16. Dreams

You’re still sitting in your chair sometime later as Jack walks around taking a closer look at the cabin. He’s currently bent down looking at the collections of books that fill the small bookcase. He runs a finger down the spine of “Don Quixote”. The majority of the books Dex brought that weren’t academic were literary classics. His copy of “The Great Gatsby” lies on the hearth where you left earlier. You’re aware that it’s growing later and glance at the manual wrist watch Dex gave you. You’re getting tired but are unsure how to broach the subject of sleeping arrangements. You wish the cabin had a sofa of some kind but there wasn’t any space for one. Dex’s grant had been small and a lot of his own money went into securing the cabin for the next couple of years.

Jack stands back up and turns to face you. As if having read your mind he comments “It’s getting late.” You sit up slightly as a bit of adrenaline rushes through your body making you more alert. You see Jacks eyes trail over to the bed behind you then come back to rest on you. You open your mouth to speak but he cuts you off “Do you have any spare blankets?”

“Yes” you breath out in relief and quickly get to your feet. Jack walks over to the backpack he had slung over his shoulder when you first saw him. You almost forgot it was there and note that the faded fabric reveals a cameo pattern underneath the layer of dirt caked on. Jack pulls a bedroll out from the backpack and pushes the chairs out of the way so he can lay it out in front of the fire.

You hand him your pillow and the blanket you had draped around your shoulders. Jack thanks you and begins taking his jacket off. You quickly turn around to give him some privacy and go walk over to the bed where you pretend to fluff Dex’s pillow. You can’t help but to steal a quick glance backwards and turn beet red when you see Jacks bare back. He’s not as big as Dex but his lean muscles look strong and tan. You quickly shake your head and wait until you hear Jack settle down on the floor before turning around.

Jacks arms are crossed behind his head propping it up. Once again he’s silently observing you as you climb into bed. You’ve opted to sleep in the clothing you’ve been wearing all day rather than changing into one of Dex’s oversized flannels, which has been come your preferred sleeping clothes. You settle into bed and turn your head away from Jack but don’t close your eyes. You stare at the shadows from fire dancing on the wall as you try to your best to stay awake. At least until Jack falls asleep you tell yourself.

Your eyelids slowly grow heavier and heavier and despite your best efforts you feel yourself slip into unconsciousness. You snap awake the next morning and immediately sit up and look around. The dying embers of the fire provide a dim light but you see no signs of Jack or anything of his items. Is it possible you dreamt the whole thing? You let out a sigh of relief and shiver as you notice how cold the room has grown. You wrap the blanket around you and go to look out the window. You don’t see any signs of Jack. You shake your head in confusion. Either you just had the most realistic dream ever or Jack decided to move on before you woke up.

Either way you’re relieved you no longer have to worry about an awkward explanation when Dex returns. You rub your hands together to warm them up and decide you might as well get your day started. You glance over at the side of the fireplace where you keep spare logs. You mutter a curse under your breath as you realize you forgot to bring in more last night before the storm hit. You sigh and throw the last log on the embers. The pile outside will need to dry before it can be used.

You hope this log will last long enough and go to grab a fresh set of clothes from the chest. Huddled in front of the small fire you begin stripping. You quickly kick your pants off and begin removing your shirt. You’ve given up wearing bras since it’s been just you and Dex around. You’re lifting your shirt over your head when you hear the door behind you open.

You quickly whirl around then gasp as you realize you’re completely exposing yourself to whoever just walked in. You hear something crash to the floor and quickly pull your shirt back down over your body and are finally able to see. Jack is standing in the door way with a pile of logs at his feet, which would explain the crash you heard. He quickly closes his partially open mouth and composes himself.

“The logs outside were wet so I had to go to the forest to cut more” he explains as you quickly pull your clean pants on. He drops his backpack and begins picking the logs up while doing his best to avoid staring at you for once. “I thought you left” you blush as you quickly button up your pants. They’re an old pair of slacks Dex had that you tailored to fit you. You grab the flannel you had laid out and pull it on over your shirt. Jack stands back up and walks over to add another log to the fire. You move out of his way as he sets the rest of them down by the hearth.

“Are you hungry?” He asks, walking over to his backpack. He pulls a small rabbit out of from inside. “Umm, yeah” you nod and go over to the kitchen to grab a knife. When you turn around you see he’s already pulled a roll out of from his pack. When he unrolls it you see inside are a several knives of different sizes. He selects one from the middle and takes it and the rabbit out to the porch.

You go back to the kitchen and put the knife back and grab a bag of salt out instead. Jack returns a few minutes later and you help him set the skinned rabbit up on the stake over the fire. You know it will take a while to cook so you settle down in your chair and pull your book out. You tell Jack to help himself to any reading material. But he instead sits down across from you and begins whittling a stick.

An hour passes of somewhat uncomfortable silence as you stare at the page in front of you. You’ve reread the same passage nearly twenty times now. You just can’t seem to concentrate on anything other than the noise of Jacks blade running down the wood he’s been carving. After another hour of reading the same passage over and over you hear Jack get up to check the rabbit again. He’s been periodically rotating it to make sure it cooks evenly.

You share a late breakfast together in silence. You feel even more awkward than when you first met Dex. You hope Dex will be understanding about everything. You’re surprised Jack survived this long in the winter but can’t justify making him sleep outside. Nonetheless you’ll have to figure something out when Dex returns. The cabin is barely big enough for two people and you can’t imagine Dex will be happy about giving up your privacy.