Chapter 29: Neighbors, Friends, and More Than Friends...Maybe
A/N: Sorry in advance for the insanely long chapter.
Hyperion Heights
Saturday morning Jade woke up in her new apartment and stretched her sore back out. Between all the packing, moving, and unpacking she had done in the last two weeks, her back was killing her. She'd love to go and get a massage but she was very self-conscious of the scars on her back and didn't like having to explain them, so she stretched out as best as she could on her own. She got up and showered and dressed for a day of reacquainting herself with the Heights. She decided she'd get coffee at the coffee shop down the street and just walk around to check things out. She grabbed her keys and cell and headed out the door. As she reached the front door of the apartment building, it opened from the outside and a man entered almost knocking into Jade as he juggled his grocery bags and his keys into his one good hand.
"Oh I'm sorry luv didn't see you there," the man said.
"No it's my fault. In too much of a hurry to get some coffee," Jade said.
"You just move in?" he asked.
"Yeah on Thursday, Rogers," she said.
He did a double-take and said, "Wilde? What in the bloody hell are you doing back in the Heights?"
Jade chuckled and said, "You know I'm really tired of everyone asking that. Can't a woman move back home if she wants to?"
"No, sorry, of course you can. I'm just shocked that's all. Guess you're the new detective starting on Monday?" Rogers asked.
"You'd be correct. I'm guessing you live in the other apartment?" Jade asked.
"You would also be correct. So, neighbor, what are your plans for the day?" he asked.
"First stop coffee. My coffee maker broke during the move. Then, I'm just gonna walk around and refamiliarize myself with the Heights. Probably winding up at Roni's for a drink eventually. You?" Jade said.
"Well after I get these groceries put away, would you like a tour guide?" Rogers asked.
"Sure why not. Would you like a han-some help getting those into your apartment," she stammered.
He chuckled at her stammering about his hand, "That would be great." She took a couple of the bags from him and they went back up the stairs to his apartment. He unlocked the door and they entered. His apartment was laid out exactly like hers just in reverse. She followed him to the kitchen and they put away the groceries.
Once they were done, Rogers turned to her and said, "I believe you said something about coffee. Shall we go?"
Jade nodded, even though all she really wanted to do was to kiss him and make love to him until he remembered who they really were. She thought to herself "This is even harder than I thought it would be. And damn he looks so damn hot."
They left and walked to the coffee shop. After getting their coffees, they walked around the Heights, talking and catching up. They wound up down along the waterfront looking for a place to grab lunch, when they ran into Weaver and a young blond woman.
Rogers introduced Jade to the young woman saying, "Jade, this is Tilly, a friend of mine and Weaver's. Tilly, this is Detective Jade Wilde. She just moved back to the Heights."
Tilly said, with a smile, "Well any friend of Rogers is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you, Jade Wilde."
"Please call me Jade and it's nice to meet you too, Tilly. Weaver, good to see you as well," Jade said with a smile.
Weaver nodded and said, "Wilde, can we talk for a minute?"
Rogers looked at Tilly and asked, "Quick chess match?" Tilly nodded and the two of them walked over to a bench and sat down and began to play.
Weaver and Jade walked closer to the water's edge and put their backs to Rogers and Tilly. Jade waited for Weaver to speak first.
"Hard isn't it? Being with him and him not knowing who either of you really are, who any of us really are?" he asked.
"Harder than I thought it would be. Who is Tilly really? Though I have my suspicions," she asked.
"Her name is Alice. From Wonderland and other lands," he told her.
"Is she Killian's daughter? Who is her mother?" she asked him.
"She is but it's not what you think. He didn't cheat on you. He went looking for some magic to find you and a witch tricked him into sleeping with her. The witch used a golden flower to advance her pregnancy and after she gave birth, she abandoned the baby in the tower in her place. The witch had been trapped in the tower and only someone from her bloodline could replace her. After the witch left the tower, he stayed to take care of his daughter, leaving very rarely to get supplies and a way to free her and find you. The witch came back once 11 years after abandoning her and cursed his heart with poison from Wonderland, leaving the girl in the tower alone. He vowed to find a way to free her and find you. She wound up freeing herself when she was 17, but she couldn't get near her father without causing him a great deal of pain. If he's near her for too long, the poison will kill him. Under the curse, the poison isn't activated, but they also don't know they are father and daughter. If they find out before the curse is broken, the poison may be activated - but I'm not positive," Weaver explained.
