XX
Jackson Avery's POV
The day was finally over. The sky was dark, as it was almost all day this time of year, and it was cold outside, freezing actually but not in here. The fire was going as I sat on the couch with the curtains drawn to a close, my feet up on the coffee table, a beer sitting next to my feet, without a coaster and a bag of chips on my left. April was at the hospital, which I meant I could do whatever. Alex was also there, they both had the night shift, but he wouldn't care about what I was doing, he does it all the time.
That was the only issue with moving in with April and Alex, they were opposites when it came to housework. She would do almost everything and fuss and he would do as little as possible. I moaned to Alex about it but I happily did the chores, but as it was just after work, I just wanted to relax.
The game finished so I leant forward grabbed the remote and switched over to another channel, ads. Checking the next channel I found ads, then a reality show, then ads yet again, and then finally a movie. Clicking the description, I got halfway through reading it when the door knocked. "Coming." I yelled as I switched off the tv and placed my feet on the ground. Grabbing the empty bag of chips off the couch and my empty beer bottle, I ran to the bin, dusted myself off and surveyed the apartment while I walked to the door. Nothing seemed out of order.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open to discover a snivelling Cristina in my hallway.
Looking up at me briefly for a moment, she asked quietly, "Is Alex here?"
"Uh no, he's at the hospital, nightshift." I replied looking her up and down trying to figure out was wrong. Her face didn't yet look blotching from crying but by the expression displayed on her face she was only a few hours away from that. Her hair was quickly done up in a bun, as usual and bits were sprawling out of it and hanging down her face. She wore a thick coat with the collar up and a white scarf protruding out of the mouth of her coat. She was wearing dark jeans and high boots and had her brown leather bag hung across her shoulder. For the first time since I had meet her she didn't seem invincible.
"Oh ok, sorry to bother you." She mumbled and turned away walking towards the stairs.
Facing the inside of my apartment it took me only seconds to reconsider going inside and ignoring the state that she was in, taking a step into the hall I called after her, "Cristina. Come on in."
Swivelling round to face me a small smile appeared on her mouth as she walked towards me. Shutting the door behind both of us, I locked it. Turning to face her, I watched her scan the room. I saw her assess all that she saw, her eyes touching everything.
"Nice place." She said, her tone normalising. She turned her head towards the window then towards the fireplace lit in the corner then at the blank tv a few metres beside it and spoke again, "No coaster Jackson, April won't be pleased." She gave me a false disapproving look.
Ignoring her last comment and replied, "It's nice and warm in here. Let me take your coat."
Shrugging it off her shoulders, she handed it to me. It was soaked through. I dragged a chair in front of the fire and draped her coat over, so that it would dry. Glancing back at her I now noticed what I didn't notice at the doorway. She was shivering. Her hair was also wet and her jeans looked damp from here. Not only was she obviously upset but also she must be freezing.
"Ok you need to take your clothes off." I said without thinking.
A look of disbelief crossed her face, "I…" she started before I quickly intervened.
"You are completely sodden, you need to get take off your clothes, get in the shower and put some dry clothes on."
Her face relaxed a little and she nodded. Leaning down she took off her shoes and walked over to place them by the fire.
"Lead on." She said as she looked at me expectantly.
I strode across the living room/dining room/almost kitchen area towards the bathroom. Reaching the bathroom, I switched the lights and heater on. Leaning into the shower and turning it on I said, "You can change the temperature once you get in there, the bathroom door locks. Towels are on the rack here," pointing towards the towels I continued, "Use this towel because that one is Alex's so odds on it won't have been washed recently and the one next to that is April's, who will freak if you use it."
Nodding slowly, Cristina scanned the bathroom quickly.
"When you're done you can rummage through April's closet and grab something to wear. Her room is right there," I said as I pointed towards her room. "Anything else?"
"Uh nope. Sounds swell to me." Cristina said as she took a step towards the door.
"Do you want a drink?" I asked as I stepped into the hallway.
"Well aren't you a good little hostess." She teased.
I started down the hallway before she replied, "Black two sugars, thanks."
"Black like your soul?" I said as I looked at her over my shoulder.
