I paused on that bit, frowning, and replayed it a number of times, looking closely at his face to see if he was lying. If Jack’s story was anything to go by, he had to be. The problem was, all I could read from him was sincerity, and it made me feel like there was more to this than met the eye. If not, Jay Fields was an exceptional liar. He was certainly charismatic enough to pull it off. He had a frisky sort of charm that Jack didn’t. Looks-wise, they didn’t resemble each other much, either. Jay wasn’t as dark as Jack; however, there was something in his mannerisms that was similar, in his facial expressions and the way he moved his body.

The interview was only a couple of minutes long, and the interviewer mostly asked him questions about his magic show and his new wife. Still, I didn’t get the feeling that he was a bad person. There was a warmth about him that made me think he wouldn’t do something as callous as abandon Jack. Then again, people did all sorts of unexpected things in life. I pondered on the matter for a while until I was too tired to think anymore. Then I gave Lola back her phone and went to bed.

***

The next morning, I went into town early and visited an art shop to buy some supplies. I was running out of face paints, but I needed supplies for my paintings, too. There was an easel for sale in the corner of the store, but it was too expensive. I stared at it longingly and settled for some cheap paintbrushes, oil paints, and a few small canvases instead. I longed for the day when I wouldn’t have to care about storing things and could buy canvases as big as I liked. If that day ever came.

When I got back to the campsite, they were serving lunch in the gazebo, some kind of paella. I took a bowl and ate quickly. Jack was sitting with King again. He met my eyes for a prolonged moment, and I felt an intense shiver. As soon as I was finished, I left. I had something important that I needed to do.

The other day I’d spotted some disused bits of wood lying around at the back of the circus tent, and I thought maybe I could salvage a few pieces and fashion a makeshift easel. It was a long shot, but I had nothing else to do with my day anyway. Unfortunately, I didn’t count on the wood being so difficult to carry. I had to split it into two runs. On the second, as I made my way back to the camper, I felt the muscle in my arm spasm, and I had to set the load down for a moment.

“What are you doing?” Jack’s voice came from behind me.

I dabbed the sweat from my brow and turned to face him as he approached. “Oh, I need the wood to make something. Don’t worry, I’m not up to anything sinister.”

He smirked a little and stepped forward, easily hefting the wood up with his big arms and looking to me for direction. “Where to?”

“Violet’s camper. Um, thanks. You don’t have to….”

Jack cut me off with a chuckle. “You’re going to do yourself a mischief if you try carrying it the rest of the way. And I’d rather not have to rush you to the hospital just because you’re too stubborn to ask for help.”

Scowling a little, I walked alongside him, having to work to keep up with his long strides even though he was the one carrying the load. “I’m stubborn? You’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met.”

He flashed me a rare smile, laughing, and when we made it to the camper, he laid the wood down on the grass for me.

“So are you going to tell me about this big secret project or what?” he asked, rubbing his hands on his thighs.

I tried not to stare in that general area, which was difficult. Going to lean against the side of the camper, I folded my arms. “Well, I had this hare-brained idea that I could make an easel out of it, you know, to paint on. It might be a little far-fetched, though, because I don’t have any tools.”

I must have had a hopeful look in my eye, because he let out a long sigh. He didn’t seem annoyed, though. He seemed playful, which I hadn’t seen on him before, and it was very appealing. “Is this you hinting for me to make the easel for you, Lille?”

“Well,” I said, “you were a little snippy with me yesterday. This could be the perfect way for you to make it up to me.”

His smile was fading now, but there was still a hint of it playing on his features. He took a step forward and gazed down at me. “I can think of a few other ways that’d be much more fun,” he murmured, and ran his hand down my arm. I swallowed visibly and started to blush, my eyes fixing on the toes of my worn Converse. The quiet between us dragged out for a long moment before he moved away, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

When he left, I could finally breathe again. God, why hadn’t I just grabbed him then and kissed him? He was obviously being suggestive. I hated how I was always so hesitant.

Friends, I reminded myself. I was supposed to be trying to be his friend.

Deciding to make the most of the sunny weather, I set up a chair and brought out my sketchpad to start outlining the portrait I’d promised Bea. I thought I had her face memorised well enough that I could do most of it without needing her in front of me. I was lost in the drawing when Jack arrived back, carrying a toolbox and a saw.

He definitely looks good with tools. He’ll probably look even better when he’s using them, I thought to myself as he set to work. I had something of a dirty mind of late. His fault, obviously. About two hours passed, and somewhere within that time I’d set aside my sketchpad in order to watch him. The view was pretty fine. He was wearing the T-shirt with the sleeves cut off again, his muscles moving as he hammered a nail into a length of wood. His skin glistened with beads of sweat.

His back had been turned to me the entire time, which was why I got a little fright when he asked knowingly, “Enjoying the view?”

I didn’t even bother to act coy. “Uh, yeah. I am, actually.”

I could tell from his profile that he was smiling. Wow, Jack really was in an unusually good mood today.

“Can I get you some water? You must be thirsty.”

“I’ve only been waiting about an hour for you to ask that, so yeah, I’d like some water, Lille. How did you last so long as a waitress, huh?” The teasing lilt in his voice put a bit of a spring in my step as I went inside to get the water. Perhaps we were turning over a new leaf. When I came back out, I handed him the bottle, and he knocked almost the entire thing back in one long gulp, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. It was disconcerting, to say the least. He’d just about finished the easel, and I was taken aback by what he had achieved. It was probably better than the one they were selling back at the art shop.

I walked over to inspect it, running my hand lightly over the wood. “This is so good. You could be, like, a carpenter if you wanted.”

“My one true dream,” Jack replied with no small amount of sarcasm.

“Okay, whatever, fire boy. I still think this is amazing. In fact, I should probably pay you.” I dug in the back pocket of my jeans for my wallet, but he stopped me with a hand.

“No payment needed. Think of it as an apology. Like you said, I owed you for being a dick yesterday.”

And now I was thinking about dicks, his in particular. Where was my mind today? Oh, right, in the gutter, obviously. Jack put the final touches to the easel, and I invited him inside for a sandwich. It was the least I could do. And since Violet and Lola weren’t around, I knew we wouldn’t have an audience. Lola was always watching me with Jack, a glint in her eye, like she knew something I didn’t.

There was a small Breville toaster in the kitchen, and I went about putting together some cheese sandwiches for us. After sitting in the sun and watching Jack work all day, I’d built up quite the appetite. For food, of course. Well, other things, too, but the likelihood of those happening was slim. I must have been overly eager to get to my sandwich, plus, I hadn’t used this toaster before, because I touched the metal part by mistake. It was burning hot and two of my fingertips came away red and raw. I hissed at the pain as I pulled them to my chest, hurrying over to the tap and holding them under the cold running water.