Jade had listened quietly to Rumple - her heart breaking for father and daughter. She was quiet for so long, Rumple wasn't sure she would ever speak. Finally, she said, "Witch, golden flower, tower. Gothel. The witch was - is - Gothel. She was in Portland two weeks ago. The day I called you as a matter of fact. She was working as a barista at my favorite coffee shop. She slipped a memory restoring potion into my cappuccino. She woke me up. But why - for what purpose?"
"Only Gothel knows. By the way her name here is Eloise Gardener for when you run into her cause I'm sure you will. Especially since she considers Rogers her white knight and is acting like she has a crush on him," Weaver said.
"Her white knight?" she asked.
"Yeah he rescued her from Belfrey, a.k.a. Rapunzel or Lady Tremaine if you prefer. Belfrey kept her captive for the last several years and Rogers rescued her. And now Eloise is feeling massively indebted to Rogers or that's how she's acting at least," he said.
"He's not falling for it, is he?" Jade asked worriedly.
"No he's not. But you better be careful when you're around him," Weaver told her.
"Thank God. I know. I'll be careful," Jade said.
From behind them, they heard Tilly laugh as she beat Rogers at chess. Weaver and Jade walked over to the bench. Weaver took his leave saying he would see Rogers and Jade on Monday morning. Tilly left as well.
"And then there were two," Rogers said. "So what did you and Weaver have to talk about? Looked serious."
"So that's why you lost? You were more focused on my conversation than your chess game," Jade teased.
"Not the conversation, just more focused on you," he said, brushing a lock of her hair back behind her ear.
"Oh," Jade said, blushing.
"Yeah oh," he said, "You look really cute when you blush. So are you ready for lunch?"
"Oh, umm, yeah lunch sounds good. Burgers at Roni's?" she asked.
"Sounds good to me," he said and they walked to Roni's.
They walked into Roni's Bar and sat down at a table by the fireplace. A tall red-headed woman came over to take their order.
"Well Roni said you were moving back, but I didn't believe her. Guess I was wrong. Eh first time for everything I guess," the redhead said.
Jade and Rogers laughed at her comments since Jade had said she'd been getting that alot lately. The woman looked annoyed.
"I'm sorry, Kelly. We're not laughing at you, just the comment. Everyone keeps commenting on the fact that I'm back when I said I'd never step foot back in the Heights again when I left. It's gotten a bit annoying and now, apparently, funny. Forgive us for laughing, please," Jade said, once she had stopped laughing.
"Got it. No problem. Well welcome back. Can I get you two anything?" Kelly asked.
They both ordered a Blue Moon beer, bacon cheeseburger, and fries. Kelly said she'd be right back with their drinks. Jade and Rogers chuckled again - this time at their exact orders.
"Wonder what else we have in common?" Rogers asks with a chuckle.
Jade said, "Not sure. Let's see….hmmm...favorite music to listen to?"
"Depends on my mood. Classic rock when I'm working on my car, country when I'm relaxing or with a lady, modern rock when I'm working a case, country or rock mainly. What about you?" he said.
Jade sat back and thought for a moment while Kelly placed their beers on the table. Finally she said, "Also depends on my mood. Country when I'm relaxing, classic or modern rock when I'm working on my car, music when I'm working a case depends on whether or not I'm working with a partner - last partner preferred classical music and one before that no music. I prefer rock so I tended to listen to my music with earphones in. The classical I could deal with for a short time but the silence I couldn't handle."
"I get that. So you work on cars...what do you drive?" he asked.
"A 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS red with black racing stripes," she said proudly.
Rogers shook his head in disbelief and pulled out his phone and started playing with it. Jade looked at him confused, not sure what she had just said to cause this reaction. He found what he was looking for on his phone and handed it to her. She looked down at it and saw a picture of a 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS but dark gray with black racing stripes. She burst out laughing and so did he.
