Nighttime Visitor
Jordan yawned and stretched out lazily. She glanced at the clock. Who would be ringing her doorbell so damn late?
Well, technically, it wasn't that late, she had just gone to bed early.
The doorbell rang again. 9:47.
She groaned and stumbled out of bed, yanking on her robe. "Who is it?"
"Me."
She opened the door. "I don't know anyone named 'me'." She stepped aside to let her boss inside. "You woke me up."
His eyes flickered over her briefly. "Sorry." He sat down on the couch and looked at her.
"How are you doing?"
She shrugged. "As well as can be expected, I guess," she said, and yawned again as she sat beside him on the couch. "You?"
She was cute when she was tired.
"I'm okay."
She didn't believe him, that was certain, but she kept her mouth shut and nodded.
"Okay."
He watched her as she dropped her eyes to the floor and crossed her legs under her, playing with the hem of her flannel pyjama pants. Was he making her nervous?
"How are you holding up?" He shifted, keeping his gaze trained on her face. She really was beautiful.
And he was delusional.
Unaware of his eyes on her, she reached over to the coffee table. Her hand hovered undecidedly over a dish of mints and Hershey's Kisses before dipping down and plucking a kiss.
"Not a mint person?"
Her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. "Not right now." She looked at him. "You can have one if you want," she offered quietly.
He shook his head. "Thanks, but no."
"I don't think I'll ever swim again," she spoke suddenly, answering his first question.
"You'll get over it eventually."
Coming from Woody, the comment would have been derisive, off-handed, and rude, but, oddly enough, Garrett actually sounded sincere.
Mistaking her silence, he continued. "You've always bounced back, Jordan." A hint of a smile appeared on his face. "You'll be okay."
Her eyes showed her thanks.
Silence fell upon them for a full five minutes, and surprisingly, it was not an uncomfortable one.
"You would have been fine." She had no idea where the comment came from; she wasn't really sure if she wanted to know how they would have gone on without her.
He frowned. "What?"
"You would have been fine without me," she repeated finally.
His eyes narrowed, wondering if she realized her own naïveté.
Now it was her turn to be confused. "What?"
He pursed his lips. "No."
"No, what?"
There was a small emphasis on her last word, but not enough to sound incredulous or demanding.
He exhaled, showing only a fraction of his frustration. "You're a valuable part of the team, Jordan."
"Oh." Her eyes dropped to the floor once more. "Thanks."
He had hurt her feelings. Damn it.
"I didn't mean that-"
"No, no, that's okay, I know you-"
"What I meant was-"
"I understand; me, you, the team-"
"I really do care."
"I get it."
They both finished at the same time, and it finally clicked in her brain. She blushed and evaded his gaze. Her mind flashed back to earlier, when he had hugged her and buried his face in her hair. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you." Goosebumps trickled up her spine, and she shivered involuntarily.
He winced. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. Way to go, Macy. He stood quickly. "I should go. You need the rest."
Yeah, like I could sleep now.
"Alright," she heard herself say, and she stood up on shaky legs, walking him to the door. They stood there awhile in silence before he finally spoke, quietly, lost in the depths of her eyes.
"Goodnight, Jordan."
She stared at him with wide brown eyes. "Goodnight."
He leaned forward a mere centimetre and brushed his lips against her forehead in a feather-light kiss.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, not knowing what else he could say.
"Yeah."
And he was gone.