Paradise Island: Complete Edition (6 page)

“That’s exactly how it feels for me. But then I have to go back inside, to the warmth and comfort of this house. And I start to remember.” He looked down on the floor where he had fucked Lucy, then he quickly looked away when he saw me staring at him. “And then I do the obvious. I repeat the same pattern I came here to escape. Sometimes, I don’t know if any of this is really my life, or if it’s just a role I’m playing.”

I made it a point to look all around. “I don’t see any camera, so I hope we’re safe.”

I made light of the matter but I knew exactly how he felt. I had kept so much of myself locked away, afraid that the world would judge me or use my weaknesses against me, but I was starting to feel very comfortable with Jack. It was a strange feeling to finally feel safe around a man, or anyone for that matter. I started to feel that way around Lucy, but now all of that was gone. Broken like the dreams I had as a child, before the harsh reality of the world made itself known in the form of a man who wanted to be called father, and then changed his mind and wanted to be the husband instead.

“Oh, Sophie, why are you crying? Is it something I said?” He looked genuinely concerned and his question shocked me back to reality.

I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand. “I hadn’t even realized I was crying,” I said, and it was the truth. “I’m really tired, is all.”

“You should get some sleep. You know where your room is, right?” He said, and it felt weird that I would have a room in the house of a man I barely even knew. Yes, he was world known, but he was still a stranger to me. “You should have everything you need there. The sheets are clean. There’s a small bathroom across your room. I have my own private one in my room, so we shouldn’t run into trouble there.”

“You’re being too generous. I’ll stay the night and then I’ll rent a room at the Inn.”

“Nonsense. Why pay for a crappy room when you can have a nice one for free?”

It certainly made sense.

“Well, good night I guess.” I got up and took Josie’s diary with me.

“Anything interesting in there? You seem really into it.”

I blushed a little. If only he’d known the kind of things I had been reading. “Yeah,” I said. “It was a whole different world back then.”

And with that I left Jack to do whatever it is he did in the middle of the night. I made myself comfortable in the guest bedroom, and even though I doubted I was really that tired, and prepared myself to read more of Josie’s adventures, I instead fell into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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A
s soon as the sun woke me in the morning I knew I wouldn’t go to work that day. It was too soon, so I called the owner and told him I’d caught a cold. He told me to take all the time I needed to get better and that he’d welcome me back when I got better. He said that he didn’t want me spreading anything to our customers, which I think was his idea of a joke.

When I woke Jack was nowhere to be found, so I found some toast in the kitchen and helped myself. I looked at the journal, which I carried with me everywhere and thought about once again entering its pages. Instead, I decided that I needed to get some fresh air.

I was surprised to find that Jack was nowhere in sight. I had no idea where he could have gone. I walked around until I ran into a familiar face.

“Henry, how’s it going?” I said once I saw him. He was setting up a camera. “Mr. Digsby wants the sunrise now, does he?”

Henry looked up at me, but instead of his usual friendly face, I saw a scowl.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not really sure what had gotten into him. Maybe he had some bad news or something.

“I saw you,” he said and turned back to his camera, as if those three little words explained anything at all. Not to me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, uncertain if I should press him for an answer. It didn’t seem like he was in the mood for company.

“I saw you yesterday. With that actor, arguing on the beach. And then I saw him carry you in, and I saw Lucy get out of that house. She seemed pretty pissed. What are you doing with that guy, anyway? You do know he treats women like shit, don’t you?”

I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. “Jack’s not like that. Besides, I don’t see how it’s any of your business, anyway.”

I turned to go. I really didn’t need Henry telling me what I could and could not do with my life. Maybe Lucy was right about him after all.

I heard him grunt loudly, for my benefit I could tell. “Pfft, women. You say you want a nice guy and then you go and fuck the worst one you can find. You two deserve each other. I thought you were better than her, but looks like you’re just another whore like your good little friend Lucy. Good luck with that, Sophie. Good fucking luck.”

My instincts told me to run and to ignore his words, but something in me had a different idea.