"We drive the exact same car! Oh my God! I can't believe this!" Jade said laughing. They continued laughing for a few minutes trying to get themselves under control.
Kelly brought their food over when they finally stopped laughing. As she set their plates down, she said, "Nice to see you two getting along finally." She left and Jade and Rogers looked at each other confused at Kelly's comment.
Then it dawned on Jade that when they had been in the academy together they hadn't gotten along. They were actually quite competitive - not just with each other, but everyone in their cadet class. Rogers had a look of realization on his face too that told Jade he remembered the same thing she did.
She ate a fry and asked, "Why didn't we get along in the academy?"
"Probably because we were both trying to prove that we belonged there - to each other, everyone else, and ourselves. Me because of my hand, you - well I could take a guess or two but I don't want to speak out of turn on the subject," he said.
"You're right. I was trying to prove I belonged. Hell I'm still having to prove I belong. I'm petite, so they assume I can't carry my own weight or take care of myself or take down a perp. I'm blond, so they assume I don't have a brain or smarts. And I'm a woman, so they think I should be home in the kitchen and taking care of babies or, my personal favorite - that I'm a lesbian - which for the record I'm not. I can cook, I just don't see the point of cooking for one so I tend to eat takeout cause it's easier. I like kids - never had any yet - but who knows what's in store. Shit sorry end of my rant," she said, blushing over the fact that she had just unloaded on Rogers, and quietly took a sip of her beer and then began eating her burger.
Rogers shook his head and said, "I'm sorry if I ever treated you like that. I was wrong. They are wrong. I'm sorry you've had to put up with the 'old boys club' mentality. Most of the men and women in this department aren't like that. The ones that are - luckily they're retiring soon."
"Thank you. No you never treated me like that. You just looked out for yourself and stayed to yourself. Even when we all hung out after a long week of classes and training. But then again so did I," she told him. "Okay enough 'serious' talk. What else can we talk about?"
As they ate, they discussed movies, t.v. shows, books, and art. Movie discussion led to a discovery of their mutual love of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise and all things Marvel. They debated the best cars from "F&F" and which Marvel hero was the best. They had to agree to disagree on those - they each saw the merits of the others choices. Finally they both conceded that they are all awesome in their own ways.
They talked and drank beer for several hours, eventually switching to water to avoid the dreaded hangovers the next day. Around 10 p.m., they decided to head home. They walked to their shared apartment building and walked inside and up the stairs. He walked her to her door and as she unlocked it, she suddenly became nervous. She hadn't felt nervous all day but now that they were alone in the hallway outside her apartment, her palms started sweating.
"So thank you for playing tour guide for me today," she said, trying to calm her nerves.
"You're welcome. I had fun today. I don't often get to just walk around and not be working," he said, reaching out to brush a lock of her hair off her face - for the second time today. He was suddenly nervous and wasn't sure why. He knew he liked Jade as a friend, but he also felt that there was something more happening between them. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?"
"Sleeping as late as my body will allow, then attempting to hang up some artwork, and put together the bookcases I bought on Friday," she said.
"Sleeping as late as your body allows?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm kinda used to getting up at 5 because I worked 7 to 7 in Portland. Only way I'd get my run in was if I got up before work to go. This morning was the latest I've slept in in I don't know how long," she replied.
"Ah I see. Would you like some help with your projects tomorrow? Sounds like you could use an extra hand. And before you say it, yes pun intended," he said, smirking.
She chuckled and said, "Yes that would be great."
"Okay so text me when you're ready to get started," he said.
"Or I could just knock on one of the walls between our apartments," she said.
"Well seeing as those options would be walls between a bedroom, a bathroom, another bathroom, and another bedroom and I would have to be in one of those rooms when you knocked, just text me," he said.
"Can't do that," she said. He looked at her like she was crazy, so she took pity on him and said, "I don't have your number, therefore, I can't text you."
