Maggie-

I wake up to the sun blinding me as it streams in through the large bedroom windows. I stretch out in bed, feeling the soft silk sheets sliding around underneath me.

I must have fallen asleep in the car because I don't remember the ride home or the walk up to the apartment. Jack must have carried me all the way here.

"I canceled work for both of us today." Jackson says from the doorway, I didn't even realize he was watching me wake up.

"What- What do you mean? It's my second day back Jack, I can't just call in sick." I complain and sit up suddenly, causing my brain to feel like it's sliding around in my skull. I succumb to the pain and lie back down to stare at the ceiling.

"I talked with Christian and told him I'm taking you out today.  Don't worry I've got a bloody brilliant idea." He says with a cheeky grin.

I start to protest but he continues. "You need time out to get your mind off of everything, and booze is not the answer." He lectures and I groan in protest.

Getting special treatment for dating Jackson is the very thing I wanted to avoid. I want to earn my place in Red-Wolf Publishing and playing hooky with my boyfriend certainly won't get me there.

I try to move but instantly feel more pressure rush to my head. It feels as if when I move my brain is loosely sliding back and forth in my skull. I rub my temples and lay back down, remembering the state I'm in.

"Didn't you drink last night also?" I ask, but before he can answer I try to picture him ever drinking alcohol and my mind draws a blank.

"No, I don't really drink anymore." He answers but before I can ask why he speaks again.  "Last night was a mistake. I'm taking you on a date today." He says through a sly grin.

"You don't date." I groan and roll over while pulling a pillow up over my head.

"I didn't date before you." He corrects me then walks over to my side of the bed. "There's ibuprofen, Coke, and Pepto on the nightstand. Drink up, then take a shower and get dressed."

"You drink Coke for a hangover?" I ask curiously.

"That combination right there is the key to surviving a hangover, Love."  He says pointing to the nightstand beside me.  "The caffeine heightens your energy, the bubbles calm your stomach and the sugar gives you reprieve from the state of absolute hell you're in now. Usually, I recommend a quick nap but we don't have the time."

"So you've cooked up the perfect hangover cure huh? Sounds pretty solid, but also strange coming from someone who doesn't drink." I mock, although the mere mention of coke right now makes me thirsty as if I'm craving sugar.

"I said I don't drink anymore, not that I never did." He counters and I immediately wonder if he's had problems with alcohol abuse but I decide that's a question for another time.

"Alright, I'll get up." I say reluctantly and grab the ibuprofen to drink down with a coke.

"Bang on, get dressed and meet me in the living room soon. Oh and be sure to wear your boosts." He adds before starting back towards the door.

I groan once again, knowing if he wants me to wear sneakers that it means we're going somewhere active.

After showing up for our date on Lookout Mountain wearing flats, he bought me Adidas Ultraboosts. I was originally against him buying me such an expensive pair of shoes but they were so comfortable I couldn't force myself to give them back.

I slip out of bed and wearily make my way to his master bathroom. I'm startled when my bare feet touch the cold tile that lines the floor so I jump back onto the carpet. I've heard of other states having heated floors which sounds amazing, but hardly realistic for Phoenix considering it's deathly hot ninety percent of the year.

I build my courage up enough to brave the cold floor and quickly walk through the bathroom on my tiptoes then carefully dial on the shower. I wait until the room heats up with steam before I'm almost positive the water is nice and hot, but I stick my toe in to test the temperature anyway.

Jack always infiltrates a shower as if he needs to prove his toughness to the world. Boldly never checking the temperature before jumping in.  He deals with whatever he's given, which is also why I can always hear him cursing throughout the entire house when he first gets wet.

The hot water calms the nauseous feeling in my stomach and relaxes the tense muscles in my shoulders. I decide to sit in the shower because although I feel an immediate release from the warmth, I'm still feeling slightly drunk.

I close my eyes and lean my head back into the thousand drops of water, letting it darken my hair and swallow me in comfort like a heated blanket.

I can't believe I drunk myself into a coma yesterday, I don't remember anything after getting into Jackson's car.

My mind slowly begins to function and memories of last night start reappearing. I try to bury my face in my knees as I'm reminded of my actions on the dance floor and the way I treated Jack. Instead of being a mature adult by walking to Jackson and draping my arm around his waist as I would in a traditional greeting, I immediately placed him on the side of my enemy.

I saw Julie and instantly thought Jack was betraying me.  It's a public bar, she has every right to be there and I know he wouldn't have purposely invited her.

The sight of Julie brought up memories of the old Jackson, the Jackson that originally treated me as a game he could win. The man who no matter how many times it knocked on his door, denied the fact that love was real and believed no one in their right mind could ever give a shit about him.

I believe that since he thought wholeheartedly no one would ever be able to have genuine feelings for him, is the reason he acted so cruelly to women in the past.

Jackson was the epitome of a womanizer. He would so effortlessly get anything he wanted from a woman, even with straight out warning her he had no intentions of their relations going any further than sex.

