Better Off Away (BOOK 2)(Wattys2016)

Mae and Herb

Jack doesn't usher me to his shiny red Porsche, but rather, he takes me to the side of the rode and expertly hails a yellow taxi cab. I hesitate, unsure of why he is choosing this rather than his car, but Jack just pulls me by the wrist into the back of the cab, causing me to fall on him.

There's a moment where neither of us moves and I feel my arms jumbled around him and loose strands of my hair falling across both of us. His eyes are steady with mine and our breathing is the tiniest bit shallower than usual. I swallow and push away from him, not wanting to be caught in such a position.

Jack faces the taxi driver and being completely composed, says, "Take us to Herb and Mae's Diner on Seventy-Fourth."

The taxi driver smiles and nods, mumbling more to himself, "Fine place."

I buckle my seat belt and look over at Jack who's watching me. "What is Herb and Mae's Diner?"

"It's one of the best Diner's in the world. Trust me; I've been to a few." Jack smirks and I notice he has dimples that come with his smile. I guess I've always been distracted by the actual smile to notice the dimples.

"Will we be able to make it back for the afternoon?"

Jack's eyes twinkle with mischief and he shrugs. "Let's just play it by ear, alright?"

I should be worried about my internship since it's surely in jeopardy. But Jeremiah will have to let this pass once he finds out it was all to be with Jack. Won't he? I sigh a heavy sigh and Jack looks at me perplexedly.

"Are you alright, sweetness?"

I smile, growing endeared to the nickname even though I wish I wasn't. "Yeah, I'm alright."

I almost die of shock when I feel his hand reach across the seat and meet mine in the middle. He holds it in his own, sliding his fingers between mine and closing our hands with a gentle squeeze. I freeze, becoming instantly scared. I'm scared that what I'm doing is working. I'm making Jack want me, making him want to stay.

His thumb grazes across the back of my hand and I melt, wanting this more than ever, but knowing I can't have it.

***

Holding hands isn't an ordinary thing. Hands are so mundane that you can't help but forget that they can be held, can be grazed, can be life changing. But as we ride in the City, bumping through traffic, my world begins to tilt. It's not flipped upside down, but I certainly feel things shifting. Each graze of Jack's thumb sends jolts of electricity through me, making me even more confused, even more tempted to fall for his moves, for him.

When the taxi driver stops abruptly and Jack gives my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go, I realize I feel so empty without his hand in my own. How was I ever full before? I move to climb out of the car, finding Jack already there, helping me out of the taxi. Jack pays the cab driver and we step onto the sidewalk.

I take in the diner before me. It's an old building, in an older district of the City. The brick and mortar are crumbling on the edges and the red and white striped awning on the front is faded. Jack opens the door to the Diner and I step into a classic-looking diner. Red vinyl booths edge the wall to my right and tables dot the floor to the left in the front. Also on the left is a bar with stools the same color red as the booths. Black and white checkers make up the floor and in the back of the room I spot a jukebox which is playing big band music from the forties.

Jack looks at me, gauging my reaction. "What do you think, sweetness?"

I smile, instantly loving the place. "It's... amazing."

"Jack!?"

I turn to see a lady coming from the kitchen, short and round, but extremely kind looking. She comes out from behind the counter and marches up to Jack, her legs moving in more of a waddle than a stride. She takes Jack in a hug and beams at him, obviously proud of him. Her attitude towards him reminds me of maternal, doting.

"Mae! How have you been?!" Jack hugs her back and smiles, his dimples more evident now that I notice them more.

Mae ignores the question and turns her gaze to me, scrutinizing. "Well," She drawls, "Who are you?"

Jack laughs, scratching the back of his neck in what seems to be a nervous tick. "This is Macey Littlefield. She's from California."

Mae's eyes turn a little sparkly. "Oh? You brought a girl back, did you? Jack, you have something you wanna tell us? Herb! Come 'ere! Jack wants to tell us something!"

Jack shakes his head, the itch on his neck forgotten. "No! Mae! It's not like that!"

A thin man who's nearly six foot three or so comes out from the Diner's kitchen, beaming at Jack just as Mae did.

Jack waves at him and smiles. "Hey, Herb."

Herb smiles as he crosses over and claps Jack on the back. "Jack! It's been too long!"

"Mae, this is Macey. I met her at my father's interning program. She's just coincidentally from California."

Mae's lip curls, disapproval seeping into her words, "Oh? She works for your father, does she?"

Jack looks at me nervously, "Uh, could you excuse us for a second, Macey?"

I feel a blush creep on my neck as I realize that Mae disapproves of me because I'm in the Creal Interning Program. Little does she know I'm also cheating Jack for his father? Then she would really despise me.

I busy myself, looking at the menu and deciding that I want to get the grilled chicken salad with peach cobbler. I only have to wait a few more minutes before Jack returns to my side, smiling and apologizing.

"It's okay," I tell him, "they obviously care about you."

Jack looks to his feet and smiles. "Yeah, ever since I've started coming here they've looked out for me."

We order our food and take a seat in one of the booths while we wait on the food.  "When did you start coming here?" I ask.

Jack shrugs, playing with the straw wrapper form his drink. "Oh, probably when I was thirteen. It was after I'd gotten in an argument with my father. I stormed out of the House and demanded the chauffeur at the time to take me to a place my father would never go. He took me here. And I've been coming back ever since."

I blurt the question before thinking, "What were you arguing about?"

Jack looks at me, his eyes reading me, but I don't think he sees me clearly because if he did... he would know I'm a total lie. He shakes his head, dropping the straw wrapper and scratching his neck again. "What we always argue about: my life and how I'm screwing it up."

I feel my face heat up again, awkward by my own doing. "I'm sorry for asking. I'm always butting in."

Jack shrugs. "It's okay. I don't want to keep my secrets from you. You're different and I like that."

"You didn't seem to like it when I spilled coffee on you and convinced that hot flight attendant that you'd undergone a... change."

Jack smirks and laughs, his eyes warm as he folds his hands beneath his chin and leans his elbows on the edge of the table. "No, on the contrary, Macey, I found you intriguing."

"Be careful, Jack." I look away, unable to lie to him so boldly, unable to lie at all anymore it seems.

He laughs again, but under his breath. I can still feel his gaze on me. "I can't be careful... haven't your heard? I'm a reckless person, Macey."

•••

A/N:
On the side is a picture of what I picture Herb and Mae's Diner as, but you can picture it however you like.

Thanks for reading!
Love always, Samantha xo