Maggie-

An invisible but disastrously heavy weight lifted from my chest the moment my confession left my lips. I'm lost, lost in an ocean of someone else's story, and feeling the remorse of a loss that I haven't yet experienced.  I've been terrified of what will happen the moment I let him in, and I hadn't realized just how tall the wall I'd built was until I felt it chip away at my sides. 

I'm afraid, afraid of what kind of damage that would cause if he up and decided I wasn't the same Maggie he'd loved before, but maybe that's okay to be a little scared.  Maybe the risk of falling apart is worth the reward of finally letting go, finally letting the gravitational pull towards Jack take its hold. 

How much more can my distressed mind endure?

Maybe, it's time to let go.  I tuck the warning signals that plague my mind into a dark corner of myself where I hide everything else I'm afraid of and realize the sobs that have been violently wracking through my body have silenced.

My breath calms with the soothing rise and fall of Jackson's chest beneath me. Inhaling the sweet scent of mint and cologne, savoring every intake of air as Jackson's fingers comb through my hair.  My arms are still wrapped tightly around him, but I gently loosen one so my fingers can trace small circles in the chest of Jackson's worn black v-neck.

This moment, although it started with a wild argument and a breathless rampage, feels perfect.  For the first time since I woke up in a hospital bed, here lying in Jackson's arms, I feel complete. Confessing my fears out loud was freeing and since I've opened up, I decide I'm no longer hiding behind my endless worries and what if's.

I feel Jackson pull back slightly and his finger gently presses against my chin lifting my face to meet his.  His diamond eyes are filled with worry, as he gazes into mine.

"Thank you." I whisper softly, almost too soft and I second guess if he's even heard me.

"For what?" Jackson asks.

"I realize I've been trying so hard to keep up with the old Maggie, that I've lost myself entirely." There's so much more I wish I could say. "Thank you for being here, despite the way I've acted."

He gives a curt nod then presses his soft lips gently to my forehead.

"Always." He whispers through my hair and his breath tickles my ear, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

We sit in each other's arms for a while longer, neither of us wanting to break the comfortable silence and ruin our peaceful moment until I watch him glance at his watch.

"I'm sorry, I've probably kept you out too late." I apologize, worried that he's counting the minutes until I'm calm enough to be taken home.

I sit straight up, separating myself from his grasp and I watch him lean towards me as a devilish grin spreads across his lips.

"You think you've kept me out too late, Love? Are you worried you're a bad influence on me?" Jackson teases.

"Well no, but- I mean-" I stutter, caught off guard from his playful tone. "I am the one you've had to console the last few hours and it's almost three am.  Don't you work in the morning?"

"Your concern about my well-being is touching Mags, but I don't live by a set schedule."

"Oh." I can't help the nagging voice in my head, alerting me to the fact that he probably doesn't want to be up all night taking care of a distraught woman.

Jackson runs a hand through his dark chocolate hair and sighs as if he's able to hear my thoughts.

"Any meetings I have in the morning can be pushed back." His fingers grasp my chin, pulling my face in his direction so my eyes are forced to meet with his. "I'd rather be right here with you consoling you until the sun rises."

A flicker of heat flashes through my face and a deep blush taints my cheeks. I pull my face away as a breathless timid laugh escapes my lips and I roll my eyes at my own compulsive thoughts.

"I was, however, thinking about letting Bethany know where you are so she doesn't skin me alive." He teases, no doubt catching the embarrassed blush painted on my face, before grabbing his phone from his pocket and lighting the screen.

"Oh, good idea." I wonder if she thinks I'm still out with Nick, she hasn't blown up my phone yet so she must not be too worried.

"Well look at that, per our agreement, today is the day I get you all to myself." He says, showing me the reminder that's popped up on his calendar.

"What?" I ask before my mind can fully process the words lighting up his phone.

"Oh, you didn't think I was going to count tonight towards my one day a week, did you?" He alerts me with one brow raised and a knowing smile. "You owe me a full day."

"Oh no, it wasn't that it's just- You haven't changed your mind?  You still want to take me out?" My mind wanders to mental breakdown I just had, but I shake my head attempting to rid the doubt.

"Changed my mind?" He asks in mock surprise. "If you think a few tears are going to scare me away then you're a terrible judge of character."

