Unexpected //Jack Gilinsky

Chapter 3

     Things were going so well, it was my second week at work and everything was a breeze. On my first day, I was terrified that I'd mess up or that I'd get fired for some random reason. I mean this is LA some part of me thought that for some reason, everything needed to be perfect and that there was very high expectations to follow. Fortunately for me, that wasn't the case. I had never really imagined myself working in a diner, but I felt that I fit in pretty well. I thought I'd be doing the dishes or something, but they had immediately placed me as a waitress, which I was so worried about. I didn't think I could remember all the orders or who they went to. Luckily I did. All my stress and worry was for nothing, though it usually was anyways. Today was Friday, and I was just getting off of work, driving through traffic to reach my dream apartment. Eve had a job as well, and I was pretty sure she'd already be home. Merging off into my apartments parking lot, I finally pull into my space and shift my car into park. I hated driving in traffic, it made me so nervous. I guess it didn't help that I moved to a very busy city. The irony of it made me giggle and shake my head a little. Swiping my purse and keys out of my car, I lock it and head up to my apartment.
"Hey, you're home earlier than I expected." Eve greets me at the front door.
"I suppose so, how was stocking clothes today?" I wiggle my eyebrows, setting my purse on the counter.
"Oh just terrible, so tiring. You know what we need, a night out." Eve suggests, raising her voice in excitement. I laugh.
"We aren't even old enough to get into a club Eve, where are we supposed to go out?" I ask, going to the kitchen to grab an apple to snack on.
"Well, I personally know two girls who are very attractive and can get in without getting carded." Eve shrugs, winking.
"Eve, I don't know.."I trail off, chomping in to the crisp red fruit. Eve sighs.
"Come on! It'll be so much fun and you know you want to!" She begs, giving me puppy dog eyes. I take a minute to think it over. It was a risky move, but it could end up to be pretty fun. We didn't have to drink or anything if we got in, we could just dance and have fun. Plus, what's the worst that could happen? The worst possibility would be the bouncer at the front saying no and we'd just leave. I smile in defeat.
"Okay fine." I sigh, secretly excited.
"Yay! Let's get ready! I'm so excited. It's already five so let's hurry and we can take my car okay?" Eve jumps up and down, unable to contain her joy. I nod my head and throw my apple core into the garbage, heading upstairs to get ready. We were going clubbing so I needed to wear something presentable. I could wear a dress, or I could wear a cute shirt? It'll be getting dark by the time we leave, and it's pretty warm outside but not that bad. I decide upon dark wash high waist skinny jeans, with a couple rips in each leg, paired with a black cropped tank top. It was a leathery material and pretty tight, almost uncomfortable to wear, the front concluded in a V-neck. I thought it looked pretty good. I step into the bathroom to curl my hair a little bit, I hadn't curled my hair since I cut it and it felt weird. After that was finished, I applied more mascara and a little bit of lip color, just a light amount of red. I felt pretty confident that I looked good, and I couldn't deny it. In order for me to feel special at all I needed to try really hard. I didn't realize how long I had taken already, somehow trying numerous outfits on and curling my hair took almost two hours. I suppose the random music jam outs didn't help. Spritzing on some perfume and throwing on a pair of black booties, I grab my bag and phone and leave my room to check if Eve was ready or not.
"Eve, are you ready?" I call through the house as I walk downstairs. I wanted to eat something quickly before we left, I assumed the food there would be too expensive, if there was food anyways.
"Yes, coming!" She yells back, I hear her heels clicking down the stairs. I raid the cupboards and fridge for a minute until I settle on just eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
"You're eating cereal right now? Really?" laughs Eve. I hadn't realized she was behind me.
"Of course I am, there's never a bad time for cereal." I state in defense. Eve nods her head and shrugs. I take a look to see what she was wearing. She had on a red tight dress and black heels. Of course she looked better than me. Her blonde hair fell straight to her back, and she had her hand clamped onto a black clutch.
"You look gorgeous, as always." I huff. I suddenly didn't want to go out, standing next to her I would look like an idiot.
"You look stunning per usual as well. Shush up." Eve comments, running her hand through her hair in a swift motion. I finish my last bite of cereal and drink the milk.
