| Trouble in Paradise |
| This companion to "The Perfect End to a Perfect Day" really takes this set of stories out of my Phoenix universe, but it worked so nicely I decided to post it here anyway. Timeline: January 2004 aboard the MV Century, Western Carribbean Oh yeah - and that pink sequined bikini? It was real. That girl wanted attention BAD. |
| �Fine, Jack, if that�s the way you want it, I�m out of here!� Lennie stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. This vacation had been going so well; too well, he thought now. After the first day at sea on Sunday, they had visited Jamaica on Monday, Grand Cayman on Tuesday, and Cozumel Mexico on Wednesday. Some rough weather had delayed their shore excursions at Cayman, but by early afternoon they were able to get ashore. They had had a marvelous time wandering around, taking some of the shore excursions, and enjoying the warm temperatures. But as the week went on, Lennie kept noticing Jack flirting with the pretty girls. Both of them had well over 50 years hard wiring; he had no problems with enjoying the scenery, as it were. But he knew that unlike himself, Jack really didn�t consider himself gay. He rationalized their relationship as �the exception that proves the rule,� still considering himself to be primarily attracted to women. Back home, it never bothered Lennie. Even before they became lovers, both had effectively withdrawn from the dating game. // But that was just because of Claire, // Lennie thought. // Now that he�s finally stopped grieving for her, maybe he is ready to let another woman into his life. And if he does, what about me? // They had gotten back late last night; the ship stayed a few extra hours in Cozumel to make up for the lost shore time the day before. They had gone to their cabin, showered, and fallen into bed, exhausted. This morning, Jack had awakened him as he had most mornings except when they had an early shore excursion; giving him the most pleasant erotic dreams until he woke up to find he wasn�t actually dreaming. But when they went up to breakfast, he noticed that Jack was still watching the girls poolside. The black clouds that momentarily blocked the sun matched Lennie�s mood perfectly. Jack noticed that Lennie seemed kind of grumpy during breakfast, but put it down to being tired after three days of shore excursions. He was glad they had a day at sea to relax today; his body was complaining that he really wasn�t 25 anymore, no matter how much he wanted to be. After breakfast, they found a couple of deck chairs near the pool and settled in. Instead of his usual flat-out sleeping mode, Lennie left the back of his chair up so he could watch the goings-on from behind his dark sunglasses. Sure enough, there was one girl in a shocking pink sequined bikini that just screamed �pay attention to ME!� and Jack was more than happy to oblige. After lunch, a volleyball game broke out in the pool, and Lennie swore she intentionally sent the ball out of bounds in their direction JUST so she could come retrieve it. She even tried to get Jack to come join the game � and he DID! Something inside Lennie just snapped then. When Jack came back to his chair, Lennie got up and mumbled something about heading down to the casino for a bit. When he looked back, pink bikini was sitting in his chair . . . They both came back to the cabin to change for dinner. Tonight was the second �Formal night� of the cruise, the Captain�s Farewell dinner. Lennie was not in the mood to fuss with the rented tuxedo. Jack of course was perfectly comfortable in the fancy duds. �Lennie, are you OK? You seem kinda grumpy today?� �Oh, you finally noticed? How nice of you! And why wouldn�t I be grumpy today? After the way you hung all over that dolphin trainer yesterday and miss pink bikini today? After all, it�s not like we�re TOGETHER on this cruise or anything?� Lennie was surprised by how bitter he sounded. Jack was surprised by Lennie�s reaction. His own temper got the better of him. �Come on, Lennie, I was just having fun. Besides, it�s not like we�re married or anything!� Jack�s words cut through him like a knife. �Fine, Jack, if that�s the way you want it, I�m out of here!� Lennie stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. Stunned by Lennie�s departure, Jack simply stood there for a few minutes. Should he follow, or give Lennie a chance to cool down? He sighed and looked at the clock; he barely had time to shower and dress for dinner, and he really didn�t want to miss the second formal night. And besides which, he had no idea what to say to Lennie to make it better. Yes, he enjoyed looking at the many beautiful women on board; they both did, had even made jokes about it early in the week. But that didn�t mean he was going to DO anything about it. OK, he had flirted with that one by the pool today. And yesterday at the Dolphin encounter park. But that was just flirting; it didn�t mean anything. Why did Lennie have to make such a big deal about it? Lennie hadn�t returned by the time he left for dinner, so he told their dining companions that Lennie had gotten a bit of sun poisoning and wasn�t feeling up to dressing up tonight. He found he could barely touch the food, playing with his appetizer more than eating it. The nice British lady sitting next to him leaned over and asked softly, �Lennie�s not sick, is he?� For some unknown reason, Jack decided to trust this near-stranger. �No, we had a fight this afternoon.� She nodded �You really love him?� It was Jack�s turn to nod. �Then go find him. I think both of you can be very stubborn. One of you has to give. Say you�re sorry even if you don�t think it�s your fault. Now GO!� She patted his hand and nodded toward the door. Jack excused himself and left to find Lennie. Lennie was glad that the one thing that wasn�t free on this floating food factory was booze. He had left his room key/on-board charge card back in the room, leaving him no way to buy a drink. So he wandered aimlessly around the ship for a while, eventually ending up on the upper deck where they had watched the stars on that long ago perfect night. He leaned against the railing and sighed, watching the sunset. It was getting chilly out here; they were heading back towards Florida, the warm Caribbean nights were over. He had been doing a lot of thinking since he stormed out of their room. It had been so wonderful at the beginning of this trip; he really felt like they were on their honeymoon. But it obviously didn�t mean that much to Jack; �It�s not like we�re married or anything!