Neither of them spoke during the al, sitting in serene silence, which contrasted starkly with the lively atmosphere at the other tables nearby, where it was buzzing with noise. Jane Sampson and Jas Black, on the other hand, sat as quietly as if they were two strangers sharing a table.
After leaving the restaurant, Jas Black took Jane Sampson by car back to the hotel. Once they entered, he told Jane to take a bath first, and only after she had finished washing her hair and bath did he go in.
During the short ti it took for Jas to take his bath, Jane had already fallen asleep in the bed.
So, when Jas ca out of the bath room, what he saw was Jane, wrapped in a dry hair towel on her head, sleeping without even a quilt over her.
Jas walked over and called out softly twice, "Jane Sampson? Jane Sampson?"
There was no response from the person in the bed, not because she was pretending, but because she really was fast asleep.
Jas reached out to feel her forehead, and then took a hairdryer from inside the drawer. He sat on the bed, draping the towel over his legs, and lifted the sleeping person to rest her head on the towel on his legs, before turning on the hairdryer to blow-dry her hair.
With such a large disturbance, Jane Sampson should have reacted unless she was dead. But she was just extrely tired. After she opened her eyes, her response was a bit delayed as she called out faintly, "Jas Black?"
As if to confirm it was really him, she moved her head a little to look at him, grabbed the leg of his sleeping pants with one hand, and then fell back to sleep quickly, not even letting go as she did so.
From beginning to end, Jas didn’t utter a word, and the noisy sound of the hairdryer working didn’t wake Jane up at all.
Fifteen minutes later, Jas turned off the hairdryer, ran one hand through her hair, then put the hairdryer back inside drawer of the bedhead cabinet, took out the damp towel, and tossed it onto a chair next to the bed. He bent down to lift the person, who was gripping the leg of his sleeping pants and sleeping deeply. He repositioned her and covered her properly with the quilt.
Perhaps it was the change in position, or because the thing in her palm had been taken away, causing her—a person who lacked a sense of security—to jolt awake. Her eyes, like those of a confused little deer, looked wateringly at the person before her.
"It’s fine, go back to sleep," Jas said, his own voice softer than he had ever noticed. He gently stroked her face with one hand, hooking the hair on her face behind her ear.
Jane’s eyes remained open, blinking as she looked at Jas, who was close at hand.
She didn’t seem to know what she was thinking, neither going back to sleep nor speaking.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Jas asked.
"No," Jane replied with a sowhat hoarse voice, denying it with exceptional speed.
"Still pretending?" Jas chided lightly, "When it cos to acting tough, no one can outdo you, Jane Sampson."
"I’m really not!" Jane pouted and unhappily turned over, showing Jas the back of her head.
Jas wasn’t sure if he should expose the stubborn Jane, as he had seen her secretly rub her temple when he was ordering food.
He guessed she had a headache.
She was practically half-dead last night, and this afternoon she had been sunbathed for an entire day, and then she had excitedly played all day. She had already started feeling a bit unwell when they left the tourism zone.
"If your head hurts, turn around, and I’ll massage it for you," Jas said.
Jane, who was turned away from Jas, bit her lip and was silent for a few seconds, then slowly turned around, leaning towards Jas and looking at him with pitiful eyes as if to say, "Yes, it’s uncomfortable, my head hurts, it really hurts."
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