JASMINE
Chapter Eighteen

Jack Paints Rose
Rated R for Content

It was late in the afternoon, and Rose had summoned Jack to come to her room with her. Rose sighed, in grief and disappointment, as she told Jack, "Don't worry. Cal won't be here for a while. he's always downstairs talking politics with the other men until the brandy and the cigars run out!" She rolled her eyes up in frustration as she said this. Then, she assumed a scandalous gleam in her eyes, and she produced a beautiful blue velvet box. She carefully opened the box for Jack, and Jack gasped, because she was holding the Hope diamond necklace that he had seen her wear earlier!

Jack said, "Gee, it looks nice!" Personally, he was quite enthralled by the necklace, because though he swore it had supernatural powers, and though he swore that its prime aim was to possess anyone who looked at it, he was still captivated by its sheer beauty and inner charm!

It was then that Rose assumed a scandalous gleam in her eyes and a scandalous tone of mischief in her voice, as she said, "Jack, I've seen your paintings before, and I know you're a good painter, but how about painting a portrait of me, lying down on the bed wearing nothing but this?" It was then that she shook the necklace in front of Jack's face, to indicate to him that she wished him to paint her wearing the necklace.

Jack's voice reflected the shock that he was feeling, as he said, "No, Rose. I couldn’t do that!"

Rose looked at Jack with innocence, and her voice reflected an innocent tone as she said, "Why not? It'd be fun!"

Jack relented, and he said, "All right."

Well, it was then that Rose got undressed, and she clasped the necklace on her neck. She then lay down on the bed, and looked at Jack with a sexy and come hither look in her eyes. Jack had posed an easel, which he had managed to grab from one of the other rooms while Rose was changing, and he had his painting supplies, which he had hastily grabbed from his bunk bed. Jack proceeded to prepare the sketch, and then he proceeded to paint Rose.

Jack had never painted anyone naked before, much less a woman! But Jack became captivated by Rose's sheer sexuality, sensuality, and beauty as he began to capture her contours and the hues of her skin color, and the different aspects of her body, and the hues of her hair color on canvas. It dawned on Jack that Rose had hidden beauty, and her body reminded him of the paintings of Minerva, and of other very beautiful women who had been associated with mythology. While he was painting Rose, he was reminded of a very delicate nymph, something that was so tantalizing, and teasing, and so beautiful, and sexy, it seemed to be almost dreamlike. It seemed to be so near to your grasp, until you got so close-up to it you swore you could touch it, but then something happened, and as quickly and closely as it had come to you, it disappeared, leaving you with nothing but sweet memories, and an emotional experience that felt like an orgasm. Jack shook his head, smiling as he did so. Boy, he would never forget this experience as long as he lived!

Rose felt as though she was free and she was floating on air. She felt as though she was finally liberated from the entrapments of the upper class. She could feel her beauty exuding from the pores of her body. She felt as though she was one of the women who used to pose naked for statues and sculptures in the ancient world. She felt that she was feeling an experience that few women in her class had the guts to experience, and it was totally opening her mind, in terms of worldview.

Jack finished, and he said, "Here's the painting. How do you like it?"

Rose got up from the bed, and she looked at the picture. She was taken aback by it. She gasped. "Why, Jack, you're a natural Da Vinci…I love it. It's beautiful!" Then she giggled to herself, and she kissed him on the cheek.

Jack smiled in approval, and he could feel the center part of his left cheek glowing with warmth, which was where Rose had kissed him. Rose went back to her room to change, but Jack asked her, "Where do you want me to put the picture? I take it your fiancé would have a fit if he saw it."

Rose responded, "Hang it in the little closet on the wall."

"Okay…" Jack said, his voice trailing. He opened the velvet covered door to the closet, and he put the picture in the closet so that the back of the painting faced the back of the wall.

Rose came out, wearing a plain, long dress with a white background and multi-colored flowers on it. Jack noticed that the dress was made out of synthetic satin, instead of real satin. "What now?" Jack asked.

"Follow me," said Rose. Jack held Rose's hand and followed her until they had reached an obscure part of the ship. It was then, to Jack's confusion, that the two of them had piled up in the front seat of a Renault.

Rose could see the confusion on Jack's face as he said, "So, what do we do here?"

It was then that Rose leaned her lips in towards Jack’s, and she proceeded to kiss Jack on the lips. Jack took the cues. Rose then said, "Put your hand here," and she moved Jack's right hand on her left breast. Well, it wasn't long before the two of them were having sex.

