Same Time Next Week (Ch 35)
Welcome back to my first serial on Substack, a tantalizing tale of a former pop star and a mysterious, reclusive Afro-Latina.
New here or need to catch up? Drop back to the INDEX and start from the beginning.
In this chapter, tension simmers as Jackson wrestles with unspoken thoughts during their weekly date night. When the TV goes dark, Shelby attempts to draw him out and their playful banter quickly escalates.
Jackson was tense.
He was trying to hide it and not play into it and not let it affect their weekly date, but it was like the elephant in the room all evening. After an hour of him staring blankly at the TV, not even offering his usual banter about what could or could not be done in movies, she reached for the remote and pointed it at the TV. The screen snapped off and the house was silent.
"Can you talk about it?"
He chewed on his lip, his eyelids lowering. "Don't want to."
"I didn't ask if you wanted to. Can you?"
Jackson angled his head toward her, his lips brushing her forehead. "It'll be fine," he said quietly. "Sorry to fuck up our time together."
"You haven’t. Yet. I thought if you needed to talk, I have a couple of ears available. They're perfect for things like this.”
He bent close to her, his teeth gently nipping at an earlobe. "I've never seen sexier ears in all my life."
He reached over and ran an index finger around the outside of her right ear, his touch so gentle that it sent shivers down her spine. Not that she needed a guarantee—the sex was always going to happen—but she liked how he always flirted with her. It made it seem like he was still working for it. It still excited her, still set the mood.
Four weeks after she'd run into Jackson at the Winter Park Publix, their friendship (and more) had taken off. They had drinks at some of his favorite bars, ate dessert at some of his favorite restaurants and always ended up at his house or hers, ready to satisfy cravings of the carnal kind. It was the fun, casual relationship she was hoping for, with someone that was interesting and captivating and most of all, wasn't trying to rescue her.
Shelby shifted on the couch so that she was on her knees next him. She was going to distract him from whatever was on his mind, one way or another.
“Can you help me figure out if there's anything under here that's sexy?"