Fall into my Heart (The Subzero Series, #1) (9 page)

We
pulled up to the cottage a little after midnight. Jack grabbed out suitcases
and we went inside. It was cute, not terribly big, but cozy. The walls were
decorated with family pictures, pictures of a young Jack and who I assumed
where his brother and his father fishing and hiking through some woods. The
outdated furniture had a faded floral pattern to it but it gave the place a
homey feel to it.

“I
was thinking we could both take my room unless you want your own.” Jack said
staring at me.

“Your
room is fine.” I said.

“I
know we just got here, but it’s kind of late and I’ve had a really long day. Do
you mind if we just go up?” He asked.

“That
sounds good to me.”

Jack
grabbed our suitcases and I followed him up the stairs.

“The
bathroom is the second door on the left.”

“Thanks.”
I said as I grabbed a pair of pink plaid pajama bottoms and my toiletries bag.
When I got into the bathroom, I pulled off my fleece and my workout pants. I
applied lotion to my legs before I put on my pajama bottoms. I wasn’t sure what
to expect this weekend, but I was glad that I took the time to shave my legs
this morning.  I quickly brushed my teeth and grabbed my stuff before heading
back to Jack’s room.

I
nearly fell over when I walked in his door. Jack had traded his jeans for a
pair of light blue striped pajama bottoms, however he opted to go shirtless and
oh my goodness! He didn’t have ripped,  bulging muscles but he was nicely, and
maybe a bit deliciously, toned and defined. I managed to look away from him
long enough to put my stuff in my carry on.

Jack
propped two pillows up against the wall and he was sitting on the bed leaning
up against them. He motioned for me to come over to him with two fingers and he
patted the spot next to him on the bed. I walked over to the bed feeling really
shy all of the sudden. I wasn’t sure why. It’s not like I had never spent the
night with a guy before. I mean we’re just two adults sleeping in the same bed
right? I climbed into bed next to him and all I could think was
warm....shirtless....muscles.

Jack
turned off the lights and slid down in the bed so that we were lying face to
face. He reached out his hand and caressed my cheek softly with his fingertips.
His hand found its way down the middle of my back and he pulled me closer to
him. Instinctively, I reached my hand up and ran my fingers through his hair.
Jack leaned his face down and pressed his soft, warm lips against mine. My
heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and I was pretty sure Jack
could feel it. We laid there kissing for a few minutes, and I was starting to think
I was glad I grabbed the cute panties, when Jack pulled away. Through the
darkness I could see the smile plastered across his face

“I
really like you Chloe.....a lot.” Jack said softly.

“I
really like you too Jack.”

“Goodnight.”
He said kissing my forehead.

“Goodnight.”
I whispered.

I
turned over onto my side and, with Jacks arms wrapped around me, I quickly fell
asleep.

~*~

When
I woke up the next morning, Jack and I were still cuddled up close together.

“Good
morning.” He said leaning over me to nuzzle my cheek.

“Good
morning.” I said, smiling to myself.

We
laid there for a few minutes before Jack kissed my cheek and jumped out of bed.

“I’m
making pancakes. Come down when you’re ready.” Jack announced as he pulled on a
t-shirt and ran downstairs.

With
the biggest smile plastered on my face, I pulled myself out of bed and strolled
into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I glanced at myself and
was instantly glad that I didn’t just jump out of bed and run downstairs. I had
the world’s worst case of bed head on one side of my head. I will never
understand how my hair will be perfectly straight when I go to bed yet I wake
up looking like Don King. I tamed it down as best as I possibly could before joining
Jack in the kitchen.

“Need
any help?” I asked.

“No,
I’m good, but thanks for offering.”

“The
view here is gorgeous.” I said as I sat down at the kitchen table and gazed out
the sliding glass door. The morning sun was dancing across the tiny ripples in
the river. Dozens of trees surrounding the water had already lost most of their
leaves, but they still provided a pretty back drop.

“I
love it here. It’s so peaceful. This is my favorite place to be when I feel
like I just need to get away,” Jack said as he set two plates of pancakes on
the table and sat down next to me. “I have to tell you, I’m so glad that you’re
as spontaneous as I am.”

I
laughed. “Well it’s pretty new for me actually, “I said spearing a piece of pancake
with my fork, “When I lived in New York I literally planned every second of my
life out. When I moved here, I promised myself I wasn’t going to be like that
anymore or at least not all of the time.”

“Well
how is that working out for you? I mean, you seem to be doing well.”

“It’s
been great actually. I’ve been doing things that I never thought I would do. I
feel like a completely new person and I love it.”

“Okay
so what does the new, fun Chloe want to do today? We could drive into town and
check out some stores or we could go four wheeling or we could stay here and
hang out.”

“Or
we could do all three.” I said.

“Or
we could do all three.” Jack agreed.

We
cleared off the table and made our way back upstairs to take showers and get
dressed. I took my shower first, making a point to not dawdle under the warm
water like I normally do. While I was in the bedroom blow drying my hair all I
could think about was the fact that Jack was naked and in the shower. I even
contemplated joining him in there and saying I missed a spot or something. I
could imagine the mixed look of surprise and lust when I started washing him
and not me. The water turned off as I was in the middle of my naughty little
daydream and I realized I had missed the window of opportunity.

