Kylie & Jack 1: Humble Beginnings

33. Friends Pt. 3

It was the end of the first week back. To say everyone was dead on their feet was an understatement. Kylie and Jack piled into her car, with Jack behind the wheel and chatting lazily until they got to Wattle Hill.

They pulled up outside her house, emptied the car of all their work and trudged inside. On the drive home, Jack had promised to make them dinner in time to watch the Friday night rugby league game.

All week, they had alternated between her place and his – whenever Kylie spent the night at Jack's, she seemed to pass unnoticed by his housemates, mainly because she spent the vast majority of her time in Jack's bedroom. Jack, however, seemed quite at home whenever he stayed at Kylie's.

Jack served up their dinner on the coffee table, joining Kylie on the lounge (and already the site of a fresh, happy memory for them both).

Kylie rarely ever fell asleep watching the football, but this week had been nothing short of hellish, as it always was having to fall back into routine.

Before half time had even been called, Kylie's head was resting against Jack's chest, her eyelids heavy, mind wiped, her hand on his thigh, just too exhausted.

She didn't remember going to bed – or that Jack had carried her to bed, helping to keep her upright as she slowly stripped down to her underwear and slipped into an oversized Queen shirt, swaying on the spot until Jack eased her into the pillows.

Kylie couldn't even remember having discussed with Jack throughout the week, that after a fortnight together, she was keen to tell her girlfriends about them. Which was why, even as tired as she was, couldn't figure out where Jack's whispered suggestion to tell people had come from.

Feeling Jack wrap her in his arms after he slid into the bed with her, she started to drift to a deep sleep, when he muttered softly in her ear, "shall we tell people 'bout us?"

Kylie mumbled in her sleep and Jack pressed his lips to her neck.

"Seeing as you're so keen on the idea, I mean," Jack added in the same soft tone.

This was quite a milestone for Jack, that at no point in the past fortnight did he ever feel suffocated by Kylie. She didn't cling to him the way his exes had and she didn't hassle him for attention. After Sophie and Dean's wedding, Jack found himself just as entranced by Kylie as he had been two years ago, another reason why he was there in her bed, his arms around her two weeks later.

Why shouldn't we tell people? Jack thought, kissing her neck again. I'll gladly walk down the street holding your hand.

Kylie mumbled again and this time Jack asked her what she said, somehow forgetting that she was close to unconsciousness. She did manage to mutter slightly more clearly this time to him, hugging the pillow tighter.

"Mm ...'kay ... your idea ... yours first ..."

The next morning, Jack made a special effort to remind Kylie over breakfast that they were going to his place that night and that she was, this time, going to meet all of his housemates officially. Kylie had blushed at him, admitting that she couldn't remember them planning this but so grateful that he didn't think it was too soon for them to at least tell his housemates ... or her best friends. It was definitely a big step in any established relationship and Kylie knew which meet and greet would be the bigger step for them.

Jack's housemates, Kieran, Zach and Marty were – as far as Kylie knew – laid back guys who didn't bother too much over anything in particular. But Kylie still felt a jolt of nervousness when Saturday afternoon crept up on them and they had to get ready to go.

Kylie's best friends, Jack knew, were a handful. He vaguely remembered Sophie at university, she was surprisingly loud and voracious when it came to socialising. Jack could remember running into Sophie outside the library one rainy day, dancing on the stairwell with a blonde, their laughter floated up and down the stairwell and gaining a stern warning from the university librarian. He could only imagine what a decade's friendship with Kylie and the other two had done. But he wasn't worried about meeting them. He was, perhaps, more worried about how Kylie would react to them finding out about their ... relationship. The word settled in Jack's head ...