"Right, silly me." I respond sarcastically, always resorting to using humor as my primary defense. "I mean, if you were able to withstand a gory car accident and a mental case for a girlfriend, I suppose a few tears are nothing to you."

He winces in response but I notice the corner of his lips turn up in a smile.

"You're my mental girlfriend now are you?" He teases, clearly picking up on just one of my sarcastic statements then holds it against me. "I agreed to a few dates a week but I never said you could be my girlfriend.  You'll have to prove to me you're worth the title."

"Quit twisting my words." I retort as my nose scrunches and my arms cross tight in front of my chest.  He's clearly enjoying having the upper hand.  "And we said one date a week, don't think I didn't hear you say a couple."

"Are you tired?" He asks, ignoring my reply as if he knows he'll get his way anyway.

"Not at all, I feel wide awake actually."  I've always been more of a night owl.

"I was thinking about taking you back to this place downtown that I took you before." He admits while watching my nose wrinkle in distaste. "You don't even remember the place, why the look?"

"Let's go somewhere else." I almost beg. "Somewhere neither of us have been before, a place I haven't forgotten, but I just haven't experienced yet."

"That's a long list of possibilities for you, but it's not so simple for me." He admits and I almost question if he heard me correctly.

"Okay Mister World Traveler," My words drip with sarcasm as I roll my eyes. "There's no way it's possible that you've been everywhere in Phoenix. I've lived here all my life and I still haven't seen a sliver of everything there is to offer, while you've only just arrived from a completely different country."

"Mmhmm." Jackson mumbles then leans in close, a knowing grin lighting his face. "But you see, you've been living your life in a little bubble, only visiting the places you must between work and home."

His face is close, so close I can almost taste the mint on his breath as I watch his diamond eyes reflect his excitement. "I follow the roads that seemingly lead to nowhere, travel to unique places tourists rarely see, hike the mountains locals like you avoid while they're busy in their own little worlds never bothering to look up."

My face falls slightly and I avoid his gaze as I begin gently tracing circles in the desert sand.

"I wish I was like that." I shrug. "That I could just drop everything and travel the world, discover every nook and cranny but unfortunately not all of us are so lucky."

"Why can't you?" He challenges.

"I-" I hesitate thinking back to my roots. I've always felt stuck like I couldn't possibly leave everyone and everything behind, yet I've essentially already done that since the accident. "What about work?"

Jack's head leans back towards the sky as a musical laugh escapes his lips and he runs a hand through his soft chocolate hair.

"That's no excuse." He says, watching me build my next retort in my head. "You read for a living, you can do that anywhere."

"Okay," I scramble looking for any other justifications. "What about family and friends?"

"You mean Bethany? I've heard she's getting along quite nicely with Christian these days, living her own life and starting her own adventures."  He counters.

"That's true but what about-" I start before he so rudely interrupts.

"Or, maybe you're referring to your mum who you primarily see on Holidays unless you're breaking and entering?"

"You heard about that, huh?" I ask, biting the inside of my cheek with guilt.

His face suddenly grows long with regret and his diamond eyes wander back to the view.

"Do you know why I was breaking into my mother's house?" I ask.

Jackson glances in my direction, a look mixed with sorrow and remorse.

"You were-" He hesitates, taking my hand in his and twirling his thumb around mine. "You were searching for a letter from your mother."

My eyes meet with his and I watch the stress overcome him as he carefully examines my face.  An internal battle rages on in his head and his forehead wrinkles as if he's in deep thought.

"What letter?" I ask, hoping honesty will prevail in his thoughts.

"I'm not sure, I wasn't there." Jack scrambles, dropping my hand and staring back at the view. "You're going to have to ask your mum."

I have a strong inkling that he knows more than he's letting on, but I let it go for the time being. Whatever I was searching for makes both Nick and Jackson extremely uncomfortable. Could it be the cause of my accident? The very thing I was running away from or toward in that thunderstorm?

I still don't have clear answers about anything that's happened before the crash and trying to recall the memories brings terrible migraines.

Jackson looks tormented as his fingers thread through his chocolate brown hair and tug on the ends in distress as if he's willing the right answers to appear.

"Well, I guess I don't have a good reason." I admit, deciding to reel us back into our previous discussion and release him from his internal debate.