Shaking
my head and attempting to shove any lingering dirty thoughts into the back of
my head, I quickly dressed in a pair of jeans, a long sleeved gray waffle knit
shirt and a light blue t-shirt.  Grabbing my sneakers, I went downstairs to
wait for Jack.

“So
I was thinking,” Jack started as he came down the stairs, “We could go into
town and get some stuff to make dinner for tonight and then we could come back
and take the four wheelers out.”

“That
sounds great.” I said as we grabbed our jackets and walked out the door.

The
little town Jack took me to was completely adorable. It was small, like one of
those little towns you see on TV where everyone knows everyone else. The
cobblestone streets were dotted with benches and old fashioned street lamps. Flanked
on either sides were little mom and pop shops.  

“Do
you have any ideas what we should do for dinner?” He asked as we headed into
Clarington’s grocery store.

“What
about spaghetti? These tomatoes are perfect for making sauce.” I said as I
picked up a vine of tomatoes.

“We
could do that with a salad, some garlic bread and a bottle of wine.” Jack said.

“And
that tiramisu.” I added pointing towards the bakery.

“Definitely
that tiramisu.” Jack smiled.

While
Jack picked out stuff for the salad, I grabbed some spices for the sauce. After
grabbing a package of homemade pasta, I met Jack at the bakery where we picked
out the most delicious looking tiramisu I had ever seen.  We paid for our food
and as we were walking back to the truck, Jack pointed out a liquor store. “How
about you pop in there real quick and grab a bottle of wine while I put this
stuff in the truck.” Jack said.

“Have
you ever been on a four wheeler before?” Jack asked me after we finished
putting our dinner supplies away.

“Uh,
no actually, I haven’t.”

“I’ll
try to go easy on you.” Jack teased as he pulled out two black helmets.

Jack
put one of the helmets on the seat of the four wheeler and walked over to me.
He softly tucked my hair behind my ears and put the helmet on my head, buckling
it under my chin.

“How
does it look?” I asked as he tightened the strap.

“Very
sexy.” He said giving me a wink.

Jack
climbed onto the four wheeler and after he put on his own helmet, he patted the
seat behind him. I climbed on and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.
Jack turned the key and after the four wheeler roared to life, we sped off into
the woods.

––––––––

W
hen
we got back to the house, I started chopping up tomatoes for the sauce. I
tossed the tomatoes, some water, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley and a
pinch of sugar into a saucepan and turned the burner to low. Jack came up
behind me as I was stirring the sauce and wrapped his arms around my waist. I
put the spoon down on a plate and turned around to face him.

“So,
how long until dinner is ready?” He asked.

“I
was just getting ready to boil the water for the pasta.” I said.

I
put a pot of water on the stove and slid the garlic bread into the oven while
Jack started making the salad.

“Hungry?”
I asked. I brought the bowl of spaghetti over to the table as Jack opened the
bottle of wine.

“Starving.”
He said as he poured wine into two glasses.

“Shall
we toast?” Jack asked as we both sat down.

“Sure.....what
are we toasting to?”

“To
us and our spontaneous weekend obviously.”

I
laughed. “Cheers to that!”

“This
sauce is delicious,” Jack said, “I didn’t realize you were such a cook.”

“Don’t
be fooled. This happens to be my specialty, thanks to my very Italian
grandmother who believes that eating jarred sauce is a sin. She made it a point
to see to it that if we knew how to make anything at all, it was her homemade
red sauce. I normally eat soup, cereal or a sandwich for dinner.”

“Yeah,
well, I’m a pizza guy myself, although I can cook.”

I
drank my first glass of wine quickly, which I knew was a mistake since we
didn’t eat much all day. I was feeling a little goofy, but I didn’t stop Jack
from pouring me another glass. Jack set the bottle down and made a face.

“Is
something burning?” He asked.

“Oh
no! The garlic bread!” I jumped up, nearly knocking over my chair, and ran over
to the stove.

I
pulled out the garlic bread as quickly as I could, but it was too late. The
garlic bread was burnt to a crisp. You couldn’t even identify the garlic bread
anymore. It looked like a couple of blackened lumps on some tinfoil.

Jack
was standing behind me laughing hysterically. He was seriously laughing so hard
I thought he might either start to cry or pee himself.

“Sorry.”
I said sheepishly.

He
walked over and cupped my face in his hands.

“It’s
okay. To tell you the truth I thought you were going to be more of a calamity
this weekend.”

I
shot him a look of mock disgust.

“Sorry
sweetheart, but you have to admit your track record.....”He trailed off smiling.

I
couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“C’mon,
let’s take this into the living room.” Jack said picking up the tiramisu and
two forks with one hand. He grabbed my hand with his free one and led me over
to the sofa.  We sat down and ate our tiramisu in silence.

“What
are you thinking about?” Jack asked me.

“I’m
thinking that this weekend has been awesome and I almost wish we didn’t have to
go home tomorrow,” I said,” What are you thinking about?”

