Why Won't You Fall Into My Arms?

I stood there, dripping and furious, ringing out my top while glaring daggers at Jack. He met my stare with one betraying nothing but his mirth.

“Why don’t you take it off Soph?” his smile just fuelled my anger.

“Why don’t you just piss off?” I mumbled heatedly.

“I’d rather piss you off.”

“Well congratulations, dumping me in a lake successfully had that effect.”

He was silent after that and I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him, wondering just why the sarcastic comments had stopped. And then sourly wished that I hadn’t.

Jack had stripped down to his soaked boxers in a matter of seconds and was strolling off toward the supermarket as if this was a daily occurrence. The rain was still lashing us both, running down his torso. Blushing, I ran to keep up, battling with myself to keep my eyes focused on our destination. And not on his body.

“What are you doing?” I asked, dumfounded.

He shot me his signature smirk which made his eyes sparkle in that mischievous way only his could. It was even harder right then to keep my head, because everywhere I looked Jack seemed to be on the charm offensive. Or rather he was just too damn attractive for his own good.

“We’re going shopping Soph, remember?”

“As long as you purchase an outfit to cover up your half naked form,” I said, finding refuge only in the shop’s window, “then that’s fine with me.”

The lake wasn’t far from the supermarket, as Jack had already proven when he’d carried me the whole way there. On his shoulder no less. I still had the slightly nauseas feeling in my stomach from being off the ground for too long. Or maybe it was from being chucked into a pretty cold lake. Either way, at least the distance we covered together wasn’t too long.

On the way he stooped down to retrieve my sorry looking bag which had lain forgotten amid the torrential downpour.

“I don’t think I’m the only one who’s going to need to get new clothes,” he smirked, dangling the bag out in a taunt.

“I hate you,” I replied dully. There was no point in even taking the thing from him; it was quite obvious that everything in there – including some of my favourite clothes – were ruined. My resolve to kill Jack Adams at some point in the very near future only increased.

“You don’t hate me.”

“Oh I really do. In there were some of my favourite things. And I’m soaking wet and freezing all because some idiot, i.e. you, decided it would be hilarious to dump me into our town’s lake. If I catch a disease and die then please note that I’m taking your sorry ass with me!”

“Sorry.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbing hold of his arm so he stopped too. Maybe it was just me, or something about the day, but I seemed to be hearing things a lot.

“Did you just apologise to me?” I asked dumfounded. I had to ask, otherwise I wouldn’t believe it.

He turned slowly and lay his blue suddenly unreadable eyed on me. Whatever he was feeling he was doing a pretty good job at keeping it to himself. Which was a first.

“Yes.”

I stood there for a few seconds, the rain momentarily forgotten because something far more shocking had just taken place. Had Jack Adams ever apologised to me? Hell, had Jack Adams ever apologised to anyone?

I couldn’t even understand the reason for it. He’d been a jerk to me plenty of times over the years, done far worse things, and yet now he actually apologises? It was all a bit fishy to me.

And there I was, being all paranoid again.

Still, a betraying smile had crept itself onto my face while I was busy thinking my conspirator thoughts. Maybe it was just Jack, maybe he was growing up, becoming more and more human every day.

“Thanks,” I could already feel my cheeks burst into flames so quickly started for the shop again.

There was no way I was allowing him to how much he affected me when he was like this, all intense and unreadable and almost sweet. How much I wanted him to just me nice to me. How much I’d always wanted that.

We didn’t say anything else as he caught easily up with me so we entered the supermarket together in silence. It was no surprise to find the entire thing empty, Jack’s earlier lame excuse shot to pieces. While it wasn’t a surprise it was still a little unnerving. Like walking in on a million horror movie sets, waiting for everything and anything to jump out from behind the tinned section or emerge slowly from the frozen aisle.

There was something wrong with my brain, making me so suspicious I couldn’t walk a few steps without glancing over my shoulder. And double checking just where Jack’s hands were.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

I turned to Jack, noticing how he was reacting almost exactly the same way. Of course we were going to be paranoid; the whole town had disappeared without any kind of explanation! It didn’t take a genius to work out something very wrong was happening.

“If you’re referring to how empty the supermarket is then yes, it’s very weird.”

“What else would I be referring to?” a smile teased up his mouth, the tension dissipating soundlessly.

“How we just entered the store together like friends,” I half choked on the word, “that’s possibly even weirder.”

“You don’t like us being friends?”

“I suppose,” I twiddled with the fair hair in between us to show him I didn’t care – a terrible lie. “You’re a pretty lousy friend anyway.”

Before he could even open his mouth to protest I jumped in “unless you dump all of your
friends into lakes and make them shout out blatant lies?”

Jack just shook his head, laughing. I wouldn’t even put it past him to actually do that to his real friends. He was a pretty strange guy.

“Hey Soph,” I turned to see a grinning Jack with his tanned hands clutching a discarded shopping trolley. “Get in.”

And this just proved that I was wrong – he was actually really strange.

“I think I’ll pass,” I smirked, wringing out my top again and making a small puddle on the flooring.

“But this is the whole reason we’re here,” he pouted.

“No, this is the whole reason you’re here. I came at the chance of a surprise and now because I need some new clothes.”

“Please Soph? Don’t you remember doing this as a kid?”