� Was Jack getting tired of his �diversion?� Was Lennie just a stepping stone between Claire and whatever came next? Now that he remembered what love was, did he want to find the �real thing� � with a woman? // If that�s what he truly wants, then who am I to stop him? // He looked up at the stars, remembering the constellations Jack had pointed out just a few nights ago. Was it over? The tears spilled over; he stood there in the dark, crying silently. Jack had come out onto the deck at the far end from where they had done their stargazing. He spotted Lennie at the other end, leaning on the rail, still dressed in the shorts and t-shirt he had been wearing when he left. // He must be freezing // He walked toward his lover, stopping about 10 feet away under one of the deck lights. �Lennie,� he called softly. Lennie heard the footsteps approaching and then his lover�s voice calling his name. He looked up and turned toward the sound. Jack stood under the light. Still wearing his tux, he looked like something out of the pages of GQ. He was so beautiful it made Lennie�s heart ache. // How could I have ever expected to hold that? // he wondered. �Jack.� It was all he could manage to say. But it was enough. Jack quickly closed the distance between them. Up close, he could see that Lennie had been crying. He reached out to take Lennie�s face between his hands. �Oh, Lennie, I never meant to hurt you . . .� He leaned forward to kiss away the tears, but Lennie pulled away. �No, Jack, if it�s over then let it be over. If you want something more than a broken-down old cop . . .� �Over? What are you talking about?� He reached out again, laying his hands on Lennie�s arms. He realized that his friend was shivering with the cold. He took off the jacket of his tux, and wrapped it around the other man�s shoulders. �Lennie, you�re freezing. We need to talk about this; but let�s do it inside, OK?� Lennie just stood there, not sure what to do. Jack reached out again, gathering Lennie into his arms. The warmth of Jack�s body made Lennie realize just how cold he was; he collapsed into his lover�s arms and let Jack lead him back inside and down to their cabin. �God, even your clothes are cold. Here, get out of those and under the covers.� He helped Lennie undress then shed his fancy clothes as quickly as he could. Lennie laid down facing the side of the bed, and a few minutes later Jack joined him, spooning in behind him, wrapping an arm and a leg over him to share as much body heat as he could. He held Lennie like that until finally the shivering stopped. Lennie took a deep breath and released it as a long sigh. Jack hugged him and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Lennie rolled over to face him. �Thanks, Jack,� was all he could bring himself to say. Jack caressed his face. �Lennie, love, what the hell gave you the idea that anything was �over?� Just because I�ve flirted with a couple of ladies this week? That�s just a lifetime of habit. It�s fun, but it doesn�t mean anything. Please tell me you know that!� �I don�t know that, Jack. We never talk about our relationship � oh, god, I�m starting to sound like my ex-wives! But at least back then we knew where we stood. There were landmarks along the way. You dated lots of people, but when it got serious you settled down with just one. You understood the commitment when you asked her to move in or even to marry you.. We sort of skipped all that because we already lived together. What are we, Jack? Lovers? Fuck-buddies? Is there any sort of commitment here? It always seems to mean more to me than to you. When we started this cruise, it felt like we were on our honeymoon. Maybe I had no right to feel that way, but I did. They you start fooling around with those women, and I wonder if you even think we�re �going steady?� since �it�s not like we�re married or anything!� Lennie closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to spill. Jack was stricken. He�d had no idea what those ill-chosen words had done to his lover. No. Not just lover. Lennie was more than that; he was the light that had taught Jack to love again. He was the one who put Jack back together when the job threatened to tear him apart. He made Jack�s life whole in a way it never had been before. Lennie was right; they had just sort of taken their relationship for granted, never putting a name to it. Maybe it was time they did. He reached out to gently brush the tears away. �Lennie, you�re right. We haven�t talked about this, and I�m sorry. And this afternoon I spoke in anger. Let me make it clear now. I don�t want anybody else, just you. It�s not what I was looking for, but it�s what I found.� He was quiet for a minute, trying to find the right words. He ran his hand down from Lennie�s face along his arm, took the fingers into his hand. �Lennie, a long time ago I promised somebody �forever,� and I couldn�t keep that promise. You�ve been there twice yourself. I don�t know if �forever� exists, but I�d like to try to find it with you. We skipped all the other milestones; let�s have this one make up for it. Next year�s vacation will be our honeymoon, OK?� Lennie gazed into his eyes, stunned. Up on deck, he had expected the end of their relationship, not a formal proposal. He couldn�t ever remember being so happy. He reached out to caress his fiance�s face. �Jack . . . � The kiss said the rest for him. As they lost themselves in each other, Jack recalled the song the piano in the dining room had been playing earlier. In his mind, he heard the voice of Sarah Brightman soaring . . . �Say you�ll give to me one love, one lifetime . . . Promise me that all you say is true. Promise me, that�s all I ask of you.� Back to the Story Index Send me some feedback Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit |