh my god!” she continued to rant as her hands cupped her cheeks in sheer embarrassment.

Causally he laid back down, his fits of laughter beginning to come through however as he watched his best friend come to terms with her rather interesting behaviour.

“Listen, Martha” he tried to stifle his laugh, “it really wasn’t that bad. Ok, maybe it wasn’t the most conventional way to try and entice me into the shower with you, but …” he cheekily teased, “I’ll give you points for trying” he smirked.

“JACK!” she whinged as she smacked him on the arm. But her own laughter couldn’t help but seep through as she thought about the funnier side of last nights events.

“Oh my god! It’s all coming back to me now!” she whined as she thought back over their little shower incident; her laughter slowly faded however as she came to terms with how much of an idiot she had really been. “That’s it; I’ll never be able to look you in the eye ever again! Our friendship is officially over!” she looked down at him worryingly.

“Martha come on” he laughed as he rubbed her back, “it’s not that bad”.

“Yeah, not for you, you weren’t the one flaunting around in your birthday suit.”

“I know, but, it’s not like the whole world saw you naked, it was only me that saw you, and besides, you shouldn’t be ashamed, you’re beautiful, inside and out”.

“Oh please!” she scoffed, “and it doesn’t matter that only you saw me, it’s still humiliating” she groaned.

“No its not, it’s fine, really. And anyway, I’d already seen you naked before that even happened, so stop worrying!” he rolled his eyes at her.

“Huh? When!?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m a guy” he shrugged his shoulders, “occasionally the eyes wander” he added with a smirk.

She laughed softly as she gave him a nudge, before her face continued to fall, “I hate my body anyway” she mumbled as she lay back down and ducked her head lower in the sheets.

“What are you talking about?” he asked with a saddened frown as he peered over to look at her face.

“Nothing but … oh it doesn’t matter” she sighed.

“Hey, come on now. Why are you so down on yourself all of the time!? What have you not got to offer? Huh?” he began, “You’re smart, you’re sweet, and you’re sexy” he teasingly nudged her side as he placed emphasis on his last word, “and I’m sure that I’m not the first person to say this to you, but you’re drop dead gorgeous”.

“Oh please” she sneered, but she couldn’t help the blush that crept onto her cheeks, “You have to say that; you’re my best friend”.

“No, I’m saying that as the only guy in the world who has ever seen you naked. And because of that, I have the power to make that judgement” he added smugly, “and believe me Martha, if you think you’re ugly, then you definitely don’t know what guys what” he smirked.

“Fine, then maybe I don’t” she replied softly.

He shook his head at her as he smiled, “what am I going to do with you ay” he leant over and gently massaged her back. “What do I have to do, to make you see how amazing you are?”

“But I’m not, so there’s no point in even trying” she mumbled back, before eventually turning around to face him.

“Will you stop that!” he ordered her with a laugh. “I am older and wiser! I know what I’m talking about!” he smirked.

She shook her head at him stubbornly, but Jack took no notice and carried on talking…

“You are beautiful,” he began, “and you know all of those girls I go out with, they don’t even have an inch on you. They’d be running scared if they thought they had you to compete with!” he told her, “you’ve got the brains, and the beauty, most girls don’t even have one of them” he laughed, “In fact, I’m surprised I’ve managed to keep my hands off you for this long, I definitely deserve a medal for that” he grinned smugly.

“Stop it!” she laughed, giving him a nudge

“What?” he laughed back, “you really don’t like me giving you a compliment do you” he grinned as he rolled further over to face her.

Reaching over he stroked her one cheek. “Look at you blushing, you’re so cute” he cooed at her as he continued to caress her flushed cheek.

“Stop it!” she giggled as she turned away from him; shoving her face into her pillow through embarrassment.

“Aw, poor baby. She’s all embarrassed now” he giggled as he teased her; placing his hand on the back of her head and rubbing her hair.

The sound of the door caused him to pull away however…

“God, who the hells that at this hour?” groaned Jack as he slid out of bed…

Opening the door he came face to face with the one person he could really do without seeing; Lily. She stood before him wearing her pyjamas, her face displaying a saddened pout, and her hair tied up in a rough ponytail.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked a concerned Jack as he reached out to her, rubbing her one arm up and down comfortingly.

