The Sunshine Animal Clinic was quiet at lunch time, given it closed for lunch. The reception area had it's lights switched off, it's all white walls and flooring dulled by the darkness save for light shining through the clear glass doors.

Caitlin ate at the back, away from the eyes of pet owners  so she could enjoy the privacy of her lunch hour.

“Are you okay?”

Caitlin put down her BLT sandwich to see her boss, Helen Turner poke her head into the break area.

 She was in her forties, Caitlin remembered something about a husband and a son . She exercised frequently, not enough to stave off the crow’s feet around her eyes but enough to get a surprised look whenever people did learn about her real age.

Even then, her sun kissed skin, emerald green eyes and raven hair ought to have gotten people’s attention.

“ I am,” Caitlin answered quickly before picking up the half eaten bread again.

“ Are you sure? Because you nearly stabbed yourself with a syringe earlier, lucky that chihuahua didn’t struggle.”

Caitlin chuckled, she remembered it. While the syringe was clean, it would still have been a massive gaffe on her part. Thankfully Helen had been quick to stop her before she did.

“ Well…”

 Helen walked in and seated herself next to her, sensing rightly there was indeed something on her mind. Something large and female.

“ It's just that giant freak who moved in. You know, Jessica?”

“I do, your new tenant makes is a headline act. I dare say I’ve enjoyed reading about her but hearing it from you makes it much better…”

 “Oh,” Caitlin said, surprised by her boss’ interest in her personal life. Lunch lacked the same appeal as it did seconds ago.

“ Okay…” Caitlin deftly rubbed her hands clean before she carried on.

 “ I can’t stand how she’s turned our lives into a big circus. Ever since she came , we’re just some piece of gossip for the media to use. You know many columns have been dedicated to Jack and Jessica having a secret relationship?” Caitlin’s eyes watered. She had told herself to avoid reading anything Jessica related but her curiosity always won out and she peeked.

 “ I don’t know if they are but I don’t think Jack can be around her without at least thinking about it.”

  The thought of Jessica doing that scared her more but what really gave her the creeps was the power she possessed. Caitlin often wondered what went through Jessica’s vacuous skull, as she lay in her tent. Had she considered just taking over the place? She could see Jessica one day getting rid of her, fake an accident and then use all of her wiles on Jack. That had to be why she invited Jack to her photoshoot, so she could strut about with her goodies hanging out for him to see.

“Has he ever strayed?” Stephanie quietly asked.

“I think he did...caught him texting a girl in the middle of the night and when I grabbed his phone, I saw it had been going on for a few days. I made Jack stop, he’d probably have met her and did the thing if I hadn’t caught him.”

“Right,” Stephanie nodded, not quite sure what to make of it but she moved past that and into her next question.

“ Doesn’t seem like he did anything, could be a cousin?”

“No, she could not have been! She’s too pretty for that!” Caitlin was flabbergasted by Stephanie skepticism .

“I didn’t mean that but she might not have been interested in Jack that way. I don’t know Jessica well enough to judge her but how well do you know her?”

Caitlin seemed to sneer back at Stephanie when she heard the question, as if she were being asked to have dinner with Donald Trump.

 “ I don’t hang out with her, I prefer to let Jack handle things. It's better that way, seeing her just makes me so damn mad!” Caitlin huffed.

“ Well,” Stephanie said diplomatically, “ You could consider trying to be nicer to Jessica. A little bit of kindness never hurt.”

“What if she sees it as weakness? We’re all toys to her as it is.”

“I don’t know what Jessica’s character is like but it wouldn’t hurt to know more about her. Who knows, you might find yourself surprised, like I was with my own Jessica.”

“Who?” Caitlin’s brow arched up, her curiosity piqued.

“ Oh,” Stephanie chuckled, “It’s hilarious now but back then, I thought I’d lose my husband.”

“What happened? Some slut tried to hit on him?”

“Oh,I thought she was. No, she was a fitness instructor by the name of Desiree and my husband’s best friend. He was the type of guy whose friends were mostly of the female sex and it was quite intimidating to see him surrounded by at least four girls, some of whom were even more attractive than I was. I always thought he was screwing one of them but…”

Stephanie paused as past memories came flowing back into her mind. She seemed to regret something but composed herself well enough to continue with the retelling.

 “ She was a guy’s girl, the one who was always more comfortable with men than women. She was outgoing, flirtatious and at the time I thought she was trying to steal Darren from me. He was always hanging out with her.