A wide smile spread across her face, "Exactly." Backing into the bathroom, she shut the door and I heard the distinctive sound of the door not locking as I put on the kettle.
Pulling out a two bowls from out of the cabinet, one big one and one small glass one and placed them both on the bench. Grabbing some chocolate out of the cupboard and a bag of popcorn, I chucked them both on the bench. Moving across the kitchen I got the scissors and opened the chocolate and emptied its contents into the little glass bowl. In my experience when someone was sad, regardless of gender, chocolate is always the go to. Pouring both our drinks, I left them next to the food and resumed my position on the couch. Switching the tv back on I found a game of baseball was just finishing, it only had about seven minutes left, which was pretty good timing.
The game finished and the ads ran for a few minutes before I heard the shower go off. Turning the tv off I jumped over the couch and into the kitchen. Putting the popcorn in the microwave, I then checked the temperature of our drinks, which were almost ready for consumption. As I began walking back to the couch the bathroom door opened. Turning my head, I looked down the hallway to watch Cristina emerge from the bathroom with a towel, my towel the only thing on her body.
I had to stop thinking about her in that way, I used to but I did stop. Well I didn't really stop stop, but I pushed her away from my main thought streams anyway. As she plodded towards April's room, oblivious to me standing, unmoving, watching I marvelled at her. Tight soft curls sprung from her hair and hung down her back and over her shoulder, hiding some of her face. They were wet so they were darker than usual; it was darker than a night without stars. Suddenly she was out of my view.
'Shut up Jackson. You got over this.' I told myself. Plonking myself down on the couch I held my head in my hands, why did tonight of all nights have to be the one night that both April and Alex are on the nightshift, and will not be home for hours.
I jumped as the microwave started beeping at me, of course the popcorn. Once again getting up from the couch, I headed towards the kitchen, opened the microwave and was wowed at my immense skills. Pouring the perfectly cooked popcorn into the bowl, I turned towards the bin.
Cristina was standing in front of me wearing one of my shirts and a pair of April's trackpants. My shirt was too big on her so she had knotted it at the back and it was a lot tighter at the front.
Taking my stare to mean something different she hurriedly said, "April has pretty ugly clothes. Do you mind?"
Forgetting how to speak for a moment I stammered, "Uh, no, yeah, no, it's fine, totally a-okay."
"Okay…" she replied, still sceptical. "This mine?" she said pointing to her coffee.
Regaining some of my composure I replied, "Yeah. And I got some food out in case you were hungry."
A strange look passed over her face and she stared at me for a moment before answering, "Thanks. I'm just going to grab my clothes, thought I could warm them by the fire." Placing her cup on the bench, she headed off to grab them.
First, I took the food, placing it on the coffee table with the tv in front and the fireplace to the side and then I took our drinks. Lifting the lid of one of the stools, I pulled out a blanket just in case she was cold and placed that on the couch. Then I grabbed two wooden stools and placed them in front of the fire to hang her clothes off.
"Good thing you have a fire." Cristina remarked from behind me, making me jump. She held in her arms her towel, my towel with her wet clothes resting on it.
"Need a hand?" I quickly asked as I extended out my hand.
"Sure." She replied as she handed me her jeans. I draped those over the chair as she draped her top, scarf and then her matching lingerie, both blood red and lacy. Which did nothing to change my mind-set nor did it help me to push thoughts out of my mind. Gesturing to the couch, I walked behind her, picked up the blanket, and handed it to her as I sat down.
"Thanks." She said sincerely, as she picked up her coffee and rested it in her palm. I switched the television on again and handed her the remote, whatever I picked she would probably moan about and inevitably take over anyway, I was just skipping a few steps. She went through the channels and finally decided on an old thriller that only had twenty minutes to go.
Fifteen minutes later we had finished all of the food and both of our drinks and we sat watching, waiting for the next development. The black and white picture somehow makes the movie more daunting as suddenly a face popped out from underneath the bed and Cristina shrieked and grabbed my arm. Tensing slightly I try to focus on the movie. A few minutes later, the chainsaw whirs again and she buries her face into my shoulder, strange that she picked this movie, knowing what it entailed.
As the credits roll she sits up again and switches the tv off. Almost as an afterthought, she turns to me and asks, "Is there anything you wish to watch?"
"No, it's all crap tonight anyway." I replied. She pulled off the blanket and placed it on the empty armchair next to her.
"Why did you want to find Alex?" I asked, trying to get her to say something, at least tell me why she came here in the first place.
"Mere was busy." She mumbled, staring down at her hands, a strange expression on her face,
"And Alex?" I inquired.
"He's my backup. But he's busy too I guess." She replied. They all seemed to have a pretty firm friendship, Mere and Cristina were inseparable but Alex had always been one of them and then April and I joined.
"So who was next on list then?" I asked, still wanting to know what happened.
"Alcohol." She said with a smirk, this time she looked me in the eye.
"Cristina?" I prompted, she needed to tell someone, obviously, why else would she be here.
"Owen cheated." She said flatly. My expression immediately changed but I forced myself to switch it back to neutral when I saw her face twitch slightly. "He cheated." She repeated, almost as if she didn't quite believe it.
"Are you okay?" I asked, now I knew why she looked so distraught in the hallway. This revelation just explained why she looked ready to cry and was desperate to talk to someone.
"He cheated. So I left him. I'm done." She said clearly, with an air of finality. She was done, she had decided. That was that. When Cristina made up her mind, it stayed that way.
"Cristina..." I began but she interrupted me.
"It's pretty hot in here." She mumbled underdoing the top button of my dress shirt she was wearing.
"Not really." I answered, watching her hands closely.
"Do you have it this hot to prepare you for hell?" she asked me, scanning me up and done, thinking. Her eyes unfocussed but not glazed over, just contemplating.
"Actually no, I put more kindling in to get it hot enough in here to try melt your heart." I quipped, and as I talked, I watched a grin cover Cristina's face. I smiled to match her smile, she looked happy, well as happy as she could be when her marriage was falling apart and she had just found out that the love of her life cheated on her.
"Didn't realise I still had one." She replied.
"It's there in a literal sense." I answered, and moved closer to her.
"So I don't have a heart in an emotional sense?" Cristina asked me in a feigned hurt tone as she turned, with her legs crossed in front of her to face me.
"It's there when it needs to be Cristina." I replied, turning my body to face hers and inching closer to her. I folded one leg in front of me, so that our knees touched and I let the other hang down the side of the couch.
"Like when?" She said as she leaned even closer, so close that I could feel her hot breath on my face.
"Like now." I answered as I placed one hand on her thigh and the other running through her hair.
"Now?" Leaning close to me, she whispered, not into my ear but almost into my mouth.
"Without a heart you wouldn't feel this." I whispered as I pulled her into me and kissed her. It wasn't a heat of the moment sort of kiss that looked like I was eating her face but it was a kiss of two years' worth of feelings, on my behalf anyway. Instead of pulling away, Cristina grabbed the side of my face and kissed back, using her tongue to gain entry just before I pulled away.
Pulling her head back only a touch, so it was mere centimetres from my face she whispered, "You do realise you kissed my lips not my emotions."
Smiling I moved my hand further up her leg and I bowed my head slightly and whispered into her ear, "It's not that hot in here."
Pulling my head back, I watched her face trying to decipher what I had said and trying not to focus too much on my rising hand. "Huh?" was all she managed to breathe out.
"You're not red from the heat of the room that's all I'm saying." I remarked a wide smirk spreading across my face.
Her eyes flickered playfully and she inched her body closer to me and said in a shocked tone, "You saying, I'm hot for you?"
"If that's how you want to put it, then sure." I said as my hand slowly ascended her thigh.
Bringing her hands to the bottom of my shirt and pulling it over my head she threw it onto the ground and then hovered over my lips for a second. Looked me in the eye and whispered, "Kiss me again and find out."
Her hands rose to my hips and she pushed me backwards, so that I was lying on the couch. She climbed on top of me as I started unbuttoning the shirt, my shirt, that she was wearing and said, "Alright I will."
XX