The Unexpected

Chapter 15

"Do you want to get one?" Jack asked her as she looked over the fancy golf cart.

"Ya, I think it would be a fun way to exlore the island." She hopped in the drivers seat and tested the steering wheel. "I'm driving though." She stated matter of factly.

"Excuse me?" Jack was smiling through his surprise at her nerve. "I'm paying but you get to drive, do you?"

She looked at him as if his question was absurd. "Of course! You're used to driving on the wrong side of the road." Although she looked dead serious, Jack couldn't help but laugh when she finished. "Our lives probably depend on me driving." Elle smiled at him and gave him a wink.

Jack leaned in towards her and kissed her. "Alright princess, you can drive." He ducked back out and went to the counter to rent the cart.

Elle sat back and waited, perfectly content with the current situation. I can't believe how much things have changed for me in the last few weeks. New job, much needed vacation and an amazing new man. Seriously exciting times. Wait until Tim hears! He'll be pleased at the turn of events. Elle briefly had second thoughts about confiding in her cousin as she was sure she'd be greeted with an over the top 'I told you so', but she knew she'd fess up to him anyway and spill every detail about how they fell into this new phase of their relationship.

"Okay you, here you go." Jack handed her the keys as he climbed in beside her. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head with his feet on the dash. As she started up the modern and suped up cart he finished. "You do realize that this means I can get completely and ridiculously drunk today and not have to worry about getting you home safely because you've insisted on taking that on?" He sat up and leaned over to kiss the gob smacked expression on her face. "Thanks hunny, you're such a thoughtful girl." He settled back into his seat, smiling triumphantly as Elle turned the lever to back out of their space and begin their exploration of Key West; her expression stoic as she realized she'd been had.

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They spent the next few days roaming around The Keys stopping when something caught their eye and growing more at ease with one another each day.

Elle looked back to the small strip of beach they'd stumbled across in Key Largo where Jack lay on a blanket in the sand. Smiling at her current state of contentment she bent her knees and slipped into the water up to her neck and turned to swim further out into the crystal clear water. When she surfaced again she was level with the end of the long dock that belonged to one of the houses that bordered the narrow strip of public beach, and she tipped her head back to float under the late afternoon sun. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift as she relaxed in the calm water.

Jack sat up and sheilded his eyes while he looked out into the water. A moment of panic swept over him and he jumped to his feet to get a better look. He breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of her floating farther out.

Settle down, she's fine. Someone might think you were smitten. Well I am, but it doesn't mean I'm in love; it just means I'm having a good time hanging out with my Canadian friend. Jack found himself having these little conversations in his head a lot since they'd started sleeping together. At first he'd felt guilty about it, but had remembered that he had asked her if she wanted to that first night so it was obviously fine with her that they added this aspect to their friendship.

He glanced at the large house and it didn't appear that anyone was home, and they certainly weren't outside, so he quickly climbed the small jetty that seperated the park from their yard and pulled himself up onto the dock. He ran as fast as he could along the the white wooden planks that stretched out into The Gulf. When he reached the end, he dove straight towards her and disappeared under the turquoise water.