Jack Kursed (30 page)

"Yeah?"

"Erica...Miss Hernandez wants to come
over. Are you okay with that?"

"Is she gonna make me do school
stuff?"

"Nope."

"Okay. I like her."

Ten minutes later Jack was
moving chicken from the grill to a plate when there was a knock at
the front door. Tiffany came out of nowhere, streaking across the
house.

"I’ll get it!"

He barely caught a glimpse of the
beautiful teacher in her figure-hugging jeans and pink blouse.
Tiffany grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs.

"Follow me, Miss
Hernandez. I’ll show you my room!"

Erica managed to wave before
disappearing up the stairs. "See you soon."

In another ten minutes
Jack had three plates loaded with food. He set them out on the
breakfast bar, listening to the female conversation in the
basement, the last stop on the tour.

"Children," he called downstairs.
"Dinner."

Tiffany and Erica laughed
as they came upstairs. Tiffany washed her hands in the sink as
Erica admired the meal. She wore her hair in a ponytail, a new look
for her. It showed more of her face, and actually drew more
attention to her scar. She was gorgeous regardless.

"Wow," she said. "Do you cook like
this for all your guests?"

"Don’t flatter yourself. I
like to cook. This wasn’t for you."

"If I don’t flatter
myself, who will?"

"Please. I flatter you all
the time. And those jeans, they’re flattering you better than I
can."

She let out that smile of hers to
play. She was embarrassed, but also pleased.

"Jack cooks really good," Tiffany said
as she dried her hands.

"Well," he corrected once
again. "And that’s wrong, too. I cook awesome."

"Can I put on music while
we eat?" Tiffany asked. "I’ll put it on real quiet so we can still
talk."

"Yeah, but no Miley Cyrus."

"What’s wrong with Miley
Cyrus?" Erica asked.

Jack shot her a look.

"Just kidding," she added.

Tiffany did most of the
talking at dinner. Jack and Erica traded amused looks and laughed
at the child. He realized as they laughed and ate that he truly
enjoyed the company of these two mortal females. The thought still
unsettled him. Victoria made perfect sense when she said
friendships were good. But Jack knew he was simply terrible at
them.

After dinner Jack washed
dishes. Tiffany again ran laps around the living room, like a race
horse. He engaged in small talk with Erica as she sat at the bar.
They talked about school, Tiffany’s grades, he mentioned how lucky
her jeans were, which drew a roll of the eyes.

He was surprised when she
joined him at the sink, taking a dish from his hand and grabbing a
second sponge.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you. Is that
okay?"

"Uh, sure. Just not used to it, I
guess."

"All you have to do is
ask," she said with a smile. "That’s what friends are
for."

They washed dishes in
silence, their shoulders touching. Tiffany still ran around the
living room. She fell once, but got up and kept running.

"She really is amazing,"
Erica said. "Her grades keep going up. She’s made new friends in
school."

"I know. I’ve caught her
twice now talking on the phone when she should be
sleeping."

"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten her
an iPhone."

"Very funny. But yeah, she is rather
awesome."

"You're not so bad
yourself."

He laughed, assuming she
was joking. He met her eyes, only a foot away from his own, and saw
she was very serious.

"I know what happened to her," she
said. "I know she was abandoned, and the foster system took
shit-care of her. You really are a hero to her."

Jack felt his cheeks
turning red, which caught him by surprise. He stared at the dishes
to avoid eye contact.

"This is only temporary,
though. Tiffany knows. She deserves a real family. A mother,
father, a brother or something. I just wanted to give her a little
stability, that’s all."

"It doesn’t lessen what
you’ve done. I was so bitter after I found out I was...broken. I’d
see all these parents who barely wanted their own kids, and I could
never have any. You’ve taken this girl in, and she’s laughing and
smiling, having fun with life."

"That’s more her than
me."

She touched his chin and
lifted it gently, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"That’s not
true."

They said nothing, simply
staring at each other. Jack couldn’t look away even if he wanted
to. He was aware something was happening, but his thoughts were
swimming. The spell was broken when Tiffany stopped in the middle
of the living room, finally tired of running.

"What do we want to do? Go to a movie?
Watch a movie here? Play hide and seek?"

Jack laughed. "I'm all for a boring
night on the couch."

"I doubt any night with
you two is boring," Erica said.

"Can we have popcorn?" Tiffany asked
as she grabbed the remote. "Or ice cream?"

"You just ate a ton of
food. You’re still hungry?"

"No. But I will be later."

He pointed at the TV as an item on the
guide caught his attention.

"A Marx Brothers marathon. Leave that
on."

Tiffany wrinkled her nose. "Who are
they?"

Jack glanced at Erica as
they carried three drinks to the living room. "You don’t teach the
kids about the Marx Brothers?"

"We’re more concerned
about reading and writing, and a little math. You like the Marx
Brothers?"

"Of course. You
don’t?"

"I haven’t watched too
many of their movies."

"You should have seen them live. It
was like watching insane people running around on
stage."

"Considering you’re maybe
a year or so older than me, that would be a neat trick."

"I’m full of neat
tricks."

Tiffany sat in between
Jack and Erica. They watched half of Duck Soup before Tiffany
declared they should compromise, her new favorite word. She found a
Pixar movie as Jack feigned disinterest, although he had no problem
with Pixar. He winked at Erica as Tiffany shoved popcorn in her
mouth.

