SWEET INNOCENCE
Chapter Four

That same day Jack invited her to stay over, he already had plans for them. He would cook a decent dinner and then he would propose to her. He had gotten a ring from Daniel Burke Jewelers. It was funny, because he had just passed by when he was shopping for groceries. He didn’t expect to be shopping for a ring until the last minute.

Rose had told her mom that she would be staying with him for the weekend. She had told her mother the truth. It was weird, because Ruth had actually let Rose stay with him.

Jack was actually nervous. He had not known her ring size, and he was hoping to God it fit.

He had worked all day getting the house ready, and as it turned out, his father had had to cancel his flight to help him paint the house. Therefore, he would be alone with her, all alone, which fit his taste very much. When he was done fixing up the place and making dinner, he called her.

"Rose speaking," she said, as if she didn’t know who was calling her.

"Hey, sweetpea," he said.

"Hi, Jack." She smiled when he called her sweetpea. No one called her that except her dad.

"You done packing?" He fiddled with his car keys.

"Yeah. I am." Rose had just put the last item into the suitcase.

"All right. I am gonna pick you up now." He hung up the telephone and went out the door.

When he reached Rose’s house, he got out and walked up to the door.

Ruth answered.

"Hello, Jack." She smiled.

"Hello, Ruth." He smiled back. "Ruth, can I talk to you before Rose comes down?" Jack walked past Ruth and went over to the couch.

"Sure, Jack. Have a seat." She followed him.

"Mrs. Bukater, I wanna say that I am really happy that you trust me with your daughter. However, what I came to ask you is that…well…can I have your okay?" He knew that had sounded very weird because he was nervous.

"Okay on what?" she asked.

"I am asking for your daughter’s hand." He finally felt more relaxed.

Ruth smiled at him. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Gosh, Jack. Of course you may. However, may I ask what you are going to do to support her?" Ruth always had to ask about money. She was rich and loved social status.

"Well, since I am graduating next year, I thought that I would go into the family business. My dad sells real estate, and I was thinking about going into that field," Jack said quickly.

"I see. Well, Jack, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. So therefore, you may have my daughter’s hand." She figured that she would give him a break and try him out.

"Thank you, Ruth. I appreciate it." Jack smiled and shook her hand.

"You’re welcome, Jack." Ruth shook his hand.

Rose had appeared with her luggage.

"Ah…Rose, darling. You and Jack have a good time, okay?" Her mother’s eyes were teary.

"All right, Mom." Rose looked at Jack very weirdly.

"Oh, Rose. Let me help you with those." Jack grabbed the suitcases from her.

Rose opened the door.

When he put the luggage in the trunk and they were on the road, Rose questioned him.

"Jack, just what did you say to my mom?" Rose asked.

"I asked her if I could marry you," he told her.

"What did she say?" Rose was very curious about this question.

"She asked how I was gonna support you." He looked over at her legs.

"And?" Rose knew he was, but had to ask if there was any more her mother had said.

"I told her I was gonna go into the family business." Jack turned the car, leading into the freeway.

"Ah…and are you?" she asked him.

"I don’t know, Rose. Maybe." He was not quite sure what we was going to be after he graduated.

She sat back during the rest of the ride, quiet as a church mouse.

When they reached his house, Rose smelled a delicious scent.

"What is that smell, Jack?" She felt like she had reached the stars.

"Why? Is it awful?" His attempt at making dinner--was it that awful?

"No. It smells delicious." Rose sniffed the aroma starving for food.

"Thank you. It was my attempt at making you dinner. I had just finished cooking when I called you." He placed his car keys on the desk.

"Oh, I can’t wait." Rose’s stomach growled.

He settled Rose’s luggage in his bedroom. He wondered what she had brought. The suitcases were quite heavy.

"Have a seat, Rose." He pulled up a chair. She sat.

He brought the Italian cuisine close to her, and brought biscuits and other stuff, and although he wanted to be romantic, he just couldn’t have wine for dinner, so he gave her a soda instead.

Rose served herself and him. Instead of waiting for him, she dug into her plate.

"Gosh, Rose. You must be starving," he said as she put a large amount of noodles into her mouth.

She swallowed the noodles in her mouth. "I am. I have been gathering stuff and I haven’t eaten."

"Do you like it?" He was unsure if she did, because he never really cooked for anyone but himself.

