Meanwhile, Sandy and James had reached the restaurant and ordered their lunch. They only had to wait about half an hour and drank something while they were waiting. As everything was ready, they hurriedly paid, then left and went straight to James' car and got in. The awkward silence that had formed between them was hanging in the air as thick as fog on a cold November evening as they drove along the road back to James' house. There, they got out of the car, entered the house and sat at the table in the living room, still not talking, but silently eyeing each other from time to time, blushing heavily each time they did and eating their lunch.
'God, come on, say something. But what? I feel so stupid that I gave in to James so quickly... I hardly know him after all. But damn, those eyes!' Sandy was lost in her own thoughts.
James then finally was the first to break the silence, "Sooo, I hope Henry didn't hear or see more than necessary back at Tidmouth, but I doubt that."
Sandy blushed again, looking down onto the near empty plate in front of her, fumbling with her hands under the table. She had a hard time to find any words at all at the moment.
"I- I'm sorry. Normally I'm not one to give in to men that fast, especially not after only knowing them for hardly a day," she stated nervously.
"I normally don't do that either," James answered, smiling a little and reaching across the table to softly touch Sandy's hand which she had placed beside her now empty plate.
Still lost in her own thoughts, she managed a small smile too, looking up and directly into his eyes. That look he gave her electrified her and sent a shiver down her spine. Her hand darted away from his and she jumped to her feet, nearly throwing the chair she had been sitting on over. Sandy quickly took her plate and cutlery to the kitchen and put everything into the dishwasher. Then she prepared herself a glass of water to get her thoughts clear again.
James had finished clearing the table meanwhile and stepped behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder which made her jump once more. She was too embarrassed to even move at the moment, James had to turn her around to face him. Sandy looked down to the ground and tried everything to avoid his gaze. He took her face in his hands to make her look at him. Sandy still kept her eyes locked on something else, but couldn't withstand for long, she simply had to look at him and as she did, she felt her passion coming to the surface again.
Shaking slightly, she then twisted out of his trapping gaze, slowly walking over to the window, looking towards the soft hills in the distance when she started talking again, "I want to be honest with you. Ever since I came here, my stay was nothing but a disaster. Every guy I met here was only seeing me as object of their lust. I went away from home because I wanted to escape all this, but at first it seemed nothing better here. Then I met you… You are different, in so many ways. You offered help when I thought nobody would. You are kind and you still are ready to help me despite me rejecting you beforehand. It's hard for me to build up trust, it has been shattered to many times in my life. And there's one thing I have to ask you before I think any further: Are you ready to put up with broken soul, a mistreated and abused human being? Because that's what I am. I never was appreciated, not even by my own family, and… I never learned how to act around males except for shutting myself in completely and running away from them due to an incident in my past that I would give a lot for to forget, but it burnt itself into my mind."
James could only stare at her, trying to blink away the tears that were welling up in his eyes. His normally vain nature faded within seconds at seeing her before him and hearing what she had to tell him. Never before had he experienced anyone literally breaking down in front of him like that. He tried to say something, but no words came across his lips. All he could do was walk up to Sandy and hug her tightly, trying to comfort her somehow. She buried her face in his chest, not being able to hold back the tears and the pain she had been keeping to herself. All the memories came back again, all the nightmares she went through as a child that she hoped to forget, but still couldn't.
They stood there for a while, neither of them knowing for how long, until Sandy calmed down again. The tears had left trails down her face and her make-up was ruined completely, but she couldn't care less for that right now. James slowly led her to the living room, offering her a seat on the couch. She sank down onto it, sighing heavily, not having had such an exhausting outburst for years. She was still shaking slightly and thankful for James being there, even though he didn't speak. He reached for a tissue and started to softly dab her tears away and removed the smeared bits of make-up on her cheeks before pulling her closer and hugging her, offering her all the comfort he could give her.
After about an hour, James finally found his voice again, "Wow… I never expected anything like that. I'm sorry to hear about your past and, you may not know me properly yet, I want to help you. In every way I can."
Sandy nodded and managed a small "Thank you". She then turned to face him again, her light blue eyes' gaze resting on his face, trying to read his mind. He smiled lightly, starting to pull her closer and into his embrace once more, never breaking eye contact.
"What is going on in that pretty head of yours?" he whispered softly.
Sandy bit her bottom lip and looked away, only for him to place a hand under her chin and turn her head towards him again. She sighed before deciding to finally tell him what had been on her mind ever since the moment they had kissed in the cab.
"I guess I have to tell you the truth about something else as well… I've never been with a guy, in any form."
"What's so bad about that?" James asked her.