I turned around involuntarily and looked him straight in the face. The judgment in his eyes obvious. He had pegged me as something I was not, and while that should have hurt, I was more angry than anything that he thought his opinion mattered to me at all.

“Looks like Lucy was right about you, Henry. You are a fucking creepo.”

And with that I turned around and left him to let those words sink in.

If he was going to treat me like shit, I was more than happy to return the favor.

I walked on in a fast run not really knowing where I was going, until I heard a loud wroom sound in the distance. I looked up at the main road and spotted the source of the noise: a motorcycle. I watched in horror as it came closer and closer until I saw the man riding it. It was Jack! Jack Stark!

I ran toward the road, trying to get as much distance between me and Henry the creeper (really, what was that all about?) and I flagged down Jack. He stopped by the side of the road. Of course, he did not have a helmet on and I told him as much.

“There’s not much danger on these roads,” he said. I looked around and it indeed was pretty deserted, but that didn’t mean that he was safe.

“I think you should wear one anyway. But where were you? I woke up and you were gone.” I sounded like a clingy girlfriend, so I made a mental note not to do that again.

He pointed to the back of the seat where a couple of paper bags were secured. “Groceries. Now that there’s two of us, I thought we needed some things.”

“Oh,” I said, really shocked by his thoughtfulness. “I’ll pay for half, if that’s not too much trouble.”

“Don’t even go there, Sophie. You know I have plenty of money. Plus, it makes me happy to do something for someone else for a change.”

“What does that mean? Am I just some charity case to you?”

There’s nothing I hated more than the idea that somebody felt obliged to “take care of” me. Who exactly did he think he was? My knight in shining armor or something?

My question shocked him because Jack Stark remained quiet for too long. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he finally managed to say.

“Fine,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I overreacted a little bit.”

“You think?” he smiled.

“Yes, yes, I do.”

“Anywho, where were you headed. Need a lift?”

“Oh, I was just walking around. Getting some fresh air. I was going to go back to the house soon anyway.”

“Then just hop on.” He moved bags further back to make room for me. And then he held out the helmet.

I took it reluctantly. I’d never been on a motorcycle before, but I guess there’s always a first time for everything. Before I put it on I waited for him to put the other one on. He groaned and rolled his eyes but put it on anyway.

I got up behind him and held on for dear life. I circled my arms around his leather jacket until I held my hands together over his chest. The loud sound of the engine as it wroomed to life made me gasp in fear, but I was determined to do this. I certainly didn’t want to walk back by myself and risk running into Henry. There was something definitely off about that guy. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. Maybe it was before I met Jack. He awakened something in me. A fire that I never knew I even had. And Josie’s journals only added to that flame, adding gasoline to the fire as it roared into life like the motorcycle I found myself on. And off we went. Just when I thought we were done for, that we were going to our fiery deaths, Jack stopped and we were in front of his house.

It took me an extra minute to get my bearings and finally unlock my arms from Jack. To his credit, he was patient and waited for me to adjust. My legs shook in fear as they finally hit the hard concrete and I vowed to myself that I’d never get on that bike again for as long as I lived.

But soon that promise was broken. Me and Jack were eating baguettes and drinking tea (we both laughed at how British we had become with tea, tea, tea, and more tea!) when he looked longingly out into the daylight. The sun was high in the sky and there was no sign of clouds, so hopefully no rain was headed our way.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he said softly. “I want to show you something.”

“What is it?” I asked, as any normal person would. As any normal girl would who had gotten such a proposition from the extremely attractive and as equally mysterious Jack Stark. I remembered Lucy telling me that no one knew much about his personal life, or about his family. I wondered then why. Sure, she said, he’d been in public with all the starlets of the day, but it all seemed part of the act somehow. No one knew the real Jack. The man behind the enigma. And here he was right next to me, offering me something I did not even know existed. Comfort. Safety. Hope. I waited with bated breath for his reply, which came soon after I had voiced my question.

He looked deep into my eyes, and I in his. It was as if the world disappeared around us and we were the only two people on the island. No Lucy. No Henry. No diner. No Inn. There was nothing between us. Nothing to keep us apart except my own reluctance to let anyone get that close.

