The Tangles of My Heart

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was him. It really was him. It was fucking Jack Bassam Barakat, passed out on the sand at my feet...

What the fuck?

I knelt down in the sand and hooked my arms under his, dragging him out of the water. "Cut it out, fuckface," Jack groaned, making me cringe. "I'm trying to sleep, Rian..." Oh, he hasn't figured out it's me yet.

It wasn't difficult to carry his lanky ass to my car. I kind of just tossed him into the trunk, though, since I didn't want my seats getting wet and sandy.

He was lucky I came by. I'd only come to the beach this afternoon to survey it. A hotel had contacted my firm asking for me specifically. They commissioned me to build an infinity pool - the kind of pool that blends in seamlessly with the ocean when viewed from a certain angle. I was excited for this project, but Jack required my full and immediate attention. I simply had to take care of him...

When I got home, I laid a bunch of towels out on my bed before carrying in Jack and laying him on it. He was only half conscious of everything. I guess the sun fried not only his skin, but ?his brain, as well...

I went out to my balcony and snapped off two large aloe leaves from my aloe vera plant. Taking them inside, I broke them, squeezed out the aloe onto my hands, and began to gently rub the aloe onto Jack's severely sunburned skin.

"Dammit, Holly, I've told you over and over again to never touch my tattoos!" Jack suddenly yelled, grabbing my wrist and opening his eyes to glare at me. But the moment we made eye contact, he let go and his expression turned to one of shock. I wordlessly squeezed more aloe onto my hands, cautioning Jack with my eyes before rubbing it into his chest. He inhaled sharply, but made no move to touch me this time. "T-Taylor..."

Jack groaned, gingerly touching his face. I scooted closer to his head and rubbed aloe onto his forehead as well. "Just don't move. You're so fucking sunburned, it's not even funny," I muttered, trying not to stare at him too much as my fingers traversed his perfectly proportioned cheekbones, his forehead, his nose...

"What time is it?" Jack croaked, and I felt his throat vibrate beneath my fingertips.

"About a quarter to two," I replied civilly, teashing the old, used up aloe leaf before starting to use the new one. Surprisingly, Jack remained silent. He closed his eyes and let me continue to rub the aloe on his skin, despite his occasional groans of pain and perpetually labored breathing.

"Does it hurt?" I asked when I had finished with his torso, neck, and face area and had started on his arms - the one with the Blink - 182 bunny on it.

"Less and less," he said through gritted teeth, cracking an eye open to watch me lay more aloe on his shoulder and bicep. "What is that shit? It looks like lube."

I scoffed - the sound I usually made when I was choking back laughter. "Pure, fresh aloe. It'll help with the sunburn."

"Can you put some more on my face, then?"

After I finished with his arm, I obliged. When I was through with him, there was a thin film of aloe on the entire front side of his body, even down to his legs. They weren't too bad, but Jack had defnitely been rendered immobile by the sunburn.

"Why were you even out on the beach, anyways? Did you fall asleep in the sand?"

"What's it to you?" Jack snapped. Ah, there's the attitude I was expecting. I trashed the aloe leaf before rising from the bed.

"Wait here," I instructed, going to my bathroom for my bottle of lidocaine. I got back on the bed, taking off the cap before squirting the lidocaine all over Jack's body. He yelped and twitched momentarily at the initial coldness.

"Why do you keep covering me with lube?!"

"It's not lube..."

"Blue hair gel, then?"

"This is lidocaine. To ease the burn," I explained, slathering it all over his skin now. Jack sighed contentedly before he proceeded to make melodramatic...uh... sex noises.

"Ohhh. Oh, yes. Fuck yes, right there. Mmm. Damn, that feels good. More." I rolled my eyes but indulged him, trying not to blush. "Hi, Taylor."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he really playing this game with me again? "Hi, Jack..."

We came up with this game because we hated the "YOU hang up!" game that we played over the phone. Whoever lost this game, whoever got tired of saying "hi" first, had to hang up on the phone later that night. Jack usually lost because my patience was infinite.

But not this time. "Hi, Taylor." I didn't respond and only wiped off the excess lidocaine from my hands onto the towels covering my bed. " Hi,Taylor," Jack repeated, sounding upset. When he tried to repeat it a third time, I simply slapped his chest. Jack cried out in pain. "What was that for, cocksucker?!"

"You're so inventive with your comebacks," I scoffed, getting up to put the lidocaine back in my bathroom. When I came back, Jack was sitting up.

"Where am I?"

"My house..."

I felt really awkward now. we were ex's. It was supposed to be awkward... But Jack didn't seem to think so.

"Why'd you save me?"

I opened my mouth several times without saying a word before I shrugged and asked him if he was thirsty.

Jack got up and slowly walked toward me, but I held my ground since he hadn't answered my question. "Depends on whether you have any pineapple orange juice..."

I knew that was his favorite. That's why it became my favorite - he would always order it whenever the restaurant we went to offered it. He made me try it once, and I've loved it ever since.

"Kitchen's downstairs," I mumbled, motioning for him to follow me, but he wouldn't. He simply stood at the top of the stairs, scratching his head.

"You...carried me?"

"That, and I did have to drag you every now and then," I admitted with a nervous laugh. Jack shook his head, but finally followed me down now. I opened up my cabinet, reaching for a glass, but I was too short. I was searching for my kitchen stool, but Jack simply sandwiched me between him and the counter, grabbing the glass with ease. "Drinks are in the fridge," I told Jack before going out to my front porch, phone in hand so I could call Zack.

"Hello?"

"Zack, are you guys at your hotel? I, uh, found Jack on the beach earlier today, and-"

"I'm not here right now, but leave me a message, alright? Peace out."

Seething, I ended the call. I'd just bring Jack back to the hotel myself, then...

"Seriously, Taylor." Jack joined me on the porch with two glasses of pineapple orange juice - one for me and one for him. "Why'd you save me?"

"I...couldn't just leave you there..." I really didn't have a better reason. Or one that I could say out loud without embarrassing myself. I wasn't about to tell Jack I missed him and still cared about him. No fucking way! "What's with the staring...?"

"I'm trying to figure out how I feel about you now," Jack said plainly, making my heart skip a beat. "Because I still hate you for what you did, but I also kind of owe you, considering you saved my skin...literally...So, I'm kind of torn between hating the fuck out of you and being really fucking grateful to you."

"Do you want me, or do you want me dead?" I sang as a joke, making Jack smile.

"Nice, Taylor...but seriously...I'm having a really hard time deciding...it's like trying to figure out which one of your boobs is bigger."

"They're the same size!" I spluttered, self consciously crossing my arms over my chest.

"My point exactly!"

All this laughing and joking with Jack made my heart hurt. It reminded me of how much fun we had, and of how he was probably this way with that Holly girl. "Look, let me just take you back to your hotel now, alright?" I told Jack with a sigh as I set down my glass.

"Why do you want to get rid of me so quickly?" Jack demanded, and he was startled when I turned around to face him.

"Do you really need me to tell you? You are supposed to hate me, Jack! You should hate me for cheating on you With your sister's fiancé! Isn't that just so unforgivable?"

Jack calmly took my face in his hands. "What if there's nothing to forgive?" he murmured against my lips.

Damn, even after a year, this guy can still make me lose my mind...!