"Yes. It’s good," she said between chews.

He looked at her and dug in, too.

When dinner was over, they sat and watched a movie, Romeo and Juliet.

Rose watched it. It was hard to understand Shakespeare, but she had gotten used to it and could tell the story by the actors’ reactions.

"Gosh, Jack, don’t you think Leonardo DiCaprio is handsome? You sure you two aren’t brothers?" Rose had been infatuated with Leo. She had watched most of his movies.

"No. Why?" Jack liked Leo. He was a good actor.

"Just asking." She smiled.

Jack kicked back and enjoyed the movie. He thought Claire Danes was pretty hot, but not compared to his Rose.

When the ending came, Rose cried.

"My Juliet, what is wrong?" he asked.

"I just hate that part. They didn’t have to die. Where’s the person that comes from the future and takes them away to paradise?" Rose had always wanted an alternative scenario for Romeo and Juliet.

"I guess Shakespeare didn’t write that part," he joked.

"I guess not, huh?" She laughed.

The credits rolled and Jack got up to turn it off.

"All right, Rose. Now comes truth or dare," he said.

"Oh, I love that." She put her hands together, rubbing them. She felt cold.

"You go first," he told her.

"All right. I choose truth. Is it true that you love nobody but me in this whole wide world?" She had to ask, even though she knew the answer.

"It is true, my Rosie." He loved her body and soul.

"All right, Jack. Now you," she said.

"Okay. I choose dare, Rose." He loved dare. "I dare you to reach inside my right pocket," he said, making her turn red.

"That’s easy," she said, wondering if this was a sexual intent.

She got close to him and reached inside his pocket. She felt a little box.

She took it out and looked at him, pondering what exactly it was. She opened it, and inside was a diamond ring with a gold band.

"Oh gosh, Jack. It’s beautiful." Her eyes glittered.

"Here. Let me." He slipped it on her finger.

She tried not to smile so much, but she did anyway. The inscription read I love thee, just like Romeo and Juliet’s ring.

"Thank you." She kissed his lips.

He was glad it fit.

"If you want, you could exchange it." He looked into her eyes.

"Not on your life, Jack Dawson." She kissed him again.

He was happy that she was satisfied with the ring. The next few days were like heaven to Jack. On Sunday, they made love, then went out for a walk on the beach and ended up making love again. They had made love so much that Rose fell asleep for almost the entire day.

On Monday morning, Jack woke up Rose.

"Honey, it’s time to wake up." He shook her shoulders.

She groaned and opened her eyes. She remembered that the last time they had made love, she had fallen asleep naked.

She got up and opened her suitcase. Inside were things they had never gotten to. Rose shifted her things around and found her school clothes. When she found what she was going to wear, she went into the bathroom and took a shower. Fifteen minutes later, she came out wearing her nice white skirt and a pink blouse.

By 7:30, they were out the door and on their way to school.

Rose was tired but feeling good. She got out of the car with her engagement ring shining.

Rose walked up to Cara.

"Hey, Rose. Gosh, you look like hell. What did Jack do to you?" Cara joked.

"You mean, what didn’t he do to me?" Rose smiled. "Cara, look." She showed her the ring.

"Is that what I think it is?" Cara eyes glittered, too.

"Sure is, Cara." Rose smiled big time.

"Oh, Rose. Congrats." She hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Cara." She hugged her back.

"So, when’s the date?" Cara asked.

"Actually, we haven’t set it yet. Too busy celebrating, if you know what I mean." Rose winked.

Cara smiled at her, knowing all to well what it had meant.

Rose followed Cara to first period. When they got inside, everyone questioned Rose about Jack.

"So, Rose, how does it feel to be with the most popular guy in school?" Ellen asked.

"What do you mean?" Rose had not known that Jack was popular because he fought for her honor.

"Jack is popular now for beating up Caledon," Mary Ellen said.

Rose felt so good that she was now with someone she could look up to and love. His being popular had nothing to do with her love for him.

On that comment, the bell rang.

Jack came down the hall, talking to another girl.

"So, Jack, will you be able to give me that interview?" Mary asked.

"When and what time?" he asked the school reporter.

"Um…tomorrow after first period," she said, winking at him, unsure if she caught his eye.

"All right," he said, looking at her as if he didn’t know what she had wanted.

Rose was starting to worry that Jack had already gotten tired of her.

