Massive thank you's to all who reviewed and read the previous chapter! Thanks to wildviolet for teaching me the Amercanism's to perfect this one too! Hope you enjoy and please leave a review if you read it to make this girl smile! Thanks again!

Chapter Three

He flipped the lid of his cellphone again and went to his outbox to read the message he'd last sent.

'Hey there, do you wanna go for a coffee and something to eat? I know a nice place down by the docks, Jake.'

Had he made it sound like he was asking for a date? Maybe he should have said that he needed to talk or something different, it had been over an hour since he'd sent her the message and she hadn't replied, he was beginning to think that he had scared her off.

He placed his cell down on the coffee table in front of him and decided to head outside for a cigarette, clinging on the phone and hoping that she would respond wasn't doing him any good, he was in full on lovesick puppy mode and if he didn't snap out of it soon his parents and his sister's would be asking questions, too many questions. He had no intention of telling anyone how he was feeling, there was just no point. It's not like he could do anything about the situation anyway, if Edgar or any of the Hansen's found out that they were meeting just for a coffee they would probably go nuts, if they entered into a relationship the chances were that he'd be out of a job and then his family would have no way of keeping up with all the medical bills that were flooding through the door. He had to be responsible and put his feelings for his deckboss' daughter to one side but that didn't mean that he had to stop talking to her or seeing her. He needed a friend, he needed someone to confide in and it just so happened that Maddie was not only a funny, intelligent woman, she was absolutely beautiful too.

He was so sure that he'd blown any chance of any contact with her after how much of an ass he'd made of himself after their first encounter. When he had heard her call his name just a few days ago his whole fucking body had trembled just because he'd heard her voice. Their second meeting had been so much better than their first, probably because he didn't have hundreds of people surrounding him. She wasn't like any woman he'd met before, most wouldn't have commented on the fact that he looked upset but she had, she'd wanted to know about him, to listen to him and figure out what was wrong. He just wished so fucking much that she were anyone else's daughter, it seemed like luck never smiled down upon him, he'd finally met someone that he was head over heels for only to find that he couldn't have her, not if he wanted to keep his job anyway.

After staring at his phone for another couple of minutes he decided to leave it behind and go outside for a smoke. Just as he was about to stand up his phone vibrated against the table and he immediately picked it up and flipped the lid to see that Maddie had responded to his message.

'Hi! I'm so sorry it's taken me a while to reply, I was catching up on some paperwork and left my phone on silent. I don't have any plans for the rest of the day, shall I meet you at this place that you know or is it easier for you to come pick me up?'

A broad smile appeared on his face as he read the message, he'd been panicking for no reason at all. He started to type a reply straight away but waited a minute or two before sending it, he didn't want to come across as too eager after all.

'It's probably easier if I come by and pick you up, problem is I don't know where you live, you don't have to tell me, you could head to a bar or something and I could pick you up from there.'

After sending the message he sat with the phone in his hands and waited for a response which came after a couple of minutes.

'Ermm unless you're trying to tell me in some weird way that you intend to stalk my ginger ass I think I can give you my address! It's 312 Second Avenue West, the apartment buildings are called the Archstone, I don't know if you know it, the zipcode is 98119 if you need to look for directions.'

Again he replied immediately. 'I know where you're talking about, I'll be there in 20 minutes.' He all but jumped off the couch and grabbed his car keys from the table so he could go and fetch her. He knew that he was taking a big risk going to her place but he had to see her, even if he could only have her in his life as a friend that was better than having no contact with her whatsoever.

With everything that had been going on in his life over the past few months he was desperate to talk to someone. A therapist would be the best idea but nearly all of his wages were gone already and he just couldn't afford to go to one every week, he didn't know Maddie that well but for some unknown reason he trusted her and he most definitely liked her, if she was willing to listen then he was willing to talk.

As he drove closer to her apartment block he could feel his pulse beginning to race at the thought of seeing her face again. She'd cast a spell on him as soon as he'd seen her and if he were wise the best thing to do would be to not see her again but he wasn't wise, he never had been and he saw no reason to start changing his ways now. As long as they were careful he was sure that they could keep their friendship a secret from everyone, he definitely did not what the Hansen's to know that he was confiding in Maddie and he had a feeling that Maddie didn't want them to know either. He already knew that Edgar had scared off some previous boyfriend's and he could guess that he wouldn't want Maddie hanging around with another crab fisherman, least of all someone who worked on his own boat. But as long as they were careful about where they met up, he was sure they'd be okay.

