After she slapped him, Jack and Rose just stood there, staring at each other. Jack's nose was still spilling blood, and the left side of his face was red from Rose slapping it.
"Would you like to tell me what happened?" Rose asked him, breaking the silence. Jack still stood there, staring at her, breathing heavily, his anger receding. He sighed and walked away. Rose followed him and wrapped her arm around him. "Please?"
"Nothing happened, Rose!" Jack said finally, anger still in his voice.
"That sure as hell didn't look like nothing!" Rose snapped.
"And that something sure as hell isn't any of your damned business!" Jack snapped through gritted teeth. He stormed away again. Rose still followed him, though she was slightly afraid of him. She stayed several feet behind him.
*****
Jack sat in a navy blue armchair in their room. Rose sat at the vanity, brushing her hair. Neither of them spoke. She looked at her reflection, and at Jack's in the mirror. He was thinking, she didn't know what about, but he was thinking. His nose was no longer bleeding, but he still had the bloody cloth in his right hand. His left was scratching his chin. Rose set the brush down and sighed.
"You really want to know what happened back there?" Jack asked her.
Rose turned around. "If it's none of my business, I don't have to know," she said. She turned back to the mirror.
"Actually, it is your business," he said to her.
"But you said…" Rose began to say.
"I know what I said!" Jack said, cutting her off. Rose frowned a bit, noting the annoyance in his voice. "But whatever is my business is your business." He got up and walked over to her. He stroked her face gently with his finger. "Because if you jump, I jump." Rose looked down at her hands in her lap as Jack continued to stroke her face.
"All right. Fine. Tell me, then," she said quietly.
"The other man that was fighting with me and Martin was named Patrick Johnston. The man we were all fighting was named Joe Jackson. We were all talking about the women we love. Martin started talking about Lynette's decorating, Patrick started talking about his sweetheart, Jessica's, dream to explore the world, and I started talking about you and your dream of acting. But Joe started bragging about how his fiancée, Kathryn, was a twenty-three-year-old blonde model who was in love with him and only him. He said that no woman was as beautiful as she was. Martin, Patrick, and I retaliated, telling him that our women were just as beautiful—even more so in my case," Jack explained. This made Rose smile. "Then he stood up and punched me in the face, which probably caused the bleeding."
"Oh, Jack!" Rose gasped, her hand up on his cheek almost instantly.
"It's fine. Anyway, it knocked me down for a minute, so Martin and Patrick started attacking Joe. I got up and punched him in the face when I heard you calling me. I was so angry because…Rose, no woman is more beautiful, more talented, or smarter than you. You're the greatest girl in the world, and it'd take an idiot not to realize that. Which is pretty much the whole world. But you're my Rose, and I'll die for you if I need to," Jack told her. Rose felt tears stinging her eyes as she jumped up from the chair and into his strong, loving arms. Jack kissed her head. "You're the only woman for me, Rose. I'm sorry I got mad at you."
"And I'm sorry I had to slap you," whispered Rose.
Jack laughed. "That hurt, by the way!" he exclaimed.
Rose laughed. "I love you, Jack. More than anyone in the world," she whispered.
"I love you, too, Rose. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Jack whispered.
They shared a kiss before going to bed.