“Sorry to annoy you at a time like this Jack, but …” she paused, lowering her head in shame, “I can’t sleep, I keep having these nightmares. I don’t know what to do” she moaned as she rested her hand on his chest.

“Oh, erm, really? Well, have you tried some warm milk? That usually helps” he suggested.

“Yeah, I’ve tried that, it doesn’t work” she paused looking down, before glancing back up at him and flirtatiously fluttering her eyelashes, “I don’t suppose you could come and sit with me, just until I get off to sleep”.

“Oh, I don’t know” he tried to let her down gently, “its pretty late and were all settled down”.

“Oh … ok then … no worries” she turned away from him sadly.

20 feet away, Martha lay with her head on her pillow, listening intently to the rather desperate plea that came from lily, just to try and spend some more time with him.

‘How pathetic does she want to look!’ thought Martha as she rolled her eyes.

This was just about getting ridiculous! She knew she was obsessed with him, but this was slowly but surely bordering psychotic.

And despite Jacks attempts to push her out of the doorway, Martha knew he would end up giving in. This was Jack we were talking about! All you had to do was put a pretty girl with a pouting face in front of him, and he’d melt within an instant!

“Fine” he sighed, “You go back, I’ll be right there.”

Just as she thought, Martha rolled her eyes. What a big surprise, yet again, Jack had given into his hormones!

But she couldn’t help but wish that maybe this time he would have chosen to stay with her instead, rather than hopping next door to comfort Lily at the drop of a hat. After everything that had happened recently, would one night alone be really too much to ask!?

Obviously it was …

“Thanks Jack” smiled Lily, before walking off down the hallway; a slight skip in her step was evident as she left.

Closing the door too, and leaning with his back to the wooden surface, he sighed, “not again” he muttered; rolling his eyes.

Pushing himself away from the door he carefully approached Martha…

Leaning down and stroking her bare shoulder he hesitantly spoke out of the silence. “Listen Martha, I’m going to have to …”

“Just go Jack” she mumbled back into her pillow; clearly un-amused that he was yet again leaving her, at a time like this.

A dejected Jack, pulled away from her, turning around he made his way towards the door. Giving Martha one last glance, before exiting completely.

As the door closed shut, the tears poured out, seeping onto her pillow as a lonely Martha cried herself to sleep…

Preview: Oh dear

[vale4eva]

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Now, please dont hate me too much after this chapter, because remember ..... *sings* The only way is up! Baaby! For you and me now ....

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Chapter 19:

“Thanks Jack” Lily lay into his chest as he sat with his back to the headboard.

“No worries. Just try and sleep yeah” he hushed her as he indirectly tried to rush things along.

Snuggling into his chest she sighed, “I’m going to miss you so much when you leave” she spoke softly as she wrapped her arms around his waist protectively.

Staying silent he bit his lip, not knowing whether to lie and say, ‘yeah, I’ll miss you too’, just to make her feel better. But he chose to leave it, knowing Lily, if he did end up saying that, she’d get over excited and throw in the idea of having a long term relationship with him; of which, Jack wouldn’t be overly amused.

Pulling her head from out of his chest, she looked up at him, her face displaying a sweet smile; as her vision glanced from his eyes to his lips.

Leaning upwards she placed a kiss on his lips; gently sucking on his bottom lip and waiting for him to respond. Eventually he gave her what she wanted, and gently kissed her back.

After a brief moment of kissing, he pulled away. “Wait” he halted her, “maybe we shouldn’t … it’s late”.

“So” she cheekily grinned as she tugged at his boxer shorts, “we’ll be quiet” she added, before leaning back up and re-capturing his lips...

………………………………

Standing upright, he grabbed his boxer shorts from off the floor, before pulling them on…

“Why’d you have to rush off,” she moaned. “Can’t you just stay here now?”

“No, I have to get back to Martha, plus I need to get some sleep, I’m driving home tomorrow” he turned to her, “and that’ll be a tiring task in itself”.

Shaking her head in annoyance she folded her arms.

“What?” he frowned at her sulking behaviour.