Half an hour later, after navigating his way through some heavy traffic and getting slightly lost, he arrived outside her apartment block. Luckily he'd found a place to park right outside the building so rather than texting her to let her know he was outside, he decided to go and fetch her. He took a good look around before he got out of his car to make sure that no familiar faces were nearby, he felt a bit like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, he just hoped Edgar wouldn't pop out of a bush and headbutt him before he even crossed the street. Fortunately, no Ninja Hansen appeared and he was able to quickly enter the building after someone going in before him held the door open, there was a security guard in the foyer of the building who eyed him up suspiciously as he passed by but he didn't say or do anything, just in case though he decided to not wait for the elevator to arrive and instead he took the stairs, had he known that her apartment was on the top floor he probably would have waited for the elevator. By the time he'd climbed the last step he was breathing heavily and sweating a little, he wasn't unfit by any means but the staircase was like an oven for some reason. He stepped out of the stairway and into a much cooler cream coloured corridor, he only had to walk about one quarter of the way down until he came to her door.

He ran a hand through his hair and tried his best to make himself look presentable before he rang the doorbell, he heard Maddie shuffling around then he started to hear her belt out a string of curse words, she definitely took after her father in the swearing stakes.

'Hold on a minute!' He waited patiently as he listened to her swear a few more times before he could hear her footsteps getting louder as she made her way to the door, he heard her keys jangling in the lock and not a moment too soon he was looking into her gorgeous green eyes again. 'Sorry about that, I went to pick up my stupid fucking flat iron and it was still on,' Jake looked down at her hands and could see right away that her left hand was burnt.

'You need to put that in some cold water right away, where's your sink at?' Jake immediately went into first aid mode, his sister's had had their fair share of mishaps when he was a kid and he'd taken tips from his parents in how to deal with minor injuries when they happened, a little burn was one of them fortunately.

He closed the door behind him and followed her into her fairly small apartment. For some reason he'd been expecting the décor to be quite modern and minimalistic but he'd been totally wrong. The lounge area was decorated in black and white patterned wallpaper and crammed into the small space were two bookshelves that were full to the brim, alongside the bookcases she had a small desk where her laptop was sat. When they got to the lounge they then turned right and Jake found himself in her bathroom, she evidently had a thing for black as the floor was covered in glittery black tiles.

'God this fucking stings like a bitch,' Maddie bit down on her lip as Jake reached over to the sink to turn the cold water tap on.

'This should take the sting out of it, do you have any aloe vera cream here? That'll help take the redness out of it.'

'Yeah I have some in my room, I'll go get it once I'm done here. My bedroom's an absolute fucking mess so I won't ask you to go find it for me,' she smiled at him as he stared at her, he couldn't help but stare. 'Why don't you go make yourself comfortable, you don't have to stay here with me, I'll be fine,' he fought to control himself as a wicked thought crossed his mind, an image flashed in his brain of her naked and lying beneath him and he mentally scolded himself for thinking about her like that.

'I can er, go wait for you in the car if you want?' The fresh air would do him good, at least he hoped it would.

'Well now that you're here we might as well have our coffee and chat here too, there'll be no one listening in and that way we won't run the risk of bumping into one of my insane family members, who I might add would kick the crap out of you if they saw you with me,' he couldn't deny that staying at her place was the safer option but damn, why the fuck couldn't he control himself from thinking erotic fucking thoughts about her now that he was here?

'Yeah er, that sounds good!' He grinned like a stupid idiot which made Maddie's red lips curve into a small smile, God she had nice lips, her other lips probably looked good too….

'Okay well the coffee is already out on the counter and there are some Krispy Kreme donuts in the refrigerator if you want something to eat,' Jake nodded and quickly left the bathroom before anymore lurid thoughts came into his head.