It blows my mind that anyone would agree to hook up with him after he was so blatant, yet they did. Women threw themselves at him, he became more of a challenge and apparently it made him much more appealing. My thoughts wander to Julie and I mentally correct myself, he still has women throwing themselves at him.

I've lost track of the time I've been practically drowning in the shower and realize my fingers and toes are pruning. It feels so much better in here shut in the shower than it would feel to face the world, so I decide on five more minutes.

I don't notice Jack poking his head in the bathroom until he speaks to me and makes me jump.

"Are you just going to stay in there all day or what? We've got shit to do today." He shouts through the sound of the blasting water.

Although he originally startled me, I quickly compose myself and sit up straighter in the shower.

"I don't know if you join me I think I'd love to stay in here all day." I say in the most sensual tone I can muster. Something about me always has a hard time being sexy, in my head I'm still the clumsy girl with wobbly knees and a goofball personality.

He doesn't seem to fall for my bait despite the fact I watch his eyes journey slowly down my slick body.

"Nice try, but we have a schedule to keep." He says as he reluctantly brings his eyes back to mine. 

After a few moments observing the scene before him, he tears himself away and walks out the door. I get the feeling if he hadn't made plans he'd have been in this water tangled up with me in less than a second.

After showering, I dry my hair and curl the ends then apply a light coat of makeup, doubling up on the mascara of course. Then swiftly dress in a short black summer dress and my black Adidas. The combination might be strange but the dress is so comfortable and honestly, pants always feel so restricting.

I give myself a quick glance in the mirror and with a satisfied grin, meet Jack in the living room. He's sprawled out on the black leather couch looking bored as ever waiting for me.

"That only took you a year, I think maybe we should just stay home." He groans in a teasing manner.

"Oh no, you don't. You just forced me from my hangover coma and had me get dressed. You're definitely taking me somewhere to show me off now." I say, placing my hands on my hips for extra emphasis.

His eyes slowly rake over my body and a few butterflies are let loose. I don't think I'll ever get used to the sensations he so easily puts me through.

After a twenty-minute drive, we arrive in front of a large warehouse and I scrunch my brows together, trying to decide where the heck he just brought me. Jack gets out of the car and walks around to open my door.

"Charming." I say as I give a thank you nod. "Where are we?"

Then I see the sign. "Great Skate? You brought me to a roller skating rink?" At first, I'm shocked as I examine his face and see a serious stony look take over, but then I can't stop myself from letting out an obnoxious belly laugh.

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it." He says as he wraps his hand around my waist prompting me forward.

"Oh I've tried it, they used to take us here in the first grade. I would always fall when they put the disco lights on because I got too dizzy." I laugh.

"Your sense of balance certainly hasn't improved since then I see." He laughs and the melodic sound makes my heart swell. His face is always brooding and while it's incredibly sexy, I love when it lights up with a smile.

We enter Great Skate and it's exactly how I remembered it. The floors and walls are old and dingy like they haven't been updated since skating was popular in the seventies. The walls are lined with paintings of fireworks and the floors reflect the bright neon lighting.

"I feel like we just walked into the seventies." I can't seem to hide the smile on my face. "Why is it so deserted?"

"I've rented the whole place out, it's ours for the day." He says with a thoughtful look and my jaw drops.

"How much did that cost?" I gasp.

"Don't worry about it, come on let's go get our skates." He avoids my question and leads me to the empty desk.

"Are you sure we didn't just break in here? Where are the employees?" I'm slightly anxious that Jack may have just broken us in here as his master plan.  I honestly wouldn't put it past him.

"Quit being such a fucking worry wort and grab your size."  He says as he slides over the counter and grabs a size 12 rollerblade for himself.

I follow his lead and jump over the counter,  somewhat surprised I didn't fall to the floor and grab a pair of rollerblades. 

There was an option for skates as well, but I figure it's been at least twenty years since I've roller skated and slightly less time since I've rollerbladed.  I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I hope it's like riding a bike, something that your body never forgets.

I'm quickly proved wrong the second I try to stand in them and slide to the brightly colored carpet floor. Jack lets out another of his musical laughs and I internally admit I would fall a hundred times to hear that sound.

My body feels like a stick figure trying to balance on nubs and I'm unable to stand myself back up.  Jack lifts me up easily and sets me down on my two feet. I grip onto him for dear life and close my eyes trying to steady my breathing. I inhale a deep breath and the scent of mint and cologne fill my nostrils, my favorite smell.

"Come on Maggie, you can do this. Where's that wild woman from last night? She would have tackled this head-on." He mocks me then brings his lip ring between his teeth.

My knees buckle and I feel as if the sight might just have knocked me to the floor again if it weren't for him holding me upright.

I scrunch my brows together and take another deep breath before I push myself away from him and glide to the nearest half-wall. I can do this on my own, well on my own with this wall. I don't need Jack to keep me upright.

"I'm only holding onto this wall to keep you from being jealous of my mad skill. You'll see when we enter the rink just how this wild woman tackles the things she wants." I say with a wink and his bottom lip is right back between his teeth.

I look away before a nervous reaction can overtake me and start to glide towards the opening to the rink.