Jack was keenly aware of
the normalcy of the scene, but how odd it was for him. He was
enjoying a Friday night in front of the TV with a young girl and a
woman he didn’t plan on seeing only for a night. Erica laughed as
the movie played, not because of the humor, but because of
Tiffany’s animated reactions. Jack found himself laughing right
along with them as Tiffany grabbed his arm and tugged, asking if he
saw what she just did.

Tiffany was pressed
against Jack as another movie played. The child’s movements were
sluggish and slow. Erica shifted on the couch and covered a yawn
with her mouth. He looked at the clock to see it was nearly
midnight, typically a sleeping hour for mortals.

"Tiffany, are you tired-"

He trailed off when he saw
her sleeping, her head resting against his arm. Jack tried not to
smile, but couldn’t help it. He was tempted to wake her up simply
to see her grumpy face.

He expertly twisted away
from her and scooped her in his arms. She made some noise deep
within her dream and folded her arms. Erica smiled at him as he
carried Tiffany up the stairs. He gently set her in bed and tucked
her in, remembering to turn on her night-light.

Erica was searching for a movie to
watch when Jack walked down the stairs. She smiled at him as he
took his normal corner on the couch.

"I’ve seen a lot of little
shits teaching," she said. "But Tiffany’s adorable."

"Little shits," he said.
"I hope you don’t throw that term out in the middle of a
parent-teacher conference."

"Depends on the mood I’m
in."

Jack watched with surprise as Erica
slipped her sandals off and kicked her legs up on the
couch.

"Just get comfortable."

"I’m working on
it."

He assumed he would get the joy of her
feet inches from him. She apparently had other things in mind as
she scooted against him, her back against his shoulder. His body
stiffened at the unexpected touching.

"Don’t worry," she said,
sensing his discomfort. "I’m not gonna grab your joystick or
anything like that."

He laughed. The more time he spent
with her, the more he liked her.

His arm was pinned at his
side. His hand was dangerously close to her ass, and he curled his
fingers under his own leg to keep from accidentally touching her.
She twisted her head to look at him.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Not at all."

"Yeah, me neither."

She turned and grabbed his
shoulders, forcing him to sit more at an angle. Nestling her back
against him, she took his arm and wrapped it around her own
shoulders, just above her breasts. She let out a relaxed breath as
she settled her head against his chest.

"Now, I’m trusting you not
to grab my chest or anything."

He had to do something
with his hand, so he laid it on her shoulder gently. It was an
unusual view of a woman for him, one he could perhaps get used to.
Her hair wasn’t far from his nose. He enjoyed the scent of her
shampoo. She curled her legs slightly and turned away from the
TV.

"Damn. There goes my plan for putting
on porn," he joked.

"Knock yourself out. Just mute
it."

He laughed and switched to the Marx
Brothers marathon once again.

"I'm not making any moves," she said.
"Don't worry. But...this is nice."

Jack would often feel
anger at watching someone sleep. To watch a couple sleep together
was even worse, an intimate activity he could never participate in.
The last time he was asleep next to a woman ended with a witch
pouring a potion down his throat. Holding a woman in his arms only
reminded him he could never truly be with someone. He avoided
anything besides the one-night-stand.

But Erica was right. Acting as her
personal pillow was nice.

He discreetly inhaled her
scent once again, and narrowed his eyes. It had been a while since
he looked up the dictionary definition of cuddling, but he was
certain they were close to it. Erica even gripped his arm to pull
herself closer.

Her words said she
didn't get involved with her students' parents. Her actions were a
little more confusing. Was
cuddling
involved? They found each other attractive, that
much was certain. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he cared
for her. If she didn't have her rules, would there be the
possibility for more than simple snuggling on the
couch?

Jack crashed back to
reality as Harpo Marx chased a woman and honked his horn.
Possibility for more
didn't exist for him. Erica was a wonderful woman, and he'd
love to get to know more about her. But the moment she learned more
about him, she would run, and he wouldn't blame
her.

"You have a nice house," she said.
"Where's your room? I didn't get to see that on the grand
tour."

Erica asking about his
bedroom conjured images of the two of them doing very sexual things
on a mattress. But there was no motive in her question, simply
curiosity.

"I...don't sleep much. I sleep on the
couch."

"I keep hearing that. What do you
mean?"

"Medical stuff. Maybe one day I'll
tell you."

"No fair."

"What do you mean?"

"You got to see me all
sick and ugly. It's your turn to share something."

Jack smiled, and decided he'd test the
waters slightly.

"Just one thing. Owning a convenience
store isn't all I do."

"Really? What else?"

"Gardening."

She laughed. "I saw your
garden out there. Very nice."

Jack stopped short of telling her how
wealthy he was. Two hundred years of making money with no concern
for the people he crushed led to a nice bank account.

Erica curled up completely
on the couch, no longer interested in the TV at all. She hugged
Jack's arm and nestled more into his chest. For the first time,
Jack enjoyed his curse. He could savor the moment without fear of
falling asleep and missing out on Erica's company.

There was a quiet knock at
the door, followed by the door cracking open. Jack looked at
Victoria's red hair and green eyes.

"Jack?"

He fought off irritation and laughed
as Erica didn't bother to sit up. She quickly turned around and
threw herself into Jack's arms, forcing him to wrap his arms around
her.