“Yeah, so what?” she inquired defensively.
“You strike me as the type who doesn’t like to admit they’re wrong.”
“Who does?”
“You have me there.”
Charlie managed to relax her hands as she inhaled a deep breath.
“So, where are you from?” Jack asked.
“Where are you from?” Charlie retorted and then inwardly kicked herself for being so bitchy; he’d saved her life, and she was acting like a cat tossed into a bath. Yes, she was impatient to get back to Dylan, but she didn’t have to be an asshole because of it.
“I’m originally from a small town in New York,” she said. “It was about an hour outside the city in the Catskills. However, Dylan and I moved to a town in the Adirondacks for my teaching job. Where are you from?”
“Massachusetts originally; I’m living in Maine now.”
“Hmm,” Charlie said, looking longingly at the entrance of the cave. Had the sun stopped moving?
“Have you seen Dylan’s dad since he left?” Jack asked.
Charlie’s eyes shot away from the end of the cave. “Why?”
“I’m trying to pass the time by learning more about you.”
“Not speaking passes the time too.”
“Not as fast. Besides, I figure it’s either talking or kissing you again to keep you distracted from trying to escape here. So have you seen him again since?”
Her heart leapt when he mentioned kissing her again, her lips tingled, and her nipples hardened as her body moved beyond the control of her mind. When her gaze fell on his lips, her gut clenched before she tore her gaze away. She fisted her hands in her pants to keep herself from rubbing her hand over her breasts to ease the heavy ache from them.
Jack didn’t miss the increased beat of her heart or the heightened scent of lavender in the cave as her chest rose and fell a little faster. His gaze dropped to her nipples pressing against the fabric of her shirt. He shifted to cover his erection as the cave walls began to feel like they were closing in on him.
“I saw him a few times afterward,” Charlie murmured. Thoughts of Chad usually quenched any lust she might feel, but it wasn’t working. “We never acknowledged each other.”
“Did he ever see Dylan?”
“No.”
Charlie’s fingers brushed the strap of her shoulder bag when she shoved herself to her feet, but she didn’t bother to pick it up before she walked away. Jack watched the rigid set of her shoulders as she stalked to the end of the cave before turning and coming back toward him.
“What about you, Jack? Any children or exes floating around out there?” Charlie had no idea why she asked it; she dreaded the answer, but she felt like they were standing on uneven ground with him knowing more about her past.
Jack smiled at her as he leaned back against the wall. The movement caused the shirt to pull taut across his shoulders. Charlie gritted her teeth as she determined not to notice how enticing he looked.
“No children. I had one ex I guess you could call significant.”
“Why did you break up?”
“We were high school sweethearts; she found someone better for her in college.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I mean, at the time it sucked, but our lives took completely different paths, and it worked out for the best.”
Charlie turned away and paced to the end of the cave again. Was it her or were the walls closing in on them? Why did she have to be trapped here withhim? Why couldn’t it be with someone who didn’t smile at her like that?
She couldn’t wait until they were out of this cave, though she was sure the sunhadstopped moving.
