Chapter 58. Caught
Lilly Bradley
I felt Jackson's hands adjusting me on the bed. I could barely open my eyes, completely exhausted, floating in a cloud of tranquility. We had made love after getting out of the shower, twice more in this bed, and finally, we lay still. From where I lay, I could see the terrace doors, the sky changing its hues, dawn was approaching.
Jackson appeared, placing something on the nightstand. Then he leaned down to kiss the top of my head before covering me with a blanket. Gradually, I began to fall into the arms of Morpheus.
I shifted slightly, turning to the other side, and remembered where I was. Jackson's beard was close to my face; he was still asleep, I could tell by his breathing. Even in the morning, he was attractive. I smiled at my own thought.
"Sleep," he said suddenly. I gasped in surprise, then smiled.
"I thought you were asleep," I said, covering my mouth with my hand. I noticed he was watching me.
"Why are you covering your mouth?" he asked, frowning and opening his eyes fully.
"I'm just waking up," I confessed, embarrassed.
"So? Me too." I moved to get up, looking for the folded clothes he had lent me for dinner. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth with a toothbrush he had assigned for my personal use hours earlier. When I finished, I fixed my hair and came out of the bathroom. He was dressing on the side where he had slept. He noticed my presence and smiled. "Oh, it was that," he smiled. "Well, now that you've brushed your teeth, shall we have breakfast on the terrace?"
"Sorry, sometimes, not always," I said quickly, "if I don't salivate enough, I can have bad breath, but it's just sometimes..."
"Relax, I didn't say anything." He smiled, then got up and came towards me, leaned down, and kissed my forehead before heading into the bathroom. I felt my cheeks blush. Well, well, it's just sometimes...
It was the best view I had seen from the third floor; the sea was just a few meters from the property. I could see the waves crashing on the shore, the seagulls flying by, and the blue sky with a few clouds. It was the most relaxing and pleasurable Saturday I had ever had.
"Did you like the pasta?" Jackson asked beside me. I nodded with a smile.
"It's the best pasta I've ever had." I took a sip of my water.
"After we finish, we can walk along the beach and..." I interrupted him.
"Jackson, I have to go home..."
"Oh, right..." he looked away at his glass and then took a sip.
"Besides, last night and this early morning, we got a bit... tired from that date." He looked back at me. "I should let you rest and..." he interrupted me.
"I'm fine, but if you want to rest from me, I understand." He smiled playfully.
"Oh," I let out a nervous giggle. "You have quite a lot of energy." He took my nearest hand and kissed my knuckles.
"You give me that energy." And just like that, he left me speechless and with cheeks too red, which seemed to amuse him. After finishing lunch, I decided to walk with him on the beach, barefoot and chatting about movies. I realized we had a lot in common, like literature and music. He was like my male version. I noticed how he smiled and the lines that formed, even thinking he hid them on purpose with that beard.
"May I ask personal questions?" I dared to ask. He frowned and looked at me as we continued walking along the shore, not far from his house.
"Personal?" I nodded slowly. "Alright, I accept the challenge." He smiled.
"You don't have to answer, but it's something I've been very curious about." He moved closer to my side, and I could see his hair moving in the breeze. He ran a hand through it to keep it away from his face.
"Perfect," he replied.
"Why did you wait so long?" He stopped, and I did too with the next step, feeling the sand beneath my feet. I turned fully towards him to look at him directly. "Did something happen that made you delay it?"
"Well, that's two questions." He pretended to be annoyed, then smiled faintly.
"Either one, I'm just curious..." I crossed my arms.
"I think I mentioned in the parking lot on the night of my mother's birthday, something about that."
"The bullying," I recalled.
"Yes." He let out a long sigh as he looked at the sea beside us. "They made my life hell just because of the last name Johnson."
"You never reported it?" He looked at me.
"It was worse. I found out. At that time, I was a shy and pretty reserved kid. I preferred to stay quiet rather than defend myself because it would mean more trouble, especially at home."
"And your brother never defended you?" Jackson smiled and stayed silent for a moment.
"He was the one who broke all the rules to defend me when he found out what was happening until the school board expelled him. Our parents were swamped with projects, charity nights, the family business, and struggling to stay on top. They had little time to sit down and talk with each of us and assumed it was teenage rebellion. Jacob went to another school, then we went to college. We took different paths. And..." he stopped talking.
"But something must have happened for you not to..." I didn't want to feel like I was prying into his private life.
