“You never have to apologize for kissing me,” he said. “But when I said we should make the most of the time we’ve got left together, this”—he gestured at the dingy, dirty bathroom—“isn’t what I had in mind.”
“Then what did you have in mind?” she asked, her fingers tiptoeing up his chest.
“A bed,” he answered honestly. “Taking my time. Takingourtime.”
Jessica swallowed audibly, then said, “Is that something you want?”
“Only if you do, sunshine. We’re not forcing anything or rushing anything. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, that’ll be okay, too, right?”
“Right,” she said, her small, tentative smile blooming into something that stole his breath away.
Before he could put his foot in his mouth—again—he cleared his throat and said, “We should get back out there before they come looking for us and think the worst.”
“You’re right,” Jess said. “My mom wouldn’t take too kindly to finding me in a compromising position with a boy in a Mexican bathroom.”
“Please,” Jack said as he ushered her out with a hand on the small of her back. “Your mother loves me.”
Jessica paused, raising onto her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips. “She really does.”
Warmth bloomed in his chest with those words, and he followed her back to the table.
“Where did you two disappear to, hmm?” Michelle asked when they sat.
“Mom!”
“We just went to clean up,” Jack said. “Nothing nefarious happened.”
“I’m not worried aboutnefarious,” Michelle said. “More like…explicit.”
“MOTHER!” Jessica yelled, and the whole table devolved into laughter.
“Wow,” Jack whispered to her when everyone calmed, “she really does love me.”
“How can you tell?”
“She wouldn’t be joking about us having sex in the bathroom if she didn’t trust me with you.”
“That’s…true,” Jessica said, and the surprise on her face had Jack chuckling.
Not long after, when the group—save Jack and Jessica—were sufficiently liquored up, they decided to continue moseying through the shops.
Somehow, Jack and Jessica ended up wandering alone, and found themselves in front of a stand where a woman had laid out rows and shelves of handmade jewelry. Jessica gasped in excitement, and immediately began sifting through.
“What exactly are you looking for?” Jack asked. “I mean, what kind of jewelry speaks to you?”
“Well it depends on the medium,” she said. “See, this stuff is all handmade, so it’s not what I’d considerfinejewelry. It is well made, and beautiful, but it’s not made from expensive metals or stones, you know? For those things, I like anything, really. I’m lucky in that I look good in gold and silver, though I usually gravitate toward gold. For gems, I like opals. My birthday is in June, and I really lucked out having both pearls and moonstones as my birthstone, so I love anything with both of those as well.”
As she said it, Jack’s gaze snagged on a dainty bracelet, made of braided, soft yellow embroidery floss with a pearl stacked on each side of a dangling charm crafted from some stone that reminded Jack of the inside of a seashell and shaped into the letter J.
Before Jessica could see, Jack scooped it up and hid it in his palm while she continued to browse.
Ultimately, she chose a pair of pearl earrings for herself—that Jack had to admit would go great with the bracelet he was about to buy her—and a bracelet for her sister.
When they checked out and Jack paid for the bracelet, Jessica turned on him, confusion flashing in her eyes.
“Who are you buying that for?”
Jack responded by grasping her wrist and sliding the bracelet over her hand, pulling the ends to tighten it. “You. Don’t say I never gave you anything,” he said with a wink.
