Jack and Djinn (The Houri Legends, #1)(11)
Miriam sighed into the kiss, letting her palms skate up his bare back to clutch his shoulders, lifting up on her toes to meet him, and when his tongue traced the seam of her lips, she let her mouth fall open, let his tongue slide between her lips and touch her teeth and tangle with her tongue, and she tasted toothpaste, smelled fresh soap and shampoo.
She felt his desire thickening between them. She stepped away before her hands helped the towel fall off, pushing him toward his bedroom. “Go get dressed,” she told him. “I’m hungry.”
Jack complied slowly, stepping backward without taking his eyes from hers. After half a dozen steps, he let out a sigh and turned, vanishing into his room to get dressed. He emerged a few minutes later wearing a pair of tight, faded jeans and a plain gray T-shirt that hugged his torso.
As they walked out, Miriam noticed a candle flickering on the counter in the kitchen. She was sure it hadn’t been there before. It was a plain white candle, thick and round, with wax pooled near the wick and spilling over to drip in clumps down the length of the candle. The drips had not yet reached the countertop. Miriam dismissed it from her mind, or tried to, but the image of the dancing candle flame on the canvas stuck in the back of her mind.
“Should I blow out the candle?” Miriam asked.
Jack stopped in his tracks, confused. “What candle?” Miriam pointed at the candle, and Jack shrugged, then crossed the room to blow it out. “That’s weird. I’ve never bought a candle in my life. I wonder where it came from?”
Miriam had an idea where it might have come from, but she pushed the thought from her head. No way. Could she have just imagined the painting coming to life? Really? It must be her imagination. Maybe it had been a gift, and he’d just forgotten about it. That had to be it.
Jack took her to Mr. B’s, then got them a pitcher of Killian’s and a plate of cheese sticks, waiting for Miriam to order before he did. She was used to Ben ordering for her, taking her to fancy restaurants neither of them could really afford and buying bottles of wine, freaking out about every little thing she said, getting offended at everything, and always talking, talking, talking, just to fill the silence. Jack was calm and confident, able to sit and peruse the menu in companionable silence, not needing to fill it with endless chatter. He kept the conversation light, and Miriam was grateful.
Halfway through their meal, his cell phone rang, and he answered it. He spoke briefly and ended the call. “Sorry,” Jack said. “That was my older brother. We’re having a get-together next weekend, and he was finalizing the plans. Hey, you should come.”
“You have a brother?” Miriam, having been an only child, was always curious about people with siblings.
Jack laughed. “Yeah, I have…two brothers and two sisters.” He paused for a split second before he said “two”—a slight thing, but Miriam noticed it. She tilted her head in a silent question.
Jack shook his head, as if wishing she had missed it. “Well, technically, now I have three siblings.”
“Technically?”
There was sadness in his eyes, and Miriam wished she hadn’t broached the subject. “My oldest brother, Joe….” Jack hesitated, then took a drink from his beer. “Joe hung himself when I was fifteen. It was weird, though. I’d fallen asleep during history class, and I had this intense dream where I came home from school and found Joe in the garage, strung up with a noose around his neck, a chair kicked over beneath him. I woke up halfway through class, sweating, almost crying. It had been…just so real. It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like…like a memory that hadn’t happened yet.
“I cut out of school and ran all the way home, knowing what I’d find. And I did find him, exactly as I’d dreamed it. So now I only have two brothers.” He waved his hand, as if dismissing the memory.
“Oh, god, Jack, I’m so sorry! I had no idea,” she said, wishing she could comfort him somehow. It was obviously still a raw, painful memory for him.
“Of course you didn’t. How could you? It was a long time ago.” Jack took a drink and changed the subject. “What about you? Any siblings?”
Miriam shook her head, “No, I was an only child.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask for details. There was a lot about her childhood that she didn’t want to explain. At least not yet.
He nodded, his eyes searching her expression for something. As if he felt her unspoken desire to talk about something else, he changed the subject. “Ah. Well, you should come to the party next weekend. It’ll be fun. My family is a riot at parties, lemme tell ya.” A hint of Irish crept into his voice. “My sisters always wanted an extra girl in the family anyhow.”
Miriam tried to imagine what it would be like to have that much family. She couldn’t wrap her brain around it. “I’d like that. It sounds like fun.”
“Oh, it will be. These family get-togethers are always a right crazy ruckus, as my grandpa says.”
They continued to linger over dinner, their conversation easily meandering from topic to topic, but never touching on anything deep or painful. When they finished their pitcher, Jack paid the bill, and they left Mr. B’s to wander around downtown Royal Oak, walking close together, their hands brushing. More than once Miriam nearly took his hand in hers, but she couldn’t quite summon the courage to do so.
Eventually Jack brought her home, well past midnight, and once again she found herself standing a step up from him, staring into his wide blue eyes, wondering what he was thinking. They were at that awkward distance, not quite close enough to kiss, but almost. She hesitated, her eyes locked on his, not pulling away, but not moving closer. Jack broke the tension by kissing her. His lips were soft, and he kissed her gently, giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted.