MEANT TO BE
Chapter Two

The first few minutes in the car Jack and Rose were quiet, neither really quite sure what to say to the other. Jack was nervous he would say something that offended Rose, while she worried Jack would doubt her maturity if she said something stupid. Eventually, though, Rose got sick of the silence, and started talking. They talked about everything, just caring they were there and talking to each other.

"So, Jack, who is this friend of yours who owns the club?"

"His name is Fabrizio di Rossi. He’s from Italy and his family moved to Orlando when he was four. We ended up going to the same school and becoming best friends. After we graduated he moved to Miami and worked at this bar earning money to open his night club. He finally got it and he’s opening it up tonight."

"That’s cool. So what time do you think we’ll be in Miami?"

"Around six or seven. The club opens at eight, but we can hang out there until it opens. Unless you want to do something different?"

"Well, that depends. I’ve never been to Miami before. I have no idea what we’d do."

"You’ve never been to Miami? God, you live a sheltered little life, don’t you, Rose?"

"I don’t know. Maybe I do. Is there anything you would like to show me in Miami?"

"I have a few things in mind we could do before the club opens. And some stuff for tomorrow before going home, too. And don’t worry, we don’t have to do any boring sightseeing, unless you want to of course."

"No! I hate that. That’s all I ever get to do when I go anywhere with my mom. We never do anything fun. Just the tourist stuff. It gets really repetitive after a while."

"Well, good. I think you’ll like what I have in mind then, Miss DeWitt-Bukater."

"I hope so, Mr. Dawson."

Jack kept driving, hoping Rose would like what he had in store for her. He had surprises planned that he thought she would love.

*****

Jack and Rose drove into Miami around 6:15. They decided to go out to dinner, since neither had eaten since lunch. Jack brought them to a Brazilian restaurant called Wish, which Rose loved. The food was great, and the two of them shared a dessert.

After they finished eating, Jack and Rose sat and talked for almost thirty minutes before finally deciding to leave. Jack paid the bill and led Rose back out to the car, and since it was still just 7:30, he decided to bring Rose to one more place before going to the club.

They went to a park a couple of blocks away from the club. Jack led Rose to a fountain in the middle of the park. It was breathtaking. When she looked up through the water into the night sky, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The stars seemed to sparkle ten times more than usual and water also made them brighter. They left the park a few minutes before eight, wanting to get to the club on time.

They walked the short distance to the club, and Rose was wondering how they were ever going to get inside when she saw the long line outside the door. Jack, however, just walked up to the bouncer and told him his name. They were let inside immediately.

Rose was relieved the bouncer hadn’t asked to see her ID, since she was only seventeen. She figured it didn’t matter anyway since Jack was on the VIP list and she was his guest.

Jack and Rose walked to the bar, where Jack asked to see Fabrizio. He came out from a back room and hugged Jack, who introduced him to Rose.

"Fabri, this is Rose. The girl I told you about. Rose, this is my friend Fabrizio."

"Ah, so this is the lovely lady that has so enchanted my good friend Jack. It is very nice to meet you, Rose," Fabrizio said as he kissed her hand.

"It’s nice to meet you, too, Fabrizio." Rose giggled at the thought of Jack telling his friends about her already, even though she had done the same thing. She was also happy about the fact that she had enchanted Jack, as Fabrizio had put it.

"So, Jack, how is everyone back in Orlando? I don’t get the chance to talk to anyone but you and my mother often."

"Everybody’s good, Fabri. Well, Rose and I are gonna go dance now. I’ll talk to you later. Is that okay with you, Rose?"

"Yeah, that’s great. I hope to see you again, Fabrizio."

"Please, call me Fabri. Fabrizio just takes too long to say." Fabrizio laughed, with both Jack and Rose joining in.

"We’ll see you later, Fabri. Come on, Rose." Jack dragged Rose out onto the dance floor, where she proved to be a very good dancer. Jack was stunned at how this girl he had just met was dancing with him. She wasn’t the first to do this, but she was the first who had made him feel this way doing it. Rose backed up against Jack, while taking his arms and wrapping them around her waist.