Whatever happened that night, good or bad, I will find the answers, but considering how supportive he's been tonight despite all I've put him through, I grant him a temporary pass.

"Great. Let's go explore then." He says, jumping to his feet, grateful for the change of subject.

"What?" I ask, caught off guard. "Now?"

"What? Do you have something better to do?" He questions, then reaches for my hand.

"Wait, do you even know where we're going?" I ask, watching his hand dangle in front of my face.

"We're going to follow Cave Creek Road until it stops." He answers honestly, leaving me baffled.

"What do you mean, follow it until it stops?" I ask, accepting his hand and he pulls me upward to my feet.  Surely he has some sort of plan, I never took him for a mad man.

"I've noticed on all the maps of Arizona that the road itself leads up into the mountains, twisting and turning with no side streets or neighborhoods, then it just ends." Jack starts walking back down the mountain towards his car and I trail carefully behind. "So my question is, where does it lead?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand, there's no real destination?" I call out, attempting to keep up.

"You wanted to explore, Love.  This is how we do it." He stops abruptly and I almost run smack into him. "You sure your secure world can handle this kind of unknown?" He teases.

"So that's the great adventure of Jackson Porter? 'Just pick a road and let's keep driving until we find something cool!'" I do my best to impersonate his British accent and he smacks my ass out of what I'm assuming is an old habit then continues trailing onward.

"Mock all you'd like, but if we find gold at the end of this trail you owe me three dates a week." He retorts and I stop in my tracks, planting my hands on my hips.

"Three?" I ask with a smirk, I'm onto this game he's playing. "You've hardly earned one and now you're bargaining for three?"

Jackson stops working his way down the mountain, instead, he turns and heads back in my direction until he's merely an inch away from touching me. His diamond eyes lock with mine and he sports a grin that says he has the upper hand.

"I'm broadening your Horizons, Mags.  I think that's worth at least four, but I'm bargaining for three because you're delicate and I'm honestly not quite sure you could handle more than three days a week alone with me."

Every hair on both my arms stands up and a chill runs down my spine as the magnetic field that surrounds us attempts to lure me in.

"Two." I retort barely above a whisper as my eyes betray me and linger on his full lips.

I know full well my resolve has weakened completely. I'd spend as much time with him as possible and a bet isn't necessary, but backing down from a challenge isn't in my nature.

"Three, or I take you home right now and you can bury your nose in another romance novel just wishing you would have agreed so you could be living your own adventure rather than those of the women stuck between pages." He leans dangerously closer to me, a teasing smile hinting at his lips as he waits for my response.

"You wouldn't." I debate how far he'd actually go to get his way as the scent of mint lures me closer, begging me to press my lips against his.

"Try me." His voice lowers and I know he feels the same temptation as he plays his game of cat and mouse.

My eyes naturally  close, my lips part slightly and I inhale his intoxicating scent. I'm seconds from giving in and finally tasting him when I feel the gust of wind signaling he's walked away.

I open one eye at a time and watch him trail off to his car. My mind clears and a mixture of disappointment and annoyance waves through me. 

"Fine!" I shout as I pick up the pace and attempt to catch up. "We probably won't find anything anyway."

I finally reach his Dodge Charger at the base of Lookout Mountain and although I was trying my best to keep up the pace, it seems Jackson was trying really hard to keep the distance between us.  My shoulders sulk with disappointment knowing he must not have wanted to kiss me as I did him.

Jackson waits beside his car with the passenger door open and when I'm finally close enough he grants me a pleasant smile and bows while pointing to my seat.  "Your chariot awaits."

I can't help but smile and wonder how many different sides to this man I've overlooked.

"Charming." I do my best curtesy, despite my dirty yellow sundress and lack of know-how before I take a seat.

"So what do I get if I win and we find a whole lot of nothing at the end of this road?" I ask, realizing this bet was entirely one-sided.

"At the end of our adventure together, if it happens that I was wrong and it's simply a dead end, I'll let you decide how much time you'd like to spend with me."

"Really?" I ask in disbelief. "You'd leave that up to chance?"

"No." He smiles slightly before starting the car with a click of a button. "I have a feeling whether or not there's gold at the end of our path, I'll win either way."