Chance Encounters (5 page)

“Bye, you guys,” the teenager said, before heading out with the rest of his group. “By the way, you two are a really nice couple.”

“Aww, thanks. See ya!” Caroline said to him cheerfully, and then realized they never exchanged names. None of them had.

“Oh my gosh.” She looked at her handsome stranger and said, “I don’t even know your name!”

“I guess we never really got that far, did we?”

“We kind of skipped all that. I’m Caroline.”

He looked at her, his eyes filled with warmth as he extended his hand. “Jax.”

“Jax?” she repeated as her lip curled up into a slight grimace.

She thought the name didn’t suit him at all until he corrected her. “Jackson.”

The grimace quickly turned into a large smile and she nodded her head in approval. “Jackson. I like that.”

He tilted his head and smirked with sexy confidence. “I knew you would.”

He led the way as they headed out of the plane together and she took in every detail she could about him. He was over six feet tall and his body was incredible. His loose cargo shorts fit him nicely and his shirt couldn’t help but hug at the muscles in his shoulders and biceps. She laughed when she saw his sunglasses face her on his backward cap. Out of nowhere, she remembered they took a picture together and she was immediately thankful.

The sign above them read
Baggage Claim
and she knew Clay would be waiting for her there. “Wait,” she pleaded, her voice tight.

“What’s the matter?” He looked at her with eyes that mirrored her own emotions.

“Just…one last hug.” She hated everything about this. Leaving him. Being back in San Francisco. She knew she should feel guilty and her thoughts should be with Clay, but at that moment, nothing and no one else mattered. She had to steal whatever moments she could with Jackson before it all ended. The thought alone made her stomach clench in despair.

Jackson held her tightly against his body and then he kissed the nape of her neck softly. Their breathing was in sync as each rise and fall of their chests matched. Caroline pulled back and looked into his blue eyes before she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Her eyes quickly turned misty, so she walked away from Jackson, her heart aching with each step.

Clay stood at the base of the escalator with an armful of yellow roses. A smile instantly appeared the moment he saw Caroline coming toward him. She forced a smile in return, her heart longing. As Clay hugged her, she looked over his shoulder and her eyes locked on Jackson’s. At that moment, all she wanted to do was break free from Clay and run into Jackson’s arms. She knew it had to be written all over her face. She wondered if Clay would be able to tell.

“I missed you. How was the flight?” Clay asked sweetly.

She looked at Jackson and then at Clay, her heart beating loudly in her ears. “It was really nice. I had a great time.”

“Really? What made it so great?” Clay asked, his voice piqued with curiosity.

“I just had great conversations and met some really nice people.”

Caroline watched as Clay glanced in Jackson’s direction and quickly shifted his weight uncomfortably from leg to leg.

“What about him?” he motioned in Jackson’s direction.

“Yep! That’s who I sat with. He’s amazing. Let me introduce you.” She pulled Clay reluctantly toward Jackson.

“Jackson…this is my boyfriend, Clay. I just wanted you two to meet.” She wasn’t sure what the hell she was doing exactly. Why was she introducing them, was she crazy? There’s no way Clay wouldn’t be able to sense the chemistry between them. Was she signing her own death sentence?

She watched as Clay stuck out his hand and was met with Jackson’s much larger one. She noticed Clay wince slightly at Jackson’s grip. Clay’s eyes narrowed. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking care of
my
girl on the flight. She said you were great.”

“She’s pretty amazing. You’re a lucky guy. I’d hold on to her if I were you,” Jackson responded confidently.

Caroline freaked, but part of her enjoyed the confrontation. She silently berated herself for liking this sort of thing and then convinced herself that only crazy, insane people would get off on situations like this. The truth was it gave her comfort in the midst of her own internal chaos to know that Jackson was attracted to her.

Clay grabbed her hand tightly and started to walk her out of the airport. He turned to Jackson and said, “It was good to meet you. We have to go…reservations, of course.” He sounded snide and condescending. Caroline had never seen this side of Clay before and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

“Of course. See you, Caroline.” Jackson smiled at her and her heart went into hysterics. She couldn’t believe this was it. She walked out of the airport like it was any other flight, when it was anything but. What was she doing? How could she just leave like this? But how could she not? Secretly, she hoped to see Jackson run after her and beg her not to leave with Clay. She imagined the scene like something out of an over-the-top romantic movie where everyone lived happily ever after (of course).

She knew it wasn’t right, but at that moment, she didn’t care. She felt like she left her heart on the floor of the airport baggage claim. Jackson could either pick it up and carry it with him, or simply leave it there to stop beating altogether. How do you go on living your life as usual, when you feel like that?

“So what did you and Jackson talk about on the flight?” Clay asked her in the car.

“I don’t know. Work, life, you. Everything.” She was dazed and confused. Her heart was in more pain than it should be in this situation. She stared out the car window, replaying moments that would now only exist in memory. How quickly life turns into pictures…moments captured, quickly lived, forever memorized, or forgotten.

It was then that she realized they hadn’t exchanged any information to stay in touch. She didn’t even know his last name. They really were never going to see each other or talk to each other again. She did her best to stop the tears, but it was no use. They flowed uncontrollably and her face held so much pain.

