Contact Extras
When I first wrote Contact I was full of ideas and had a difficult time cutting scenes or leaving scenes out which were fun but weren’t essential to the plot. So I thought you might like to read a collection of deleted and bonus scenes, lost fragments that never made the final version. Some were trimmed for pacing, others because as much as I love Jack and Eliza banter there was just too much. These scenes aren’t polished or edited; a sneak peek into Contact’s earlier draft.
FOOTPRINTS – Deleted Scene from CONTACT
WARNING! This scene contains mild spoilers for those who haven’t read Contact.
Deleted scene – This scene originally came in between Jack revealing all after the bank raid, and Eliza going to school and seeing him again, set after Eliza gets home and speaks to Amy on the phone. It was deleted because although I liked Eliza having to trust Jack as he came rushing to her rescue, it felt a little unnecessary to justify making the final edit.
That night I slept deeply and dreamlessly when suddenly I woke with a jump. I sat bolt upright in bed, my heart racing. My room was pitch black, the glowing red digits on my alarm clock read 2:00 am exactly. I pressed a hand to my chest, still thumping. Had a noise woken me? I sat motionless, listening. Nothing. I took some deep breaths and as my heart rate slowed, I felt better. But I decided I should have a quick check to make sure everything was normal before I would be able to get back to sleep.
Unplugging my phone from where it was charging by my bedside, I pulled on my robe and peeked in on Daisy who was sleeping peacefully. I crept downstairs, padding into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. All the windows were closed, the front door was double locked and the back door bolted up tight. Everything was exactly as it should be, but as I filled my glass I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being watched. My eyes flicked to the window but all I could see was darkness, along with my own shadowy reflection in the soft glow from my phone which I was using as a torch. I began to turn away telling myself I was being paranoid, when I saw movement from the corner of my eye. My heart hammered like a thousand horses hooves as I stepped closer to the window, searching into the blackness. Only inches from the other side of the window, a pair of bright green eyes stared back at me.
A shot of pure terror spiked through me and I swallowed the scream, which rose in my throat. Every hair on my body stood on end. I ducked down out of sight of the window. Blood rushed in my ears. I tried to process what I had seen… eyes, just those glowing emerald eyes, no face, no body. Nothing just eyes. Was it real? Was Drayton, or whatever-his-name-was, outside the window watching me?
I didn’t dare take second look. Gripping my phone with trembling fingers, I dialled Jack. It seemed to ring forever and just when I thought it would go to voicemail, he answered.
“Hello?” He sounded groggy, his voice thick with sleep.
“Jack, it’s Eliza,” I whispered.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly alert.
I described what I’d seen, already feeling silly. Although after the content of our previous conversations I shouldn’t have, but saying it aloud felt like I had rung him to tell him about a nightmare I’d had. Getting up from the floor I gathered my courage and peeked back out. There were no eyes.
Feeling braver I moved closer. As my eyes got used to the dark I could make out the shape of the bushes a few metres away which ran alongside the path that led around to the back garden.
“Someone’s here,” I told him. “I know it sounds weird but I can feel them.”
There was muffled rustling on the other end of the line. “Stay where you are, I’m coming over.”
“Yeah, really not a problem,” I muttered, but he had already hung up.
Clutching my phone, I crouched back down under the window and hugged my knees to my chest. I was too frightened to move even if I’d wanted to.
What was he doing here? The thought of Daisy coming downstairs and seeing those eyes, or worse those eyes seeing her, filled me with dread.
I waited for what seemed like forever, and yet no time at all, running a million horrible scenarios through my mind. Suddenly my phone vibrated in my hand, giving me such a fright I nearly screamed out loud. It was Jack.
When I opened the front door and saw him I instinctively unwound. I was still wary of him but subconsciously I knew I could trust him. And I did. Seeing him standing there, completely unfazed, in a Metallica hoodie and rumpled bed hair, made me feel safer somehow. I knew he would protect me. I waited anxiously hovering in the hallway, out of sight, whilst Jack carried out a search of outside, and then inside, the house.