He grinned and said, "Well I better remedy that." He handed her his phone and she gave him hers and they each entered their contact info into the other's phone. They traded phones back. Jade looked at his info - he had entered his name as Colin. She looked up with a questioning look on her face. "Wasn't sure if you actually knew my first name. You've always called me Rogers," he told her.
"I knew your first name. It's just that when we first met at the academy, we all called each other by last name, so I guess I just fell back on that. I'm sorry about that, Colin," she said apologetically.
"It's okay. I was just teasing you," he said. "So you'll text me in the morning?"
"Yes I will. Good night," she said.
"Good night Jade," he said and turned and walked down the hallway to his apartment door. As he unlocked his door, he looked back down the hall at her and caught her looking back at him. They wave goodnight and go into their own apartments, their thoughts on each other as they tried to fall asleep in separate beds with a wall separating them.
Sunday morning, Jade woke up not sure if she even slept. She had lain awake for hours last night remembering Killian and comparing him to his cursed self, Colin. There was definitely still a romantic connection between the two of them. Then she attempted to fall asleep but memories of her and Killian in bed together had her tossing and turning for a few more hours causing her to take a cold shower at 4 a.m. It was now 8 a.m. and she realized she was not going back to sleep.
She got up, showered, and dressed throwing on a pair of tight faded blue jeans and a white tank top. In her bare feet she went to her kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She reached for a mug and then remembered that she hadn't bought a new machine to replace her broken one. She sighed and thought to herself, "Do I walk to the coffee shop or knock on his door to see if I can steal a cup from him? He has an awesome coffee machine sitting in his kitchen." As she debated, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. She picked up her phone and saw a text from Colin.
Open your door - C
Why? - J
Just open it - C
She crossed to her door, curious, and unlocked it and opened it up. There sitting on the floor outside her door was a brand new coffee machine exactly like the one she had eyed in his kitchen yesterday morning. She smiled and picked it up. Turning to walk back into her apartment with it, she saw him standing in his doorway with a smile on his face as he sipped his coffee, wearing a similar outfit to her own - faded blue jeans (tight in all the right places) and a tight black tank and bare feet.
"If you don't want to wait to set that up before you can have coffee, you can have some of mine," he said.
She set the coffee maker just inside her door and walked down the hall with a smile on her face. She reached for the cup of coffee in his hand and took a sip and sighed with happiness as the caffeine began to wake her up. With a smile on her face still, she turned and walked back to her apartment with his coffee mug still in her hand.
"Not quite what I meant but well-played, Jade. I better get that mug back. It's my favorite," he called to her, chuckling.
"You want it back, huh? Well guess you'll have to come and get it," she called back as she disappeared into her apartment with it and shut the door.
"Oh I'm coming to get that mug and so much more," he thought to himself. Jade wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping last night as he was thinking about all the things I wanted to do to and with her. He wound up taking a cold shower at 4 a.m. as well. He grabbed his keys and locked his apartment and walked down the hall to hers in his bare feet. He opened the door and walked in to see her leaning against her kitchen island sipping his coffee from his coffee mug.
"Took you long enough," she teased him.
He didn't say anything, just shut the door and walked over to her. He took the mug from her hand and placed it on the counter. Then he brushed his thumb over her lips and leaned in and kissed her. Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and probed her lips with his tongue. She sighed and he slid his tongue into her mouth deepening their kiss. For Jade, the kiss was like coming home. For Colin, it felt so right and he felt a twinge of a memory - of kissing her, but that couldn't be because he, Colin, had never kissed Jade before. He knew one thing for sure, though, and that was that this was not going to be their one and only. Eventually they came up for air. They rested their foreheads together, both trying to catch their breath.
Colin was the first to speak, "Wow….that was just...wow."
She chuckled softly, "Yeah that was definitely wow."
He put a finger under her chin and gently lifted her face up to look at her eyes and asked, hopefully, "And not a one time thing?"
She smiled and said, "Most definitely not a one time thing." He smiled back. At that moment, their stomachs both grumbled. They laughed.
"So would you like to go out for breakfast?" he asked her.
"Nope. How about I whip us up a couple of omelets while you set up my new coffee maker?" she replied.