“I’m
thinking that I wish you were my girlfriend.” Jack said.

“Are.....are
you asking?”

“Only
if you are going to accept.”

I
smiled at him. “I accept.” I said shyly.

“Thank
goodness! Things would have gotten quite awkward around here if you would have
said no!”

Jack
put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. We snuggled close together
as we finished the bottle of wine. When the bottle was empty, I stood up. “I’m
gonna go do the dishes real quick.” I said.

Just
as I was finishing up, Jack came up behind me. He put his hands on my hips and
kissed my neck. After washing and drying my hands so fast that I’m not entirely
sure they were completely clean, I turned around to face him.  Jack leaned down
and pressed his lips firmly against mine as he ran his hands up and down my
back. Placing his hands on my waist, Jack lifted me up and sat me on the
countertop. I ran my fingers through his hair as we started furiously kissing
each other like we were two sex crazed teenagers left home alone. Gasping for
air, we pulled away from each other.

“Do
you uh.....do you want to.” Jack started.

“Yes.”
I said cutting him off.

“That’s
pretty dangerous; you don’t even know what I was going to ask.” Jack grinned.

“Okay,
yeah, because you weren’t going to ask me if I wanted to go upstairs.” I said
sarcastically.

Jack
winked and smiled slyly as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs.
We walked into the room and Jack sat down on the edge of the bed. I walked over
to Jack trying to look coy and sexy. I’m not quite sure if I pulled it off
though because I felt ridiculously awkward. Jack put his hands on my bottom and
pulled me onto his lap so that we were facing each other.

“I’ve
wanted you to be my girl the first time I saw you.” Jack whispered as he leaned
forward to brush his lips softly to mine.

The
first time he saw me? He’s got to be kidding me. Of all the shining moments I
may have had with him over these past few weeks, I would hardly consider that
to be at the top of the list. My hair was all frizzy, my face was shiny, I
smelled like an airplane and my behavior.....well that wasn’t anywhere close to
being graceful.

“Okay
so you mean watching me act like a bumbling fool and run away was a turn on?”

Jack
laughed. “It was endearing and it made me want to find a way to be around you.
You mean to tell me you didn’t feel the same way?”

“Well,
yeah of course I did, but that’s different. You were this cool guy, with his
cool friends and there I was all.....”I made a face, scrunching my nose up.”

“Perfect.....you
were perfect.”

Jack
kissed me again, softly at first and then a little bit harder. It took
everything I had not to push hit back on the bed and yell out “Take me now!” I
wanted him, believe me I did, but it sort of seemed as though the moment passed
by. Which, I guess that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing seeing as though he just
became my boyfriend about an hour ago.

~*~

I
spotted Tyler’s bright blue Mohawk on the front steps of our building as soon
as we turned on our street. He was kind of hard to miss. Sitting on the step
below him was Dean and Noah. Dean was strumming on an acoustic guitar while
Tyler was hitting his drumsticks against the railing.

“Looks
like you were missed.” I teased.

“Yeah
I guess that’s what happens when you take off for two days and don’t tell
anyone.” Jack said maneuvering his truck into a parking space. I jumped out of
the truck and pulled my carry on out from the back seat, before walking around
to the back of Jack’s truck and waiting for him to gather his things. Jack
walked around to meet me and grabbed my hand as we walked toward our building. Dean,
Noah and Tyler had big goofy grins on their faces as they hopped up from the
steps and met us on the sidewalk.

“Dude,
where have you been?” Noah asked as he gave me a knowing wink.

“I
took my girl to my family’s cottage for a short holiday.” Jack replied.

My
heart fluttered when he referred to me as his girl. Dean, Noah and Tyler
glanced down at our entwined hands at the same time. Tyler placed one hand in
front of him, shook his head and staggered backwards.

“Awww
Chloe, you’re breaking my heart!” He cried out dramatically, placing both of
his hands on the left side of his chest.

“Oh
hardly I’m sure.” I said shaking my head.  

“Well
I hate to be the one to break up this love fest, but we have a lot to do today
Jack. Like an entire weekends worth of shit.” Dean said.

“Alright,
I’m just gonna walk her up and throw my stuff in my door. I’ll be right back.”
Jack said as we strode towards the door.

We
walked up the stairs slowly, both of us trying to stretch the remainder of this
weekend out as long as we possibly could. When we reached my door, we turned to
face each other.  Letting go of the handle of his suitcase, Jack stared into my
eyes as we reach up to cup me face in his hands. He lifted my face up towards
his and pressed his lips warmly against mine.

“I
had a great weekend with you.” Jack said softly.

“I
did too, I’m really glad we went.” I smiled.

“Well
I would love to stay here with you, but I should go. I kind of made the guys
wait around all weekend, but I’ll ring you later.” Jack kissed me again and I
turned to unlock my door. After tossing my carryon onto my bed, I fished my
cell phone out of my purse. I jumped onto my bed as I dialed Abby’s number.
Please
pick up, please pick up, please pick up!  

“Oh
my god Abby, I have got to tell you about my weekend!” I said as soon as she
answered.