“It won’t be a surprise if I tell you,” he whispered softly, as his hand moved past my face. His fingers reached my head, and he put a strand of loose hair behind my ear. His caress, his warmth made me want to run, but also made me feel something stronger: desire. I closed my eyes and really felt his hand on my face. I rested my head and I breathed in the smell of him. A clean, but manly smell. I wondered what it would feel like to feel that hand sliding down my chest, and then further down.

“Fine,” I whispered back. “As long as I don’t have to get on that bike again.”

“I’m afraid I can’t promise you that,” he said, and as he did I opened my eyes and saw that irresistible smile. He had the most warm, the most beautiful smile I had seen on anyone. He might have been an actor, but right then and there it felt like he had given me the most genuine performance. I closed my eyes again. I did not want his hand to move, but eventually it did and the moment was broken.

“Make sure to dress warm. It’s quite chilly where we’re going,” he said as he got up to presumably get ready for our trip.

“Chillier than it always is?” I asked, not sure if I had gotten the joke.

“Yes, Sophie. Sometimes it’s a lot colder than it is by the sea right now.”

I wondered what kind of place he was taking me to as I dressed warm. I had to borrow a jacket of his because the one I had with me wasn’t enough. This reminded me that I needed to stop by my and Lucy’s place and pick up a couple of things. But not right now. Maybe not even today. Today was going to be about just me and Jack, and the rest of the world be damned.

I closed the oversize jacket around me, breathing in the masculine smell of it, imagining what it would be like if I let Jack put his arms around me. Instead, I was going to put my arms around him again. But not for any romantic reason, but because I was going to be holding on for dear life again.

As I climbed on the bike behind him, and as the engine came to life, very loudly I might add, I berated myself for getting on the darned thing again. But it had to be done. I had to see what Jack had to show me. I was intrigued by the idea of what he, new to the island, had to show me. Pretty soon, as I held on tightly, we were on our way to the mysterious destination, the sun high in the sky, making our path clear. But I couldn’t see most of it, because my body was full of fear, and my eyes were shut.

I spent the rest of the ride praying that we’d be there soon, but it seemed like our destination was never near enough, for we continued to ride and ride, until finally, we were there.

It took me a moment to adjust to the sudden stop, but soon I got used to my feet being on the ground again.

Jack took off his helmet before I did, so when I took mine off I could finally see where he had taken me, and I was more than a little puzzled.

We stood in front of a huge mouth of a cave in the middle of nowhere. I heard the waves in the distance, not too far away, but my view of the sea was obstructed by the huge rock formation around us.

“Uhm, Jack, why have you taken me to a cave? I’m not a huge fan of dark, enclosed spaces.”

“Just wait and see. There’s more than darkness in this cave, I promise you that, Sophie. I promise you that.” He took a pair of flashlights from the back of the bike and handed me one. He started walking toward the mouth of the cave. The pitch dark opening, as I’d describe it.

I stood frozen in place, not moving an inch. Jack turned around before entering the dark depths ahead, and motioned for me to come over with his free hand. “Come on, Sophie, you don’t want to miss the show.”

I moved towards him and instinctively took hold of his hand, and as soon as I did, I felt immediately better. He smiled back at me. “Be quiet,” he said. “We don’t want to wake the bats.”

And with that last warning, I knew we were officially in trouble.

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T
he path was slippery and if it wasn’t for Jack’s strong, very well trained arm holding me up, I probably would have broken my leg a couple of times. Thankfully, Jack was there every step, making sure I didn’t hurt myself. And finally, after what seemed like forever of walking around, we arrived at our destination. It was surprisingly warm in this part of the cave, I guess because the cold bitter wind could not get so far in. I was thankful for small mercies. Jack took off his leather jacket and put it on the ground. I kept mine (or rather, his) on just in case any creepers decided to come out and play, and by that I don’t mean Jack! We sat down and I wondered what it was I was supposed to see in this particular spot. Jack took our flashlights and turned them off, but there was still enough illumination in the cave to see what was what. He laid back down and motioned me to come down, too. I did. I put my head on his strong arm and made myself comfortable.