Triple the Love

Jack - Part Two

Corey

“Jack…”

“Yes?” Jack asked as he looked over at me curiously. “Is everything ok?”

“I just…I need to talk to you about something,” I managed to say as I swallowed hard. My throat suddenly felt dry, and I reached for my wine glass and downed it before I continued. “You know…you know how I’ve been…um…healing and growing…from what happened with…um, Daniel,” Jack nodded and the look of concern on his face gave me courage to find the words. “And well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately…about our friendship and…you mean a lot to me, Jack,” I said as I finally looked over at him and smiled. “And I am finally ready for something more,”

“Ok…?” Jack’s expression was questioning as he stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

“I want to be with you, Jack. Not just as your friend, but something more. I want to start dating you,” I explained. Jack’s expression was now unreadable as he continued to stare at me. The silence was unexpected, but I wasn’t sure what more to say. The air is stifling. Heavy. Tense. I held my breath as I waited for him to say something – anything.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say something like that for a long time,” Jack finally admitted, and I blinked slowly.

“You have?” I asked. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him. It was just that I had been worried he had grown tired of waiting for me.

“Boy, you know how I feel about you…right?” Jack’s gaze was intense, and the seriousness of the conversation felt almost intoxicating. In the best way possible. “I am a patient man, Corey…I am attracted to you. I enjoy you and I like you. A lot. I want this too…I want to be with you as more than just a friend,” his eyes locked with mine and a soft glint of excitement lit up his face. It was the kind of look that made my pulse quicken. Like I was standing on the edge of something huge, something that could change everything. I could actually see how much he wanted this as well. The relief I felt was intense. It was as if the weight of all my doubts and second guesses had all been for nothing. However, as I stared back at him, I knew there was something else.

“What is it?” I asked him curiously.

“Well, I guess…I have a few questions,” Jack said as he leaned back in his seat. He ran his fingers through his hair, and I watched him as I waited. “Well…what about Hank?” he asked. I didn’t answer immediately as the question hung in the air between us. I felt a cold sweat break out at the base of my neck. Of course, I knew he was going to bring up Hank.

“Ah…what about him?” I asked as I played dumb. Neither of us were stupid, we both knew where this was headed and yet, I felt the need to draw it out. Jack narrowed his eyes just the tiniest bit and I sucked in a deep breath.

“You and Hank…I know, boy,” he said, and while there was no accusation in his voice, the question was clear. He wanted to know if I had chosen him. I felt like the tension was building inside of me and that it was threatening the calm of the evening. This was what I had wanted to avoid.

“Hank and I are friends,” I said as I tried to keep my voice steady. It wasn’t a lie. Hank and I are friends. I hadn’t crossed that line with him yet, even though I planned to. “I mean, we’ve never…” my voice trailed off as I continued to stare at Jack.

“Sure…I mean…I just don’t want to get in the way or get stuck in the middle of something. If you need to figure things out with him…I’d like to know,” Jack said. The man across from me deserved honesty, but I just couldn’t give it to him. I couldn’t tell him what I was really planning. I just couldn’t. That meant I had to lie.

“There is nothing to figure out with Hank,” I quickly said. “I want this. I want you,” now that wasn’t a lie. I did want him. The only problem was that I wanted to see where things could go with both of them, without having to make a difficult choice. Jack looked as if he had accepted my answer as he relaxed. I hated that I had lied to him, but there was nothing I could do about that.

“And Daniel?” Jack then questioned. My chest immediately tightened at the mention of his name. Daniel, the ex-boyfriend who had torn my heart out and stomped on it. The one who had lied to me cheated on me and made me question everything about relationships.

“He still sends me messages and tries to call me,” I informed him, honestly. “But he isn’t in my life anymore, and he hasn’t been since we broke up. That part of my life is over,” Jack studied me closely and his eyes seemed softer now, almost sympathetic.

“I know how much he hurt you, boy,” Jack said softly. “Are you sure you are ready to move on from that? The last thing I want to do is rush you if you aren’t ready,”

“Oh, I am ready,” I said firmly. Jack leaned forward as he reached out and rested his hand on mine. His touch sent a wave of warmth through me that made me shiver.

“Good, good…I just want to make sure we start off on the right foot,”

“There is one thing…” I said as I looked over at him. I wanted to explore things with both Jack and Hank. Which meant things had to be kept private.

“What is it?” Jack asked curiously.

“Do you think we could keep this between us? At least for now…I just want to go at my own pace without everyone getting involved,” Jack surprised me by chuckling.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, and I frowned.

“Why is it funny?” I asked him.

“No, I just…I know your family and friends can be a little…eager,” he said, and I smirked as I relaxed. “Ah…they like to interfere…so yes. I have no problem keeping things between us and on the down low,” I breathed out a sigh of relief and Jack excused himself so that he could get us dessert. I felt a flicker of excitement for whatever lay ahead for us. I couldn’t wait to see where things would go.