We Meet Again Part 1

Posted on Mon Feb 4th, 2019 @ 12:07am by Mackenzie Bergman & Commander Jacob Bannerman
Edited on on Mon Feb 4th, 2019 @ 12:13am

Mission: The First Step...
Location: Beach
Timeline: 2388/08/27 1800 (August 27 2388 6:00pm)

It was early evening depending on who was asked, when Mackenzie arrived at the beach. The sun wasn't as high in the sky, but it still felt good against the skin her black bikini exposed, and now she was all too eager about stretching out to bask in its glory for a little while. Despite it being the first day of classes for the school, the salon had been a bit busier than she thought it would have been, though she'd been extremely grateful for the distraction. She felt terrible for what she'd said to Jake earlier that morning, even though it wasn't meant to be taken that way.

What was she going to do with him? As much as the redhead didn't want to like him, she did. He'd rubbed her the wrong way in so many ways the first day, but then he'd showed her a completely different side of himself... told her things that likely stayed bottled up inside of him for far too long. In a way, she felt special, but had zero intentions of reading too much into it. For all she knew, he could have been playing her like a finely tuned instrument, but the only way to know that for sure was time.

Once she'd spread a towel out on top of the sand, Mack settled down. There were a few others around, but she didn't care. She was there to relax, and there was no way anyone was going to keep her from doing that.

Whether it was subconscious or not, when Jake finished classes, he felt the need to wind down and clear his head and what better to do that than a run...on the beach. Of course, he told himself, he wasn't going there because a certain red head had mentioned it. He was going there because running in sand was better for keeping fit...or so he told himself. And so he found himself running along the private beach in the shallows of the ocean heading right towards where Mackenzie was currently sunbathing.

Trying to concentrate on where he was running, it was as if some unknown force had other ideas and he found his head turning as he caught a glimpse of red hair on the sand and he slowed down to a jog and then stopped. For many moments he just stood there watching her, not approaching, not doing anything as he battled over whether he was going to approach her or not. "Damn it man get a grip, what are you twelve?" he growled to himself and rolled his eyes. He then spent the next few seconds telling himself that he was Jake Bannerman, suave, sophisticated and sexy and well, it would be wrong to deny her his presence wouldn't it?

Smiling to himself, he finally made his decision and wandered up to her. "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" he asked, using the same words as the night before when he had found her outside the banquet hall.

Mack opened her eyes and fixed her gorgeous blue eyes on him. She was grateful he showed up, though it looked like he was working out to release some pent up stress. "It could be a private party for two if you're interested." The towel she had was large enough for another person to share with her considering how little she was.

"Are you flirting with me Miss Bergman?" Jake raised an eyebrow at her before sitting down beside her wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

"And if I was, you wouldn't be even a little offended, Mister Bannerman." She said, smiling up at him, sliding over a bit to make more room for his larger frame. "Hey... about earlier... it's been eating at me all day. I'm sorry... really sorry... if what I said to you about getting to know someone offended you. I definitely didn't mean for it to seem like that's what I was saying." She propped herself up on her elbows and kept her eyes locked on him.

"It didn't offend me." Jake replied as he looked out at the ocean in an attempt to try and forget that there was a very desirable and virtually half naked woman by the side of him that he couldn't touch, "And you're right...I don't let anyone near me. I'm bad news." He sighed. The truth was, their conversation that morning had been food for thought and left him with a lot to think about.

"Why?" It was a simple question, but one she wanted to know the answer to.

"Before I came here..." Jake swallowed hard, finding it difficult to open up, "Well, my job was kind of solitary, it was dangerous and I had to do bad things. Sure they were orders but still..." he sighed, "I've done things that if you knew about them you'd probably run a mile." he bowed his head as if ashamed. He had never felt that way about his job before but now...it just felt shameful and he suddenly didn't want to be that person.

Mackenzie listened intently as he spoke, and when he was done, she was quiet for a moment or two before she spoke herself. "I can't even begin to imagine what your life was like back then." She was putting the pieces together as slowly as they were given to her. First, he'd told her he was a prisoner and likely beaten within an inch of his life on more than one occasion, and now he was telling her he had a job that could have likely gotten him killed on multiple occasions. She didn't even want to try to speculate what it was. If he chose to tell her, it would be because he wanted to. "You know what, though... that part of your life is over... a chapter that's been closed. I'm not saying you should forget about it, because it's just not that easy. Not by a long shot. But maybe... just maybe... you can slowly start to work your way through it."

She took a breath and let it out slowly, looking out over the ocean. "For example... You mentioned it was solitary. Start there. Take a look around you... you're on Sapientia now. There are so many people here, which means you don't have to live that lonely life anymore."

"But a lonely life means that no-one gets hurt." he countered as he lay back on the towel, enjoying the sunshine's warmth on his skin.

Mackenzie looked over at him again. "Do you really want to live a lonely life? We may not have known one another all that long, but I do know you're a man who doesn't back down from a challenge. You've said that yourself. Challenge yourself."

"Sorry Red...I'm too long in the tooth to change now." Jake replied with a smile, "Besides, no woman is gonna want to settle down with a man who can't keep his eyes of anything female."