“Nothing” she shrugged, “but this whole Martha/Jack relationship is certainly starting to get interesting” she replied with sarcasm.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Well, obviously one of two things is happening here; either you’re starting to turn into a hermit, or … you’re in love with her” she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

He scoffed at her comment, “Don’t be absurd! It’s not like that. She’s my best friend; I just don’t want to see her upset”.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that Jack, and keep emphasising the ‘best friend’ bit; you might start believing it”.

Shaking his head in irritation he walked over to the door.

“Jack” she called out to him; waiting for him to turn around. “I may not know you at all, but I’ve got eyes, and I know what I see” she continued, “so why don’t you do yourself a favour and start admitting who you really want. It’ll save you both the time and the effort”.

“Whatever Lily” he shrugged it off. “Have a nice life.”

…………………………………

Shutting the door to a close he silently crept over to the bed; glancing at the clock which now read 12.15am, and then climbing into bed.

Pulling the covers over his body he lay down, resting his head on the pillow. Looking across at Martha, who lay facing his side of the bed; he inspected her moist and flushed cheeks.

Presuming she was fast asleep, he carefully reached over to her face; attempting to stroke her forehead. However her eyes unexpectedly opened, as she felt the shadow of Jacks hand, near her face.

“Hey, sorry, I thought you were asleep” he whispered through the night.

“Nope” she replied; her voice soft but with an extreme lack of emotion, while her eyes twinkled more than usual.

Frowning, he reached over; touching a darker area of the pillow beside her face, and feeling its dampness.

“Martha” he pulled back with worry, “have you been crying?”

She scrunched up her face, “no, there’s just … something in my eye” she sniffed as she rubbed her one eye.

“Martha” he sighed sadly as he leaned over and touched her arm, but she quickly pulled away from him, swivelling around and facing the other way.

Slightly shocked by her immediate rejection, his face formed into a distressed frown. However, brushing it aside, he urged her to open up to him. “Martha, what’s wrong?”

Staying silent, she forced her eyes closed; desperately trying to push away the tears that threatened to spill.

“Please talk to me” he kept on, reaching over and gently rubbing her back. “Martha please. You’re scaring me.”

Eventually turning back around, she faced him, her eyes still watery from her recent sobs, and her face still pink and puffy …

“Look, I’m sorry that I left you, I didn’t want to. She’s just, very pushy” he frowned as he caressed her pink cheek.

“Its fine” she finally spoke up, “ … in fact, I’m glad you did leave, because it finally made me face up to a few things, things I’ve known all along but hadn’t been willing to admit, but now I think I am … I think I’m ready” she rambled.

“What are you talking about?”

Pushing herself upwards she sat crossed legged. She waited for him while he sat up and joined her, his face showing he was ready and listening intently.

“This past week has been really …” she paused, not quite knowing how to say it, “well, it’s been an eye opener. It’s shown me things that I didn’t really want to be shown, but I’m glad it’s happened now, before it’s too late.”

“I don’t understand”.

“I know now, that after everything … Tasha was right” she paused slightly, looking across at his puzzled face as he stayed silent and allowed for her to continue…

“Our relationship, the way we live, it’s not healthy for us, were far too dependant on each other now … more importantly, I’m, too dependent on you”.

Jack sat there in silence, his head beginning to shake from side to side as her words flooded his brain.

“I think we need to start spending less time together” she continued after a pause.

His eyes opened wide at her words, “what are you talking about? Where’s this coming from? Why would you even want that?” he shot questions at her. “Look I know that this week has sucked for you, and I’m sorry, but we don’t need to change anything, please, Martha, don’t do this” his eyes drooped through sadness as he pleaded with her.

“No Jack. It has to be done, before it drives us both insane”.

“It wont though, things will get back to normal now, you’ll see, everything will be fine”.

“No, it won’t be fine Jack! I can’t live like this anymore! I won’t!” she spoke firm and in final.

“So … what are you saying?” he swallowed hard, “what happens now?” he asked, silently dreading the answer…

“Well, for starters, we can sleep in our own houses, in our own beds.”

“But we’ve never done that! Since we were 10, we’ve always shared a bed; it’s normal to us; we don’t need to change that” he ranted in a slight state of panic.