“All clear,” he told me when he returned. “But there was definitely someone here, I found some fresh footprints in the mud around the side of the house, right by the kitchen window.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered. This was’t new information but it seemed so much worse to hear him confirm it.
“What was he doing here Jack? Why was he spying on me? Is it because I was at the bank?”
Jack’s jaw clenched. “I have a few theories but it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“How can I not be worried when I have an alien peeping through my window!” I whispered.
“Freddie is setting up a force field around your house. It will be invisible to the human eye so you won’t be able to see it, but it will let us know if any non human crosses the perimeter.”
I arched an eyebrow at him, my cynical side thought that sounded like he was making it up to reassure me. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, in case you didn’t know, Freddie’s kind of a tech head.”
I decided to listen to the side of me who now knew aliens existed. “Well alright then.” Knowing Daisy and I wound be safe each night while we slept made me feel better, and the rest? Well I would deal with that tomorrow.
“I should go,” Jack said. His voice softened as he stepped closer. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Sure,” I said regaining my composure. Suddenly I was aware of how revealing my vest and shorts were, I fastened my robe.
“Thanks for coming over,” I said as he turned to go.
“You did the right thing.”
Invisible force field or no invisible force field it was a long time before I fell back to sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes I saw those green eyes staring at me. What was he doing at my house? What did he want? I wondered if I wanted to know Jack’s theories but, like it or not, this was very real and it didn’t look like it was going away just yet.
MAYA – Deleted Scene from CONTACT
Deleted scene – Originally this took place after the Gekko Club and before they visit Heeley. I love the pre-kiss banter between Jack and Eliza, but I think this was a bit too flirty. Cutting this scene meant less Maya, but it slowed the pace too much.
As soon as the final bell rang I was on my way to the carpark, when I heard Amy call my name.
I turned to see her and Tasha rushing towards me, with determined faces. Admittedly, I had been avoiding them rather a lot lately and it looked like it had finally caught up with me.
“Hi,” I said when they reached me. There was an awkward pause, something the three of us had never had before.
“Eliza, what’s going on with you?” Tasha finally asked.
“Nothing…honestly,” I insisted when they both peered at me.
Amy folded her arms. “You don’t seem like yourself. You keep saying you are busy but never explain why. Every time I see you lately you’re with Jack but you’re still adamant you can’t stand him. I don’t get it.”
“There’s nothing wrong. You know what things are like at home, I’ve been keeping Daisy distracted while juggling school and work. And the ‘Jack’ thing is completely innocent. He is really annoying but somehow we have kind of become friends.”
Tasha wrinkled her nose. “So there’s really nothing going on between you two?”
I shook my head. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Because it is impossible to be ‘just friends’ with someone so gorgeous.”
“Aww thanks Tash,” I teased.
“I meant him.”
Amy remained silent and, while it looked like I might have gotten around Tasha, Amy’s scowl told me I wasn’t getting around her quite so easily.
She fixed me with a stern look. “I came to your house the other day, the day before Heidi’s party. I wanted to tell you about Dane, but Jack was there. I saw him leave your house. You two were as thick as thieves. It looked a lot more intense than a couple of friends hanging out.”
I stared at her, my mind whirling. She’d come to my house? That must have been when Jack told me about my dad, so yes, I expect we did look intense. I couldn’t believe she had kept that to herself all that time.
“How about a coffee?” I suggested.
Amy and Tasha exchanged a glance.
“Please?” I begged, giving them each a careful look. “There’s something I need to tell you about Jack.”
***
“By the way I told the girls you are dyslexic.”
Jack, Callan and I were at Ridgewood having beer and pizza. Jack stopped mid-swig and began coughing, while Callan burst out laughing.
“What? Why would you do that?” Jack spluttered, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
“Because I had to tell them something. They staged an intervention to find out what was going on with me. Amy saw us together again, so I told them you have dyslexia and I have been helping you.” He stared at me, slack-jawed. “What? It’s better than the truth.”