"You're probably right." She said, tucking an arm behind her head. "Why try to fix something if it isn't broken?"

"Surely you meant if it is broken?" Jake replied with a sad smile, "You know, hopeless case and all that."

"You have an awfully low opinion of yourself, but I suppose that falls hand in hand with everything you've been through in your lifetime."

"Started off as I meant to carry on." Jake replied, "Abandoned on the steps of an orphanage with nothing but a note clipped to me with my name." he added, cursing himself and wondering just why she seemed to cause him to just blurt out information that he never told anyone.

Mackenzie frowned, looking back over at him. She had a feeling he didn't want pity. "You had a rough start from the very beginning." Who could ever do such a thing? "Are you sure you don't want to let anyone get close because you're afraid they'll get hurt, or is it because you feel like you don't deserve anything better than being alone?"

"Who knows." Jake shrugged, "I guess I've always just felt that no-one could ever want me...after all my parents clearly didn't." he added almost angrily. "It was what made me good at my job...I've never really cared about whether I lived or died." he added. There was no sadness there. It was just fact. And damn if he was still pouring out his soul to her...it was embarrassing.

"How do you know that no one could ever want you if you've never given anyone a chance? You've got yourself so shut off from everyone that you have no idea if that's actually true or not." Red asked, sitting up so she could look down at him. Now, she was beginning to get a little angry herself. He never had a chance. There was so much she wanted to say about his egg/sperm donor, none of it nice, but she kept it to herself.

A deep all encompassing sadness filled Jake's eyes as he whispered "I'm a murderer Bergman...I don't deserve to be happy. I can hide behind orders all I like but it was my own hand that did it and more than once too." He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from her closing them tight. Damn, had he blown it now.

Mackenzie feel quiet for a long minute, not entirely sure what she could to say something like that. She had no idea what he did before he came to be where he was now, but she was leaning toward some kind of assassin. He'd been sitting on this for so long, and now he was telling her, which took a lot of guts to do. She has a feeling there was no way he'd ever told anyone any of this before now, and she found herself eternally grateful that all the others on the beach were far enough away that they wouldn't hear anything.

What could she say? That went... deep. The demons he was battling went deep. Deeper than she could even fathom. "Everyone deserves happiness, Bannerman." She finally managed to whisper.

"Even evil bastards?" he turned to look at her again, disgust at himself reflecting in his eyes.

"You're not the only person alive who has done something like this whether it be because they were following orders, or otherwise." Mack said, keeping her eyes locked on his. She saw the disgust in his eyes.

"Maybe not." Jake conceded, "But it doesn't mean I have to like it any less does it?" he snorted with self derision.

"No, it doesn't mean you have to like it. There isn't a soul alive that hasn't done something they don't like." Mackenzie said. "I've done things I don't like, and wish I could take back to this very day. Granted... they're very small in comparison to what you're dealing with, and just wouldn't measure up."

And then Jake Bannerman did something else he'd never done in his life. He found himself actually wanting to get to know someone as he said "Tell me about you...tell me what I should know about my favourite masseuse."

"I'm not really all that interesting." Mack said. "I'm actually rather boring, but I'll start with the moment I wish I could take back. I was in college at a party. Of course, like with most parties... there was alcohol involved. I drank a bit more than I probably should have, but anyway... I ended up naked and streaked through the Dean's office... while he was working late. I was suspended for an entire semester."

The confession made Jake laugh as he tried to imagine the scene and finding himself more on an even keel he said "Wish I could have been there...I'd really quite like seeing you naked." he grinned at her, his eyes drifting over her luscious curves.

Mack laughed, and was grateful she'd had the chance to see sides of him she wasn't privy to the day before. "You're something else." Her plan to bring him back to himself worked, and she was grateful for that. "My parents were definitely not impressed when they got word."

"And I say again, would have been good to have me there...I'd have told them what a great body their daughter had." he added, starting to realise that the next two weeks were going to be very very hard going.

"Not too sure Daddy would have appreciated that much." She said. "If I could go back, though, I wouldn't have done it. It's one of more more embarrassing moments. When I've had far too much to drink, I tend to be impulsive."

"Not embarrassing...sexy." Jake smiled at her, "And remind me to get you drunk sometime." he waggled his eyebrows at her playfully.

"Now... you're being terrible." Mack said, but there was playful tone to her voice. "So, let's see what else I can tell you about me. I've played piano since I was about four years old, though it's been years since I've done that. I'm big into gymnastics... started that when I was about three. I absolutely love to cook, and though it might not look like it, I love to eat even more. I'm not shy when it comes to eating." She looked thoughtful for a second. "I'm super athletic, and as gross as it sounds, there's nothing more amazing than breaking a sweat. Keep your mind out of the gutter, Mister Bannerman."

Jake groaned and flopped back on the towel. She cooked, she loved to exercise, she liked music and she was a damn gymnast? "What are you doing to me woman?" he grumbled wondering just how he was going to last two weeks without even kissing her.

"Hey... you wanted me to tell you about myself, so that's what I'm doing." She pointed out as she rolled onto her stomach so her back could get a little sun. "We'll keep moving forward, and you won't remember any of that." She pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes and smiled. "What else do you want to know?"