Page 17 of Steel & Jenna
But he didn’t have time to date. She would want his attention, to go out on dates with him. Not only could he not afford to take her on dates worthy of her, he couldn’t leave Lilly alone to be alone with her.
As the bell rang overhead, Jack headed out of the gymnasium with the rest of his class. He’d told Jenna that he’d meet her at his locker to take her to lunch. No doubt others could show her where the cafeteria was. It had merely been an excuse to see her. One that she’d eagerly taken.
Pausing just before taking the corner that would lead him to his locker, Jack’s resolve wavered. He could walk away. That would be best for both of them. His presence in her life would only bring her down. What was it that Foote continued to tell him? That his life was leading nowhere. The man wasn’t wrong. Jack had no future outside of ensuring Lilly’s. He’d makeeverysacrifice for his sister.
But did that include Jenna?
She was new in the school. She’d make friends easily. He’d warned her that he was not the sort of friend she should have.
Peeking around the corner, Jack tried to see through the flowing sea of students to his locker. He couldn’t see Jenna, but he thought hecaught sight of flaming orange hair a few times. She was waiting on him. Again. Just like that morning.
He’d warned her on Saturday…and yet she’d been waiting for him that morning.
Her choice. He hadn’t blackmailed, threatened, or coerced her in any way. She’dchosento wait for him then, just as she was now. As easily as Jack could walk away and break his promise to meet her, she could have too.
Jenna waschoosinghim. To choose otherwise for her would be an insult to her intelligence. Their attraction aside, Jenna was not fool enough to not realize their difference in social status. Yet there she waited.
Straightening his backbone, Jack rounded the corner and headed down the hallway. Her choice. Always her choice. He would tell her everything, hide nothing. If she chose to stay, if she chose to be with him, she deserved to know it all.
Her choice.
If she chose to walk away… Jack winced at the piercing in his heart. He’d always thought that expression was metaphorical until that moment. But his heart physically ached at a future without her in it.
People would think poorly of him for being with her, but he didn’t give a fuck what they thought. They already thought him trailer trash and scum. Why not add gold digger to that list too? It wasn’t true. Jack would never take a dime of her or her family’s money. But people would talk.
As students started to part and Jenna came into view, the thoughts that voiced all his self-doubts grew quieter and quieter. Their eyes met, she smiled, and his heart faltered. Like it wasn’t pumping to sustain him anymore but pumpingfor her. Only her.
If he was willing to make sacrifices to give Lilly the life she deserved, he knew he could do the same for Jenna. So long as a life with him was what she wanted, Jack would do anything and everything to become the man she deserved.
One that she was proud to call her own.
They were fifteen. But Jack wanted it all. Beyond the idea of sex and intimacy, he saw a house with a picket fence, kids and dogs running around, cars in the driveway, and best of all, Jenna. As a grown woman, a mom, a wife, a partner.
Without missing a beat, Jack walked right up to her, stepping into her personal space. People and noises around them be damned. He pressed her back against his locker and claimed her lips as his.
She let out a surprised squeak but the way her hands fisted in his shirt had an air of possession to them. It took only a moment for her to snap out of her shock before she was moving her mouth against his and using her grip on his shirt to pull him closer.
The kiss itself was sloppy. Completely unpracticed on both their parts. It was hot and harried, but also possessive and sensual. Jack couldn’t imagine a better last first kiss.
Because if he had his way, he’d never kiss another woman in his life. But he also knew that decision wasn’t up to him.
Her choice. Always her choice.
Hand-in-hand,they walked into the crowded cafeteria. Jenna’s brain was still foggy from that kiss. She’d never been kissed before, but even with nothing to compare it to, it had still been amazing. The intensity and the heat, she never even dreamed she could experience something like that. With such a public display, it would have been less obvious if he’d tattooed his name on her forehead.
The catcalls and wolf whistles should have embarrassed her, but they didn’t. Instead, it was like they didn’t exist. Their opinions and derogatory comments held no sway. As they stepped up to the end of the long line of hungry students, she caught sight of Mindy glaring at her from across the cafeteria. Jenna turned her back on the other girl. Her opinion mattered even less than anyone else’s.
“How was gym?”
Jack snorted. “Fucking boring. They start our assessments tomorrow. Since someone got me out of detention,” he said pointedly with awicked curve to his mouth, “I’m going to take Lilly shopping this afternoon. She needs a winter jacket and I need shoes. Can’t be expected to run a mile in these without breaking my ankle.”
The line started moving forward step by slow step.
Jenna glanced down. His sneakers did look like they were on their last threads. Disappointment made her shoulders sag slightly. She hadn’t considered after school, but of course they would have to part ways. It made her dread the end of the school day.
He squeezed her hand gently. “Want to come with us?”
“Yes!” Jenna immediately said without considering how enthusiastic she sounded.