“Hey, Care. What’s wrong?” Clay’s concern only made Caroline feel worse. She didn’t cry often, but she had cried so much lately. Whenever she broke down like this, Clay did everything he could to take away her pain.

“Sorry, just overwhelmed from the funeral and everything. I’ll be okay.” The truth was that not a single one of those tears was for her dead friend. Every teardrop that fell belonged to the one person she was certain she’d never see again. How was she supposed to be okay with that? And why did she feel this way about a person she barely knew?

Caroline grabbed her cell phone and turned it on. “I’m going to text Tracey to let her know I landed,” she told Clay with a slight smile.

“Tell her I said
hi
.”

Caroline typed a mile a minute. “
Hey girl, just landed. I HAVE to tell you about the guy I met on my flight. I think I’m in love. lol Call you tomorrow.”
Caroline pressed
Send
and clutched the phone in her hand.

It took less than a minute for Tracey to reply. “
What GUY? Why do I have to wait until tomorrow? I want to hear NOW, you cheating floozy!!”

Caroline laughed out loud when she read the text, which caused Clay to ask her what was so funny. She played it off by telling him it was just “girl stuff” and he didn’t question her further. “
I can’t talk right now
…
in the car with Clay
.” Caroline waited for another response from Tray, but it never came.

Chapter Four

It annoyed Jackson how the pit of his stomach twisted as he watched her with him. He berated himself to get over it, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that letting her go would be the biggest mistake of his life. Nervous squirming inside his belly urged him to chase after her, but he beat it down. He glanced back at the couple and caught Caroline’s green eyes boring into his. The look alone caused his heart to catch.

He watched as Caroline walked out of the airport, Clay’s arm possessively around her shoulders, until her blonde hair disappeared from view. His heart burned like wildfire in his chest and he was painfully aware that letting this girl go wasn’t going to be easy.

He had never been so taken by a girl before. When he first noticed her sitting alone on the airplane, chills tore through his spine and caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. He refused to let it show, but nerves uncharacteristically flooded through every bone, every muscle, and every fiber of his being. It almost stopped him from sitting with her, but as he inched closer, her pull grew stronger. Relief greeted him once he sat, followed by an intense longing to close the space between them.

He replayed the introduction with Clay and felt his blood pressure rise. When Clay eyeballed him from head to toe, Jackson ignored the temptation to punch him square in the mouth. He assumed Caroline wouldn’t be happy with him if he socked her boyfriend in the face. But did he imagine the sparkle in her eyes when he cautioned Clay to hold onto her? He was certain he’d seen something there. And the guy seemed like a jerk. Sure, maybe Jackson brought out the competitive side of Clay, but his tone of voice and snide comments were uncalled for.

Jackson suddenly felt like a wild animal. He wanted to grab her, steal her, and protect her from anything that could possibly hurt her. But most of all, he wanted to be near her again.

Jackson threw his bags into the back of a cab and gave the driver the name of his hotel. He settled into the back seat and pulled out his cell phone. Alex answered on the second ring. He and Alex had been friends since childhood and Jackson knew he was the right person to talk to about Caroline.

His other best friend, Tommy, was more of a jackass— a typical guy who felt like no girl deserved too much attention. Jackson knew telling Tommy about Caroline meant he’d never hear the end of it. Tommy would never let the fact that Caroline had a boyfriend slide.

“So, did you get her number?” Alex inquired.

“Shit. No. We didn’t exchange anything.” Jackson leaned his head into his free hand. Before Alex asked, he hadn’t realized they didn’t give each other any way to keep in touch.

“Really? No email? Nothing?” Alex couldn’t understand how they could spend an entire flight together and not exchange any kind of information.

“Shit, Alex. Nothing! This cannot be happening.” Jackson’s mind raced. There was no way he was going to just let this girl walk away and carry on with her life as if they had never crossed paths. He scanned his mind for all they had shared on the plane, desperately trying to pick out the one detail that could bring him to her.

“Maybe it’s for the best, man.” Alex’s tone quieted. “She does have a boyfriend.”

“I know. But it’s not like they’re married.” Jackson knew he treaded on dangerous ground. His feelings overwhelmed him, as his thoughts lacked reason. Normally, he’d never think twice about a girl with a boyfriend. But then again, he’d never felt this strongly for someone he’d just met before.

“Jax, did you really just say that?” Alex asked in shock. “You aren’t the home-wrecking type and last time I checked, you didn’t believe in cheating.”

“I know. I’m an asshole. It’s just…” He paused while he thought about how to word it. “There’s something about her.”

“I think you should just be thankful you two met and call it a day. If you’re supposed to see each other again, then you will. Can’t fight fate.”

A light bulb went off in Jackson’s head and he shouted into his cell, “Her job!”

“What?”

“She told me where she worked!” He let out a breath and relaxed back into the cushions of the cab seat.

“Jackson…”

“I know, I know. Dangerous ground, right?” Inside, Jackson knew what he was doing was wrong. But he couldn’t fight the way he felt when it came to this girl. The idea of walking away because she had a boyfriend seemed so inconsequential to him. He had to see her again.

“Just be careful. Don’t get in over your head. And don’t end up getting your ass kicked,” Alex warned.

Jackson laughed. “Thanks for the concern. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Jackson disconnected the call and put away his cell phone. He had a new determination. He scribbled some notes onto a piece of paper and smiled to himself as he watched the city race by.