Well, the two of them may have been star-struck lovers. However, Cal's two spies were lurking around the obscure part of the ship where Rose and Jack were. Had it not been for Rose's sweaty hand, which was pressed against a mirror, they would never have suspected that Jack and Rose were copulating. They cried out, "Get them!" It was then that Jack and Rose sprung up, and Rose grabbed her dress and put it on as fast as she could. The spies played a game of cat chases mice when it came to catching Jack and Rose. However, Jack and Rose were somehow able to miss the gaze of the men.

Jack and Rose made it up to the front of the ship, where they could see the ship approaching an iceberg at an odd angle. Rose became afraid, and she told the captain, "If I didn't know any better, I would swear that the ship was going to hit the iceberg."

The captain said, "Shut up, stupid lady. I know what I am doing." Well, a few minutes later, all on the front deck heard a colossal grinding noise, which sounded as though the iceberg was cutting into the side of the ship, cutting into metal in the process. It was then that the captain looked at Rose with a devastated look in his eyes.

Rose said, "I know it. I can see it in your eyes. It's an iceberg. It's hit the side of the Titanic. Right?" Rose was crying out in panic as she said this. The captain slowly nodded in shame and shock. Rose said to Jack, "We've got to tell Cal!" Jack gulped. He didn't much care for Cal, and the last thing he wanted to do was confront that bastard! He would rather forget about the guy, and escape with Rose. However, he could see from the look in Rose's eyes that Rose wasn't going to take no for an answer, so he relented.

Meanwhile, the spies had shown him the picture of Rose lying naked on the bed to Cal, and boy was Cal seeing red! It was just then that Rose and Jack walked into the room. And as they did so, one of the spies dropped the Hope Diamond necklace into Jack's coat pocket. "Well, well," Cal replied, with a look of anger in his eyes. "What have we here?"

Jack felt nervous, because he didn't want to confront Cal about anything, and he felt that Rose was entering into a lion's den by confronting Cal. Jack gulped nervously. However, Rose told Cal, "The Titanic has run into an iceberg. It's only a matter of time before it sinks. You'd best escape." Rose told this to Cal in a matter-of-fact way, instead of the meek and docile way that he had expected. Rose was treating Cal as an equal, instead of an unequivocal master, and Cal could not take this. Cal simply slapped Rose across the face so hard she almost fell backwards. This gesture made Jack's face burn with anger. He could feel his cheeks turn red. From his standpoint, Rose may have been Cal's fiancé, but that gave Cal no right to treat Rose like trash!

Rose continued, "Jack and I are going alone. You'd better escape solo." Well, this was the straw that broke the camel's back for Cal, so to speak. He couldn't take what was happening, and from his standpoint, there was no way his woman was going to escape with another man! Cal roared in anger, and suddenly, Jack and Rose were shocked to see that Cal's eyes became possessed with a look of anger and evil. He grabbed a gun, which was laying on the dresser drawer, and aimed it at Jack. He then squeezed the trigger.

Jack looked quite nervous, and Rose shot Jack a nervous look from the corner of her eye, as she said, "Come on, Jack. Let's run!" The two of them played a game of cat and mouse as they escaped the bullets that were being fired from Cal's gun. In this game, they were the mice, and Cal was the cat, intent on killing them both, and especially Jack. Cal was a good shooter, and it was simply Jack's ability to run, and outmaneuver Cal which was saving him from getting hit. However, as they were running from Cal, both of them were flooded with a rush of emotions. Both of them were afraid that they might not live. However, at the same time, both of them were feeling a sense of relief that they were escaping from tyranny, which represented Cal and the Titanic. Both of them were thinking, My God. The sinking of the Titanic represents a chance for both of us to escape our present dreary lots, and to start life over anew. Well, that experience for them caused their lives to flash right before their eyes, so to speak.

Eventually, Cal's gun ran out of bullets, and then Jack and Rose realized they were alone. They were in the ballroom on the second deck. However, when both of them saw the water furiously rushing up right below them, they realized they didn't have a moment to lose. Jack said, with a sense of urgency in his voice, "Come on. We have to move!"

However, Rose felt a sense of pain and emptiness in her heart that Jasmine was not with her at this moment. Rose said, "Jack…what about Jasmine?"

Jack noticed that Rose's words pierced his soul. Jack looked at Rose in a matter-of-fact way, and he said, "Don't worry about Jasmine right now. She knows how to take care of herself. Worry about saving yourself and me!"

Jack looked at the water that was rushing up towards them, and he thought to himself, Boy, we may have gotten rid of one worry, Cal, but now, we have a bigger worry on our hands!

Jack had been right. He and Rose should be concerned about saving their own lives. Much to their surprise, Jack and Rose would meet Jasmine when they had managed to escape from the ship, and all would find liberation in their own ways.

Chapter Nineteen
Stories