Snippet #2614454

Sleep hadn't come easily to Jackson, either. The thoughts racing around his head had kept him up for a good portion of whatever was left of the night, so only an hour or two's worth of shuteye had found him before an alarm started chirping from his phone on the end table closest to his head. He started at the thing groggily before pushing himself up from the sofa. The first beams of morning had already started creeping through the big window in the living area. He yawned loudly and scratched at a spot on his head as his eyes moved around the room.

The previous night's events only seemed like a blur at this point. He seemed to remember the kiss and everything that had led to it, but it only felt like a hazy dream at this point. Sure, he wasn't wearing his shirt but he could have just thrown it somewhere out of eyeshot as he'd readied himself for sleep. He noted the state of everything in the living area and noticed that nothing seemed to be in any sort of disarray. That wasn't much of a shock, though: They'd gotten to the hotel rather late, so it wasn't like they were going to have made themselves at home at that kind of hour.

Then something caught his eye. Draped across the arm of a nearby chair was a single, unassuming cotton bra. The rays of early morning light hit it in just the right way that it seemed to glow a much brighter shade of white than it actually was. His eyes widened at the sight of it, and then everything clicked. He groaned and let his face fall into his hands for a moment.

The alarm was still chirping away at its post on the end table. Jackson grabbed at it without looking and almost knocked it off the table. He picked the thing up, flipped it open quickly, and silenced the alarm. There was a text from Ralph waiting for him.

How's it going, Biggsy?

Jackson read the text and re-read it again. He huffed out a breath and hit the button to dial his employer as he forced himself off the couch and made his way towards the kitchen.

"Ralph Carson."

"Hey, boss," Jackson replied. An industrial sized coffeemaker sat out on the counter next to the sink. Next to it, a basket was strategically placed with an assortment of different styles of coffee and a small stack of coffee filters. He grabbed at the darkest looking mix and went to work at brewing up the strongest batch of coffee he could muster.

"Jax," Ralph replied with a chuckle. "I'm awfully glad to hear from you. How're you holding up?"

He paused for a moment as the kiss fast forwarded through his mind all at once.

"Biggsy?"

"Is that daddy," Alexcis squealed from somewhere off to the side.

"Yes, honey," Ralph chided. "Gimme just a second to talk to him, and then he's all yours. I promise." Jackson could have sworn that he heard Alexcis' angry huff from there, which brought a small smile to his face. "Talk to me, Jax."

"I fucked up, Ralph," Jackson sighed as he dumped the coffee packet's contents into the filter. "I really fucked up."

Jackson recounted every detail of their previous night to Ralph, he only sat in stunned silence on the other end of the line. He finished up with finding Marloes' bra just a few moments ago. Everything was still a blur to him, but that was evidence that just couldn't be looked over. He grabbed the pot of coffee and poured it into a Hotel Indigo mug nearby and just stared at the liquid for a few moments.

"Whoa," Ralph finally said. "That's...that's something, I guess."

"You're fucking right it's something," Jackson continued. "And not a good something, either."

"Was the kissing that bad," Ralph asked.

"Kissing," Alexcis asked. She was a lot closer to the phone this time.

"Uh," Ralph stammered, "I mean missing. Was the missing that bad?" Alexcis didn't say anything else, but Jackson could just about picture the confused look she'd be sporting at that statement. "Go get ready for school, honey."

"I mean," Jackson replied, "of course it wasn't. It was great. Amazing, even. That's not my problem, Ralph. My problem is that I've got a job to protect this girl, not to inspect her tonsils with my tongue."

"Fringe benefits," Ralph continued.

"Fuck off," Jackson said, stifling a chuckle. "What do I do, Ralph? Her family was basically paying me to make out with her last night. I feel like some sort of...pseudo-prostitute. It's weird."

"Look," Ralph continued. "As your boss, all I can tell you is not to let it happen again. It's not technically a breach of contract, but you're also not exactly on solid ground, morally speaking."

"Yeah," Jackson resigned.

"As your friend, though," Ralph said, "I think it's within my bounds to give you a high-five when you get back. You've been sitting on the bench for far too long, Jax. Maybe it's time you get back on the field and show that world what Jackson Biggs is capable of."

"Once again," Jackson replied, "fuck off."

"Fine," Ralph continued, laughing. There was a pause for a second. "Shit, Alexcis has to be at school in ten minutes. I'll have her call you when she gets out of school, Biggsy."

"Tell her I love her very much," Jackson said quickly.

"Will do," Ralph replied. "Get home soon, Jax."

The line went dead. Jackson pulled his head away from the phone and stared at the thing for a few moments. A whole new slew of thoughts started speeding around his head and he flipped it shut and slid it back into his pocket. He picked up the mug and took a long drink from its contents. He heard footsteps from behind him.

"Good morning," he said. "How'd you sleep?"