- Alright, I tried without an editor and you guys quickly let me know that wasn't a good idea. So thanks to Jedi_Khan for the excellent and fast editing to help me get this back up.
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Okay guys, I have to tell you up front there's no actual sex in this one. SORRY, but I couldn't figure out how to add it without making it sound forced and I needed this for characters and plot. Don't worry, Chapter 4 is done and hot on this one's heels, it should be much better.
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CH-3
Jack finished loading the last of his dishes into the cabinet that hung on the wall above the stove in his kitchen and looked around. It had taken all day yesterday, and a good bit of the morning, but finally he nodded with satisfaction at the job he had done setting up his apartment.
He wasn't overly obsessive about keeping everything orderly, but he knew if he didn't get it done now, he would keep putting the job off, and never get it done. That and the mindless activity had been just what he needed to straighten out his mind, which had seemed scattered ever since he had shown up here a few days ago.
Looking around, he realized that he was happy with the way everything had come together. When he had first moved in, the place had seemed so bare and uninviting, but the addition of even the fairly inexpensive furniture that he had purchased appeared to make all the difference. The soft wood tables and chairs, along with the softer suede couch that focused around the fireplace in the corner -- rather than the usual TV set, since he hadn't bought one yet -- made the place seem more like a home.
He could feel a pleasant breeze circulating around the room from his air conditioner, having finally broken down and turned it on while he was setting up and moving around his new stuff. Letting his head roll back on his shoulder, he felt his neck pop a little and he let out a contented breath.
Outside of his living-room window he could see through the opened slats in the blinds that it was rapidly turning into another beautiful day. The bright sunlight cast dappled shadows on the glass window pane as it passed through the leaves on the large poplar tree that was planted just beyond it. Jack felt the sudden urge to be out there, having been cooped up for quite a while. He definitely had earned a little bit of a break.
Walking into his bedroom, Jack stripped off the ratty t-shirt and comfortable lounge pants he had chosen when he got up this morning and exchanged them for nice pair of shorts and a light button up shirt. He wasn't trying to impress anyone, but hey, he never knew.
Slipping on a pair of flip-flops, he grabbed his keys but left his cell phone sitting on his dresser; he wouldn't need it. Heck, he didn't think he had even used it once since he had moved in, a definite sign of how his life had drastically changed. Before he had left the army, he wouldn't have been caught without it; never knowing when he would get a frantic phone call to deal with the latest crisis at work.
He let out a brief sigh and headed for the front door. It would be nice to have someone not work related to talk to occasionally though. He was very aware on how much his social life had been limited by the choices he had made, and his sex life had been relegated to spying on the neighbors from the shadows of his balcony. If he didn't get himself out of this rut soon, he feared he was in danger of joining a monastery.
Opening the door and stepping out, he turned and used the key to slide the dead-bolt into position. The incident on his first day aside, Jack really hadn't seen anything that suggested this was a bad area, but he figured it was better safe than sorry.
As Jack went down the stairs and headed out of the front of the building he noticed a definite sense of peace that seemed to blanket the area. A quiet breeze was blowing through trees of all different types that appeared to be planted everywhere around the community.
He had always been shocked by the sheer amount of color in the landscapes of Georgia. Having grown up in southern Colorado he was used to the deep, dark greens and browns of the mountain pines and the sandy grays, tans, and yellows of the high desert. After he had enlisted, the army had moved him around a lot, from one barren area of the US and the world to another. The army was more interested in secluded and unpopular areas, in order to give them plenty of elbow room for training, than it was in the scenery. Jack always found himself pleasantly assaulted by the bright greens, the rainbow assortment of flowering plants, and the luscious red-clay soil when he came here. It always gave him something he felt was missing from his life.
Natural looking paths crisscrossed between the five apartment buildings. At first, Jack had been fairly annoyed by the lack of parking near the front of his apartment, which had made moving in that much more difficult, the only driveway and parking being a small loop on the outside of the buildings just this side of the stone wall. But as he looked around, he could definitely see the appeal.
The soft green grass ran all the way to the edge of the small lake, broken only by the widely spaced trees and the almost unnoticed pathways that seemed to blend into, rather than divide, the area. Each apartment building had a small path leading to a bridge that spanned over the water to a small island in the center.
Jack knew that his apartment was the furthest south, being all the way on the back end of the complex. To get out he would have to drive back up to the office building and pass through the large wrought iron gates that shut the community off from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. He set out in that general direction, not really wanting to get anywhere, just enjoying the feeling of stretching his legs.
Looking around as he walked, he was startled to see that he was not alone. Everywhere he looked people were strolling lazily along the paths, some in groups of two and three, while others walked by themselves. It was an odd sight, especially for a time of morning when most people usually had to be at work. As he passed them whatever conversation they had been having would stop and they would all turn to look at him. Every one of them smiled politely, some even looking a little amused, but Jack couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched like a hawk.
As Jack neared the lake he noticed the tiny island in the center of it. Around its edge there were five small benches, only two of which were occupied so he set out across the bridge to claim one. He was feeling the sudden need to get away; the stares of the people he had passed starting to disturb the calm sense of peace that he had felt when he started out.
Stepping onto the island, Jack moved to the nearest empty bench and sat down, and took a moment to calm himself. When he felt better, he glanced around at his surroundings. Across the way he saw two young, teenage girls talking to each other in excited whispers on the far bench. Every once and a while they would glance quickly in his direction, but then immediately they would go back to their hushed, giggling conversation. Jack just rolled his eyes and glanced over at the other occupants of the benches.
Sitting just to his left were two small children, a boy and a girl, probably no older than five or six. They were probably the only two people who he had met today that where totally ignoring him. They were both way too busy with the ever important task of skipping the smooth, flat stones that littered the edge of the island across the mirror-like surface of the lake. Jack had to smile. He was glad at least someone had a normal life.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. The breeze on the little island was refreshing, having cooled slightly as it traveled over the water before circling around his body. Riding on that breeze came a myriad of scents to fill his head. He could smell the cool clean water next to him; with it he could smell the enticing aroma of lilacs and cherry trees, as well as the heady scent of the grass and dirt beneath his feet. As he concentrated on the breeze, he felt the sense of calm and peace flood back into him.
He almost fell asleep sitting on the bench, but then something in his unconscious tingled and he realized that there was someone next to him, staring. Cracking his eyes open to slits, Jack looked over and right into a pair of intense, silvery eyes, staring at him from the other end of his bench.
"Whatcha doin'?" The boy asked in a sing-song voice.
Jack felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "Trying not to fly away." he said, sounding as serious as he could.
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah," Jack said gravely. "If I don't hang on to this bench, Poof!" He shot his hands up to simulate taking off, then quickly grabbed back on to the stone bench, as if he was afraid to let go.
"Nu-uh," the boy looked at him suspiciously, his eyes as big around as saucers.
"It's true," said Jack, forcing down a chuckle and putting his most serious face on, "gone."
"Cool!" the boy suddenly beamed. "My mommy says I can't fly till I'm older," then his voice lowered down into a conspiratorial whisper, "but I can already."
