Sensitivity

[Nicom]

Sensitivity

Type of story: One shot

Rating: T

Main Characters: Martha, Jack

Genre: Romance/Fluff/POV

Warnings: SC

Is Story being proof read: No

Summary: Martha is telling/thinking about Jack and Martha's first date. Similar to the original one on H&A, but includes a bit of a twist at the end which would change J&M's whole life.

Dedicated to Krystal. (Jamey-Maria). And her dad. Who is a swell guy. ;) Without them this would not exist. And so I'd be very bored right now.

This is basically a re-write of the original first date, with only a few new things and changes of others. Basically the same jist.

I wrote it in Martha's POV, as if she's telling or thinking of the story of their first date, for a bit of a challenge. It did infact prove to be quite a challenge, so please excuse any confusion or mistakes. I tried... Oh and to top it off, it hasn't been proofed.

Please comment.

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I had no idea what was in store that evening, or how well we’d get along. And as I sat laughing and smiling at the table opposite him, I wondered if he’d known. Perhaps he had a vision of the evening, of how our first date would go and how well we’d connect, which was why he was so adamant on us dating. Maybe that is what he was trying to tell me in all of those cheeky smirks and cute grins from these past few weeks. I thought it was all part of his smug, self-confident, ‘I-am-God’ routine - I had no idea that he could actually be onto something. If I’d have known how great we connected then maybe I’d have been as persistent as he was. Maybe then I wouldn’t have nearly screwed it up.

The date was brilliant. The perfectly organised, beautiful date that I couldn’t believe he had spent on me. Part of me wondered if he’d tried and tested this method before; if he’d actually used the same first date with other girls. But when I noticed the look in his eyes when he smiled at me or when he smirked at our banter told me different. He’d been enjoying the new experience and connection just as much as I had. And I think that’s what truly made it perfect.

After dinner he suggested a walk out on the beach – an excuse to stop me from washing the pots I guessed. He’d wrapped his hand around my forearm, pulling me away from the sink. Even though it was such an innocent touch, a touch that he’d just made offhand, it made my skin tingle. In an instance I’d let go of the dish cloth in my hand and let him pull me away. It was a good job he’d been pulling me out of the house with such gentle force, because I don’t think I’d have made it by myself. I was too deliriously happy at how this date was panning out and at how handsome he looked by candlelight to remember how to walk or to do anything sensibly. In fact in my floating daydream I’d forgotten to grab my jacket from the couch on my way out. I must have thought that his presence and my blushes would keep my skin feeling hot in the cool night.

But I was wrong. As we walked down the beach, side by side, I hadn’t been able to stop the goose bumps protruding from my arms. I’d tried subtly to cover them up with my hands while listening to him. I’d trid nodding my head and smiling as I ran my hands up and down the tops of my arms, my fingertips gently trying to push the little bumps back into my skin. But I hadn’t been as subtle as I’d have liked to have been because he’d seen right through me and soon enough, like a true gentleman, his pace slowed and he began to shrug off his jacket. My steps staggered to a stop as I looked up to him, watching as his broad shoulders that had carried that thick leather jacket of his lifted as he brought his arms up over my head and rested the jacket on my own delicate shoulders. He continued to slip his hands underneath the jacket and onto my arms, feeling at the pattern of bumps on my skin. His touch again sent fireworks through my body, and I felt a breath hitch in the back of my throat. Something I knew he must have heard. With a small teasing smirk and glitter in his eye, I felt his hands run up and down my arms, like I had done before, but this time with much more effect. Judging by his grin, I knew that he was now being less innocent and less of a gentleman and more of the cheeky guy that I’d agreed to go on the date with. The way his fingers danced around the curve of my arms and my elbows and up to the top of my shoulders sent a flush of warmth down every pore of my skin. In fact, while he was playing with the curve of my elbow, the breath of air that had previously got caught on my throat was finally released; heavy and obvious. And as I was cursing my heaving heart beat and the hard pulsating of my body, I hadn’t noticed one of his hands withdrawn from my arms. I’d only begun to realise his movements when his skin brushed against mine on my cheek, and his fingers that had slid around the back of my neck began to tilt my head up to his. I would have smiled at how eager his eyes looked if I hadn’t been so mesmerised with the fact that he was obviously feeling the same as I. The way his gaze was floating all over my face, soaking in my appearance and desperately trying to make a last minute judgement on if this was what I really wanted.

