3:17. That's what the clock read as she stared across his chest at the clock on his side of the bed.

Much more sober than she had been, she couldn't sleep. Too much was running through her mind to be sleeping. Kate couldn't stop thinking about the night she'd just spent with Jack.

They'd opened up to each other…about things that they shouldn't have opened up about. And they had sex. Good sex – no, great sex - but sex nonetheless. Normally, that wouldn't bother her. She had done it before; slept with a guy to get his money. But never one that was quite as vulnerable as he was. It made her guilty. It made her guilty of being a bad person.

That thought brought a sting to Kate's chest that she hadn't felt in a long time. She had done some really 'bad' things in her 28 years but she did them for good reasons. Kate had never done something to hurt someone that didn't deserve to be hurt. Or at least she claimed.

She knew it was a lie deep down and it killed her that buy practicing her divine right as a human to protect herself and her family, she had hurt so many other people than just the intended person.

Kate took a deep breath, claming herself, but also redirecting her thoughts back to Jack. She needed to get out of there before she hurt him too. Before she got in to deep.

Carefully, she pushed back the covers and let her feet dangle over the side of the bed. Her feet barely reached the floor, the carpet delicately brushing against the pads of her feet. She let herself quietly slide down the rest of the way.

Remembering he had put his wallet in the back pocket of the khaki's he'd been wearing, she stared feeling around the floor for pieces of clothing.

She found her shirt, her bra, his shoe…and then her hand hit something: a soft material, with a belt still around the waist.

Jackpot.

She glanced back at Jack while she tried to fasten her bra in the dark. It wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be, but it was better to be dressed – somewhat – if he woke up.

Which is exactly what he did.

"Kate?" He asked groggily.

"Yeah." She answered.

"What are you doing on the floor?" The man sat up in bed to see her better, waking himself up even more.

'Shit,' she thought to herself. He was never going to go back to sleep without her in the bed with him. Plus, it looked fishy to say 'oh, I enjoy crawling around on the floor late at night. I find it soothing…you go ahead and go back to sleep' and then just never come back. She was on her hands and knees searching for the man's pants for Christ's sake!

"I was going to go the bathroom," was the best excuse she could come up with. "I didn't mean to wake you…but while your up would mind telling me wear it is so I don't have to go searching for it," she added quickly to make it believable.

It worked because all at once she was in the hallway outside his bedroom opening the only door on the right…just like he had instructed.

The bright light switched on with a click and Kate instantly regretted it; the small twinge of a headache she had suddenly intensified. But after a moment of standing still with her hands over her eyes like some four year old would do, she moved to the sink and turned on the faucet. The rush of cool water felt good going down her throat. Kate quickly turned the water to warm after that and splashed her face until she was fully awake. Luckily, she had no makeup on so she didn't worry about staining his hand towel when she dried off.

She exhaled deeply, leaning over the sink once more as a wave of nausea washed over her.

'Gotta love a hangover,' she thought to herself with distain. She sighed again and looked around his bathroom. An olive green with ivory accents. It was a nice combination, especially for a bathroom. There was a painting of a lily in the same colors on the wall above the toilet. Everything was clean and neat. Kate was surprised since he was the only one living in the house. Usually men were pigs.

Looking back to the sink she noticed the toothbrush holder had two toothbrushes in it. One clear and one an opaque pink. It took a minute for it to set in but then she'd remembered his speech about his wife divorcing him. It must have been fresh since none of his wife's things were out of the bathroom.

Two ivory towels, two toothbrushes, two washcloths, and a set of matching shampoo and conditioner sat on the edge of the shower.

"Smart move, Kate." She whispered. "You've gotten yourself involved with a guy who can't even bring himself to get rid of his wife's shampoo." She spoke to her reflection like it was her best friend, advising it to go back to bed with him until he fell asleep and then get the hell out of there.

Heeding her own advice she made her way back to the bedroom, hoping that Jack would be asleep. No such luck.

She walked back into the room to find Jack sitting up in bed, reading the book that had been right next to his alarm clock.

"Better?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah." She answered with a sheepish smile. She bent down to pick up her clothing and put it next to her pack so she could head straight out of the room next time; forget the man's wallet.

Jack stared at her while she tidied up after herself. She was really thin. Probably a little on the unhealthy side but he decided to put it away. Her hair was tousled and sexy, framing her face just right. She reminded him of a Victoria's Secret model standing at the foot of his bed in a matching bra and panty set. Kate was gorgeous.

He felt a little guilty about sleeping with her. Not that he didn't enjoy himself but he kind of thought it looked a little trashy. At least when he tried to be an objective observer it did.

Man divorces wife. Man picks up girl in bar on the same day. Man has hot sex with girl repeatedly before leaving her and going to work, knowing that she won't be there when he got back.

Sounded like a bad porn film.

But for some unexpected reason he hoped that Kate wouldn't leave. There was something about her. Something he liked…but he didn't know anything about her. How can you like someone you don't know?

"You read a lot?" She asked as she crawled back into bed beside him.

"Umm…I guess you could say so." He bent back the cover so she could see what he was reading.

"John Grisham…not bad." He was reading The Firm. Kate had never read it but she'd heard great things about it.

"Yeah…I've read it twice already but I keep finding things I missed before. I love something like that. You know…the one's that never get old." He watched her nod in agreement. "You read a lot?" He asked back.

"Oh…" she replied taken off guard. He could tell she didn't get asked that very much. "I do when I get the chance. I like the classics myself. Of Mice and Men, A Separate Piece, Wuthering Heights…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "The Bronte Sisters are my favorite author, but Jane Eyre is probably my favorite book."

There was a comfortable silence between the two. Jack looked back at his book even though he wasn't reading.

"Thanks…nobody really asks me questions like that anymore." She pulled the covers over her half naked body like she was embarrassed. "I like it when people take an interest in me. Normally guys don't care."

Jack smiled to himself. It was nice to know that she appreciated their little conversation. "I care." He said. It wasn't meant to be some confession like in the movies with the music playing in the background, he wasn't sure if she heard but when he looked at her she was staring back at him; her emerald colored eyes boring into him like he was insane. But there was a small line of tears forming along her long lashes.

He half expected her to say something but she just leaned forward and kissed him. It was a soft, gentle kiss. Her hands rested delicately on his chest while his hands moved to either side of her face. Kate loved how tender he was. Not many were…

He pulled back. "What was that for?" His hands still lingered on her face and gently wiped away a single tear that had escaped.

"I don't know. For being kind. For being good."

"It's not that hard." She shook her head slightly against his grip. "No? Why…is it hard?" His eyes glistened with wonder at how fragile she had become in the last few minutes. There was something special about her. He was sure of it now. Kate was different than any other girl he had met and he'd met plenty in his lifetime.

She bit her lip at his question. "It just is for some people." And with that she kissed him again. Only this time it deepened and there was no more conversation.

A/N: Sorry it took so long…I'm a bad author! I've been having such a hard time with this for some reason. I'm trying to push myself with this story. I know where I want it to go but I don't just…you know, what it to go there. I don't know how to make it clearer than that.

Well, sorry again for how delayed I was. Affirmations always help…leave a review!