Jack of Diamonds

@mrjackeaston

Jack R. Easton. Bantam Dell Publishing (West). Originally from Boston, currently living in San Francisco with my fiancée, Leah Shane.

352 posts

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“I feel……!” Leah stopped, and sighed, not wanting to cause a scene, then lowered her voice. “I feel…that the cosmos has decided, and helped us decide…that we’re going to be together for the rest of our lives, So why does it matter if a wedding, or a baby comes first? It’s not ideal, it’s not the upstanding presence your parents would want you to project, but who cares?” There she paused, and took a deep breath. “I feel that if you wanted to be married before our first child is born, you should’ve spoken up, and not let me go off of birth control just yet.”

Jack gazed at her, nodding slowly in agreement as she spoke about fate guiding them through their life together. He blew out his own breath after she had finished, and began to give his answer. “You’re completely right, I’m sorry. And I need you to know that I’ve wanted this baby since we decided, even before that, really. I know that appearances and deadlines are too ingrained in me, and I need to work on that, personally and professionally.”

He paused for a moment, thinking it over. “I’m not a wedding expert, but I think the only thing really reliant on the baby would be your dress, depending on the circumstances? Fuck whatever my parents, and anyone else but us thinks.” He hoped she knew he was serious, given his use of profanity. He took another breath before starting again. “I want us to be happy, and I want us to be us , not anyone else’s expectations or standards, but I guess I brought you here to the Yacht Club to mix the old and new? A little of our families and a little of our new family. We don’t have to join here or anything, but,”....He looked out the window.,....”It is very pretty here on the water.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

By now, Leah’s mood had just drained. This was a catch 22 with no answer, and she needed it to have an answer. She should have just kept her mouth shut. “Yeah, it came across that way, but it’s fine. It’s an easy problem to avoid.” She shook her head then. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about it, I’ll assure that we’re married first.”

Jack sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying, and yes, it does matter how you feel. And it’s not a ‘problem’, please don’t refer to it that way. We’re supposed to talk these things through, just like we did with choosing what name to take. Can you please tell me how you feel, so that I don’t have to guess, and get it wrong?”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

Leah nodded in agreement with Jack’s explanation, then laughed again when he smirked at her. “I could go back on the pill again, if you want.” She said softly, after the waiter had left the table. “It’s hard to plan a dream wedding if I have to worry that I might have to move it up because I’m pregnant. I don’t know, Jack… I don’t know…”

Jack shook his head. “I didn’t mean to pressure you, either way. And now that I think over what I said, I feel like it sounded that way? I apologize if it did. Do you have any specific feelings about being married before children? I just want us to be happy, that’s what’s truly important. No worries, no pressure, really. Happiness.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“You love that I don’t spend a lot of money on myself?” This had Leah torn, it was her birthday, but it was a $187 bottle of champagne. Should she do it? Just this once? She looked into Jack’s eyes again as the light danced in them, the word ‘husband’, suddenly the most beautiful word ever. “Did you have an idea of how long you want our engagement to be?” She asked, going quiet as Jack gave their orders, blushing again when he deflected to her when it came to what they’d be drinking. “Oh, Jack…” With a small laugh, she looked at the waiter. “Dom Perignon, please? And thank you.”

Jack shook his head, trying to explain. “That you often like the more simple things, but can also appreciate the finer things at special occasions.” He gave her a little smirk, that was somehow still gentlemanly, when she blushed and ordered the champagne, waiting until after the waiter was thanked again and left with their menus. “I want the pregnancy to happen as fate chooses, but I want you to have time to plan your dream wedding, as simple or as extravagant as you like, but the old fashioned part of me would like to be married at least before the first child is born? So, that’s an ‘I’m not sure.’? What are your feelings on all that?”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“The Dom is a $187 bottle of champagne, sweetie. I don’t do a lot of extravagance.” Leah knew that money really wasn’t an issue, but she just wasn’t used to being spoiled. Catching Jack’s smile, she smiled back, and shook her head no. “I don’t think so. If being your fiancee is surreal, becoming your wife will be off the charts.”

Jack shook his head. “Honestly, I didn’t even look at the list, but that sounds about right. I know you don’t, it’s another thing I love about you, but you more than deserve a little treat every now and again.” His eyes lit up as she said fiancee again and even more so as the word wife was spoken. “I feel the same way, about being your husband.” He relayed both of their orders to the waiter once he had come over. “And also we will have a bottle of.....”, he looked to Leah to supply her final answer.

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“One day I will…trust me.” Leah happily took the wine list, wondering who actually took the time to read a full restaurant wine list, it was loooooooooong! Spying something, she piped up. “Speaking of champagne, I could make ya spring for the Dom Perignon, but I’m not that mean. So how ‘bout a bottle of Moet & Chandon?” She found herself looking down shyly for a moment, then up into Jack’s eyes. “I can’t believe I’m your fiancee.”

Jack nodded about trusting her, gazing at her with loving amusement as she was perusing the wine list. “You can order anything you want, you only turn 22 and get engaged on the same night once.” He smiled at that shy look before smiling more warmly at the loving one. “It’s slowing sinking in for me, minute by minute. Will you believe when you’re my wife?” He tilted his head curiously, waiting for the waiter to come take their order.