"Didn't you say you don't like to cook?" he asked.
"No I said I don't see the point when it's just me. I like cooking when I have someone to cook for," she reminded him.
"Ah well in that case omelets sound terrific. I'll go grab us each a cup of coffee from my place and then I'll set up the machine for you," he said.
"Perfect," she replied and tried to move out of his arms to start breakfast. He wouldn't let her go until he kissed her lips lightly and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. Once he had done that, he let her go and he picked up his coffee mug and went back to his apartment to grab more coffee for them both.
He stopped and turned to ask," How do you like your coffee?"
"Same as you made yours that I stole," she answered. He nodded and turned around and walked out the door.
Jade sighed and walked around the island to the fridge and pulled out everything she needed to make breakfast. She thought to herself while she prepared the omelets, "Damn he can still kiss me senseless. I almost pulled him into the bedroom and ravaged him. But no I had to go and remember the fucking scars on my back Pan gave me. I haven't come up with a cover story for those yet, so until I do, my clothes have got to stay on. Fuck this is not going to be easy."
By this point, Colin was back with their coffees and the omelets were ready for the saute pan. She took a sip of the delicious coffee and began cooking up breakfast. Colin got the machine set up and asked if he should make a pot awhile. She gave him a look that conveyed how stupid of a question that was. He chuckled and started brewing a pot. Very soon the omelets were ready and so was the coffee. Colin poured them each a fresh cup of coffee, as they were both in need of a refill by that point, while Jade put the omelets and buttered toast on plates for them. She set the saute pan in the sink and ran some water over it and Colin carried their coffee to the table in the breakfast nook. Jade grabbed the plates and silverware and joined him at the table.
They ate quickly, as they were starving. Once they were done, Colin said, "That was the absolute best omelet I've ever eaten. I'll clean up while you figure out where you want our artwork hung."
"Thank you for the compliment and the offer to clean up. I'll start unpacking my artwork," Jade said. They got up from the table and carried the dishes to the kitchen. Colin started cleaning up and Jade went into her spare bedroom to begin unpacking her artwork. Colin joined her 10 minutes later and asked if she needed any help unpacking. She said she didn't, but that he could take a stack to the living room awhile. He picked up the stack she had indicated and carried it into the living room and set them on the couch. He was flipping through her paintings when he came across one that looked very familiar to him. He looked at the back of the painting to confirm his suspicion - it was one of his.
Jade walked into the living room with another stack and saw him looking at the painting. She said, "That's my absolute favorite. It's of the lighthouse on Bainbridge Island as seen from the beach here In Hyperion Heights. I actually have a photograph that I took as a teenager that almost exactly matches the painting. The only difference between the two is that my picture doesn't have a pirate ship in it."
"How do you know it's a pirate ship?" he asked.
"The flag that you can just barely make out is a Jolly Roger flag," she said.
He pretends to examine the painting more closely - he knows the flag is what she says it is as he's the one who painted it. "So it is," he said, "Where did you purchase the painting?"
"At an arts and crafts show here in the Heights, shortly before I left town. It's a local artist, but it's not signed, so I have no idea who the artist is," she said.
"Actually it is signed - on the back," he said, holding up the painting so she could see the signature.
"So it is. Too bad I can't read the signature to figure out who it is. I'd love to buy more of their work," she told him.
He set the painting down and walked over to the console table where he saw a pad of paper and pen. He wrote something down on the paper and handed it to her. She looked at what he had written and saw it was a signature that exactly matched the one on the back of the painting. She said, "So you're either an excellent forger, which would be kinda funny considering you're a cop, or you're the artist. Which is it?"
"Follow me," he said and walked out the door of her apartment and down the hall to his. She followed him, intrigued. He unlocked his door and entered and walked into his spare bedroom. She followed him and stopped dead as soon as she entered the room, stunned. She looked around at the paintings - some done, some partially finished, and one - the one he was currently working on - sitting on an easel.
"You're the artist," she said.
"Aye that I am," he chuckled, "You coming in or you just gonna keep standing there?"
She finally stepped into the room and began looking around at his artwork. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't usually sell your paintings?"