I did, and with him no less. We’d torn up the aisles and caused quite a buzz with the elderly who thought it wasn’t proper for young ladies to go hurtling down the supermarket in a makeshift racing car.

Laughing at the memories but more at myself, I hoisted my body into the thing, freezing metal pressing against my soaked body. Chills ricocheted through me. I was just about to change my mind, regain my senses, when we took off. And I had to grab hold of the metal bars just to stop myself from keeling over.

Jack whizzed down the food sections and chucked handfuls of boxes in until I called him out on the dog food which had been dumped on my head. He just shrugged and tentatively put it back.

“Clothes!”

I pointed when I caught sight of them. He charged towards them with a lot more gusto than necessary. And before I knew it he had let the trolley leave his grip so it flew across the floor.

Oldest trick in the trolley races book.

I screeched loudly when I realised what had happened, and that I was no longer tethered to anything. With a painful jolt my vehicle hit the stands so t-shirts fell onto me like some colourful blanket.

“You jerk Jack,” I hissed as he was doubled over with more laughter. Obviously, he wasn’t about to apologise for that one.

I freed myself from the trolley with loud groans and smacked him hard in the chest, knocking him back a few steps. He kept that infuriating grin firmly on his face and looked at me fondly, as if I was some cute little child who was desperate for his attention. Well I wasn’t a kid, and I certainly didn’t want his attention!

“Why is it so hard for you to act your age for a few minutes?” I seethed, not expecting him to answer at all.

“Is that what you’re doing? Acting your age? It looks like you’re just getting really uptight over nothing and hiding your pretty little smile under a frown.”

I blanched. Pretty?

Jack used my hesitation to his advantage. In a split second, he had his arms laced around my back so my body was pressed against the length of his. My wet clothes clung to his naked chest and I could feel things through the material which I certainly shouldn’t.

“Yes Soph, I think you have a pretty smile.”

I gazed at him with such a dumfounded face it caused him to laugh again. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t mean it. It wasn’t right that he thought anything about me was pretty – we were barely friends and here was this boy trying to push the boundaries.

I decided that he was joking. That this was just another one of his cruel taunts hidden under a veil of sincerity.

I deliberately stomped down hard on his foot and pushed him away from me with as much strength as I could muster. Just the feel of him on me was clouding my judgement.

Without glancing back, I stalked over to grab some clothes off of the damaged shelf, the trolley still wedged right in there. The sound of Jack changing clothes himself had me wary of moving just in case he thought I was trying to steal a glance. My face was still red from his half compliment and the last thing I needed was a flash of anymore of Jack’s bare flesh.

“What are you waiting for sweetheart?”

I finally turned at his voice; only just realising I was staring at the broken shelf, the clothes still in my hands.

“Well I’m not getting changed with you watching,” I barked, still angry at him from before.

“Oh no. You’ve stomped on my foot and almost pushed me over today, it’s your turn to suffer.”

“You dumped me in a river you idiot, I already have suffered.”

“Well you owe me,” he pouted “my foot hurts now after your huge one stomped all over it.”

“Serves you right. You don’t tell girls things like that.”

“What? That they’re pretty?”

“Yeah. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry for trying to compliment you Soph, I didn’t realise that was such a horrible thing to do.”

Neither of us turned or moved away, too involved in our glaring match.

“Fine then,” I eventually sighed and moved into a different aisle where I pulled my soaking clothes from me.

I hadn’t even looked at what I’d taken with me and, pulling the item over my head, I realised that this had been a big mistake. The piece which was meant to be a dress was either several sizes too small for me or made for a hooker. I yanked the material, hoping to stretch it out so it didn’t hug me so tightly, praying that it would cover more skin that it currently was.

How was I supposed to face Jack when I was dressed like some prostitute?

“This is definitely the way to make it up to me,” his deep voice was suddenly behind me.

I turned and yelped when I saw how close he was to me. I clutched my wet clothes to my body, trying to shield the dress from his eyes, and stared him down. But instead of being intimidated, Jack just moved closer as I backed away.

“Get lost Jack,” I murmured breathlessly as his hand reached out to graze my neck and collar bone. He ignored me completely to trace invisible patterns into my still damp skin. “Jack!” I warned, prepared to punch his lights out if he toyed with my emotions any more.

“Sorry,” he sighed and moved back down the aisle so I could finally have my privacy. Hastily, I pulled down the ‘dress’ as far as it would go, too proud to go back for some different clothes in front of Jack. He had seen me as weak enough already today.

If only I could get my heart to slow down to its usual rhythm and the extra quake in my hands to settle. He shouldn’t have had that effect on me – nobody could make me quite as jittery as he could.

“Let’s go Adams,” I called out as I tracked down the trolley and slipped in a few healthy options. I felt his presence more than saw him, too embarrassed with what I was wearing to turn.

A wolf-whistle from behind told me Jack wasn’t far so I just pushed the goods hurriedly out of the store. I’d accepted by this point that leaving money for nobody to pick up was a stupid idea. Nobody else was here to care if a few items went mysteriously missing… just like everyone else had seemed to. Plus, I was determined to put as much distance between myself and Jack as I could. Not that he wouldn’t follow me anyway.

The journey back was silent except for the trolley’s wheels. I was too angry and concerned with keeping the outfit decent to even look at Jack. But I felt his eyes. And the atmosphere was heavy again with so many words we hadn’t the nerve to say.