Jack glowered at Callan who was still laughing. “Couldn’t you just say we were dating?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, because that would result in us having to pretend to date. Besides, dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of Jack.”
“No, it’s not – if you actually have it!” he exclaimed, sending Callan into a fresh fit of laughter.
Callan finished eating and left, and Jack was still sulking when the front door banged. Freddie appeared in the doorway with a girl behind him.
“Maya!” Jack called.
“Hello Jack,” Maya said with a small smile. She sounded nervous. With long toffee-coloured hair and ice-blue eyes, she was strikingly beautiful. Dressed casually in a flannel shirt and jeans, she wore a black beanie and thick rimmed glasses. I grinned, she suited Freddie perfectly.
Freddie introduced us then disappeared upstairs to get his laptop, muttering something about a programme he wanted to show her. Of course I wasn’t surprised to hear she was a computer whizz just like him.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you, I have heard a lot about you,” I told her.
“Likewise,” she said, her eyes flicking to Jack then back to me.
I pressed my lips together. Goodness knows what they had told her. I didn’t want to know.
Jack shot Maya a knowing grin. “Eliza, how about we go for a drink? Give these lovebirds some alone time alone.”
“You really don’t have to,” Maya said, her cheeks turning pink.
“These old houses have surprisingly thin walls.” Jack’s grin broadened as I gave him a shove. Maya’s cheeks went from pink to crimson.
I gave her a warm smile. “Ignore him, he’s just bitter no one wants to spend any time alone with him.”
He frowned. “Hey, what do you think we’ve been doing all night?”
“Not that kind of alone,” I said, with a sugary smile.
His eyes sparked. “Well, as I keep telling you dah-lin, we can change that whenever you want. Just say the word.”
“And he thinks by constantly flirting-not that I would really call it that-I’ll suddenly jump on him,” I told Maya.
This made him laugh. “A bloke can live in hope can’t he?”
Maya and I shared a conspiratorial smile and she gave me a small nod. The attention had shifted away from her. Mission accomplished.
Freddie reappeared with his laptop under his arm. He took one look at Maya then narrowed his eyes at Jack, who opened his mouth but I quickly covered it with my hand.
“Jack and I were just on our way out,” I told Freddie quickly, dragging Jack out by the arm.
***
As we soon as we were outside I poked Jack in the ribs. “You are so mean.”
“Mean? I think it is pretty decent of me to clear off so they can have the place to themselves.”
“You didn’t have to embarrass her though, the poor girl looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.”
“She knows I’m only mucking around, believe me she’s used to it,” he said, waving his hand. He leaned on the top of his car. “So where shall we go?”
“You can go wherever you want. I’m going home.”
“No way, you have to stay and keep me company. I don’t want to go by myself. Come on Eliza…please,” he said, giving me puppy dog eyes.
I sighed. “One drink. But only if you promise to behave yourself.” I was already climbing in the car.
“Scout’s honour,” he said giving a little salute. Hopping into the car, he started the engine.
“As if you were ever a scout,” I scoffed as we drove away.
***
I didn’t take long to decide on Evil Pete’s. It wasn’t like there were any other options. The place was busy for a Tuesday but we still managed to find an empty booth at the back.
“Maybe we should go to the bar, by the look of it we could be in for a wait,” I said, eyeing the crowd.
“There are plenty of other ways we can pass the time,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
I rested my chin on my hand. “Are you still carrying this on? Y’know if I actually went for it and said yes, then you’d run a mile.”
He leaned in, his face so close that for a split second I thought he was going to kiss me there and then.
“Try me,” he said, his expression serious. His gaze was intense, his pupils dilated and I noticed tiny little sparks of silver amongst the grey, actually if I-
“Sorry for the wait guys, what can I get you?” a voice said, breaking the spell and sending me back to reality with a jolt.
Pulling away from Jack’s hypnotic gaze, I turned to the waitress and cleared my throat. “Coke please,” I said, deciding on a soft drink.
I needed to keep a clear head.