In the short time I’d known Jack I’d already understood that he was a funny and confident guy, but that night I’d learnt that there was more to him underneath those cheeky sparkles in his eye and his smirks. He had proved to be a gentleman tonight on more than one occasion, and I knew that he was probably just as nervous as I was. He didn’t want to do anything wrong either, so I decided to give him a little helping hand.

My hands rose up to his waist as I leant into him, meeting him half way. I closed my eyes as my lips parted and grazed his. As soon as they’d met I felt his warm hand on the bottom of my back pushing me closer to him. Our kiss remained to be soft and slow for a moment or two, teasing me into feeling more and more for the man I’d nearly lost. Then all of a sudden I felt both of his hands clasping the side of my face and my arms had swung around his back, trying desperately to close in the gap. I could hear faint syllables and beats of the music from the open doors of Noah’s bar just up the beach, the vocalist singing something about ‘but I’ve been wanting you so desperately’ and I realised that I’d changed the lyrics and meaning of that song forever.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar tug of a familiar strength on one of my hands. I opened my eyes and parted momentarily to look up at him and to catch my breath. When I did, I saw that he was smiling down at me – with pink lips and a heavy pant. I hadn’t failed to notice that one of his hands had taken mine from his back, and he had his hand wrapped over it as he led me away. We were in a sort of slow hurry as he took me up the beach, with both of our feet taking large strides in the urgency to get to the destination. I was fully aware that only he knew where we were going, but my feet seemed to have had a tip off because they were going in all the right directions. My heart and lips were only focussing on his, and they seemed to be screaming for attention. Luckily for them Jack was pleased to give them what they desired, and we made plenty of pit-stops on the way.

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It all became clear when his grip around my hand got harder and he began to really pull me up his drive. Not in a scary, powerful way – but in a passion filled and excited way. He’d pulled me around in front of him when we stood at the door, and I felt him nudge me up to the oak panel. He put the key in the lock as my back pressed against the door, and I began to distract him from twisting the key. In the end, with a smile as he continued to kiss my neck, I lifted my hand up to my right to unlock the door myself, and we fell in.

I left him to kick the door shut and led him through to the corridor. We took it in turns to twist and turn down the narrow pathway, pushing each other against the opposite walls with unburdened force. At one point I felt my hip slam against a door frame for which I knew I’d earn a bruise – but I couldn’t have cared less. All I could care about was his touch on my body and mouth, and the enclosing distance from us and his bedroom. And how right it felt.

As his hands slid underneath the jacket and onto my shoulders, I felt him lift the jacket off me and discard it by my feet. As he again pushed me toward the wall, his arms pressing the paint either side of me, I wondered if we should slow down. I knew by the way he had stopped deliberately opposite his own door he was giving me another chance to back out now. I smiled into his kiss, feeling the sincerity of his lips against mine. Even though he had me pinned against a wall, and my skin ached from the aftermath of the burns from his rough skin rubbing against mine, he was still a gentleman. I knew if I said no he’d back off immediately.

And that’s what made me want to say yes even more. That’s what made it all the more perfect. And for some reason, somewhere inside of me knew that this moment was going to be of some significance in my life. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know where this sudden epiphany had come from, but I knew he had felt it too.

So I pushed my hands onto his chest, backing him against the door and through the room, allowing him to kick the door shut behind us.

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I could have laid there for hours without thinking a minute had passed by. I was looking at the shapes and lines on the ceiling, reflecting from various objects in the room as the moonlight shone through the blinds. I smiled to myself, my eyes closing momentarily in hope that I’d remember this moment forever. I could feel his warmth radiating from his bare chest that was underneath me, and his strong arm that was cushioning my shoulders. His other hand was rested on top of my blanket clad stomach, and it was burning a hole through my skin.