"Hey, Rose." He kissed her.

"Jack, who were you talking to?" she asked.

"Why, Rose? Jealous?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, actually." He had hurt her feelings.

"Sorry, Rose. That was the school reporter. She wants to interview me tomorrow." He put his arm around her.

"Cool. Did you know you’re the most popular guy in school?" Rose asked, hugging him back.

"No, I didn’t." He kissed her forehead.

The bell rang.

"Come on, Juliet." He took her by the hand.

In drama class, Caledon sat with another girl, talking about the play. He wanted to play the fiancé that danced with Rose, Paris.

"Sure, Cal. I will ask Ms. Summers about it," Gina said.

The girl went to ask the teacher. Sure enough, the position was available.

"Rose, time for the dance scene with Paris," Ms. Summers called.

"All right." She got up.

Rose went onto the stage. Cal was standing there.

"May I have this dance?" He extended his hand.

"Okay." She looked at the chair where Jack was and shrugged her shoulders.

When Cal got her hand, he noticed the ring. He knew by then that Jack was serious about Rose, that it was a damned engagement ring and worth money.

They danced. Jack got insanely jealous when he noticed that it was Cal that was playing Paris.

He brushed it off, saying that it was for school and he would have her for life.

When Rose came back to sit back with him, he took her hand and brought it to his lips.

Jack wanted Rose again. He left class with her, went into the school restroom, and locked the door.

"Here. Now. Please, Rosie?" he asked urgently.

"You sure, Jack? It’s kind of risky." Rose knew what he wanted.

"I will be fast. All right?" he asked her.

"Okay." She would never deny her man what he wanted, ever. That she had vowed.

She hitched up her skirt. He unbuckled his pants and was inside her almost immediately.

He thrust into her like a wild man, groaning as he did so. Rose held onto him as he lifted her up.

She kissed his lips, moaning as well.

Ten minutes later, they had both received their pleasure. Rose smoothed down her skirt. Jack adjusted his pants.

When they opened the door, a teacher was waiting for them.

"Jack, Rose, follow me," Ms. Summers called.

She had seen them leave early and wondered what went on. So she followed them, leaving Cal in charge of the class.

Ms. Summers took them to a section of the class out of the way of wondering ears.

"Jack, Rose, that behavior is not tolerated at Harrison. Having intimate contact should be done in the privacy of your own home," she scolded them.

"I understand, Ms. Summers. I think we let the better part of our feelings get to us," Jack said.

"So, Jack, Rose, not to pry into your life, but are you two using protection?" she asked.

They both looked guilty.

"No," they both said.

"I hope you two are considering pregnancy." She stared at them.

"If Rose does get pregnant, Ms. Summers, it’s all right. I would love to be a daddy. After all, we are engaged."

Jack showed the ring to Ms. Summers.

"All right. I hope you two know what you’re doing," she warned them.

"I think we do, Ms. Summers. I promise not to let that happen ever again," Rose said.

Cal almost laughed that they got in trouble. If he only knew for what.

They sat down for five minutes, talking.

"You serious, Jack? If I got pregnant, you wouldn’t be afraid?" Rose looked into his eyes, looking for the truth.

"No, Rose. It’s mine. It’s not like it’s someone else’s," he told her.

"All right. Thank God. Jack, I love you." She hugged him.

"Love you, too, Rosie." He kissed her.

Three days later, Rose noticed that she was late.

She started to panic. She took a pregnancy test during first period. It came out positive.

"Oh, Jack, what have we done?" She stayed in the restroom the best part of the day, crying.

Jack had searched for Rose everywhere. He had even asked Cara. She had told him that she had left during first to go to the restroom.

He went inside the girl’s restroom, not giving a care.

He found her in the restroom they had gotten caught in.

"Rose? Are you okay?" He knocked on the door.

She opened the door. Her eyes were red.

"Jack?" She clung to him.

He picked her up and decided to take her home.

Everyone saw him carry her to his car.

She was afraid, but she knew by the way they were going that this would happen.

When they got home, Rose confessed.

"Jack, I’m pregnant," she said in a shaky voice.

"You sure?" Jack asked, unable to believe it.

"Yes. I took a pregnancy test during first period. It was positive, Jack. What are we gonna do with a baby?" she asked.

"Don’t worry, Rose. We’ll handle it." He brought her close to his chest.

Chapter Five
Stories