Disclaimer: I do not own Josef, Mick or anyone else that you may recognize. Riley and all of the others that come out of my head are of course mine. No copy write infringement is intended.
A/N: Wow, twice in less than a week. I am on a major role right now!! Anyways, I am glad that everyone seemed to like my last chapter and am hoping you all like this one just as much! Leave me a wonderful review and let me know what you all think!!
Chapter 15
It had been almost a week since we had danced in the library. Josef and I hadn't really been able to spend any time together since them. He has been so busy at work lately that I only saw him for a few minutes between when he got home from the office and when he went to bed. I had taken advantage of the day time to really get to know my way around Josef's home. I had also gotten to know most of the maid's and security that Josef kept here during the day.
However, I still spent most of my time either in the gym or in the library. The window seat in the library had almost become my personal refuge. I could sit there and let my mind wander for as long as I liked. No one disturbed me when I was there. I assumed that Josef had probably warned everyone off from bothering me in there. It was nice to have one place in this huge house that was really all mine.
Beth had been here pretty regularly since I had moved in. She would normally stop over earlier in the morning and we would have a chance to talk before she had to go into work. I think that was the only reason I hadn't gone crazy from being here without any friends. Josef still refused to allow me to go back to work, and part of me hated him for it. I was bored out of my mind without anything to do. I had even started to write, something that I used to hate to do. This was really the only way I could get everything out of my head that needed to be let out. Writing had quickly become another savior to me.
It was nearing twilight and I knew that Josef should be getting up soon. I was hoping that I would get a chance to see him for a little while today. I made my way down to the kitchen in hopes that he might stop by before he left. He normally had to walk straight though here in order to get to his freshies rooms. I smiled as I heard footsteps on the stairs. Josef walked into the room and smiled at me when he saw me sitting at the counter. He started to walk through the room without saying anything but I refused to let him get away that easily.
"Is there a reason that you seem to be avoiding me?" He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face me. I knew that he was surprised even before I saw his face.
"What are you talking about Riley? Why would I possibly be avoiding you?"
"I know that you have been busy at work, but I was hoping that even though you were busy, you might still make time to at least talk to me. We haven't really had a chance to talk since my first night here." I watched his face for anything that would give away his emotions. Like always, his face wouldn't betray his heart. I needed something here. I knew that he was watching me as well. The corners of his mouth slowly raised into a small grin.
"Riley, if you wanted to see me, all you had to do was say so. What about tonight? I will call into work, you make plans for us. I have to go eat and shower. I should be ready in about 30 minutes. I will see you then." With that he walked out of the room.
Okay really, that was much easier than I had expected.
I was in the library, waiting for Josef to finish getting ready when I heard a knock at the door. I turned around and was once again stopped by how amazing he could look with such minimal effort. He was dressed in a pair of jeans with a black silk shirt that hugged every muscle of his chest perfectly.
"So are you just going to continue to stare at me, or are we actually going out tonight?" Shit, so there goes being subtle.
"Um, yeah we are going out. But first, I do believe we have dinner waiting for us downstairs." He laughed a little and then walked over to me. He offered his arm and then escorted me out of the library and down the stairs. We had made it to the bottom of the stairs and were about to walk into the dining room when he pulled me back towards him.
"By the way, you look beautiful." He gave me one of those smiles that make you feel lucky to be alive and then continued to lead me into the next room. He walked me over to the table and pulled out my chair for me. Always a perfect gentleman. He then walked over to the other side of the table and sat down. Soon after a maid walked in with a glass of blood for Josef and a glass of white wine for me. I was surprised at the amount of things we actually had in common. We were able to talk for what seemed like forever.
I was also surprised at how willing Josef seemed to be about his human life. He told me about his family and how they had been killed by the vampire that had eventually changed him. How he had stayed with his sire until he fell in love with a vampire some 100 years later. He then went on to explain his connection to Coraline and how she had introduced him and Mick. In turn, I told him about growing up with my family. I told him about how I had spent most of my elementary school years living with an aunt and uncle who were emotionally abusive.
