CHANGES
Chapter Four
Tuesday Night
Ring.
Rose sighed and leaned over to get the phone.
"DeWitt-Bukater residence."
"Rose, it's your mother."
"Hey, Mom. What's up?"
Ruth sighed. "We're having some bad
weather here, so our flight was canceled. We won't be able to get another one
out until Thursday morning. Tell Becky to call the school for Cam tomorrow and
take her to the dentist."
"All right. Anything else?"
"No, that about covers it. Your father
wants to talk to you."
"Okay."
Joseph DeWitt-Bukater came on the line.
"Hi, Princess."
"Hi, Daddy."
"Is everything okay at home? Becky isn't
going crazy and Tiff hasn't come running home from college?"
Rose twisted a piece of hair around her
finger. "Becky is already crazy and Tiff says college is a blast.
Everything's fine."
"You sure? You sound a little
weird."
"I'm fine, Daddy. I'm just trying to
study."
"Oh, okay. I'll let you go, so you can
concentrate. Tell your sisters and brother we love them."
"Okay. Bye."
"Good night, princess."
*****
As soon as she hung up the phone, it rang
again. Cursing under her breath, Rose picked it up. "Hello?"
"Rose? It's Jack."
Rose smiled. "Hey, you."
"You studying for that evil math test
tomorrow?"
"Sort of."
"You don't need to, you know."
Rose grinned. He was right. She was going to
be valedictorian, provided Jack himself didn't pull a turn over. That was
another thing they had always fought over--grades. Rose always won, but Jack
wasn't that far behind. "Why, what do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking we could go down to the
lake. There's something I wanna show you."
Rose closed her math book. "What
time?"
"Say ten, fifteen minutes?"
"I'll be ready."
*****
After they hung up, Rose ran a brush through
her dark brown hair. Unlike the rest of her family, Rose's hair hadn't remained
the red color it had been as a child. The older she got, the darker it went.
While her brothers and sisters had their mother's red hair and brown eyes, she
had inherited her father's dark hair and green eyes. A fact that made her the
apple of her father's eye.
Rose ran downstairs when she heard a car pull
up in the driveway. She stuck her head in the living room. "I'm going out
with Jack. Mom wants you to call in for Cam tomorrow and take her to the
dentist. I'll be back later."
Rebecca nodded, her eyes never leaving the
television.
*****
Jack watched as Rose ran out the door and
towards his car. He leaned over and unlocked the door and then she got in.
"Hey." She smiled.
"Hey, yourself," he replied, brushing
her lips with his.
They chatted about school and other
non-important topics as Jack drove towards the lake. When they reached their
destination, Jack grabbed a blanket out of the back seat and Rose's hand,
pulling her up a hill that overlooked the lake below. Rose breathed in the
sight of the sun sinking down behind the lake. As it disappeared beyond the
horizon, Rose shivered in the September wind. Jack noticed and wrapped his arms
around her. "Better?"
"Yes, thank you. This is beautiful,
Jack. I can't believe I've never been here before."
"I'm glad I could be the one to show it
to you," Jack said, nuzzling her neck.
Rose moaned and tilted her head back. Jack
captured her mouth in the most passionate kiss either of them had ever
experienced. Not wanting to stop, Rose pulled Jack down on top of her,
deepening the sea of desire they were both floating in. When Rose felt Jack's
hands feeling their way down her body, she pulled away somewhat. "Jack,
not here."
Jack nodded and helped her up. "You're
right. This isn't the place."
Rose took both his hands, her eyes meeting
his, both overflowing with want and need. "My parents aren't home,"
she said softly.
Jack nodded again and they headed back to
Rose's house.
*****
When they reached the DeWitt-Bukater home,
only the light in the kitchen was on. "Everyone must've gone to bed
early," Rose commented as they climbed the porch steps.
Jack stopped right before they got to the
door. "You're sure about this?"
Rose nodded seriously. "Yes."
They went inside the house and quietly
sneaked up to Rose's room. Not wanting to leave room for hesitation, Jack and
Rose immediately embraced and almost instantly, began shedding their clothes.
*****
Rose looked up at Jack. "You're
trembling."
Jack smiled weakly. "Don't worry. I'll
be all right."
Rose sighed and laid her head back on his
heaving chest. Still in awe over what had just happened. Had she and her life
long enemy, turned boyfriend, really just lost their virginity to each other?
It seemed surreal.
"Hey," Jack whispered, breaking
into her thoughts.
Rose glanced up. "Hmm?"
"I should probably go. It's after
one."
Rose's eyes shot to the clock, which read
1:21 am. Sighing, she nodded and sat up.
Jack sat up as well and wrapped his arms
around her, kissing her neck. "Tonight was perfect. I love you."
Rose stared at him for a moment, almost
shocked by what came out of his mouth. But not quite, because she felt the
same. "I love you, too."