"You would be correct. That arts and craft show was the only one I've ever done. Actually the painting you bought was the only one I had there. A friend, another local artist, agreed to sell it along with the other local artists' work she was representing that day. I paint as a hobby - a way to distress after a long day. But I needed to get an expensive part for the car and was a bit short on cash, so I sold the painting," he explained.
"Well you're an amazing artist and if you ever decide to turn in the badge, you could easily make a living at it," she told him.
"Thank you but I think I'll keep my hobby just that - a hobby. And if you don't mind, just between us," he said.
"Of course it'll stay between us," she promised him. Then she looked at the canvas on his easel more closely. "Is that me?"
"Yes it is - well sorta. I hope you don't mind," he said. He had said 'sorta' because in the painting she had fairy wings.
"No, I don't mind. Why the fairy wings though?" she asked, wondering if he really was awake and remembered who she really was and who he really is.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. It just seemed right when I started the painting," he said, running his hand through his hair.
He seemed like he really wasn't sure why he had added the fairy wings, so Jade came to the conclusion that he was not awake. "Oh okay. Well I like the fairy wings," she told him, because she did, even though she hadn't been a fairy for over 30 years now.
"Okay. Well shall we get to hanging up those paintings of yours and those bookcases?" he asked.
She nodded and they went back to her apartment to hang up the paintings and put together the bookcases. Colin asked if she minded him putting on music while they worked. She said no and he pulled up his music app and selected a playlist and set his phone on her stereo dock. Once they got all that done, they began unpacking her boxes of books, movies, and knickknacks. Colin asked if she had any particular order she wanted the movies to go in. She told him not really, except for the Marvel movies, which go up in the order you need to watch them. Same for "The Fast and Furious" movies. He nodded and set to work, while she took care of the books and her knickknacks. As they unload boxes and put stuff on the shelves, the song "Shallow" comes on. Jade says it's one of her favorite songs. Colin smiles and starts singing it.
Tell me somethin', girl
Are you happy in this modern world?
Or do you need more?
Is there something else you're searching for?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longin' for change
And in the bad times I fear myself
Jade joins in...
Tell me something, boy
Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longing for a change
And in the bad times I fear myself
I'm off the deep end
Watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface
Where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
Colin joins her…
In the sha-ha-sha-ha-low
In the sha-ha-sha-la-la-low
In the sha-ha-sha-ha-ha-low
We're far from the shallow now
Jade….
Ooooo aahaaa ooou (s)
Ooo ouo ooo haaaa (s)
I'm off the deep end
Watch as I dive in
I'll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface
Where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now
Colin and Jade…
In the sha-ha-sha-ha-low
In the sha-ha-sha-la-la-low
In the sha-ha-sha-ha-ha-low
We're far from the shallow now
When the song ends, they look at each other and smile, saying at the same time "And he/she sings." Jade says, "We sounded pretty good together too."
"You know Roni occasionally does a karaoke night. Maybe next one, you'll sing with me?" he suggests. Jade smiles and tells him she'll think about it.
They finish emptying the boxes and break them down and take them out to the dumpster behind the building. Once they've loaded the boxes into the dumpster, Jade stretches her arms up over her head to stretch out her back - not realizing that her tank top rises up, revealing the scars on her back. Colin sees them but doesn't say anything. She'll tell him when she's ready. She lowers her arms and turns around to look at him, spying a grill as she turns.
She asks him, "Whose grill?"
"Mine. I have to keep it down on the lower deck because it's a gas grill and the gas line is down there. Why?" he says in reply.
"Because we worked through lunch and I'm starving and I bought a couple of steaks that would taste great cooked on a grill," she says.
"In that case, you go grab those steaks and I'll fire up the grill. Here's the key to my place so you come back out through the back door and down the stairs. I'll go in through the back door and scrub up some potatoes to go with those steaks. Can you grab my phone off your stereo dock for me?" he says.
"Sounds like a plan and sure," she says, grabbing the key from his hand and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.