“No Jack, we do. It’s not normal for two friends at the ages of 19 and 20, to be sharing a bed. We act like a married couple for goodness sake!”

“Why are you saying all of this?” he frowned, “This has never been an issue before!”

“Yeah well, it’s an issue now isn’t it!” she snapped back.

“Yeah, only cause you’re making it one” he scoffed as he turned away from her in annoyance.

She rolled her eyes at his ignorance, but chose not to retaliate. Fighting would only cause more problems in their relationship, and they really didn’t need that! “Look Jack, I don’t want to fight about this” she spoke softly as she tried to calm the brewing argument.

“Fine then, lets not. Let’s just pretend this conversation never happened” he kept his eyes away from her and ruffled around with the bed sheet.

“What? No! I’m not just going to go on pretending!”

“Why?” he turned back to her quickly, “Why’d you have to change everything all of a sudden!? Why do you have to make a major issue out of something that’s so irrelevant” he rolled his eyes in aggravation.

“Because it had to be said! Someone had to make this decision! One of us had to be the first to say this, and it obviously wasn’t going to be you!” she paused, taking a breath, “I’m taking the lead and sorting this out once and for all, before it gets even messier than it already is! Its time for us to both grow up!” she raised her voice at him to be clearer.

Shaking his head at her he thought of a way to make amends, but all the while he came up with nothing, it was all his fault, he knew it, even if it pained him to admit it.

“I can’t believe this is happening” he sighed, “Oh god … maybe you’re right. Maybe we are too close now” he took a breath before continuing, “but I don’t understand why everything has to change!” he carried on arguing.

“Because it does! If we don’t lay down some rules, then we’ll only end up sinking back into our old usual ways”.

“And what if I don’t agree with the rules!” he mocked her. “Why is it only you that’s allowed to lay down the rules!? Do I not get a say in it at all!?”

“Of course you do, but this is the way it has to be!”

“So that’s a no then huh!” he scoffed, before shaking his head at her.

“Well”, he clapped his hands, “that’s it then is it!?” he grinned sarcastically, “We may as well say that our friendship is officially over! I can’t stay at your house; I can’t visit you at work! And hey, if I see you walking down the road, how about I walk the other way just to please you!” he sneered.

“Oh don’t be ridiculous!” she scoffed. “You’re only angry because you’re only thinking about yourself in all of this, you’re so selfish that you don’t for once stop to think about how I’m feeling” she shot back without thinking, "Can’t you even see why I’m doing this!?”

“No! Not really! And excuse me, but I do think about your feelings. But I’m starting to wonder why I even bothered!”

He watched her from the corner of his eye as her head slowly dropped, his heart beginning to bleed at her sadness, as he immediately regretted his final comment.

“I’m sorry” he sighed, “You know I don’t mean that” he leant over and touched her leg.

Taking a breath and trying to compose himself, he started again. “Look, I know that this holiday hasn’t been half of what you wanted, and I’m sincerely sorry for that, I know it’s my fault” he lowered his head. “But … but when we get back home, it’ll all be normal again.”

“Oh for goodness sake Jack” she groaned, “Don’t you listen!? It won’t be! Can’t you even see that!” she cried.

“No! I can’t I’m sorry! I don’t see any of this! I just want to know why!”

“Because!” she yelled back, “because I want more than this”. Her face fell through sadness, “because I want more than a friendship now” she spoke softly. Watching as Jacks face frowned in confusion, “and not necessarily from you” she added.

“I want to be someone’s … everything” she beamed. “I want to be the one person that finally comes first. I want to be loved, and I want to be looked after. And you can’t give me that”.

“Of course I can, I thought I already did. But I will, I can, I want too” he replied in desperation.

“No, but that’s the point Jack” sighed, “it shouldn’t be up to you to give me that; you’ve already done too much for me. You always look after me and you’re always there for me, but now you have to focus on someone else, just like I have to” she looked over at his saddened face, his head continuing to drop as her words poured out.

“And it doesn’t mean that were not going to be friends anymore. God, I’d die without you in my life” she gushed, “but … I just think we need some time on our own now. We need to start focussing on our own lives, and on our own relationships. We need to take a break. Just until were settled, and then … we’ll see”.