"It means that…" her voice slowly died down, hardly a whisper, "I never even kissed anyone before you."
James's eyes widened slightly, not quite believing what he had just heard. He shook his head slightly, "You mean that...?"
"Yes, this was my first kiss," Sandy blushed heavily and looked away again, swallowing before continuing, "I'm sorry if it wasn't what you expected."
"It's nothing to be sorry for. We all have to start somewhere, you know?" he brushed a strand of hair out of her face, then he went on, "And I did enjoy it."
The young woman grew even more nervous at that, not sure what to answer. James took that task off her by simply moving closer and lightly touching his lips to hers. Her sudden intake of breath didn't distract him though, he only placed a hand on her cheek and the other on her back to calm her down. She in turn wrapped her arms around his neck, slowly relaxing and sinking further down onto the couch. James supported his weight with his arms, covering her face in kisses before moving back to her lips.
Sandy was shivering slightly and goose bumps formed on her skin. She hesitantly responded to his kisses, though it soon grew more heated as some new unknown feelings started to stir deep within her. Her heartbeat increased and she could feel her pulse in her throat as well as she felt something else pressing against her thigh. Shifting slightly, she tried to reposition herself as not to make too much contact. But then her attention was needed elsewhere as the tip of James' tongue was seeking passage to her own, silently asking permission to dip into her mouth. Sandy reacted in the only way that she could come up with, slowly parting her lips and allowing him to deepen the kiss.
James had a hard time holding back and keeping it slow. His body was telling him to rip her clothes off, but his mind told him to first gain her trust and respect. She would come up to him by herself when it was time. With shaking hands, Sandy pushed him away slightly, just enough to be able to look at him, her vision blurry and her mind dazed.
"Is everything okay?" James asked, worried he was taking things too fast.
"Y- yes, I'm all good," Sandy answered with a shaky voice.
Having grown a bit more confidence, she moved her right hand down from his neck to his shoulder and further down to his chest, feeling his toned body under the shirt. He watched her every move, trying to find out what she would do next. As he shifted slightly and put a bit more weight down on her, Sandy suddenly jerked away, eyes wide and staring at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he slowly sat back up while muttering the excuse, offering her a hand to help her sit up again too.
She gladly took his hand, then said, "No need to be sorry. I'm just not used to close physical contact of that kind."
She shyly smiled at him, sighing and resting her head against his shoulder. Her tiredness then got the better of her and she softly drifted off to sleep right there due to the events of the first half of the day. James ran his hand through her wavy blonde hair, admiring how the sun cast a golden glow on her. After a while, James drifted off to sleep himself, but waking up again nearly 3 hours later when Sandy started to shift and yawned. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as if to make sure this wasn't in her dreams. They both got up from the couch and Sandy walked to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water again, still nervous and not sure she should've told someone she hardly knew about part of her past. But then again he was different to all the males she met before, he was listening to her and had captured her from the first moment she had seen him.
As more time went by, she walked back into the living room, asking James what they would have for dinner as it was nearly time for that now. He said that he would take her out to a restaurant in town that had a long tradition and an interesting touch. Having caught her attention, he refused to tell her more saying she had to see for herself when they were there. So she left for the bathroom to right her clothes and freshen up before they left, renewing her make-up to match her dress.
They drove along in silence, the only sounds coming from the radio in the car. Sandy looked out the window, taking in the beautiful green landscape as the setting sun cast a soft glowing aura onto the hills. When they arrived at Crosby, the sun was almost gone completely. James offered her his arm and walked her towards a fancy-looking building next to a post office. The moment they entered, Sandy's eyes nearly popped out. The walls were plastered with paintings of different styles and sizes and it was exactly how the tour guide she had bought on her first day described it, though it was only a very short paragraph and no photos. In no way did she expect to come here that soon.
She took her camera out her bag and took several pictures to analyse and study for her work before James escorted her to a small table near a big painting of Mary Denton, which she later found out was by George Gower. They ordered their beverages and dishes soon after having scanned through the menu and enjoyed each other's company throughout the evening. After James had paid their bill, they left to take a small stroll around town.
While walking, Sandy slightly started to shiver so James removed his jacket and wrapped it around her, receiving a smile and a sigh in return; no words were needed at that point. He also wrapped an arm around her, pulling her a bit closer to protect her from the cold. They wandered around a little longer before they decided it was time to return to the car. They drove back to his house in silence again and then went for their showers separately. It had been a long and exciting day for Sandy and she fell asleep right after crawling under the sheets. James went down to the living room again and fell down onto the couch; this seemed to become a habit already.