She runs upstairs and into her apartment. She catches sight of herself in the mirror and realizes how dirty she looks. She hurries into her bathroom and washes her face and hands, and runs a brush through her hair. She refreshes her deodorant and changes her tank top - this one green. Then she goes into the kitchen and grabs the steaks and her special grill seasoning. She's almost to the door when she remembers his phone. She turns and grabs it up from the stereo dock and her keys and her phone. She sticks his phone in her other back pocket and locks her door and hurries back down the hall to his apartment.
As she reaches his door, it opens up. Colin was about to come look for her because she was taking so long. He notices that she had cleaned up - her green tank top matching her eyes, as she notices he has cleaned up as well. Now he has on a tight blue tee that compliments his eyes. He takes the steaks and grill seasoning from her and walks across the living room to the back door. She enters and closes and locks his door since they will be outside.
He calls over his shoulder to her, "Help yourself to beer if you'd like, I've got one already."
She walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge, finding a case of Blue Moon on the shelf. She grabs one and heads out the door and down the stairs.
As she reaches the bottom step, he asks, "Did you grab my phone?"
"Yes I did," she says.
"Where is it?" he asks, not seeing it in her hands.
"Why don't you come over here and try to find it?" she says coyly.
He smirks and walks over to her and eyes her body appreciatively. "Now where oh where could my phone be hiding," he ponders. He pulls her into his arms and begins kissing her and running his hands over her body, searching for his phone. He places his hand on her left buttcheek, feeling a phone, he pulls the phone out of her pocket.
She breaks off the kiss saying, "Wrong phone."
He slides her phone back into her pocket and reaches over to her right buttcheek and feels another phone. He pulls out that one and says, "Now unless for some reason, you have two phones, this one is mine."
"Where in the world would I hide a third phone," she asked, teasing him.
He looks down at her chest and raises an eyebrow and smirks, "I can think of one other place."
She smiles and smacks his hard, muscled chest, and says, "Well that would be kinda obvious and uncomfortable."
"Aye it would. But it would be a very lucky phone," he said, still smirking. "I better turn the steaks over. Why don't you put some music on?"
"Okay. Umm, how do you feel about classic country?" she asks him, pulling out her phone, as he walks over the grill.
"Are you talking 80's/90's country or Hank/Willie/Johnny/Dolly?" he asks.
"The later," she says.
"Love all country, but really love those artists," he tells her.
She smiles and turns on her "awesome classic country" playlist and puts her phone on his stereo dock. Willie Nelson "On the Road Again" comes on and they both start singing along. They continue singing along to the songs that are on her playlist while the steaks and baked potatoes grill. Once the food's ready, Jade grabs her phone off the stereo dock and they go up to his deck after turning off the grill to eat. She puts her phone on the stereo dock that is up there and Colin lights the tiki torches. They eat, talk, and listen to music for a couple of hours. Then they clean up from dinner and decide to watch a movie. They can't decide on which one to watch, so they continue to listen to music and talk.
After a bit, the song "When You Say Nothing at All" by Keith Whitley comes on and he asks her to dance. As they dance, he sings along softly to her. She smiles as he sings to her. When the song is over, she kisses him. Things heat up between them quickly. He starts to slide his hand under her tank top, needing to feel her skin. She freezes up at the feel of his hand on her bare skin.
He pulls back and says, "I'm sorry."
She says, "No, I'm sorry. It's just that - well - I need to take things slow. My last relationship, which has been over for years, ended very badly and I need some time before we go there. Things happened that I'm just not ready to share right now, but I will before we get to that point. I hope you understand."
He nods, realizing this has something to do with the scars he saw earlier, that she doesn't know he saw, and says, "I completely understand and we'll take this as slow as you need to. When you're ready to tell me, you'll tell me. I'm a patient man."
"Thank you for understanding," she says. Then she realizes how late it is and says good night and that she'll see him at work tomorrow morning. She has to be there earlier than him because she has paperwork to fill out. He hands her her phone off the stereo dock and walks her to the door. They kiss good night and she leaves.
As she walks to her apartment, she laments to herself how much she really doesn't want to be taking this walk away from him - to sleep alone and not in his arms again.