What's the context of the title? Leave your guesses here. ----------------->
Jackson
Sterling drops a bomb in my lap, one that threatens to soon explode and leave everything within my radius in complete shambles.
She wants what now?
Before I can respond, not that I am even sure what to possibly say, she presses a finger to my lips. Then rolling over onto her side, she gazes at me with affection in her eyes. "Don't speak," she instructs. "Just listen."
I nod.
"You claimed these past few days have been the most fun you've had in years," she carried on. "You said you owed that to me. All that I'm asking for in return, is that you give me the next two months of your time to continue to show you what you've been missing out on."
"I-"
She clamps her hand over my mouth, her grip firmer. "Shh. I'm not done," she rushes on. "I like you, Jackson. I mean really like you."
My brows shoot up on my forehead. This is unexpected. She takes pleasure in goading me which has never been any indication that she had feelings for me. Rather the complete opposite.
I'm curious to question her as to why she has picked me as her romantic interest. I can't imagine someone that devotes nearly all his time to learning a musical instrument that isn't a guitar or drum set to be alluring to someone with her sort of wild streak.
She bites her lip, the confidence painted in her expression only moments ago, now morphed into one of shyness. "I don't want you to respond to that today..." She pauses. "Mainly, because you've already stated that you find me irritating but when the end of summer comes, and we leave this cabin after you have spent some time alone with me, I want to know if you think that you could ever like me too."
She pulls her hand away and wraps her arms around her knees as she sits up. Wistfully, she stares out at the pines and the sunflowers swaying gently in the soft breeze. My gaze drops to the small of her bare back, her skin so creamy.
It's hard to fathom that just moment before, I was inside of her. And only shortly before that, I was getting ready for a date with another girl and musing to myself over what a nuisance Sterling was to be hovering while I was trying to get ready.
Crickets chirp from somewhere in the distance as silence drifts comfortably around us. My sights follow a lightning bug darting in and out of the trees, its occasional glow giving away its location.
My mind is whirling at a dizzying pace over the new information that has been thrusted upon me. I have never considered Sterling as a dating option before and now, out of the blue, she wants to know if I could ever be attracted to her?
I need time to process my thoughts. "Sterling, I-"
"You're unhappy, Jackson," she interjects.
I study the light of the moon balancing off the darkened waters of the lake. She isn't wrong. But I don't understand the relevancy of this statement to our conversation.
She slides a cautious glance over at me. "Let me help you discover the real you. The guy that is so much more than just his violin. That's all I ask. If by the end of August, you still want me to leave you alone..."
She shrugs a shoulder. "I won't pester you anymore."
Leaning forward, she plucks a stray pine needle from the cushion of the outdoor bed and twiddles it between her fingers. "Do we have a deal?"
I gaze up at the stars winking from the navy sky. In theory, her offer seems like a win-win. I get to let loose for the summer and then cut her loose.
But what if...
I can't stop the niggling inner voice that nags at me. What if I find that I don't want to let her go? Then what? She's my sister's best friend.
Guilt immediately tears through my gut. Her friend that you just had sex with.
There is no way I can keep this secret hidden from Gabby. I am certain it will haunt me for the rest of my life if I never clear my conscience of this betrayal before...
Stop it, Jackson. Don't think about that. Not if you don't want Sterling to see you break down right here in the middle of the garden. How could you explain your heaving sobs to her? You can only lie so much before she sees right through you and discovers the truth.
"Jackson?" Sterling's voice interrupts my thoughts and I whip my head in her direction.
I swipe my jaw, massaging my chin as I chide myself for being so dumb. "No, we don't have a deal," I surprise myself by stating. I gesture at her naked body. "The thing with you, me, and Kelsi should have never happened."
She lifts a brow. "You mean the threesome."
I leap off the bed and tug on my boxers and pants. "Yes, the threesome," I respond through clenched teeth. "You're Gabby's best friend. It was wrong of me to have sex with you, and I don't think it would be wise for us to spend any more time together in any context."