He nodded slowly, before his head rose and he looked across at her; “Martha, I don’t want to lose you” he cried, as his eyes filled with tears.

“You’re not going to lose me Jack, I wouldn’t let that happen. I promise” she reached over and pulled him into a hug.

The tears on both parties finally flooded out, as the realisation of the situation hit them both; hard and fast.

“I’m certain that you won’t be able to stay away from me for too long though” he laughed through his tears as he pulled away from her.

“Yeah right, 10 bucks says you’re the one knocking on my door!” she smirked back, giving him a playful nudge.

Reaching over she wiped away his tears. Her thumb gently caressed his cheek as she released a sad but sweet smile.

Closing his eyes at her touch, he thought over the tough and painful road ahead…

The nights would prove to be the hardest; just the thought of rolling over and not having her there, lying beside him, sickened him to his very core.

How would he go on without having her there with him, almost every second of the day!?

I guess he would soon find out…

Laying down, and snuggling into the sheets, he pulled her closer to him, holding onto her waist securely with his strong arms, whilst he made the most of their final night together; because as of tomorrow, life was about to get very different for Jack and Martha …

[vale4eva]

Pretty boring chapter coming your way

Note. Both of Jacks parents are alive; Katie and Tony Holden

Enjoy

Chapter 20:

The long drive home was silent and uneventful; the gloom and depression just radiating off their bodies as they sat for the entire trip; rigid in their chairs.

Finally, after a 4 hour trip, they had arrived home. And there was nothing better than returning to familiarity.

But then it got awkward …

“So … erm, I guess I’ll see you around then?” Jack hesitantly replied as he stood before Martha; suitcase in each hand.

“Yeah, I mean we live right next door to each other so I doubt we’ll be strangers” she timidly laughed back.

“Yeah, I guess” he spoke softly as he tried his best to smile.

For seconds the two friends just stood facing each other, both not knowing what to say or do, and just wishing for an escape away from the awkwardness of the situation, but still, neither wanted to leave, just knowing that from this moment on, it would be the turning point of their relationship. And not necessarily a good one!

“Ok well. I’ll call you soon” she added, before reluctantly turning away from him and making her way over towards the front door.

“Yeah, ok” he called back, “See you …” his voice drifted away into silence as he watched her walk away...

…………………………………

(Later that evening)

Jack lay down on his cold and empty bed, pulling the covers over him and trying to get comfortable. Closing his eyes, and wrapping his arms around his body, he thought of Martha, and just hoping that the memories at least, would help him get through the cold and lonely night.

‘Knock knock’

A light tap on the door caused his eyes to flicker open. “Come in” he softly called out.

“Hey sweetie” Katie Holden smiled as she entered his room.

Jack stayed silent, failing to acknowledge his mothers presence as his eyes stayed fixed into the ‘air’

“You ok?” she asked as she sat on the edge of his bed. It was unusual to find Jack sleeping alone in his bed at night; therefore Katie couldn’t help but fear the worst.

“Fine” he replied with a lack of enthusiasm.

“Well,” she laughed softly, “to tell you the truth, I’m a little surprised you’re not around at Martha’s. Is … is everything ok with you two? You didn’t have a fight did you?” she cautiously questioned her son.

“No, not really” he spoke through gritted teeth as his breath began to grow heavier. “She told me she thinks were too attached, or dependant, or whatever you want to call it. I’m not allowed to stay at her house anymore”.

“Oh honey, well I’m sure that Martha’s only doing what’s best for you both. And if you ask me, I think what she’s doing is very brave, and very grown up, you should be proud of her for making this big decision”.

He nodded into his pillow, “I am … I just …” he took a breath, forcing away his tears, “I miss her”.

“I know you do sweetie” she hushed him; stroking his forehead and running her fingers through his hair, trying her best to soothe him. “It’ll all be ok in the end Jack. I know that it feels bad now, after all, you two were practically inseparable, but maybe this time apart will do you both some good, it can only get better from here. You just have to believe that.”

Jack listened intently to his mother’s sweet and supportive words, the kind of words he desperately needed to hear right now. And maybe she was right. For the next few weeks, he would just have to grin and bear it, and hope that eventually, as time passes, his pain and loss would finally heal…

………………………

“That’s fantastic Martha!” beamed an overenthusiastic Tasha as she heard the update on the Martha and Jack friendship.

