Nice to eat you.
WHO: Jack and Avril WHERE: In a park in town WHAT: Avril meets someone new in town WHEN: Today RATING: Mild
"You. I don't know you. Why don't I know you?"
Jack looked startled when the young woman suddenly started speaking to him. He was sitting alone at a picnic table in a park, idly watching children at play. "I don't know…. Perhaps because I'm new in the area?" he asked softly as his eyes roamed over her in interest.
Her face lit up with a kind smile, and she plopped down beside him, stretching her arms and legs from herself before looking back at him. "That must be it, I know everyone here. Except for you." She offered him her hand, not even close to being shy. "I'm Avril."
Jack looked a bit surprised when she sat down next to him. People appeared to be very open and friendly in this town so far. Interesting. He reached out to take her tiny hand in his, and held it firmly in a handshake, then lifted her hand up to softly place a kiss on the back of it. "I am Jack. Jack Bowerby." he said with a shy smile. "Pleased to meet you Avril."
The gesture made her cheeks grow pink, but she smiled anyway, clearly pleased. "Well, it's nice to meet you Jack Bowerby," she said. "So, what brings you to town?" One could definitely say she was the town welcoming wagon. But that was just how she was. And if new faces came in to town, they usually came through her bar.
A strange smile slowly crossed Jack's face at the question, and he looked around as he thought about his answer. "Well… I like meeting people. All sorts of people. The only way to do that, is to keep moving from place to place." he said as he looked back down at her. "I travel a lot. I'm a wanderer."
Her head cocked to the side in a curious manner. "But what if you let the people come to you?" she asked. That wasn't to say this man wasn't completely fascinating. "Where all have you traveled to Jack?"
Where had he been? Lots of places, and he wasn't sure totally why that was. He seemed to just wake up sometimes and the trailer would be in a new town, a new place, and he would start all over again. "I've been a lot of places. I never seem to stay in one place very long." he said quietly to her, and felt something deep, dark and deep inside of him taking an unhealthy interest in the young woman. "Do you live around here?" he asked her with a kind smile.
Avril flipped her long blond mane over her shoulder and nodded. "Just riiiiiiight back there," she said, raising her arm and pointing beyond the trees ahead of them. She thought nothing of it, really, everyone here was perfectly safe, visitors and those that were a little more permanent. What was he going to do, break down her door? She returned his smile, head cocking to the side. "Where are you staying?"
His gaze followed her hand and where it pointed to. Mental note made. He would perhaps wander that way later. He was content for now sitting here just chatting with her. "I live alone." he said again in that soft, soothing tone of voice. "I have a trailer. I live in that. Sort of a gypsy I suppose." he smiled. "Do you live alone too?" he asked her, as casually as he could without seeming like he was coming onto her.
Her entire body seemed to perk up, and she looked at him with child like wonder. "That's....seriously cool," she said with a grin. "Being able to just go wherever you want whenever you want to." At his question, she shook her head, then paused, shrugging a little. "Well...I kinda have a lodger right now, but I don't know how long he'll be in town for."
"Lodger…" he repeated. "That certainly is an old word. This lodger, is just a tenant then, nothing more?" he asked and there was more to his smile now, and a glint in his eyes. Inside his chest, his heart was beating just a bit faster.
For the first time, she paused, taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she smiled at him. "He's like you, passing through. I didn't have the heart to let him pay for a motel, so he's borrowing my couch for however long he's here."
Jack blinked and the thing deep inside of him was slowly waking. Traveler, like him. Perfect. Now to stalk, to hunt. He realized he was staring into space and blinked suddenly to break out of the fugue that had overtaken him momentarily. He had no idea where those thoughts came from, or why. "I just hope you will be safe." he smiled at her. "You can't be too careful who you let into your house these days. What is his name?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head to the side.
She watched as his mind seemed to wander, and she looked down, tracing shapes in the dirt with the tip of her shoe. When he spoke, she looked back up at him, feeling her cheeks grow pink. "You're sweet, but I take good care of myself, promise." Catching a strand of hair between her fingers, she started twirling it. "Do you know Reeve? He plays at the bar some nights."
Reeve. No, the name meant nothing. His eyes were fixed on those tiny, pink and delicate fingers twirling around the golden locks of hair. He was starting to salivate, and didn't understand why. He wasn't particularly hungry. "No, I do not know him." he said and smiled. "I haven't been to the bar yet. I don't really drink much, so I don't frequent those places much. I guess I am pretty boring in a lot of ways."
Avril poked her bottom lip out. "That doesn't make you boring," she said. "You should still come in, I have a lot of regulars who don't drink, they just come in for the music." Her pout grew. "You have to come see me at least once before you leave town for your next stop. So she was a bit of a flirt. Nothing wrong with that.
Jack smiled and reached a hand out to take hold of the one that wasn't twirling hair around. "I promise you will see me again before I leave. Cross my heart." he said and drew an X across his chest with the finger of his other hand. "I will come and visit you in the bar as well. Soon."
For some reason, that small gesture made her feel giddy. Her stomach did a flip, and she wiggled a little in her seat, batting her lashes at him. "So then how long do I have you for?" she asked with a smile. "When you come in, I'm going to have to take extra good care of you."
Jack's eyes widened at that promise from those tender sweet lips, and while his stomach didn't do a flip, it tensed, and began to burn. Slowly he licked his lips and continued to smile at the sweet girl. "You speak such welcoming words to a lonely wanderer. It's like honey on the tongue." he said and then gave her a wink from one of those deep green eyes of his. "You may make it so I never want to leave again."
Her cheeks grew pink, but she smiled at him. She got male attention all the time at work, it was bound to happen. But there was something different about Jack. Something in the back of her mind was nudging, and she felt very certain that he was going to leave a lasting impression on her. "Then my work here is complete," she said, batting her lashes.
Jack lifted her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it softly. BITE IT! BITE IT BITE IT!!! something suddenly screamed in the back of his mind, and with a shudder, he quickly let go of her hand, and sat back up straight, creating a bit more space between them. Slowly, he stood up. "I thank you for the sweet words, and the kind invitation. I promise you will see me soon, at the bar.
He dropped her hand as if it had burned him, and her smile faltered for a split second. She caught it though, wedging both hands between her knees. "Good, none of this being a stranger thing." She playfully nudged him.
Once he was standing, a safer distance between them, he smiled again. Why was he feeling so conflicted? "I promise not to be a stranger Avril. I will stop by soon, I promise." he said, then blew her a kiss before he started to walk off down the path in the park. He thought about the girl, the bar, and wondered when he would actually cross that doorway as promised.
With a curious look, Avril watched as he walked away. She bit her lip, thinking. There was something interesting about him, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. And somehow...he seemed familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. With a sigh, she rubbed her hands over her eyes, then got up and headed back home.