Chapter Four
Later on
"Are you done yet?" Jesse hollered towards his bathroom.
"Yeah. Almost!" Beca shoutd back.
Jesus. How long did she need the bathroom for? She must have been there nearly forty five minutes. Jesse was already dressed in his jeans, and hoodie waiting. He tapped his foot and stared at the bathroom door, feeling a little impatient now. You would thought she would jumped immediately at his offer to play Nathan's stuff. but instead, that infuriating weirdo said she needed to use the bathroom.
Something about brushing her teeth and maybe a shower?
And can he lend her a towel?
Jesse had grumbled a little, trying to locate a towel and a spare toothbrush. This place was his bolthole, his own protected workspace. Only Bumper and now Dr. Krawcyzk knew of this place. He never brought anyone here, let alone keep spare toothbrushes for lady visitors. While rooting round for a towel just now, Jesse suddenly realised what those stains on Beca's hoody were. That dude who tried to kill him last night was a sprayer. His own clothes were a mess. Hers were no better. She was portably feeling a little grossed out by all blood the fucker bled all over her and needed that shower. His hand closed over an old tshirt before he handed the whole pile over to Beca and told her where the bathroom was.
Jesse glanced round his messy bedroom.
Maybe he should try to tidy up a little? Th place was messy. He hastily picked up his clothes, dumping them into the laundry basket, opened a window and dragged fresh bed linen out of his wardrobe. His bedroom looked marginally better. Yeah. Not too shabby. He wouldn't feel too ashamed now. Not that he was trying to impress her. He just wanted it a little neater, OK?
Jesse was halfway making his bed when the bathroom door open and Beca walked out. "I used some of your stuff," Beca was saying, drying her hair with the towel. "I hope you don't mind."
He should be annoyed but Jesse found he didn't mind at all. She had showered. Her hair was all wet, despite the vigorous way she was rubbing it with that towel and hanging loose behind her. She looked scrubbed and pink, all traces of the smudgy make-up gone. Still in her skinny jeans and bare feet, she was wearing his t-shirt, which, of course was far too big on her. She was also not wearing a bra.
"If you have a plastic bag - " Beca was saying.
Jesse's eyes snapped up.
"A bag?"
"Yeah. For these," Beca said, raising her arms slightly to show the dirty clothes she had in her arms.
"Um..." Jesse cleared his throat. "We're going to be some time. So..if you want to do a quick wash -" He made some sort of circling gesture at her clothes.
"Ok."
"Washing machine in the kitchen. It's one of those combined tumble dryer things. Quick wash is no. 4 -" Jesse was babbling now. No, he did not just look at her boobs again. God, he was not a perv. "There's soap in the cupboard -"
Beca was waving him away, already halfway out of the door, heading towards the kitchen.
"Let me show you how the machine works," Jesse said, following her from behind. "It can be temperamental sometimes."
"It's a washing machine. I think I've got it," she deadpanned. She bent over to peer at the controls and to open the door and Jesse averted his eyes.
"Where's the soap?" she asked.
"Right on the top shelf," Jesse replied, concentrating on a worn out spot on the kitchen counter. No, he was not going to stare at her ass. No matter how fantastic it looked in those jeans. He did, however, see her stuffing all her clothes inside the machine including her underwear. Wait. Does it mean she's...no. Is she? Is she commando under those sprayed on jeans?
Jesse only focused back when he heard the grunt from the little brunette. She was gazing up at the soap which was out of reach and he stepped forward, bringing the box down for her. Beca just merely scowled at him, almost daring him to crack a joke, but honestly he was too busy trying to keep his thoughts from straying into that territory.
"Umm...soap compartment's here," Jesse spoke up, pointing to the small box. "You might need to slam the door a bit or the cycle won't start."
Jesse could see Beca already had the situation under control despite all his attempts to be helpful. He should really let her get on with it. The kitchen was small. There was not much room for both of them to be standing between the kitchen counter and the washing machine like this. And she was too close. He was already crowding into her.
Is it warm in here?
Why was it too warm?
He could smell the scent of his body wash steaming off her clean skin and his shampoo in her hair. He never remembered both smelling that good.
"Ok, come through when you're ready," Jesse mumbled, swiftly stepping to one side and nearly toppling over Beca. "We'll work on Nathan's stuff," he hastily said to cover his embarrassment. He couldn't see the expression on Beca's face but he could see her nodding. And Jesse got the hell out of the kitchen, all the while wondering what the fuck was wrong with him.
"How are you with confined spaces?"
Beca turned her head towards Jesse. Did she hear him right?
"Excuse me?" she said, cocking her head to one side. What was this weirdo talking about now?
Once she had figured out the laundry and pulled on her trainers, Beca had gone to find Jesse. He was waiting in the living room, restlessly bouncing a bunch of keys in his hand and had beckoned to her to follow him. She has thought the apartment was small but the place was like a Tardis. They had gone through a couple of doors and down a few floors into a small basement . And just when she thought they had arrived, he asked that question.
"I hope you're not claustrophobic," he was nonchalantly saying, kicking aside what looked like a pile of old carpets to reveal a manhole on the floor. He took the cover off and Beca stared down into the dark. Was he serious?
"I'll go down first," Jesse said. "Since you're here, make yourself useful. Hold the flashlight."
She took the small flashlight offered to her and shone it down the hole. There were metal rungs drilled into the wall and Jesse was climbing down. She heard his feet thudding on terra firma before he hollered up for her to drop the flashlight and come down. What the fuck was she letting herself into? Beca gritted her teeth and climbed down. She missed the last rung and would have landed in a heap but Jesse caught her, setting her on her feet.
"Thanks," Beca mumbled, feeling a hot flush going up her neck.
He didn't say another word, spinning on his heels and walking ahead. Beca hurried after. They were walking through was a low ceiling, purpose built corridor, judging by the concrete finish. How long they walked Beca didn't know. She was right behind Jesse and couldn't see where they were going. They must be some distance away from the building by now and just when Beca was about to say something, Jesse stopped.
A utility door was on their left.
"Hold this," Jesse ordered, handling the flashlight to her again. The light fell on the various locks on the door. Jesse was pointedly staring at her and Beca averted her eyes as he undid the locks, opened the door and went through. It was another corridor, leading to an elevator. Jesse didn't say a word as they rode up, his fingers tapping against the metal wall. Beca rubbed her arms, feeling the goosebumps erupting on her skin.
"You cold?" she heard Jesse asking.
She nodded, looking away. She heard him sigh, in a resigned sort of way and the next, he had taken off his hoody and offered it to her. She was in two minds but took the hoody, shrugging it on and pulling the zip right up to her chin. It felt warm and smelled strangely comforting. The elevator jarred to halt and Jesse pulled the doors open with some force.
"Come with me." he ordered. "And don't touch anything!"