"Well, let's go I suppose." I say, grabbing my bag. Eve nods and we head out the door. First clubbing experience, if we could even get in that was. I had no idea where we were headed, but Eve seemed sure of it so I didn't say anything. We didn't listen to music on the way, we just sat in silence. It wasn't awkward though, it never was with Eve. We were like sisters, we could be mad at each other sitting in silence and it still wasn't awkward. Nothing was too embarrassing for us, nothing was too much to share. I loved those friendships. Eve had been driving for probably fifteen minutes when we pulled up next to a gigantic building.
"Well, here we are. One of the biggest night clubs here." Eve states, slightly gasping. I understood why it was one of the biggest, I mean it was huge. How could it even be one of the biggest? Was there a bigger one nearby? I couldn't imagine one as big as this. There were no parking spots around, so we drove a couple blocks down until we found a spot on the side of the road. Surely all the other cars parked here too must've been for that night club. I still didn't know the name of it, but frankly I didn't care enough right now to ask.
"Well, do we really want to do this?" I ask, shutting the door to Eves car. Eve nods.
"Of course we do silly. Let's go." Eve confidently says, speed walking to the club. I try to keep up. Once we get to the building, we still had to wait in a big line. It took us probably thirty minutes of standing outside to get to the bouncer. He was a big man with probably around thirty tattoos, some on his arms, others on his neck.
"You ladies look a little young to be coming in here." the bouncer exclaims. I panic out of instinct.
"Oh come on, we hear this every time we come here. Yes we look young. I take it as a compliment really, that just means in sixteen years when I'm forty I'll look twenty two years old." Eve states, rolling her eyes. The bouncer looks us up and down and shrugs his shoulders.
"Not like I don't let underage kids in all the time anyways. Just don't tell my boss." he kids, and I force a dry chuckle out. I was way to nervous for no reason. He let us in and we were immediately thrown into bursting music and darkness. The few lights we could make out at first were the lights bouncing off of the walls. It wasn't like anything you hear or see about in movies, there were far more people than they made out.
"I cannot believe he just let us in!" Eve squeals, looking around in awe.
"Me neither, for a second I thought he wouldn't." I confess, looking around for anywhere that seemed less inhabitant than the dance floor.
"Where do you wanna go?" Eve questions, flipping her hair.
"Let's just wander and see where this crowd takes us." I suggest. Eve nods and we start to shuffle our feet into the huge sea of people. There's people of all ages jumping up and down to the beat blasting, and then there's people sitting up at the bar wasting their nights away in alcohol. Eve and I push through the crowd to try and find an open space anywhere, but at each step we are greeted with some new sweaty dancer. I was leading, so I just kept on moving until I could breathe again. I finally reached a spot that seemed reasonable to stop at, and once I do I look behind me. Eve was gone. I started to freak out now, because it wasn't the thought of Eve being lost in that crowd that scared me, she was perfectly capable and friendly enough to keep herself entertained. I was alone and I was the opposite. I wasn't as bubbly and fun as she was. Now I was standing alone in this big night club as people jumped to the music all around me. I started to feel sick. I looked at my surroundings and saw that just to my right was a dining area, with lots of tables. I decided to move my way over there to get away from all the people.
"Hey!" I hear someone say from behind me. I swiftly turn around to see who it was. My heart dropped into my stomach once I saw him. It was Jack. Just my luck I come into a club and get lost, and then run into Jack Gilinsky.
"Oh, hi there!" I answer, I didn't have to yell over here, thankfully the music wasn't half as loud. Jack smiles a big toothy grin.
"What are you doing here on a Friday night alone? A bit adventurous are we?" Jack teases, making me blush.
"Well, I uh-didn't come here alone. I lost my friend in the crowd." I laugh nervously.
"I see, your friend, is he gonna be enough of a gentleman to come and find you or do I have to entertain you myself?" wonders Jack. I couldn't help but smile.
"She probably won't come and find me, you may just have to entertain me Jack." I say back, thank God I was gaining some confidence. Jack smiles brightly at me. God.
"Well, looks like you're gonna have to just come back to my table with me now I suppose, this way." he says, and leads me to where he had been. He hadn't been alone of course, he had Jack Johnson and a brown haired boy with him, they greeted me with warm smiles. I couldn't exactly place my finger on who the other brown haired kid was yet. I'd figure it out though, I was determined too.
"Jack, you brought back a friend from the bathroom?" asks the brown haired kid.
