Jack paced her room at the apartment that evening. She had locked herself in there and wasn’t about to come out to face Darren. The last thing she wanted to do before her biggest competition was to have feelings for someone going into it. And to compound things even more, he was Dan’s best friend and band mate. What if he found out? Everything would probably get messed up.
“Jack!” Dan called from behind her door. “Does Chinese sound good to you?”
“Yeah,” she yelled back. Hearing the front door slam shut, she walked out of her room expecting Darren to also be gone. ‘Shit!’ she thought when she saw him laying on the couch.
“Hey, finally,” he said when he saw her.
“Hey,” Jack muttered, heading for the kitchen.
“I won the bet,” Darren hesitantly replied.
She returned to the couch and sat down. “I know,” she sighed. “It’s been four years since I last kissed a guy. I don’t think I even remember how to.”
“Don’t worry,” he comforted. “If you really don’t remember, I’ll teach you.”
Jack looked at him with surprise. She hadn’t expected his response. He was definitely into her. She became even more nervous now that she knew he liked her, and her fears of liking him back would only be reaffirmed if she kissed him. Jack had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t realize he had reached up to touch her face.
Darren placed his hand on her cheek and she gasped, her emerald green eyes locking on the sapphire blue of his. ‘Oh, God,’ she thought. For one fleeting second, Jack could almost see his warm yet tortured soul through those eyes. The most amazing feeling washed over her body as he leaned in, his hand gently guiding her closer to his lips. She closed her eyes and soon felt his soft, tender kiss. It was over before she knew it. Her eyes shot open wondering why he hadn’t gone deeper.
Darren sat in front of her, a smile creeping over his lips. Jack couldn’t resist leaning in for another kiss. She pushed him down onto the couch as her lips explored his. Her body pinned him as he struggled to pull away. Jack wouldn’t let go, she couldn’t. It had been son long since she had felt this way about someone. Darren, on the other hand, was slowly giving into temptation. He knew if Dan found them making out, it would all be over. But there was something about that feeling of danger that excited him, and mixed with Jack and how her yearning lips felt so wonderful pressed up against his. It was just too much for him. He relaxed, all the mindless chatter in his head subsiding when he felt her fingers run through his hair. His hands rested on her hips, slowly pulling her closer.
“What the fuck are you doing!” Dan yelled the moment he set foot in the living room.
Jack shot up off the couch and slammed her leg against the table. She winced in pain, but was too distracted to scream. She stared at Dan with wide eyes, her heart racing. Darren slowly stood up and took his place beside her. Dan’s face twisted in anger as his eyes lit up with fury.
“How could you?” he hissed. “My best friend.”
“We didn’t mean to! It just happened!” Darren tried to explain.
Dan shook his head. He didn’t want to hear it. “You little bastard!” he shouted as he lunged at Darren. They were in a full force fight before Jack even realized it. She stood paralyzed watching her cousin and his best friend throwing punches left and right. Snapping out of it as they came closer to her, she finally decided it was time to step in.
“Stop it!” she yelled, but it didn’t help. Jack jumped in. If yelling wasn’t going to help, then her fists would. Dan was her first target. The moment she made contact with his jaw, his fist slammed into her stomach. She doubled over in pain and fell to the floor. Dan and Darren continued to fight until Darren looked over to see Jack crying on the ground as she clutched her stomach.
“Truce!” Darren panted as he scrambled away from Dan.
Dan heard the muffled sobs coming from his left and turned to see Jack. He crawled over to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Get out!” she bawled.
“Why?”
“Get the fuck out of here! Leave!” Jack screamed.
Dan scrambled to his feet and left the apartment. Darren crawled over to Jack’s side and laid down in utter exhaustion. “Did I hit you?” he asked.
“No,” she pouted. Jack turned her head to see a deep gash in Darren’s lip. “You’re bleeding!”
“Don’t worry about me,” Darren replied. He got to his knees and leaned over her. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. A painful groan escaped her lips as he gently pulled up her shirt. A lump the size of a baseball had formed just below her ribcage on her right side.
“Darren, what’s wrong?” Jack whispered as she waited for him to say something. She could see it written all over his face that there was a problem.
Darren didn’t know what to tell her. It appeared as if she probably had a broken rib. He didn’t want to give her bad news because he knew how much the next day’s competition meant to her. Instead, he said, “I don’t know.” Darren gently picked her up and carried her to her room. He delicately laid Jack on the bed and walked back to the kitchen.
