Inseparable: A New Adult Erotic Romance (17 page)

It was some time later when Polly found Julie. "Come on, Baby, get up. As soon as your Mom said you left your car back at her place I knew where you’d be. This isn’t a good place for you to be right now. Come on, that’s it, I’ll get you home."

"I need to find Jack. I have to talk to him."

"Then I’ll take you over to his apartment, come on. This place always gives me the creeps."

***

W
hen they arrived at Jack’s apartment his truck was gone. Julie let herself in with her key and saw he had taken his duffel with his clothes. "He must have left for Morgan City already," Julie said without any emotion. "Let me get my things. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here."

Polly touched her back. "Don’t say things like that right now. He probably just needs some time to get over the shock of finding out he’s going to be a Daddy again."

"No. I’ve been afraid this was going to happen for weeks. It’s almost a relief that it’s over."

"Stop this right now!" Polly was suddenly incensed. "It’s obvious to everyone else that you two are great together, but you can’t get past your own fear to just let it happen. You sabotaged this, Julie! Don’t you put this off on him! Hell, it’s no wonder he left the way you hurt him!"

Julie looked like Polly just punched her in the stomach. "Why are you saying this to me?"

"Because I’m your best friend, you twat! You finally found someone worth being with so you go and fuck it up before he can hurt you. It’s not the first time you’ve done this, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit back and let you do it again without calling you on it." Polly stopped and took a deep breath. "You hurt your mom pretty bad, too."

"She just grates on me sometimes. I don’t know why I get so angry at her for little things, but I do. She and Jack were getting along so well. For some reason it bothered me so much I lost control of my mouth. She wouldn’t shut up about me having a shot with them."

"She wouldn’t have done it if you’d told her the truth!" Polly was still frowning in disapproval. "You’ve made your pregnancy into something it never had to be. Your Mama would have been supportive if you’d let her. She pressed me for all the information from the doctor’s visit, wanting to know every detail while I waited for you to come back. She was telling all her friends in the bar she was going to be a grandma when I left to find you."

"She probably just wanted them to buy her drinks."

"And so what if she did? It’s her life and she doesn’t owe you anything, no matter what you think. You’re both grown women, but I swear you seem to be stuck in some kind of a time warp with her. I don’t know where this anger towards her comes from, but you need to let it go. It’s going to eat you alive if you don’t."

Julie sighed, and decided to change the subject. "Would you mind if I stay with you for a few days? I know I need to talk to Mom, but not now. Not today. I can’t stay here either." Her eyes filled with tears. "Not until he forgives me."

"Of course, you’re always welcome in my home, but you have to stop stealing the damn sheets all night," Polly said, a wry smile on her face telling Julie that it would all be alright.

T
he heavy bow of the transport ship lifted with each wave, making Jack grimace and hold tight to the back of his uncle's chair. He'd spent the last two days suffering as his lingering anger kept him silent. His mother knew something was wrong the minute she'd seen him, but he had refused to tell her. He'd kept to himself until the time came to catch the boat to the platform where he worked.

His first reaction had been shock, but then he'd begun wondering why Julie hadn't told him about the baby. Thinking it must not have been his, he'd rushed to leave the bar before his temper ran away with him. After boiling about it for two days, he'd finally remembered that first night they hadn't used protection. As the shore disappeared and his anger burned out, he was filled with regret and a black depression. Biting his lips, he turned to look out past Uncle Charlie to the surging swells ahead.

"Wha's eatin' you, boy?" his uncle said as he spit sunflower hulls into a paper cup.

"Nothin'," Jack muttered.

"Claire tol' me you been chewin' on something hard the last couple a' days. Why don't you let it out? It's just gonna fester you keep it in there."

Jack sniffed and wiped his nose. "That girl I been seeing since Sophie left, she's gonna have a baby."

"Yours?" he asked and picked up another sunflower seed from the open bag next to the throttle.

"Maybe," Jack admitted with a frown. "Probably. I don't know for sure."