"This is Alexis, I met her at the coffee shop the other day when I payed for her drink. Remember?" Jack asks, sitting down, I seat myself on the other side of the table from the three boys. Jack Johnson looks me over and so does the other guy. I feel my cheeks heat up.
"Of course I remember Gilinsky, how could I forget. You won't stop talking about how gorgeous she is, remember?" says Jack Johnson. Jack grins and nods his head.
"Very true by the way." chimes Jack.
"I'm Shawn." says the brown haired guy. Of course, Shawn Mendes. How did I not realize.
"Alexis." I meet his hand and shake it lightly.
"I'm Jack Johnson, call me Johnson. G here has kept the title as Jack, he won it in an arm wrestling match. Can't say it was a fair game but I mean, look at him I didn't want to break the poor guys heart. So I let him win." jokes Johnson. I let out a laugh as I shake his hand. Jack rolls his eyes.
"Okay okay, that's enough." Jack says, gently punching Johnson in the arm.
"Well it's very nice to meet you Johnson and Shawn." I giggle, shifting in my seat.
"Same to you." both Shawn and Johnson say at the same time. I smile and glance at Jack, man was he looking good. He wasn't dressed in anything super special, all he had on was a brownish hoodie and some jeans, but I swooned anyway.
"Are you hungry or anything?" questions Jack, tugging at his sleeve. I shake my head.
"No, I had Cinnamon Toast Crunch just right before I left to come here." I confess. All the boys laugh.
"Well, sounds like you ate better than I have all week. You're one lucky girl." says Johnson.
"Oh don't I know it." I joke, earning another set of laughs from the guys. Jacks eyes never leave me. It was making me squirm and fidget. We all had random conversations for the next hour, and I only leave the table when my phone started to ring. It was Eve. I excuse myself and pick up the phone.
"Hello?" I say.
"Hey, where are you?" Eve asks, I hear someone trying to get her attention and then she shushes them.
"Shouldn't you have called an hour ago and asked me?" I question impatiently.
"You could have too." she groans.
"I ran into Jack..and I've been with him since. You?" I say, she gasps.
"Okay, you are telling me all about this tomorrow and also can you please find a ride home I'd really like it if you could." Eve begs on the other end. I roll my eyes, now I understood who the person she was shushing was.
"I guess I could take a cab in awhile." I say, twirling a piece of my hair.
"You are the best Lex!" she yells and instantly hangs up the phone. I return to the table of guys and sit down.
"Everything cool?" asks Shawn first.
"Well that was my friend who I came here wth tonight. She uh, found someone else to go home with I guess." I nervously laugh.
"Sounds fun." Johnson pipes in. I roll my eyes.
"So not fun, I have no ride home now. I'm going to have to call a cab or something which totally freaks me out. Especially this late at night." I say, sighing. Johnson nods.
"No no. I'm bringing you home." Jack speaks up for the first time in awhile. My heart races.
"Really?" I question.
"Yes really." he laughs. I smile at him and nod.
"Okay, that'd be great." I state. We all continue to chat and laugh for another hour or so, until Shawn was the first one to decide he wanted to go home and get some rest. He took Johnson with him and would drop him off at his house before going to his own. I proceeded to grab their numbers before they left so we could keep in touch, funny guys they were. This left me alone with Jack.
"So, do you wanna head out? It is getting pretty late." Jack asks me, fiddling with the strings of his hoodie.
"Sure." I say. We both get up and I follow him out the door. He had taken me through a back door that I didn't know of, and I was grateful because I didn't want to have to try and make it through the still buzzing sea of people in this club. We walk a couple blocks in the warm summer night air until we reach a black Jeep, it was really nice. He unlocks his doors and we hop in.
"This is really nice. I love it." I compliment as he starts the car.
"Thank you." he smiles and buckles up, I copy. I give him directions and the rest of the way is silent, with a faint radio station playing as he drove. I'd glance at him every so often just to look, because he really was a sight. His jaw would clench randomly sometimes, and when he blinked his long lashes would touch his skin. I could never look for too long, because then his eyes would dart over and I'd be caught. After the short drive, we reach my apartment building and pull into the spots reserved for Eve and I. Eves car wasn't here, so it must've meant she had gone to the guys house.