‘Seeing him with a 5’ 10” girl with sun kissed skin, washboard abs and emerald eyes gave me so very poisonous thoughts. I thought he might leave me for her and he nearly did, although not in the way I imagined it,” Stephanie could still remember the incident as if it were yesterday.

Catilin’s mouth ran dry with anticipation, this was a very riveting story.

“ You confronted him about her? You made him choose?”

Stephanie shook her head, it was close but not quite.

“I went straight to Desiree when I found out he wanted her to be at our wedding. I basically told her to stay away and I knew what she was up to, she wanted to steal Darren from me.”

Stephanie paused, the memory still smarted despite the passage of time.

“And?” Caitlin asked.

“And I saw my beloved Darren, one of the most mild mannered men I ever knew, explode like a volcano. He said I was being paranoid, possessive, controlling and then he left, saying he needed to reflect on his life choices.”

She looked at Caitlin with hope in her eyes, the hope she would learn from her mistake.

“ I managed to make amends and thankfully, we got married.” A renewed smile slid across her lips, Caitlin caught notice of it.

“ You’re saying I should let it be? The big difference is Desiree is not a giant. A giant who could take everything she wants if she wanted. I have to do something,”

Stephanie placed a hand on Caitlin’s shoulder, offering some comfort to her.

“For now, let that something be nothing; but I can see you’re not totally convinced so if you are going to do something, just keep the two of them close to you. You might as well be aware of what they are doing, it might just put your mind at ease.”

“I’ll….keep that in mind,” Caitlin answered, still unsure if that was the right course of action. She needed more than just a lunch break to think about this.

***********

“ Hey Jessica!” Jack shouted to her, waving both of his arms, finally glad to have both arms for use again. He had just gotten the cast removed after his family physician deemed it no longer required and he was relieved to at least be able to scratch any itches on that part of his body.

“Oh hey Jack, I didn’t expect you to be home so early,” Jessica flashed a toothy grin as she returned from a swim in the lake, wearing one of the bikinis Eva had given her as part of the contract. Her hair was still wet , clumped together and sticking to her back.

 She had spent some time choosing her first proper outfit since leaving the island and opted for a leopard print bikini with triangular cups, the outfit calling out to her.   

Jack found it...very appropriate for a someone built like Jessica. She looked sexy yet girlish

“ That bikini suits you,” Jack said as he imagined her moving through the jungles in it, like a female Tarzan or something of that sort. The jaguars fleeing from feet that trampled the dark undergrowth, her chest pushing aside any branches that blocked her way, it was quite the image.

“ Oh it does huh?” Jessica blushed, her grin even wider.

“ Yeah, the whole island girl thing you have. Anyway, I got my cast taken off so I got both my hands back now. I probably wouldn’t have them if you hadn’t gotten there in time.”

“Don’t sweat it, it was a long time ago and I’m just glad I got to you before those mutts turned you into a chew toy. Come on, let's talk in my tent, it's a bit more private than the two of us standing out in the open.”

Jack let Jessica go first and as a result of his chivalry,  caught a glimpse of her butt, pushed up by the regular rhythm of her footsteps, thighs rippling with power as she moved inwards.

 “ So...you like this? What you’re wearing?” Jack asked, his eyes being drawn to her chest, well exposed since Jessica was sitting Indian style. She seemed oblivious to it, more content to have someone to talk to.

 “It's better than the tent and this one actually feels like a person is supposed to wear it. I can’t thank you enough for this,” Jessica gushed again. She could not say it enough, her grateful she was to be taken in by Jack, at her lowest moment when all hoped had abandoned her.

“ As someone once told me a moment ago, don’t sweat it.”

Jessica chuckled, “ I guess I did say that. Anyway, thanks for coming along. I hope Caitlin didn’t chew you out too much in the car.”

 She couldn’t help but feel guilty, like she were at school and her friend got in trouble for helping her with something less than legal.

“ Oh that,” Jack laughed, “ She didn’t really and it seemed like you didn’t need me. You were so natural.”

“ Oh, you noticed?” Jessica stopped briefly to tuck some wet hair back against her ear.

“ I couldn’t miss it, Eva said you were good value for money,”

“Oh her….I could hear that too.”

“Oh right, your super ears. Do you pick up tv signals with them?”  Jack quipped.

