The Moment Between Us
1026 Words
“Wanna go for lunch?" I asked, a bit nervously.
Jack turned to me, his expression unreadable. The elevator door slid open and people poured out, then it slid shut. Finally, he gave a slight nod. I couldn’t help but smile. "Great!"
We stepped out of the hotel, and I couldn’t hide my excitement. I had plans to explore the city during my stay, but I knew Jack wouldn’t have agreed if he’d known. I imagined his serious face shaking its head at my suggestions.
"Alright, we're here," I announced as the taxi came to a stop in front of a burger joint. Jack turned to me, probably confused. "Yep," I said in a teasing tone, swinging the door open and offering a quick thanks to the driver after I settled the fare.
“Isn’t this awesome?” I said excitedly, mouth full of burger. Jack looked up at me and nodded. I wondered when last he had a burger. That's if he ever has. Maybe rich people only dined on fancy food. I looked up again to find Jack already looking at me, but he quickly looked down at his meal and took a big bite, finishing it. I shook off the weird moment, just coincidence, right?
After the burger, we stopped at an icecream shop in the next building and got some before heading to the art gallery I planned next. Jack was reluctant, but I wasn't going to let him spoil the fun. On the taxi ride, he was quiet as usual, only responding to my chatter with nods or quiet “right”s. When we arrived, he paid the taxi fare before I could reach for my wallet.
“You good?” I asked as we stepped into the gallery. It didn't seem normal to stay quiet for that long. “Yeah,” he said softly, meeting my gaze. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, then I guess you just don’t talk much, do you?” I asked. “No,” he replied calmly. We started wandering through the gallery, pausing occasionally to admire different pieces. “So, are you really into art?” His soothing masculine voice rang out. I turned to him with a smile. Good effort.
"Well, not really. But I do appreciate good works," I replied. "How about you?"
"Not too much. But I work with designs so it does appeal to me," he answered.
“Oh cool, what kind of designs?”
“Games. Characters, environments, that sort of thing.”
“Nice!” I exclaimed. “I’m a feature writer for Inspired Living magazine.”
He nodded.
“Do you love your job?” he asked, and I could see genuine curiosity behind his eyes. “Of course!” I answered without missing a beat. "It’s so exciting. I meet tons of interesting people and hear their stories. Like this one I’m working on…” From then, I rambled on and on, the words flowing nonstop. By the time I realized myself, I felt embarrassed, but that feeling was gone just as quickly as it came. Jack was looking at me so intently like what I was talking about had so much importance.
I couldn’t help but smile, and to my surprise, he smiled back. It was quick, barely there, but somehow, it lit something warm inside me.
For a moment, we just stood there, staring at each other like the rest of the world had gone quiet. The air between us was thick, almost buzzing. Then, without warning, he wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me close. My breath hitched, my heart pounding like I’d just taken off in a sprint.
—————
~ The next day ~
I had received a call that morning from Violet, my twin, that Mom had collapsed the previous night and had been rushed to the hospital. Luckily, she was there to keep her stable until they were attended to. I booked the next available flight back home. I didn't even get to my apartment first, just straight to my parents’ house.
According to the test results, my mom had Coronary artery disease. A chill ran down my spine when I heard that. How did she get heart disease? I cried. I couldn't bear the thought of losing my mom. I had already lost my dad when I was in middle school. It was tough. But my mom pulled through, and she found love again.
Being the strong woman she was, she assured us that she was fine and definitely not going anywhere until she held her six grandkids. We laughed about it, but I remembered Jack. I felt bad for just running off without a word. We had something, and now I've ruined it. Maybe I should've gotten his contact.
Later, I told my sister all about it. She squealed in excitement. “Finally! Some spice in your love life,” she said. I smiled. I missed her so much. She worked as a nurse in a different city, and we would spend some holidays or leaves together, but it had been a while since we last met.
“But now we've lost contact,” I said, playing with my fingers. “Girrl, are you kidding? Gimme your phone,” she snatched my phone and went to i********:. We searched for his name and found his account. He didn't have a lot of posts, just a few pictures which were mostly from events.
“Heyyy.. It's Hazel, the love of your life,” she said as she typed it. I quickly stopped her, and we bickered about what to type. We finally settled with a simple “Can we talk?”
A part of me was scared. What if he actually didn't like me back? What if he thinks less of me now after last night? But then the other part was excited about the chances of us becoming a thing.
Just then my phone pinged. It was a DM... a photo.
- Writer