"I knew as soon as I turned 18 I was going to move out. I knew that was going to happen as soon as I came back to live with my parents at the start of middle school. I left the day I turned 18. I rented an apartment and left. It wasn't that I was mad at them, but I just couldn't live under someone else's rules. They called me at least once a week after I moved out but I never really felt that close connection with them. My brother and I still talk and get lunch every few weeks, but that is about as close as I get. They always call me around Christmas and peoples birthdays to see if I will come back and visit. Most of the time I don't go, some times I go back to visit, but most of the time I keep my distance. It has always been too hard. I just ran one day and never wanted to turn back. Actually, when they came to see me in the hospital that was the first time I had seen them in almost a year." I stopped at that point. There was no reason to fill him in on the fact that if his company hadn't started to pay for my apartment, I would probably be living on the streets. There was no point in telling him now that my parents had cut me out of their will when I had left home. We had gotten to the point where I did trust him, but we just started to talk like more friends rather than boss and employee, I didn't want to screw that up with dumping anything to personal on him. We had finished with dinner and Josef had walked over to my side of the table to help me up again.
"So, Riley, what exactly do you have planned for us next?" He looked down at me and I was glad that I hadn't given him any more information. I could already see the beginnings of pity forming in his beautiful brown eyes. Part of me was glad that I had told him what I had, but the other part couldn't bear to see him look at me with the pity so clearly there. But for tonight I was going to push that aside, tonight we were just going to have fun.
"I hope you know how to dance, Josef." I winked at him and walked over to the front door. I grabbed my jacket off of the couch and waited for him to meet me. His eyes met mine and the pity that I had seen just a minute before was no longer there. Now his eyes met mine in a clear acceptance of the challenge that I had just laid before him. He took my hand and kissed the back of it before pulling me out to his car and setting off.
The club was packed with people in their young twenties. We danced for what felt like forever. It felt so good to be back in his arms after the last week. I couldn't help but be jealous of every glance made in his direction. Every girl there wanted to be with him and quite a few tried to make it happen. My jealousy couldn't ruin the night though. I was so happy. I was even happier the few times that Josef had to keep other men away; I thought I saw a spark of jealousy in his eyes as well, and that thought made my heart soar. I knew that I was getting myself in way to deep, but I couldn't help myself. As we danced through the night, I was just happy that I was with him for the time being.
The night ended eventually and Josef drove me home. He had to carry my to my room when we got back, I was exhausted and my feet hurt like hell. He lay me down in my bed, so much like last week, and we said our goodnights. He left and I fell asleep more confused than I had been in a long time.
I woke up the next morning, still just as confused as I was last night. I didn't know what to do any more. I needed to talk to Beth today. I walked to my bathroom, took a quick shower, and got dressed. I called Beth as I was eating breakfast and asked her to come over. She was here within an hour.
I let her in and we went upstairs to sit in the library as we so often do. We sat down and I tried to think of the best way to start. This was going to be impossible to admit to because I knew how stupid it was.
"Riley, tell me what is going on. I know something isn't right, so spill." She smiled at me and I forced myself to start talking.
"Beth, I need you to just let me talk. Let me get everything out and then you can tell me what you think, ok?" I waited for her nod before I continued. "Josef and I went out clubbing last night. We went out and danced for hours. I feel safe with him. He is one of the few people that I feel like I can really trust. I knew a few weeks ago that I was starting to develop a little crush. I was hoping that it was just a crush and would stay there. But after living here with him for a week and after last week and last night, Beth I don't think this is just a little crush anymore. I think I really care for Josef." It had been just as hard as I had thought to actually say this out loud. Yes I was attracted to him, but I knew that I would most likely get hurt if I let this go any farther. But at the same time, I didn't want this to stop. I could tell that Beth was a little surprised but she hid it pretty well.
"Riley, I understand where this is coming from, really I do. And I have to say that watching Josef interact with you, I think he might care for you too. But I know a lot of what he has been through, and I don't know if he is good for you Riley. I know that this isn't what you want to hear, but I don't want you to get hurt. I accept who Josef is. He is a great friend to Mick, and as such we have gotten close. But I also know that Josef tends to be a bit of a, oh how do I say this nicely, man whore." I couldn't help myself; I had to laugh a little at that. "You need to really think about what you are doing if you really want to get involved with him."
We continued to talk for another few hours. Some of the conversation strayed back to Josef but we talked about a lot of other things as well. Beth had given me a lot to think about. But the main thing that drew my attention was the fact that even knowing all of what Beth had told me along with what Josef had told me the night before, I was still waiting for him to get up so that I could see him later tonight. No matter what everyone was telling me, I had fallen already, and hard.
A/N: okay, so that is another chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it and I am now begging you to leave me super nice reviews!!