Pulling back slightly, Martha frowned, unable to see the brilliance of the situation; “I don’t appreciate your enthusiasm Tash” she spoke in annoyance as she glared at her friend.

“Sorry, I just … I’m glad you’ve made the first step, you can finally focus on yourself from now on, and no more worrying about Jack all the time!” she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess” she replied with uncertainty.

“You are glad about this … right?” she asked with unease as she looked at Martha’s frown.

“Yeah, I guess” she repeated. “I just … I can’t help it if I miss him”.

“Oh Martha” she sighed, as she moved across and sat beside her, placing a comforting arm around her friends shoulder. “It’ll be ok, soon enough, you’ll realise that this was the best thing you ever did.”

Martha nodded at her friends words, but couldn’t help but think otherwise…

………………………

(5 days later)

“Thanks Andy, and don’t forget to put the money in the safe before you leave” she called back to her colleague as she left through the exit of Noah’s bar.

Walking around towards the car park, she whistled a happy tune; relieved that her afternoon-off had rolled around remarkably quickly …

Turning the corner she collided with a large and manly-like object.

“Oh sorry” she quickly stepped backwards as she gained her footing, before looking up to see a familiar face; a face that she had missed so dearly; “Jack” she spoke softly, her face falling into a small and shy smile.

“Hi” he smiled back; equally as shy.

Her eyes scanned across his beautiful form; she was just dying for a hug from him. “How are you?”

“Good … I’m good” he was firstly rather quick to respond.

“Great”

“How bout you?”

“Yeah, fine thanks” she replied; choosing to continue talking to avoid the awkward silences. “Work still sucks, but …” she shrugged with a soft laugh, “I get through it. I’m actually looking for another job, I’ve started to buy the local paper and apply for some new jobs in the area” she told him.

“Ah, that’s fantastic” he beamed; thrilled that Martha was starting to take control of her life, “I really hope it works out for you”.

“Yeah, thanks” she smiled, “so do I” she giggled back.

Again the moment dropped silent. With both individuals shuffling around on their feet as a distraction. Almost in unison, their heads dropped downwards; neither expected it to be this hard.

Releasing a loud sigh, she spoke up. “God, why is this so hard?” she turned to him.

“I don’t know” he replied in a soft tone of voice; he wished he had the answers.

Her vision gradually fell to the ground as she studied the pebbles on the pathway; trying her best to take her mind away from the awkward atmosphere.

“Erm, but on a lighter note; I picked up this flyer and thought it looked cool” he held out the colourful leaflet to show Martha, “it’s the summer bay ball, apparently it’s a big deal” he spoke with a soft laugh, “I was … wondering, if you fancied going? Like, together?” he asked through his nerves.

“Oh, right, yeah, I know about that. Erm, actually, I am going but I’ve already arranged to go with someone” she cautiously replied, “You remember Billy?”

“Umm, yeah” Jack replied, his eyes briefly shifting to the side as he thought back.

“Well, we ran into each other the other day and thought why not” she shrugged, “we went out yesterday and had a great time so we decided we’d check it out, it sounded like fun”.

“Oh, cool” he nodded, almost in a world of his own, the truth was, his insides were beginning to boil; he really didn’t like the sound of this. “Well great” he quickly snapped back to reality, “I’m really happy for you”.

“Thanks. But hey, maybe you could invite Laurie? If you’re still seeing her, that is?”

“Yeah, I am” he nodded, “yeah, I think she was going anyway so...”

“Ok, well, cool. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night then” she smiled.

“Yeah, totally” he turned around to watch her walk away. “Save me a dance yeah” he grinned as he called back to her.

“I will” she laughed. “Bye”

“Yeah, see ya”.

Walking away from him, she sighed, ‘wow that was awkward’, thought Martha as she headed over towards her car. What’s wrong with us? Why can’t we even have a normal conversation anymore!?

Reaching her vehicle and jumping inside, she released a loud sigh; she couldn’t help but fear that she had completely destroyed any ounce of friendship they once had …

Preview: Partay! Partay!