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Chapter 66 - stepping into the real world

Jess had arrived home from University that evening filled with so much joy and excitement for her evening ahead. Her usual nerves had suddenly disappeared and instead were replaced with every other positive emotion about spending some time with Jack.

She had spent a good hour or two dancing around her room as she got ready; with her music just loud enough so it didn't drive her housemates insane. Then when she left, she had popped her earphones in as she practically bounced off down the road at such a speed to meet Jack.

Things were finally on the up and she was appreciating every second of it. Life could sometimes slow down to a speed you were not feeling too comfortable with however, there was always some kind of higher power that always picked the right time to change that around.

Without a care in the world, Jess had completed her journey while barely even remembering a step of it. She had passed so many other people getting on with their lives while she had done the exact same thing. It wasn't until she reached the pier, that she was knocked out of her daze as she could see Jack stood in the distance looking out towards the sea.

"Hey..." She breathed as she reached him and watched as Jack suddenly stood into an upright position and turned to face her.

As usual, her stomach turned at the sight of him; the beauty in such little effort was a skill he had most definitely mastered.

"Fuck." Jack muttered causing Jess to suddenly frown.

"What?"

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" She asked and the confusion was evident on her face causing him to laugh.

"You look incredible every single time I see you." Jack replied matter-of-factly and he held so much poise while Jess' face flushed at his compliment.

"Thank you." She then replied simply, remembering Sophie's constant words of advice when it came to receiving a compliment from a guy.

While Jess' usual reply had always been to shrug it off or refuse to accept it, Sophie had taught her to 'receive and own it'. I mean, Jess was still struggling with the 'own it' factor as she wasn't well practiced in hiding her reddened cheeks however, she was definitely working on it.

"I thought we could go for a walk and then get something to eat. I know it's cold but there is something about being on the beach in this weather that I love." Jack mused as he looked from Jess and then out to the never ending sea.

"It's weirdly refreshing." She smiled back while watching him as he watched the waves crash against the stoney beach.

He looked so content however, at the same time there was something slightly off and she couldn't figure out what it was.

As they continued to walk up alongside the sea, not exchanging much conversation, the unspoken words looming over them was killing Jess. She had been trying so hard to hold back however, as the minutes passed she knew she couldn't keep it in any longer. She had been too concerned to hold it back.

"So how is everything with your family then?" She asked cautiously, unsure if he would want to go into it.

Jack had managed to avoid having this conversation for over a week, as there was always something else going on to hold their attention. However, Jess knew that the worst thing he could do was keep it to himself. He had been broken watching his dad sink further and further into such a negative mindset and his dependence on alcohol. This was something Jack really couldn't deal with alone.

"Oh yeah, about that..." He trailed off as he kept his eyes ahead of them as they walked.

Jess waited patiently as he didn't say a word for a moment and just stuffed his hands into his pockets. She could tell he was finding it difficult to process it all in his own head to even be able to say it out loud.