As I zip my fly, I mutter, "What the hell was I thinking?"
She scoffs. "I believe that it was your dick doing all of the thinking." In a huff, she yanks on her shirt and scans the grass around her for her panties.
With a roll of my eyes, I snatch the black boy shorts from the ground and hand them to her. "This is absurd. In no universe, should I be retrieving your underwear for you."
Our sights lock and the corner of her mouth slowly tugs up. We have truly lost all rational thoughts as the action causes us both to burst out into laughter. We chuckle until I have a cramp in my side, even though the situation is nowhere close to humorous.
I plop down beside her and grasp her knee. "Fuck. Am I really that tightly wound that I'm panicking over having sex?"
She smiles at me sadly. "I think you're just frightened because you're realizing that you've outgrown the Jackson that you've been acquainted with for the past twenty years."
Sighing, I lay back against the pillows and stare up at the sky, visualizing that the constellations are a map that will point me in the right direction. "Where do I go from here? Everything is changing, Sterling," I whisper. "I feel out of control."
She settles in beside me and finds my hand, threading her fingers through mine. Her touch is warm, and the squeeze she gives is comforting. "I think you follow whichever path your heart is telling you to."
She moves her palm up to my chest and presses against the fabric of my shirt. "Listen closely, Jackson," she urges. "What is it saying?"
I blow out a breath. "I think it's yelling that I'm tired of being boring and that I don't want to follow anyone's rules except my own."
"Yea, screw the violin," she responds with a playful smirk, pumping her fist into the air. "At the first light of dawn, we give it a formal send-off into the lake."
I chuckle. "Let's not get carried away but how about a medium of some sort?"
She is stroking her finger up and down my torso and the action soothes me. It's a simple gesture. Just two supposed friends enjoying a quiet summer night on the shore. No frustrations of pushing myself to finally master the musical piece I have been attempting to learn for months.
No middle of the night urgent visits to the hospital or staring at a medicine cabinet full of orange bottles every time I go to brush my teeth. Just the peeping of the frogs and the lull of the water rippling softly against the sand.
"What do you propose then?" Sterling inquires. "A skull tattoo? A septum piercing?" She thumps my chest rapidly. "Oh! What if we take you to get that procedure done that splits your tongue into two to give it that snake effect?"
"Sterling," I groan in between laughter. "No. None of that. I said tamer and you somehow go wilder."
"Okay," she replies, dropping her voice to an intimate level. "What's your idea then?"
I give her ponytail a gentle tug. "I think that I would very much like you to show me how to have some fun in my life." I hold up one finger as she opens her mouth. "Nothing dangerous or illegal though. I'm not trying to get arrested or killed here."
She lifts herself up suddenly, her irises sparkling with excitement. "Yea? You mean it?"
I nod. "I do. We have a deal."
Her sights drop to the cushion, and she traces her finger over the pattern of a starfish. She clears her throat. "And what about...the other part?"
I study her plush lips and the soft lines of her face. Her bright blonde hair that skims the tops of her shoulders. There is no denying that Sterling is pretty, but could I view her in a romantic light after years of only thinking of her as Gabby's pesky friend?
Perhaps. Afterall, I have never given her a chance to be seen in that manner.
Slowly, I bob my head. "The end of summer," I say, pointing towards the dock. "If the answer is yes, I'll meet you there at sunset on the last day of August. If I don't show up..."
Her hand reaches out to touch my arm, halting my flow of words. "Then I'll still have my answer."
Only moments before, she had quieted me so that she wouldn't know the thoughts running through my mind. But in this case, my potential silence had the ability to tell her everything that she needed to know.
But for now, we would bask in the still of the night, not fearing what it has or doesn't have to say. It's a quiet that in this very moment, holds such promise for us both.
Question of the day: What do you think is up with Gabby?