Both Jack and Rose were thoroughly enjoying every minute they spent together. They had only met the day before, but they felt a very strong connection. Rose hoped Jack didn’t think she was coming on too strong, but somehow she thought he didn’t mind. Jack was being just as crazy as she was.

They were all over each other, which was something Rose had never done with any guy other than Cal. And even with him, it had taken her at least two months to come around.

Rose pushed all thoughts of Cal out of her mind. He was the last thing she wanted to think about when she was with Jack. The DJ put on a slow song, and Rose turned around in Jack’s arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Jack pulled Rose closer to him, making her smile.

Jack and Rose danced the night away, just happy to be together. Around one in the morning, they decided to leave, still needing to get a hotel room. They went to the Days Inn and Jack got them a room with two beds, not knowing if Rose would want to share a bed with him or not.

They went up to their room and talked for a while before going to sleep.

"Rose, I had a great time tonight. Thank you so much for coming with me."

"I had so much fun tonight. We should definitely do it again sometime." This made Jack happy, knowing she wanted to see him again, and she wouldn’t mind taking another trip with him.

"I’d only be too happy to oblige. You definitely brought out a side in me tonight that I never knew I had before. Maybe next time we could go somewhere else, though."

"Sure. That’d be fun. I’m really not ready to go to bed just yet. I’m still full of energy. Let’s go back out and do something...completely spontaneous."

"I’m game. Let’s go." Jack grabbed Rose’s hand and together they ran out of the hotel. They didn’t go to the car. They just decided to walk and go wherever they wanted. They ended up at Club Millennium, one of the best dance clubs in the city.

Jack and Rose spent the early hours of the morning in each other’s arms, just dancing and talking. Around four they decided it was time to go back to the hotel, since they were both very tired then. When they got to their room, Rose remembered she was supposed to call Lacey.

"Oh, crap. I was supposed to call Lacey when we got to Miami. Now she’s probably gonna be worried sick when I call in the morning. Saying something like, ‘Rose, I had no idea where you were!’ or, ‘He could have done anything to you and no one would have ever known!’ And then she’ll never cover for me again if I ever wanted to go somewhere else with anybody. Especially you." Rose started to cry as she remembered Lacey wouldn’t be there to cover for her anymore anyway.

Jack walked over to Rose and put his arms around her. "It’s okay, Rose. I’m sure she’ll understand that you just forgot."

"No. You don’t know Lacey. She’s probably called my mom by now and told her everything, too. And now I’m going to be in some serious deep shit when I get home. Not only for not telling her about going to Miami, but also because she’s never met you. I only met you the day before yesterday. I’ll be grounded for months." Rose leaned into Jack’s embrace and cried harder.

"Shh. It’s okay. Please don’t cry, Rose. Please." Jack pleaded for her to stop crying. He stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth, pulling her into his lap.

Rose seemed to calm down a little. She turned her head and looked into his eyes, realizing how close he was to her. She wanted Jack to kiss her so badly, but he made no move to do so. This was upsetting to Rose, but she hid it from him, and didn’t want to make the first move by kissing him.

Jack didn’t know what to do. He wanted to kiss her but didn’t know if she wanted him to. "I think we need to go to bed now, Rose," was all he said. He immediately saw the hurt in her eyes, and knew that she did want him to kiss her. Just as Jack was about to lean in to kiss Rose, he changed his mind, not wanting to take advantage of her emotional state.

She doesn’t want to kiss you because she’s upset.

His heart was telling him that, but his mind wouldn’t listen. So he stood up, picking Rose up out of his lap. He laid her in her bed, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead before going to his bed. This small gesture filled Rose with hope for a relationship with Jack. She didn’t know why he didn’t kiss her before when he had the chance, but was sure he had a good reason.

Rose fell asleep, still happy from the small kiss on the forehead Jack had given her.