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“The sun will sparkle on it, as will the stars. A light and color show just for us.” She was glad that he approved of her choice, and the fact that she’d grown up a meat and potatoes girl…and that wouldn’t change. “Okay, Porterhouse it is! And……aphrodisiac? I’m all for it.” She agreed playfully. “Are we having a good glass of red with these steaks?”

Jack beamed at her description. “One day, you should write about that.” He nodded about the aphrodisiac, handing her the wine list. “Or Champagne, if you’d rather, I’ll let the Birthday Girl pick, or my fiancee, she’s one in the same.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

Leah couldn’t say that she wasn’t taken back to the Easton name conversation as well. “And for that name which is no part of thee, take all myself.” She wanted to take Jack’s last name, and give it the positivity that he had grown to think it lacked. When he pulled out her chair for her, she felt like a princess, and took it with a smile of thanks. “Smelling the roses.” She said, gesturing toward the windows. “Nothing says we can’t enjoy a beautiful sunset. In fact, we should. We may never see it the same way again.” Leah picked up her menu, and slowly perused it, seeing so many tantalizing things to choose from. “Would I come off as a total Texan if I went for the porterhouse?”

Jack smiled more warmly about the Montagueness of it all, happy that they had arrived on the same page through their earlier discussion. He took his seat across from her, picking up his menu to give it a look after he took in the view. “I know the sun hitting the water will have a special sparkliness tonight.” He grinned at her menu choice, nodding. “But that’s what I love about you, so yes, go for it!” He perused the menu himself. “Would I be able to convince you into Oysters to start, you know what they say? And now that I look at it, Porterhouse seems a safe bet for me too.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” Leah trailed of dreamily, totally agreeing with Jack about the protein. She still had Jack’s arm as they trailed the Maitre D’, and her eyes widened in surprise as Jack presented the table. “It’ll more than do, it’s beautiful! And look at that view!” She exclaimed, looking out over the water. “Not that I’ll be paying much attention to it. I have something more interesting to gaze at.”

Jack smiled softly, nodding in agreement with her quote, recalling their conversation about the name Easton in the car on the way here. “...’It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man.’...” He let go of her arm gently to pull out her chair for her. “I do too, but it should be very pretty once the sun sets fully.” Their menus were placed at their seats.

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

Leah laughed. “Sorry. Wait……no I’m not.” But she softened as Jack’s fingertips sweetly played over her ring finger. “I know, baby, it’s important to me too. We need to take time to smell the roses, cherish every second that we belong to each other.” Going through the entrance of the restaurant with her fiance, she nodded happily. “Two things to celebrate on one day, I love it. Think we should get some major carbs and protein in for what’s to come later?”

Jack laughed softly in response to her own. “I didn’t think you would be sorry.” He smiled softly at the analogy. “And the roses always smell sweetest with you.” He nodded, grinning. “Protein is so important.” He spoke to the Maitre D’ to announce that they had arrived, setting the rest of the night in motion, and they were led back to the dining area. “Will this do?” He grinned at Leah curiously.

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“Instinct and chemistry are the best guides.” A soft moan escaped Leah’s lips at Jack’s answer, and she leaned in close to give a breathy whisper. “Oh, how I remember. The first time I felt you inside me I just… Everything felt right for the first time ever. I was yours, and I wanted to be.”

Jack cleared his throat. “My suit pants are getting a little snug.” He played with her fingers gently, tickling slowly over her ring finger. “Making a home together, literally and metaphorically is important to me, all those little moments. I’m yours, and you’re mine.” He moved to open the main door for her. “Birthday and engagement celebration dinner first?”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

Leah smiled sweetly, even blushed a bit. “That neither of us had anything to be afraid of, yet we were nervous as hell until things began. You know, after you stopped treating me like china, and we found out we were so fucking compatible?” She loved the reaction she got when she brushed Jack’s ear, and gave a sneaky little grin as she took his arm. “What’s your favorite memory of that night?”

Jack grinned, taking in that blush of hers. “Is that your advice for when we try any new thing? Let instinct and chemistry be our guide?” He spoke softly and discretely as they got closer to the entrance. “Being inside you, finally felt like home, especially when all that compatibility took the wheel. I felt free to just be. It feels like that whenever we’re together, but intimacy is extra special.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“Yes it did.” Leah smiled. “And I love my old fashioned Boston Gentleman. Any questions for me? To see if I remember our firsts?” As she stood, she purposely let her fingertips run over Jack’s left ear, as if she were fixing his hair, but he’d know better. “I’m not worried, I know you’ll take the best care of me. Shall we?”