Jack rolled out of bed and went to her full-length mirror. She pulled up her shirt to see the bruise forming near her ribcage. She brushed her fingers over it, but pulled away when she felt the pain. ‘It’s broken,’ she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow freely.
Darren came back a few minutes later with a first aid kit and some ice to find her crying by the mirror. “Jack?” he asked. She looked over at him and pointed to the bruise. “Oh, so you know.”
“Yeah, it’s broken,” she whispered. He stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Jack cried on his shoulder as he held her tight.
“Don’t worry,” Darren replied. “I think I might know how to make you feel better.” He led Jack back to her bed and went to the kitchen again. He returned holding an onion, a saltshaker, and a bottle of whiskey.
“You think like a Macedonian,” Jack said as he sat down beside her. Darren looked at her in confusion. “I’m part Macedonian. That’s the same thing that my mom taught me.”
“Oh, that’s interesting. Maybe you could help me out then. I’ve only seen this done once, so I don’t have it all down yet,” Darren answered.
“Here’s what you do,” she began to explain. “Mash the onion and add a little salt to it then add a shot of whiskey. As soon as you’re done mixing it, place it on the affected area and leave it overnight.”
Twenty minutes later, Jack was wrapped in the onion mix and comfortably laying back on her bed. She looked at Darren and noticed the blood caked on his face. “Hey, come over here,” she told him. He scooted closer to her as her hand reached up to his face.
“I guess it’s my turn,” Darren said. He flinched the moment her hand tenderly touched his lip.
“Hand me the cotton and some water,” Jack replied. With that in hand, she began cleaning his cut. “What do you think is going to happen now that Dan caught us kissing?”
“I don’t know. This is pretty bad. I mean, getting caught kissing your best friend’s cousin is a serious offense. I don’t blame him for acting the way he did. He’s got every right to be pissed at me,” Darren said.
“Do you think he’ll dismember the band?”
“I don’t know. Even if he does, I still have my solo career to fall back on.”
“That’s good. I’ve heard your voice. It’s really good.” Darren began turning red. “You’re blushing!” Jack giggled as she finished cleaning his lip. It made him turn an even deeper color red. “What do you have to be embarrassed about? You are really good.”
“I know, it’s just that I feel really weird when someone tells me that in private, especially someone like you,” Darren answered.
“Someone like me?” Jack questioned.
“Yeah, someone as pretty and intelligent as you,” he commented. It was Jack’s turn to blush. “You’re so beautiful,” Darren whispered. He reached up and touched her face. She closed her eyes, gently kissing his palm.
“I always thought that men were rough and cold and uncaring, but being with you has totally changed my mind. You’re so gentle and tender and careful. In the last two days you’ve shown me more affection than all my other boyfriends put together. This feels…” Darren kissed her before she had a chance to finish.
“No more talking,” he whispered as he slipped off her shirt.
Jack pulled away, grabbing her shirt back. “No, this is going to be on my terms,” she firmly stated. Darren moved away from her and sat at the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“You’re a guy. I’m a girl. It’s understandable.” Jack pulled off her pants and added, “I’m just as deprived as you are.”
A smile appeared on Darren’s face as he moved back beside her. “How long has it been since you got any?” he casually asked.
“Never,” Jack shyly answered.
“Never?” Darren questioned, a surprised look on his face. She nodded. “Twenty-four years old and still a virgin. Wow! You’ve been waiting for a long time, and now you just wanna give it up to someone you’ve barely known for five days. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Jack pondered the question for a long time. She sat motionless on the bed as she weighed out her morals, values, ideals, and everything else that was important to her. On top of that, she had to take into consideration Dan’s reaction when he found out. ‘I’ll never tell him,’ she confidently thought to herself.
“I’ve never felt so strongly about someone I just met,” she finally said. “I want to say yes so badly, but then there are so many consequences associated with it. What will my family think? What will Dan do? What if I get pregnant?”
“You’re very thorough,” Darren observed.
“No shit, and I hate it!”
“Then don’t think about it.” He placed a gentle kiss just below her navel. Jack felt a rush go up her spine. “Let your body rule you in this decision.”
And her body yearned for his warmth. Jack looked into his eyes, bewildered by how the spell he cast on her worked so well. Her heart raced as his lips drew closer to her face. Her finger entwined in his as he kissed her. “Take me,” she whispered into his ear as he nibbled on her neck.
“I’ll be gentle,” Darren replied. “I promise.”