KITCHEN – Deleted Scene from CONTACT
This scene came after Sadie’s House and before Daisy was kidnapped. In fact, the phone call Jack gets was supposed to be from Callan, who had set up a distraction for Jack, to make sure he wasn’t around when he helped Dray take Daisy.
In the end the scene was deleted because as much as I love a bit of Jack and Eliza alone time, Contact is a long book and I didn’t really feel it was essential to move the story along.
Jack texted me during my second class. It was all arranged, he was leaving for Mexico early the next morning. Keen to get the Orb out of Burnt Oak and as far away from Dray’s clutches as possible, but not wanting to be separated, the air was charged when we snuck back to Ridgewood after lunch.
“Finally we’re alone,” I said, as I followed Jack in to the kitchen. “And if I remember rightly you promised me mind blowing?“
“You’re right I did.” He turned around and with a devilish grin he backed me up against the kitchen wall, hands resting either side of my head, caging me in with this body. He leaned in, so close, his lips almost brushed mine. “And I always keep my promises.” His eyes gleamed as he spoke.
I moved forwards and touched my lips to his. Gently at first, then gathering pace as his tongue entwined with mine, the heavy weight of his body pressed against me. As usual, our kisses went from nought to sixty in ten seconds flat, and in less time than it takes to say, ‘falling fast,’ our coats were discarded in a heap on the floor. I moaned Jack’s name into his ear as his hands moved underneath my top, his warm fingers sliding around my waist.
Lifting me up by my hips, I wound my legs around his waist, pulling him closer as he carried me to the counter, sitting me on the worktop.
“Oh God,” I groaned, arching my back and tipping my head back as Jack pressed his lips to my neck. I could barely contain myself. His touch, the feel of his skin under my fingertips, his intoxicating scent. I wanted him so badly I could hardly breathe.
He raised his head and my heart leapt. His eyes were glowing, a soft silvery grey. He looked so beautiful it left me breathless.
“Upstairs?” he asked his voice a low whisper.
“Yes.” I had never wanted anything more.
He stared at me, eyes burning brighter. I felt so exposed, like he could see deep inside of me and there was nowhere to hide. I had never felt so vulnerable in my entire life but at the same time it was exhilarating, sharing this with him.
He kissed me again, more urgently this time. I tugged his t-shirt up, running my fingers across the hard, flat muscles of his stomach.
At exactly the same time, his jeans pocket started vibrating and Enter the Sandman by Metallica blared out. I gritted my teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I love my phone as much as the next person but they really need to be thrown out of the window at times.
Jack pulled back. He looked torn.
“It could be important,” I said, pulling his t-shirt back down.
“It better be,” he growled. Sucking in a breath he turned away from me to answer it.
“Yeah?” His tone didn’t disguise the same exasperation I was feeling. As he listened, I watched his expression change from irritation to intrigue.
“Eliza, I am so sorry but I’ve gotta go,” he said when he’d finished the call.
“Right now? What’s going on?”
“I know. It’s the worst timing,” he kissed my forehead. “And this,” he said, gesturing between us with a killer smile. “Is to be continued…”
With that he switched to business mode. “You wanna stay here or do you want a lift home?”
“Jack, what’s going on?”
He studied my face for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me. “An Equinox Agent has followed one of Dray’s guys to a house just outside of town. He needs help to take him out.”
Pulling his coat back on he grabbed his keys from the worktop. “Lift or not?”
“Lift,” I said hopping down from the counter and reluctantly picking up my coat from the floor.
“What do you mean ‘take him out’? Are you going to kill him?” I asked, a tremor of fear creeping into my voice, as he lead me out of the house. I knew they were fighting a war but the thought of him seeking someone out and taking their life was different kettle of fish altogether.
“No, we bag ‘em, Equinox tag ‘em and ship them off back to Andronia, but I hope he puts up a fight because I could do with a good brawl.”
“Jack!”
“What? I need to do something to work off this frustration.”