Since coming back home he'd been so busy sorting through bills and spending time with his family he hadn't had much time to even think about doing anything else like having sex, he still had the numbers of a couple of ex-girlfriends he could call if he wanted to get laid but a one night stand wasn't really his thing. He was at the stage where he wanted to settle down with someone, he wanted to move out of his parents place and be in a serious relationship but finding the right girl was difficult. Now that he had a job on the Northwestern he would be away a lot, not many women could cope with that. In a month's time though he would be on TV, the Deadliest Catch community would know all about him and judging by some of the things he'd seen whilst in Dutch, it wouldn't exactly be difficult to get a woman, just not the right sort of woman he wanted right now.

Trying to keep his mind occupied as different thoughts, all involving some adult situations with Maddie, swirled in his head he busied himself by making some coffee for the two of them. It was only when he poured it into cups that he realised that he didn't even know how she took her coffee. He made himself a cup and left Maddie's on the counter for her to add milk or sugar to it if she wanted, he liked his coffee strong and black and these days he needed plenty of it too considering he was barely getting two hours sleep most nights. He was physically and mentally exhausted from the past season but with things so messed up at home he couldn't hope to get any sleep, not until he knew that his sister would be okay and that every single bill had been paid. His family had stood by him through some dark times, he hadn't exactly been the perfect son in the past but now he had a chance to pay them back for everything they had done for him and he was determined not to let them down. Coming here to visit Maddie was definitely not the wisest move on his part but he so desperately wanted to be here, no, NEEDED to be here, he just didn't want to think about why as the only conclusion that he could reach was something totally ridiculous and crazy….

'You're not hungry then?'

Her voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, thank fuck nothing else was standing up right now.

'No, I had lunch before I got here,' he replied, at least he was now able to talk properly.

'Well that's okay, means there'll be more left for me, I can eat the whole damn box in a day. I did quit them a few months ago but a girl needs some sugar in her life,' Jake watched her intently as she walked into the open plan kitchen and pulled out the box of donuts from the fridge and took a few seconds to choose which one she was going to eat. 'It's a strawberry moment I think, something sweet to go with the third black coffee of the day,' she smiled before putting the box back in the fridge then picking up her coffee and picking up the donut to put it between her lips. She sat down next to him on the couch and chuckled a little as she pulled the donut from her mouth and shook her head 'sorry, my manners are fucking awful. This is what you get when you're brought up by someone as batshit as my dad.'

'You're uh, not expecting your dad to pay you a visit or anything are you?' Nerves crept upon him at the mention of her dad, he HAD to keep remembering that she was a Hansen, he could never forget that.

'Oh yeah I called him and told him you were coming here to rip my clothes off and take advantage of me in the worst way,' she smirked but he didn't respond. It might be funny to her but to him it wasn't a joke, he was genuinely terrified of Edgar. 'I'm sorry, I make smart arse comments all the time to lighten the mood, that one went too far. He never comes over here uninvited just in case he see's something he doesn't want to see. You're safe here and I won't be telling him anything about seeing you, I know how much this job means to you, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that.'

He gave her a warm smile and settled back into his seat a little after hearing her words. Granted, he didn't know her well but there was a genuine sincerity behind her words which resonated with him, her word was enough.

'How have things been at home? How's Chelsea doing?'

Jake looked up from staring down at his coffee to find her staring at him with a concerned look on her face. It was like someone opened the floodgates that he'd firmly shut for such a long time, without being fully aware of what he was saying or doing he just started to talk and couldn't stop. Every fear, every worry that had kept him awake at night he let her know about, he didn't hold anything back, he couldn't even if he'd wanted to. Emotions that he'd held down for so long had to come out eventually, she was the first person outside of his family members to sit down with him and be willing to actually listen to everything he had to say. He'd tried to talk with some of his male friends but they didn't really want to listen, they just tried to tell him that everything would be okay in the end but she didn't, she just listened which is exactly what he needed.

What had meant to be just a coffee and a quick chat turned out to be coffee, then another coffee, then a fruit juice, then having some dinner, until he eventually thought he'd better leave at just past nine in the evening. He'd spent half a day in her company but still he wanted more but he knew he couldn't stay. Deep down he also knew that the feelings he considered to be crazy might actually not be so crazy after all, he was falling for a woman he couldn't have.