"You love her?" he asked, looking at Jack with a shrewd expression. Jack never said it, but eventually nodded while he stared at his shoes. "She love you?" Jack kept nodding and sighed. "Well, your mama tol' me she made you light up like there was a candle in ya."

"Oui, ma lumière," he said, slipping into French. He sniffed again and looked out the side window.

"Jackie," he sighed, saying his name with a soft starting consonant, making it sound more French than English. "You been down a hard road lately. Dat Sophie, she done took enough. If you got a' one willin' to love you, don't throw her away."

"What the hell do I do, Uncle Charlie?" he whispered. "She was the only thing keeping my life together."

"You tell her dat?" he asked, spitting out another hull. "Maybe you start there."

Jack nodded and turned to where he'd stored his gear. When he opened up his big duffel, he realized what he'd done. "Son of a—", he muttered as he dug through the clothes and other necessities.

"What's wrong?" his uncle asked.

"I left my phone and laptop back in Houston," he groaned. "Can I borrow your phone?"

Uncle Charlie pulled his phone out from his coverall pocket and looked at its face. "No bars," he said. "We too far out. You can use the phone on the platform when you get there. It ain't private, but you can at least tell her you ain't so mad no mo'."

"Shit. I don't remember her phone number. It was stored on my phone," he buried his face in his hands and growled in frustration. Just then the radio squawked and a voice began cursing a hot stream of French. "What's he on about?" Jack asked his Uncle who was more proficient.

"Something about a trawler dragging up some cables. Prolly nothing."

***

T
wo weeks later the door to Jack's apartment opened and he stumbled in. After flipping on the light, he knelt on the floor next to the couch and pulled out the case with his laptop and phone. The phone was totally dead, so he dumped the bag out on the floor and dug for the charger. When the phone had power, he booted it up muttering, "Come on, come on!"

The phone didn't display missed calls if they came in while it was turned off, but he was excited to see three voice mail messages waiting for him. The first one let him know he was still in the running for one of the sales positions he had interviewed for. He saved it quickly to move to the next one.

The second message asked him to call back to schedule a meeting with Human Resources to discuss an offer. He saved it quickly, then pressed the wrong key and accidentally went back to the main menu. "Damn it! Come on!"

"Jack, this is Julie." He fell against the wall taking deep shuddering breaths as he listened to her tearful voice, rocking his head back and forth. "I'm so sorry about the way I told you. It happened that first night at your house, but by the time I knew for sure... I just couldn't find the right time to tell you. If you want to speak to me when you get back, I'll be waiting for your call. If not, I completely understand. I miss you so much."

"Oh, Baby, I miss you, too," he whispered, pressing the button to save it before calling her back.

The phone only rang once before she answered with a hesitant whisper, "Jack?"

"Please forgive me," he begged. "I was wrong when I walked out of that bar and have regretted it every day since."

"Oh, Baby, why didn't you call or email me? I was going so crazy that Polly was about to throw me out!"

In the background he heard Polly yell, "I was not!"

Chuffing a laugh, he said, "I didn't call until now because I forgot my phone and laptop here in my apartment and couldn't remember your phone number or email address. Then a trawler managed to cut the cable to the rig killing the phone lines and Internet. Just come home, please. I'm lost without you."

"I'm on my way. I have so much to tell you!" Just before she hung up he heard her squeal with excitement.

Jack shut his eyes and leaned his head against the wall for a moment to just breathe in relief. Knowing how close he'd come to ruining his life made him grateful beyond words she wasn't still angry.

Sitting there, he began to notice the smell of the sea and hard work coming from his body, so he got up to shower. Fearing Julie would arrive while he was in the bathroom, he showered quickly and returned to the living room to check is email while he waited.

After he cleared out the junk email, he skimmed the remaining emails until he found the one with his offer letter. He knew Deep Drilling Supplies was a competitor to his old company, so he hoped his professional reputation would help get him in the door.

When he opened the attached offer letter his heart skipped a few beats. Salaries for sales people don't appear all that good on the surface, but the commission details that go with them can make the difference between average and amazing.

