It was another hour before Sam's aunt and uncle decided to depart. Once they had left, taking her tight lipped cousin with them, Sam went up to her bedroom in search of her phone. When she located it on the edge of her bed where she had left it, she quickly picked it up to check the messages. Four texts, and one missed phone call. All from Jack.
"Being in a bed isn't as comfortable without you in it." - J.
"Where'd you run off to?" - J.
"You're not avoiding me, are you?" - J.
"Sam, where the hell are you?" - J.
Sighing, Sam scrolled through the options on the messages until it hovered on the word Call. Pressing send, she lifted the phone to her ear, and listened as it began to ring. Jack answered after the third one.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hi."
"Still mad at me?"
Sam wasn't sure how to respond. "I just want to be sure that you understand something."
He remained quiet on the other end of the line. He was patiently waiting for her to continue.
"In order for this to work, I need to trust you. I also need you to trust me. I'm not sure what it is that we're doing, or even what this is, but I know it's not going to work without that."
She heard him sigh. "I do trust you," he finally said. "I'm just a little unsure of how you feel about all of this. I know how I feel. It's a little nerve wracking wondering where you stand."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"You know that I want you," Jack said. "I've made that abundantly clear. Our entire association has been based on the fact that I want you. You know that. I feel like I'm hanging in the balance because I don't know what it is that you want. Like if I say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing, you're going to run away from me."
"You want to know how I feel?"
Jack paused for a moment. Then his breath escaped him raggedly. "Yes," he finally said.
Sam wasn't sure how to reply. Her thoughts and feelings on the entire matter were complicated. She hadn't even fully analyzed it herself. "Confused," she eventually answered.
"What does that mean?" Jack asked.
Sam didn't feel ready to go into detail about it. Not until she had tried to figure it out for herself. The truth of the matter was, she wasn't sure how she felt.
She let out a sigh. "It means that I'm not sure what to think about all of this. I haven't had time to really process it."
"Okay," Jack said slowly. "Well, answer me this. Are you still afraid of me?"
"No," she admitted. "Maybe a little when you're angry."
Jack took this in for a moment before going on. "I won't hurt you," he said softly. "I want you to believe that."
She wanted to believe it too. "You're kind of intense, Jack. I guess I'm just not used to it."
"I know," he replied dejectedly. "You said you were going to give me a chance. Is that still true?"
Sam leaned against the headboard of her bed as she bit her lip. "Yes," she hesitantly answered. "I'm just not entirely sure what I'm opening myself up to, or what you're expecting."
She could hear the smile in his voice when he responded. "I thought that was obvious. I want to be with you, Sam. I want you to be mine." He paused for a moment as if unsure of his next words. "I just want you to want it too."
Was it what she wanted? She wasn't sure. Agreeing to be with him meant a life of hiding, and sneaking around. It was a world that only the two of them could be a part of. Clark had been right about one thing. Jack was unstable. She never knew when, or how, or what would upset him next. It was like standing on the precipice of a cliff waiting to be pushed off.
It would always be a part of who Jack was. Could she accept him for who he was, and look past all of the insanity? She didn't really know. The only thing that she knew was that since he had come into her life she had experienced a range of tumultuous emotions that she couldn't really describe. They made her feel alive.
"Can you give me some time to sort through all this?" she finally asked.
His smile was still evident when he spoke. "We have nothing but time, baby." His voice dropped to an enticing whisper. "Can I see you?" he inquired heatedly.
"Now?" she asked in surprise.
"Just for a little while. Go for a drive with me."
Sam thought about it for a moment before she relented . "Alright. Can you give me a half an hour? I still need to shower, and change clothes."
Jack chuckled. "Sure. I'll be there in thirty minutes."
***
She told her parents that she was walking to a friend's house, then slipped out the front door, and made her way down the porch steps. The sky was dark, and the street lights were just coming on as she made her way down the block towards Jack's car.
When she got in the smells assaulted her senses immediately. She could smell the vinyl of the seats, the faint aroma of cigarette smoke, and the smell of Jack himself. It was a deeply masculine scent, and she breathed it in appreciatively as he turned to smile at her in greeting.
Leaning towards her, he cupped the side of her face in his large hand, and kissed her mouth softly. His eyes crinkled devilishly when he pulled back to look at her. "Hi. Ready to go?"
"Where are we going?" Sam asked.
"To the strip club," he replied, and kissed her mouth again.
Sam scowled as she looked at him, which made him laugh. "We're gonna go to the drive in," he said with a grin. "It's something that we can do where we don't have to get out of the car, I can kiss you if I want to, and we get to eat popcorn. You'll love it. I promise."
Sam sighed regretfully. "I was hoping to expand my knowledge on nipple tassels."
Jack lifted a brow. "I'll buy you a pair," he said, then winked at her.
Sam clapped her hands excitedly. Abruptly dropping them, she rolled her eyes at Jack as he started the car. Lifting a cigarette to his mouth, he turned, and smirked at her. "You know, if you want to go that badly, I think there's one on route seven that's loose about carding?"
Sam smiled at him sweetly before replying, "If you ever try to take me to one of those places they'll be searching for your body for months."
"Is that a no then?" he asked with another grin.
Her smile was still firmly in place when she looked at him. "Drive!" she ordered.
Jack's eyes widened, and then he laughed. "Yes, ma'am!" Pulling on the gearshift, he pulled away from the curb. Once they were headed down the street, his expression grew serious. "What did you tell the boy?" he inquired solemnly.
"As little as possible. He agreed not to tell anyone as long as nothing bad happens to me."
Jack nodded. "You should tell someone if something bad were to happen to you. I aim to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't want to be the one that hurts you, Sam. I want to be the one that protects you." His dark eyes were sincere as he glanced away from the road to look at her.
"You just don't have to protect me from my own family." she told him pointedly.
His teeth flashed in another grin. "Noted."
She decided to change the subject. "What are we going to see?"
"I'm not sure what's playing. We'll have to look at the listings when we get there."
"This is a well planned date," she said in amusement. "If they're closed when we get there, will you get out of the car, and act out the movie for me?"
Jack raised his brows, then chuckled. "Can I do it without pants?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure, but you have to leave your socks on. It will make it seem more dramatic when you cry during your climactic scenes."
"Jesus Christ," Jack breathed. "You don't expect much, do you?"
"You're pretty tough," she told him. "I think you can handle it."
Jack smiled before shaking his head.
***
The large marquee that posted the movie listings outside of the drive in came into view as Jack pulled up the street, and Sam sucked in a breath. "Oh my God!" she whispered.
Gazing at her in alarm, his dark eyes widened. "What?"