"Yes, ever since Jacob had gone to another school, the three most popular guys at school started to approach me. I finally thought the bullying would end and that it was a white flag of peace between us. But, after a few months, a girl from India came as an exchange student." He paused and smiled. "She was the most beautiful girl I had ever met at that time. We started hanging out and going to the movies with chaperones. I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes." He fell silent and looked out at the sea. "For the first time, I thought I had fallen in love." I moved a bit closer to him and looked at the sea in front of us.
"Until...?" I encouraged him to continue. We stayed silent for a couple of minutes as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, he bit his lower lip hard, which alarmed me. I moved in front of him and tried to get him to stop. I noticed a drop of blood starting to form. "Jackson, stop." I pleaded. He did and let out the breath he was holding. He opened his eyes and was breathing somewhat unsteadily. He came out of his trance for a moment and looked at me, somewhat uneasy.
"I hate going back to the past."
"It's okay, calm down."
"She knew I had feelings for her, that they were genuine..."
"Jackson, don't continue." I asked, seeing a certain pain in his eyes, but he ignored me, still looking into my eyes intently.
"Months went by. She had a way of wrapping me around her finger that made me, for the first time, give in to my own feelings. I know, I was young. But I was ready for us to be together. She made me desire her like crazy, even though her traditions forbade it. I was determined to talk to her family in India, until she created a humiliating scene in front of everyone, causing a kind of shock in me."
"What? Did she do something to you?"
"Yes. The three popular guys and her." He paused, and I could see his hair being tousled by the breeze. "She had asked me to meet her one night at the school theater..." another pause. "One thing led to another, and I was about to give myself to her when she got up and disappeared. When I was about to go after her, the big curtains opened, leaving me exposed. I only remember that humiliating moment with a lot of people sitting in their seats, laughing and mocking, lights, flashes, and I just wanted to run away from that place."
"My God, how cruel!" I exclaimed.
"I know," he diverted his gaze to the sea for a moment, then looked at me, softening his expression. "Since that day, something in me shut down. I hated contact with people. Falling in love. A relationship. I didn't want to go through something like that again. So... I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's uncomfortable for me. Going back to that moment..." I nodded, urgently needing to change the subject, then I smiled at him.
"How about I call home and let them know I'll be back tomorrow?" His eyes widened.
"Really?" I smiled, clumsily reaching for his hand and pulling him towards his house.
"Come on, let's see who gets there first!" We started running, laughing, and it was obvious he would let me win.
I talked to my mom to let her know that "Maxima" had offered to let me stay until Sunday afternoon. She was delighted that I was making friends. After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies in the home theater room, eating popcorn, but by the second movie, we had fallen asleep on one of the big couches. Later, I felt a bit cold, but also felt Jackson carrying me to his room, and we fell asleep again. Early Sunday morning, we woke up with a desire for each other, had sex twice, and then went back to sleep.
In the afternoon, we were heading back to the city. We talked a lot during the drive about the concerts we had attended. I noticed how the tension he usually carried with him every day had disappeared.
From the stairs, I saw his car driving away after dropping me off at my building. I smiled like a fool and made my way to the apartment. But before entering, I tensed up, thinking about who might be waiting inside. I opened the door and saw my sister. Leah wasn't stupid. She was smart and knew what I had done. She was sitting on one of the living room couches. When she saw me, she didn't show any expression or hint of what was about to come.
"I'm back," I said with a half-smile.
"Good." She returned her gaze to the TV, where there were news reports I didn't pay attention to. "How did it go?" she asked without looking in my direction, taking a sip of her tea. "I thought you'd be back early, but it's already past five in the afternoon on a Sunday."
"I let you know I'd be back today." She put down her cup of tea and sighed. She leaned back on the couch and looked in my direction, her gaze confirming that she knew.
"I really hope it was worth lying to your family."
"Leah." She stopped me with her hand in the air.
"I know we became independent at a young age, that we don't give a detailed account of what we do, but..." she furrowed her brow. "You have to understand that we're in a different country. People are different, with other customs."
"Maxima..." she interrupted me again.
"For God's sake, Lilly! I know you were with Jackson, your boss." My eyes widened in surprise.
"How do you know?" I couldn't keep lying.
"He answered the call I made a while ago to see if you were on your way."
"What? Did you tell our parents? When did you call?" Leah smiled.
"Busted," she said.
"Leah!" I exclaimed. "How did you figure it out?"
"I know you. You lie badly," I sat on the other couch in the living room. She looked at me and smiled. "Talk."
I sighed.
"It was the best weekend I could have ever had in my life," I confessed with a lump in my throat. Leah smiled.
"Your silly smile says it all..."