Jessica smiled cheekily before poking him with her finger, a little harder than she intended. Jack stumbled back but she caught him in time with her middle finger. She was relieved to have done so, if he had gotten hurt because of her, it would have been awful; not due to Caitlin, she was at worst a buzzing gnat.

 “ Sorry,” Jessica brought him closer to her face, letting him sit in the palm of her hand.

“You got a real grip there, you can’t have been using your full strength, were you?”

Jessica shook her head, “ Not even close. I’d probably crush your ribs if I used more than I needed.”

“ You aren’t hurt are you?”

Jack shook his head, more amused than wounded. He wasn’t bothered by that, he was more focused on Jessica’s radiant smile. She had a wonderful smile on a pair of full lips, not like Angelina Jolie but he supposed any type of lip on her would qualify as full.

“ I’m fine and I trust you with my life, given how you kept me alive.”

“Only because you were being a jerk. You’d be safe if you listened to me,” Jessica responded.

“ I wouldn’t have needed that damned cast too if I had just-” Jack stopped himself , feeling it wasn’t necessary to continue.

“ You were a huge jerk, but now you’re some gentleman. It’s like a total-” Jessica couldn’t continue because she had realised she never asked or knew why Jack had become so nice to her. It was something she had overlooked since she moved in here.

“Jack, why did you take me in ?” Jessica asked.

“Gratitude, paying the debt I owe,” Jack apprehensively answered.

“No...I don’t think so. There’s something else, I think there is something you aren’t telling me.”

“There’s nothing else,” Jack insisted. What else was there to talk about?

“ There can’t be nothing. You’re not doing this for free,” Jessica pushed him further. A twitch of her hand reminded Jack of who had the upper hand, something he was quick to realise.

“ I’m not expecting you to owe me for this, I have enough money as it is to last several generations if I don’t squander it. I just thought...you wouldn’t be homeless if I had listened to you; if I had listened to you, you would be in your giant house watching tv with your father and not having to live in some shit tent,” Jack admitted it.

He felt a twang of shame, a black bile which seemed to sit on his tongue and force him into a grimace.

“ Oh,” Jessica gasped, feeling bad for Jack. His baby blue eyes bore the guilt he had expressed, only this stayed even after the sound of his voice had faded into the ether.

“ I-I don’t think that would have happened. Either way, I’d have been bombed and shot. We’d still have met in that plane, Lauren would use you for something sooner or later. I hear she’s facing life without parole.”

“She deserved it but then it comes down to me being a fool on that yacht, me thinking I could fix it all on my own and nearly drowning. If I hadn’t done that, you would be safe.”

Jessica raised Jack up to her face, both of her gargantuan hands cupping him.It seemed to provide some comfort to him.

“ A part of me knows that’s true but I don’t know if I would be happy. Out here, everyone keeps their distance. Before that, I was at least on first name basis with the guards and my dad’s colleagues.

‘ I don’t think I was free but I was secure in that everything I needed would be provided. Now that I’m out here, I feel it's not as great as I thought it was, it's...hard to say I wanna return to that.”

“It sounds...more like prison,” Jack’s heart started to beat faster as Jessica leaned in.

“ I think so too. At least here, I have a friend in you. My dad would be happy to at least know that. Growing up, I didn’t get a lot of chances to make friends.”

“But after you got better, you didn’t become Godzilla immediately so what about those years you had as a normal girl?”

Jessica appeared to remember something, Jack caught a hint of her wincing but given her body’s resistance to pain, he suspected it was a memory of something traumatic.

“  I don’t know if they still remember me. I just left one day and I know they paid all of them to keep quiet,” Jessica’s eyes watered and at this, she shifted to her knees and free hand, crawling far enough to push her hand through the tent flap and deposit Jack just outside.

“It was great talking to you Jack, I’ll see you later. Right now, I just need to be by myself,” Jessica lamented.

Jack thought of bursting in and telling her she ought not to feel so blue but his rational side held him back, telling him it would not be wise to do so.

“ If you want to talk about it, I’m fine with it. Just know that you’re not alone and you have a friend right here. I like having you around and I think sooner or later, Caitlin will grow to like you too.”

Jack paused, waiting for Jessica’s hand to burst through the flap and pick him up but no such thing happened; instead he heard a muffled sound coming from within the tent.

Jack moved closer , close enough to make out what seemed to be sobs coming from inside.  His hand reached out, gripping the thick flap but he decided against going inside, opting to head back into the house. He’d come back around dinner or later in the afternoon, hoping Jessica would be in the mood to at least talk.