"Gwen," he whispered.
Then he started moving. Gently, slowly, never breaking eye contact with her. Gwen reached up and took his face to bring him down for a kiss.
The bed squeaked with every thrust; Gwen's toes curled from the pleasure. She could feel that lovely orgasm returning, like the sound of a train soon approaching.
"You're so tight, so wet." Jack kissed her harder as he picked up the pace. "Are you going to come for me, baby? It feels like you're nearly there."
Gwen could only nod. She moaned loudly as he thrust, faster and faster, his pelvis hitting her clit just enough that it didn't take long for her to reach her peak.
When her release hit her, she cried out. Jack caught the sound, kissing her, as Gwen's orgasm swelled and burst. She felt like she was caught in a tidal wave, except it was glorious and warm and she never wanted to return to shore.
In the throes of her own climax, she felt Jack's cock twitch. He groaned as he came. The sound made Gwen feel powerful. When he collapsed next to her, she felt like she could conquer the world.
Jack pulled her into his arms. Pressing her face against his shoulder, she took in a shuddering breath. She felt like she could either start laughing or crying. Maybe a little bit of both.
"How are feeling?" said Jack, looking into her eyes. His cheeks were still flushed.
Gwen took stock of her body: she felt boneless. Weightless. A sheen of sweat covered her skin, and she was probably flushed from cheeks to chest.
"I feel awesome," she replied.
Jack kissed her forehead. "Same."
Sighing happily, Gwen snuggled into his embrace. He was so warm and strong; she wanted to stay with him, in this bed, and never leave it.
"Go to sleep," Jack murmured. "I'll watch over you."
Chapter Eighteen
Weeks passed. Jack spent his nights with Gwen, while his days were spent trying to keep the dam overflowing financially. It didn't help that the universe seemed to be against Jack being happy. Not even two days after that magical night with Gwen, Jack returned home to find a huge hole in his roof, rain pouring inside.
A huge tree branch had fallen while he'd been gone. It'd been so windy that it hadn't taken much to snap the branch—nearly twenty feet long—like a tiny twig. It'd fallen directly on top of Jack's house, puncturing the roof that he'd been meaning to replace but hadn't had the time. He'd cursed his procrastination. He hurriedly cleaned up the rainwater that'd drenched his makeshift kitchen. The water damage had already ruined both the stovetop and microwave.
But before the cleanup, Jack had had to climb to the roof and cover the hole with a tarp as best he could. He'd nearly broken his neck in the process, it'd been so rainy and windy.
Now it was morning, and Jack found himself without hot water. Swearing, he discovered that his hot water heater was shot. He'd need to replace it entirely.
"Fuck me," he said to himself. He raised a fist. "Can you cool it with the house breaking down?"
No voice replied, of course. Inside Jack's head, he was calculating how much money he still had left in his bank account, and how much all these repairs would cost. He wondered if he could forgo hot water for a while. But the thought of ice-cold showers in the middle of winter made his bones hurt.
The bad luck continued. That evening, Jack answered a call from Danny. At first, Jack felt hopeful, that Danny was trying to reach out this time.
Jack's hopes were quickly dashed. "You need to take care of Mom," said Danny without so much as a question as to how Jack was doing.
"I already told her I'd give her the money."
"How much?"
"Three thousand."
Danny laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "Dude, she does not need three thousand dollars. Come on now."
"She needed it for the deposit."
"Look, the city is expensive, but she can find a cheaper place. She probably already has. She's just using you like she always does."
Jack's shoulders felt heavy. He couldn't even feel outraged at Danny's pronouncement. He'd expected it if he were honest.
"So how am I supposed to take care of her? Give her even more money?" Jack said hollowly.
"Fuck no. I haven't given her a dime in years. But she's always coming around my work, begging me, making a scene. Last night my boss had to throw her out. I was fucking embarrassing."
"I still don't get what you want me to do."
"Have her move in with you. You can keep an eye on her."
Now Jack was the one who was laughing. That hollow feeling had left him, only to be filled with anger. "That's your solution? Put her on my doorstep like a lost puppy and then wash your hands of her? Jesus Christ."
"Hey, I've done my part. I've looked after her, given her money, helped her out all these years while you hid out on your island. You haven't been around. So how about you put in the effort this round? Because I'm fucking done."
Jack couldn't refute Danny's words. Even though every cell in Jack's body rebelled at bringing their mom to Hazel Island, there was some merit to the idea. Maybe if Jack watched over her, helped her get into treatment, made sure she had employment...
"She can't live with me," said Jack. "My house is too small."
"Then get a new place."
"That costs money. You want to pay for that?"
Danny sighed. "Look, I'm willing to help some, money-wise. I just can't do all the other stuff."
Jack could hear the frustration, the exhaustion, in Danny's voice. He understood that all too well because they were the same feelings he'd had when he'd left his family behind all those years ago.
"If you want to make up for everything, do this for me," said Danny.
"Let me think about it."
Jack wanted to go to Gwen right then. He wanted her to tell him what he should do, but at the same time, he hated how weak he felt. The thought of Gwen pitying him made him want to punch something.
All he had now was an old mug that he threw at the wall. But it didn't even have the grace to shatter. It just thumped to the floor and rolled under the bed, as if saying to Jack, get it the fuck together, dude.
Jack didn't have much time to think about Danny's idea. Their mom began blowing up his phone, to the point that Jack nearly blocked her number. Instead, he texted her a terse, I'll call you when I can. Stop hassling me.
That resulted in a five-minute voicemail where Debra called him ungrateful, cruel, selfish, and a whole host of other unsavory adjectives. Despite her guilt trip, Jack couldn't feel guilty.
At least not about his mom. But Danny? He could feel guilty about that for ages.
But as Jack pondered Danny's idea that he should have their mom come to live on Hazel Island, Jack knew he couldn't have her here. The thought of Gwen meeting her—sweet, innocent Gwen—and then trying to bilk money out of her was an unbearable thought. The entire island would soon know what kind of a person Debra Benson was. And they'd whisper about it, the gossip flowing like a river, until Jack was certain the islanders would soon be looking at him and wondering if the apple didn't fall far from the tree.