I sat back in my seat and stared out of the window. I couldn’t believe that if he hadn’t taken that call we might have been in his bed right now… oh who was I kidding? We’d one hundred percent be in his bed right now! Just the thought sent my pulse rocketing and I had to take a few breaths to compose myself.
“Will you meet me later?”
“I have to pick up Daisy from school. You can come if you want? I’d love for you to meet her properly.”
Jack shot me a glance. “I would really like that.”
A fuzzy glow warmed my insides. “Be warned you may have to play princesses with us.”
He grinned. “No worries. I make a great Prince Charming.”
I wrinkled my nose. ”Yeah, I was thinking more like Cinderella.”
He shrugged. “That’s alright, I look awesome in a tiara.”
We arrived at my house and I leaned in, giving Jack a lingering kiss.
Before getting out, I stroked his cheek. “Be careful.”
He flashed me a cocky smile. “Always.”
I spent the afternoon studying, exchanging texts with Amy and Tasha and daydreaming about Jack. I caught myself smiling at the stupidest things and there was a light, tingly feeling inside me.
If I’d have known what was to come I would have savoured that feeling. Of happiness. Of serenity. I would have basked in the euphoric feeling you get when you are on the brink of falling in love.
But I didn’t know. I had no idea.
DATE – Deleted Scene from CONTACT
Deleted Scene – On the way to visit Cylania, Jack mentions wanting to take Eliza on a date… so this is it! It takes place after the visitor centre ambush and before going to Sadie’s house. It was deleted due to length and flow. Also, the ‘Maya’ scene had been deleted so part of it didn’t make sense. (Read that here)
After everything that had gone down at the Sunlight visitor centre, Jack was under strict instructions to take it easy. He wasn’t in school because Scarlett had insisted he stayed home so I was surprised to find him waiting outside my classroom when the bell rang for lunch.
“You’re supposed to be resting. How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine. Scarlett’s over reacting. Apart from going crazy with boredom, there’s nothing wrong with me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Jack, you’ve been at home for one morning.”
“Do you have plans for lunch?”
I shrugged. “Not really. I was just planning on grabbing something from the canteen.”
“Wanna go somewhere?”
“Somewhere?” I asked.
He looked at me with that smouldery gaze of his that made my insides flutter. “I thought we could go on that date we talked about. To the movies.”
I looked around. Students were everywhere. If we left now no one would notice us. I had History after lunch but we were working on revision topics. If I got the notes from one of my classmates tomorrow I wouldn’t miss out.
I turned back to Jack. “All right. Let’s go.”
We made it to Jack’s car and out of the school gate without being seen and I felt like an agent on a secret mission.
“There is one rule for today,” Jack said.
“Which is?”
“No talk about Dray, or Orbs, or Psychics. All that can wait. We press pause and have an afternoon just for us. With no alien drama.”
“No alien drama. I think I can manage that,” I said with a smile.
***
I studied the listings on the screen. “Our choices are between Jason Statham fighting his way through a drug cartel, or a romance about a couple trying to make it against the odds.”
Jack had already had his head turned by the snack kiosk. “You choose.”
“Okay, in that case I’m in the mood for some romance.”
We bought our tickets, grabbed hot dogs and popcorn, and headed into the theatre. Settling in as the film started I munched my food and forced away thoughts of Dray and what might have happened in that Soho apartment. Jack was right, we could take one afternoon for ourselves.
I tried to concentrate on the film but found myself sneaking glances at Jack, a few times I caught him looking back at me. His eyes gleamed and I melted. Since we had kissed the vibe between us had shifted, it had been confusing before but now it was electric. I felt our connection growing. Sitting in the dark as the light from the screen flickered across his features, I smiled to myself. I was a goner. Perhaps I didn’t realise I was doing it, I had but I had held back my feelings for him and now they had burst through the dam at full force. Just being in his presence made me giddy.
By the time the film ended I felt a little lighter. It had been silly, Hollywood mush but had hit the spot. I hadn’t realised how much I needed a break.