Jack made a low whistle as he mentally calculated what his old sales would have generated with this commission structure. The second page of the offer letter was a scan of a hand-written note from the company CEO giving Jack a personal invitation to join the company. The P.S. mentioned the figure for the signing bonus. "Mother Fucker!"

Just then there was knock on the door, making Jack leap to open it. Julie stood there holding a small bag grinning like she'd won the lottery. "Can I come in?" she asked. Jack picked her up and spun her around in circles while he kissed her hard and deep. When he put her back down, dizzy and happy, she touched his face with her palm.

"Come here, I want to show you something," Jack said as he took the bag from her hand and drew her by her hand to the couch. "I got a job offer from the company that I really wanted to work for."

When Julie sat next to him, he pointed at the screen. She frowned and asked, "What does signing bonus mean? Is that your salary?"

"No, that's the check they are going to write me if I agree to start working there."

"Companies do that?" Julie seemed incredulous.

"It certainly looks like this one does."

She thought for a moment. "If you take that job you can stop going out on the rigs, right?" Jack nodded. Julie kissed his cheek. "Good, I hope you take it then. Now come to bed." She took his hand and pulled him to the bedroom.

Jack climbed into his bed as Julie went into the bathroom with her bag. When she came back, Jack was lying on his side watching her entrance and noticed something new. "Holy boob-fairy, Batman!" Jack said excitedly, sitting up to examine her more closely. Julie had always had a lovely figure, but now her breasts seemed to be pressing against her skin in a most appealing way.

"Please be careful, they are so sore right now, even the skin hurts." Jack kissed each nipple carefully and ran his hands lightly along her skin. "That feels very nice. Would you mind putting some lotion on them while you're playing? Polly says it will help keep me from getting stretch marks."

"Oh, yes, I'd love to do that." Julie got the lotion from her overnight bag and brought it back to the bed. She handed the bottle to him and lied down on her back with a smile.

Jack spread the thick cream between his palms and rubbed them together to warm it up. He spread the lotion across both breasts, and then carefully worked it into her skin using his fingers. Her nipples stood up, looking a little darker than he remembered. He bent down and tenderly kissed each one as Julie cooed and sighed.

He kissed down from her breasts until he got to her stomach. He ran his hand around trying to feel where his baby was growing. "Here," she said, moving his hand to the little bump. "There he is." Julie had tears in her eyes as she looked down at him.

Jack smiled and said, "You think it's a boy?" When she nodded, Jack bent down and kissed the spot. "I hope so, too."

When he kissed her lower, Julie began to run her fingers through his hair. She whispered, "I would love your mouth on me, but I have to tell you I've also been
really
looking forward to having you without a condom again."

Jack looked up with an excited expression on his face. "Good idea." He slid up next to her and kissed her deeply, running his hand over her stomach. She moved her hips restlessly as his fingers slid down to her slippery mons, making her suck air through her teeth.

She began to pull at him to climb on top, making a cute whining moan when he didn't move fast enough to please her. He finally slid between her legs, careful not to press his weight against her stomach or breasts. When his head touched her slit she reached down and put her hands on his butt to pull at him.

"Now, I need you now," she whispered.

Jack needed her too, but was afraid it would be over too fast for her. It had been a long two weeks and he'd been too depressed to take care of himself. He began to mentally sing the alphabet song as he slipped himself inside of her, biting the inside of his cheeks until they stung to keep from losing it as she squeezed his butt and massaged his back.

He bit down harder, trying to delay his release while her body responded to his movements with gasps pleasure. He tried to distract himself by naming boring equipment parts. The industrial oil field pumping jack is composed of a counter weight attached using a pitman arm to the walking beam. The walking beam moves the horse head and bridle, which moves the polished rod in and out of the stuffing box. "Oh Baby, I can't hold it..."

Julie was oblivious. Her hair was all over her face and pillow as she rocked her hips to the rhythm he set. He bent down next to her face, pushing himself fully into her and just let it all go. He shuddered as the release thundered through him, drawing a deep cry out of his throat. Her nails gripped him low, and then she dragged them up his back, crying out loudly as she held on to his shoulders.