"Well, this is it." I say. I regret it because duh. Jack looks over and nods his head.
"Yep." he answers, popping the p. A moment of silence occurs and then I surprise myself.
"Do you maybe want to come up and hang out for awhile longer? Eve isn't here and I don't want to be alone really." I say, twiddling my fingers.
"Sure, why not." Jack smiles, turning off his Jeep. I smile to myself and get out of the car. Jack locks his doors and then follows me up to my apartment. I suddenly had a worry that he might think it wasn't good enough. After all he was famous and probably had a really nice home. It shouldn't have mattered though, so I push the thought into the back of my mind. We reach my front door and I grab my key out and push the door open.
"This is nice, I like it." says Jack once inside. I smile and put my bag on the counter.
"Thanks. It's always been my dream to move here and rent a big fancy apartment." I say, walking over to the couch and sitting down. Jack nods and smiles, following me over to the couch and plopping down next to me.
"You don't look very comfortable. Why don't I figure out how to put a movie on and you go find something comfy to wear?" Jack suggests, already grabbing my tv remote off of the coffee table in front of us. I nod. Sounded excellent to me. I run upstairs to my room and throw on a pair of grey Nike sweatpants and a white tank top. Calling it good I go back downstairs to see Jack still searching through Netflix.
"What do you like?" asks Jack as I sit down next to him again. I think about it.
"I like lots of things. Specifically kids movies. Anything Disney I'll watch." I laugh, Jack throws in some chuckles as well.
"Fair enough, I'll just put on Fox and the Hound." Jack says, I nod and giggle again.
Well into the movie I notice Jack has kept his eyes on me for the past five minutes, and I begin to worry. What was he thinking? I turn my attention from the tv to him and we sit looking at each other for a minute. His eyes were brown, yet so powerful and full of life that I could drown in them. I could look into them forever, they would never ever get boring. Mine probably looked pretty dumb to him, plain old green. Nothing cool about mine. They weren't even a cool shade of green either. I notice Jack lick his lips and he starts to lean his head towards mine. My breath hitched, what was going on? Was he going to kiss me? I felt sick. Not that I didn't want him to, God did I want him to. I was worried. Jacks face continues to inch towards mine and I decided I had no choice but to inch mine close to his as well. We slowly connect our lips and the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. There was nothing that could live up to this moment, nothing else in the world that felt so right. I disconnect our lips first and shyly look away.
"What's wrong?" worries Jack.
"Nothing, it's just that I don't want to waste your time." I say, looking to meet his eyes again.
"How could you be?" Jack asks, his eyes pleading for me to keep mine locked on his, I couldn't fight them.
"I don't know." I say quietly.
"All I know is that I can't stop thinking about you. There's something about you. Whether we just say friends or progress into something more I don't care, I want to know you some way." Jack tells me, lightly touching my face with his hand. I shiver and get goosebumps.
"I-I don't know what to say." I answer, shaking my head.
"Then don't say anything. Just kiss me back." Jack says, bringing my face to his with his hands. The kiss was more urgent and began to get heated. He was running his hands down my back and it was a mesmerizing feeling, each time his skin touched mine a new set of butterflies would enter my stomach. I didn't want to end this. I knew we would have to stop sometime soon, but for now I didn't want to think about anything but the way our lips were moving together. I'd had my share of kisses but none could have compared to this. I suppose this would be considered a make out, but I wasn't in the mood to be technical. My hands rested in Jacks hair and I couldn't fathom how it was even softer than it looked. We seemed to go on until neither of us could breathe. Once we had composed ourselves we sat in silence, i guess we hadn't been in our own world for too long because Fox and the Hound was still playing on the tv. We watched it until it was over and then we talked for many more hours. He told me a lot of childhood stories from before he was famous and I shared with him some of my funniest memories I could remember. By the time I decided I couldn't stay awake any longer the sun was rising, and Jack decided to go home.
"Thank you for keeping me company." I say, walking him to my front door. Jack smiles that beautiful smile.
"The pleasure is all mine, who could've kept better company than you?" Jack asks me, putting his hoodie back over his head. I hadn't noticed he took it off before.
"Okay." I smile brightly, despite how tired I was.
"You have my number now, don't be shy to text me." Jack says, walking out my door.
"I won't, bye Jack." I say, shutting my door. Who knew that let's go out could've turned into this.