“That was amazing,” I said with a sigh. If only all things could tie up nicely with the happy couple driving off into the sunset.
I linked arms with Jack as we made our way into the foyer and he shot me a sideways glance. “What are you on about? That was bloody awful!”
“Awful? It was beautiful. How he walked away from his whole life, giving up everything for her. How can you not think so?” My lips twisted into a smile. “I swear, sometimes it’s like we’re from different planets.”
“Funny,” he said dryly. “I’m never going to get those two hours of my life back. When I think about what we could have been doing instead…” He waggled his eyebrows.
“It’s your fault. You wanted to go out. I was all for staying in.”
“Yeah well you shouldn’t listen to me, I’m an idiot.”
“Can I have that in writing please? For the next time you’re bossing me around.”
We had stopped at the side of the snack kiosk, letting the other cinema goers pass us by.
As he watched me his expression shifted from teasing to heated, a silvery glint in his eyes. No longer fighting the pull I felt towards him, instead I embraced it and leaned in and kissed him. His mouth was warm and inviting, a tingle ran through me. Sliding his arm round my waist, he tugged me into an alcove under the stairs, allowing us a little more privacy, and kissed me back. Gently at first, then gained more heat as he wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer. I breathed in his scent, savouring the feel of him. It would be easy to get lost in him, forgetting the world around us but I couldn’t let myself fall. We needed to stop. There were PDA’s and then there was this. I let my lips linger, then took a step back letting one of my hands drop, but the other stayed wound around him.
There was still a while before I had to collect Daisy so maybe we could make it back to Ridgewood and–
“Incoming,” Jack said, interrupting my thoughts, and nodded over my shoulder. “Looks like we’re not the only ones wagging school this arvo.” I turned around–to tease him about how Australian that sentence sounded–when I saw he was talking about Amy and Dane, who were walking hand in hand. They had spotted us and were headed in our direction. Amy waved as they approached.
“Hiya.” She beamed, her voice a little too cheerful. I forced a smile, shifting from one foot to the other. As far as uncomfortable situations went, this was up there with the time Jack met my mum.
It turned out they had seen the Jason Statham film. After comparing notes that had Jack cursing he left it to me to choose, I was about to make our excuses, when Amy asked, “What are you doing now? Maybe we could go for a drink?”
“Sorry Aims,” I said, trying to look apologetic. “I don’t have much time until I need collect Daisy.”
“Just a quick coffee at Ruby’s then?”
Her face was so hopeful I didn’t have the heart to say no. I expected Jack would rather stick pins in his eyes than spend time with Dane, but he simply shrugged.
“Okay sure,” I agreed.
“Eliza Anderson turning down an excuse for alcohol, who would believe it?” Dane snickered.
“A lot of things have changed,” I said as Amy gave him a sharp dig in the ribs. He grunted but shut up.
***
“Sorry,” I said to Jack, back in the car driving to the café. “This is going to be painful.”
“I’ll admit this is not how I expected our date to end up,” he said shooting me a small grin.
“I’d rather not go either but I couldn’t think of a decent excuse quickly enough. Things are so weird between us at the moment and–”
“And she’s your best mate. It’s okay, I get it,” Jack said. He parked up and as we walked across the car park he swung his arm around my shoulders.
“One coffee,” I promised, leaning into him. “How bad can it be?”
“Famous last words,” he muttered as we entered Ruby’s.
The familiar scent of coffee and vanilla hit me and I relaxed a bit. I was on home turf and it comforted me.
Sally was wiping down tables before the after-school rush. After we’d exchanged pleasantries I went behind the counter and got our drinks whilst the others nabbed a booth in the corner.
“So how about the cricket, Jack?” Dane asked. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. Not only did Dane play rugby and football for the school but he was mad about most sports, and highly competitive.
I bit my lip, trying not to smile, the blank look on Jack’s face was classic.
“What about it?” Jack asked, genuinely puzzled.
I stifled a laugh but Dane was unperturbed. “England taking home the Ashes, that’s got to hurt an Aussie like you.”