*****

Rose woke up the next morning around eleven, and looked at Jack to find him watching her sleep. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Just watching you sleep. I didn’t want to wake you up, and you just look so beautiful in your sleep."

"How long have you been up?" Rose was interested in knowing just how long he had been watching her.

"Only about ten minutes. Are you feeling any better? You were pretty upset earlier."

"Yeah, I’m okay now. Thanks for helping me out."

"You’re welcome. You should call Lacey, let her know you’re all right. That I didn’t kidnap you." Jack and Rose both laughed at that.

Rose called Lacey, who was upset about Rose not calling the night before, but she understood, just like Jack said she would. Rose was very thankful Lacey hadn’t called Ruth and told her about the Miami trip with the mysterious Jack. Rose and Lacey talked for a while longer, then Rose went to take a shower.

Later that day, Jack and Rose were back on the road driving back to Orlando. This time they talked the whole time, without any awkward silences.

"Jack, do you want to come to dinner at my house sometime? We could go out afterward. Just my mom doesn’t like me going anywhere with people she doesn’t know."

"That’s cool. When do you want me to come?"

"I was thinking Wednesday night, maybe?"

"Sure. That works. What time should I come over?"

"Come at five. That’ll give us some time to hang out before dinner, and maybe start a movie then finish it after we eat. How does that sound to you?"

"Sounds good. Have any good movies?"

"Um, let me think. I just got Two Weeks Notice. I haven’t watched it yet. Do you wanna watch that?"

"I heard that’s good. We can watch that."

"Great! I just love Sandra Bullock movies. She’s such a good actress. Miss Congeniality is one of my favorites."

"Yeah. That’s a funny one. So, are you doing anything tonight? I know your mom thinks you’ll still be with Lacey."

"Well, I don’t have anything planned...yet."

"I was thinking maybe we could do something. Like a movie."

"Sure. I’d like that. What do you want to see?"

"How about the new X-Men movie? Do you like that kind of stuff?"

"Oh, yeah. That sounds great. I wanted to see it last weekend, but you know I was still with Cal then, and he hates going to the movies. All he ever wants to do is go out to fancy restaurants and flaunt all that money he has. Honestly, I think that was the only reason my mom liked him, because he has money. I haven’t told her I broke up with him yet. If I had she would just yell at me and tell me to give him another chance. I wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow forced me back into the relationship."

"I don’t think anyone could force you to do anything. You seem very strong-willed to me."

"Yeah, I guess I am. With everyone but my mother."

"Well, you’ll have to tell her sooner or later. Why not call her when you get to Lacey’s house? That way she’ll have some time to cool off before you see her."

"That’s a good idea. I would have never thought of doing that."

*****

When they got back to Orlando, Jack dropped Rose off at Lacey’s house. Jack said he would call around five about the movie. Rose called Ruth and told her about breaking up with Cal.

"Rose, what were you thinking? You must call him and apologize. Now!"

"Mom, I don’t feel like having this conversation with you right now. I’ll talk to you when I get home."

"No, Rose, we’ll talk now."

"Why is it that you like Cal so much anyway, Mom? He’s a jerk."

"Maybe he is a jerk, but if you stay with him you will have financial security for the rest of your life. Do you realize how important that is?"

"Mom, it’s the twenty-first century. People don’t date or marry other people for money anymore. We can talk when I get home tomorrow. Bye."

Rose hung up the phone, not wanting to listen to her mother’s complaining anymore. She and Lacey decided to go to the mall and get Rose a new outfit for her date with Jack that night. Rose did feel a little guilty about not hanging out with Lacey on her last weekend in Orlando, but Lacey assured her it was okay.

Later That Night

Rose was sitting on Lacey’s couch, waiting for Jack to pick her up. She heard the doorbell ring, jumped up, and practically ran to the door.

Calm down, Rose.

Rose didn’t know why she was so nervous. She had just spent the night before with him in a different city. Maybe it was because this time it was an official date. Rose opened the door to see Jack on the other side with a dozen roses for her.

Chapter Three
Stories