Jack thought a moment after he shut her door carefully, hitting the lock on the key fob before pocketing them, smiling softly. “What’s your favorite memory about that very first night we didn’t sleep?” He grinned, then breathed out huskily for a moment when she touched his ear, then taking her arm after he had calmed a bit to steer her toward the entrance and to find their reservation. “We shall.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“Yeah, she was just pourin’ drinks…she was just pourin’ us more.” Leah had to grin about her bestie’s antics that night. “I don’t know, it was 1/4 ‘I’m hazy’, and 3/4 ‘I really wanted to kiss you’. Honest truth. Now, would you have kissed me, if I hadn’t kissed you first?” Manhattan, as she remembered it, was a lot of talking, a little crying, a major dose of sudden understanding, and then just giving in to the universe. “I wouldn’t change any of our kisses.” And she sighed happily as he pulled away from the kiss, got out, and came around to open her door. “I hope the first aid kit has Dramamine, because……I’ve never been on a yacht before. I’ve never been on anything bigger than a fishing boat.” Smiling, she took Jack’s hand to step out. “Looks like this is another first.”

Jack grinned, thinking about what he could remember of that night. “The whiskey unstarched my starch, so I might have, but I love my bold, sassy Southern Girl, no more changes.” He opened her door for her carefully after shutting his. “Don’t worry, we’re eating inside the restaurant, and then----sleeping on the yacht.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“Don’t get me thinkin’ about showers, or hot baths right now, mister.” Leah retorted. “The Gamma Phi Beta backyard barbecue.” She said through a bit of her own laughter. “I couldn’t believe you came. You said you’d rather not when I invited you. Youngsters, I remember you saying. But good food, and beer, and…Georgie bringin’ out the whiskey……” The giggles flew for a moment. “Next thing I know, I’m kissin’ you against a tree.” She nodded about the second one too. “As for Manhattan… You were there, and your sexy lips were there, and they kept saying they wanted another chance. So…’Oh, fuck it’.” She smiled as she undid her seat belt, and kissed Jack again, blown away by this ‘X’. “Really? I want. I want with you. I really, really, really do.”

Jack rolled his eyes playfully about that barbeque. “And I didn’t buy little Miss Georgia’s ‘innocent’ ‘I’m just pourin’ drinks.’ then, and I don’t buy it now.” He grinned as Leah giggled. “I guess it did the trick though, didn’t it?” He grinned at the memory of their Manhattan kiss as well. “I wouldn’t change that one for anything either.” He kissed her softly after she did, undoing his seatbelt so that he could exit the car to get her door. “I figure we’ve covered most of the major modes of transportation today, why not a yacht?”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

“I’m happy to hear you say that. I’m also happy to hear more Boston coming out of you, as more Texas comes out of me.” ‘Spose seemed to be becoming a permanent part of Jack’s lexicon, and Leah found it sweet, and genuine. “If they hadn’t, we never would’ve met. And he did loosen up, he just needed to find the right girl to do his laundry…and leave out the starch. I bet he’s a lot more comfortable now.” Her smile was brilliant as she moved to kiss his jaw again.

“Do you remember when our first kiss happened? And who kissed who first?” He did just mention firsts, and that was basically like saying ‘let the quiz begin’, and both would most likely be answering ‘first’ questions for a while now. Looking into his eyes as he laughed, she then looked out the windshield, too engrossed in conversation to notice that they’d just parked at the marina……until now. She couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. “What in the world did you do? Rent a boat?”

Jack smiled softly. “What are we, if not our differences and similarities combined?” He grinned, laughing softly at himself. “Yes, especially when she does my laundry, and anything else involving soap and hot water.” He sighed happily as she kissed his jaw again. “I seem to recall a tree? And you first, but I might have been more than a little happily dizzy afterward, so my mind might be a little fuzzy on that particular memory. I remember our second first kiss in Manhattan though, pretty sure you started that one with ‘Oh fuck it’, or something like that.” He grinned at her little gasp, nodding. “Unless you want to go back to the apartment tonight, for new explorations, it’s all ours after dinner, til morning tomorrow, if you want.”

If You Keep Me Next To You || Jack & Leah

leah-shane:

Leah snickered. “When I was 6, you were 19. Now how adorable is it? But I hope so too, and books are our life, so I couldn’t see them not growing up surrounded by words and pictures.” She smiled about her father then. “He was the wisest man I knew, until I met a certain ‘Stuffed Suit’.”

She nodded about his flower speak, blushing a little at her new moniker, happy that she had Jack inspired. “Once upon a time it wouldn’t have been, if I hadn’t pulled you out of that glass tower. If you hadn’t come looking for me when I ran…” Her gaze went to her ring, and she still marveled at how perfect it was. “Now we’re engaged, and talking about kids, and……am I the only one reflecting on how we got here? And thankful for every part of it?” A look of confusion crossed her face for what seemed like way too long. “Pirates????”

Jack smirked a bit when she snickered. “Age is nothing but a number, and still adorable, in an appropriate way.” He nodded, smiling warmly then. “I think books are very valuable, I ‘spose that’s one of the few worthwhile things my parents instilled in me.” He shook his head about his suit with another little smirk. “If he was so wise, he probably would’ve loosened up much more quickly, and used less starch, damned uncomfortable, I’m telling you.”

He shook his head about reflecting. “No, you’re not the only one. It’s days like these when we should reflect on the important stuff, firsts and all that. I’m thankful too, bounces and bruises and buses and diamonds along the way.” He laughed aloud though at her reaction to the pirates reference as he pulled into a parking spot. “One never knows.”

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