Jack leaned back against the seat. “Not particularly, I’m not into cricket. You guys win a cup or something?”
The ribbing Dane obviously had planned disintegrated. Winding Jack up about the long running banter between countries failed to have the desired effect if Jack didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. “Do you play any sports?” Dane asked, his tone almost hopeful.
“I surfed a bit back in Oz but I can’t do that here what with the lack of waves, plus it’s freezing.”
He shot me a look as I shook my head. Honestly, if he thought it was cold now, he was going to be a nightmare in January.
“What about golf?”
As Dane continued to quiz Jack on his sports knowledge or rather lack of it, Amy and I exchanged an awkward smile. It felt wrong. This was Amy and under normal circumstances, we would be joking and chatting a mile-a-minute. But who was I kidding? These were far from normal circumstances whatever angle you looked at it from. Suddenly it felt like we are on opposite sides. Amy and Dane on one side, Jack and I on the other.
I shifted in my seat. My skin felt prickly. Would this ever be easy? Would Jack and Dane be friends and Amy and I could talk about our relationships like her boyfriend wasn’t my ex? It was like a soap opera.
As if sensing my discomfort I felt Jack’s hand on my leg under the table. I gave him a little smile.
“Maybe if I have time, I’ll watch a bit of footie but apart from that I’m not your man.”
Dane’s face lit up. “All right, this should be good. Which team do you support?”
I groaned.
“Dane, leave him alone. He’s had a lot on his plate. Eliza has been helping him.”
Dane snorted. “Helping, with what? How to sleep through class without the teacher noticing?”
I glared at Dane. “That happened once. A long time ago.”
“So, helping with what?”
I looked at Amy, confused. She stared back at me with wide eyes and I had a fleeting moment of panic. I didn’t get. Amy didn’t know anything so why would she–
Oops. I suddenly remembered–I had told her Jack was dyslexic!
“He’s fine now. He’s cured,” I said, feeling Jack’s eyes on me but refusing to look at him.
Amy frowned. “Dyslexia doesn’t work like that, Eliza.”
“You’re dyslexic?” Dane asked and I winced.
“It was all a big misunderstanding. I was misdiagnosed.” Jack said. I finally turned my head to meet his gaze and saw his grey eyes dancing with amusement. At least he saw the funny side because I had already dug enough of a hole for myself.
“I don’t understand,” Amy said looking totally confused. “Eliza said–”
Dane nudged her. “Babe, drop it. He obviously made it up to get some one-on-one time with Eliza.” He winked at Jack. “Nice.”
I dropped my head into my hands and Jack burst out laughing.
***
We finished our coffees and made a hasty retreat. A double date would not be in the cards anytime soon.
As soon as we were out of earshot Jack turned to me. “What did you ever see in that bloke? Were you suffering from temporary insanity or something?”
“There’s no answer to that question that you will want to hear so I’d drop it if I were you.”
“Luckily your taste has greatly improved.” He dodged as I swatted him.
“Thank you for today. Awkwardness aside, I had a good time.”
“You did?”
“Yes. Didn’t you?” I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Jack gave me his famous mega-watt grin. “Yes. The film sucked and spending time with Dane is like extreme mental torture but I was with you so everything else is an afterthought.”
“That’s sweet,” I said, shifting in my seat and sliding my hand around his neck.
“I’m a sweet guy,” he teased, moving closer. His lips met mine in a delicious kiss. All too soon I had to pull away.
“I have to go and get Daisy,” I said reluctantly. I closed my eyes and kissed him again. “But I really want to stay.”
“Me too,” Jack said. “But I have to get home. Freddie’s seeing what he can do with the data port. Will you come over later?”
I smiled. “I’d love to.”
We said goodbye and he waited until I was in my car before he left.
As I pulled out of the car park I sighed. It had been fun to press pause on everything and be normal for the afternoon but now it was back to the real world.
Thanks for exploring these lost moments with me – I hope you enjoyed these fragments that never made the final transmission, but still left their mark.
— Joanna