I could hear his gentle breathing at the side of me, and his chest rise and fall with each automated contraction of muscles. I’d imagined him to look as good sleeping as he did under candlelight; maybe even cuter. But I’d stopped myself from looking for quite some time by threatening myself with the idea that maybe I’d wake him and ruin the supreme silence that I was enjoying so much. But there was only so much I could take and, like a child who was told not to press the red button, I twisted slowly in his arms. I’d looked up at him, a small smile on my face as I had watched him sleeping soundly. From what I could see, he too had a small smile present on those lips I’d grown so fond of tonight, which only made me giggle in delight. I regretted it as soon as it escaped through me, and felt a surge of guilt run down my spine as I saw him draw his head close to me.

“Oh, sorry for waking you.” I’d whispered sincerely.

Jack smiled weakly, opening his glassy eyes. “I was already awake.” His voice sounded unstable.

I had looked up at him questioningly while reading his facial expressions. “Have you… are you okay?” I asked.

Jack nodded, his mouth firmly closed. “Yea… yea... I was just-” He stopped suddenly; his eyes clenched shut and his lips pressing together. In fact, through the crystal light that was shining onto him, I was sure I’d seen a lip tremor. This was only confirmed by a ripple of movement all the way down his body.

“I’m such an idiot.” He shook his head, moving his hand from my stomach and to his face, pinching between his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I honestly didn’t want to believe it.

“Are you…” I tried to act as caring as I could, but I couldn’t help the word come out of my mouth with a little disbelief and dread. “...crying?”

At that minute question, I heard a loud rumble of something I didn’t want to hear rummage up his throat and erupt from his mouth. And I had the horrible feeling it was a sob.

“I’m… sorry...” He said in raspy breaths.

I sat straight up, beating his hands away from me as if they were dead squirrels. Unfortunately this further provoked his tears, and his state began to worsen.

“It’s just…” He began to get worked up, until he had to sit up too… just to get his breath back. “I’ve been waiting so long for this. There was one time when I didn’t think it’d happen…”

I suddenly felt all warmth run from my body like a tap, and I was lift shivering in a freezing pit of regret and sickness. What had I just done?

“Why are you crying, exactly?” I had asked with one eye closed and a tensed-up body, dreading the answer.

Unfortunately for me, he had managed to gather himself up enough to reply. “It’s just… I’ve never experienced something so… beautiful and sincere. It was just... magical.” The last word sung out of his throat, before he fell into yet another series of tears.

He hadn’t even noticed that I’d slid away from the bed and was feeling around the dark floor for my clothes. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed how much he was freaking me out.

What had happened to the ‘Jack-meister’? The cool, confident and funny guy I’d been enjoying getting to know the last few weeks. Or the sweet, gentleman I’d met last night. Where had the great kisser I’d been introduced to and the perfect moments that had just played out only an hour ago gone? Why was I left sharing a bed with this... pansy? Crying into his pillow because a girl touched his “winky” in a “magical” way? I felt physically sick, and I knew I’d have to leave before he realised I was going and grabbed at my ankle or wet himself or something.

As I pulled my skirt up and grabbed my shoes from the floor in haste, I looked at him one last time. Perhaps I was being a little harsh, I thought, men were supposed to be more in touch with their feelings nowadays – right? This could be normal…

But as I looked over at him, laid back down in the bed, curled in a ball and hugging a teddy from god knows where, I realised that it was in no way, shape or form normal.

And ever since I hastily exited the Holden’s house and retreated to my own home to wash off any reminiscence of the girl I’d just been touched by, and drowned all the memories away with a favourite bottle of vodka, I planned on avoiding him for the rest of my life.

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And this is where it all came from -

"I honestly don't know what you see in that guy Krystal; seriously I bet he's the type that cries after sex."

-Krystal's Dad (on Jack)

And that is why a statue should be erected in Krystal's Dad's honour. God bless the man.

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