Lunette eased into her home and sighed. She hadn't seen Jim on the entire voyage home, even when she went to leave the ship when she had finally seen her he stopped her and asked, "Will this deter your work or cause a distraction?" She merely smiled and said, "Never." And with that she had turned away, and with her pride, didn't look back. She had also arranged to have her own cruiser so that she would not have to ride awkwardly back to Amelia's home and then walk through the plaza in the mid afternoon when they had arrived. And as she rode up to her home she was blessed and thankful.
Until her doorbell rang. She groaned and faced the door and as she opened it her eyes widened to find Jim standing before her. "Yes?" He cleared his throat. "You left your notebook," he said. She arched a brow and looked at his hands, finding her small notebook in his hands and she reached out to him. He set it in her hands and stared at her. She looked tired and her loneliness in her eyes had returned. Was it because she had returned home with no one to come home to? "Lieutenant Hawkins, thank you," she murmured. Jim looked at her and saw her gaze to be saddened and he smiled wryly. "You're welcome to stay at the inn, I can arrange for your lodgings there," he offered and she shook her head. "The rain will not come for another lunar month, I can stay within the city, in my home until then." He nodded, "As you wish. May I come by some time?" She stared once more at him and felt her heart say, "Anytime you wish." And with that she shut the door as he left her steps.
She did not hear from him after-wards, for days, and then a week went by, and then two weeks passed. She realized in those few weeks she missed him, she wanted to see him, and that she had grown fond of him. She was at work, in the middle of writing a small greeting to him, inviting him for teatime before her doorbell rang. She set her quill aside and eased down the loft stairs, into the drawing room and to the front door opening it slightly, "May I help you?" she asked to her guest before her heart stopped. Jim stood there with a small smile and his head tilted, "I came to see how you were doing." She fumbled to invite him inside. "Eh, well, I." She paused, "Please come inside." They had been so cordial upon the ship and had acted so very professionally as they left the ship yard. But in her clumsiness to invite him inside she realized she had never had a man in her home. "Is something wrong?" he pondered and she jumped, before facing him. She shook her head. "No, not-at-all," she replied quickly. "Would you like any tea?" He arched a brow and slowly nodded. He watched as she disappeared into her kitchen before she one again revealed herself.
"Please come take a seat," she reasoned as she motioned him to follow her into her sitting room. She had a table at the bay window and took a seat at it and he watched her as she watched him slip off his jacket and cap. He took a seat and eyed her. "I thought you agreed that you would be alright," he stated firmly and she nodding, "Please allow me to explain." She sat before him and he felt his heart begin to pound as she admitted, "I have never had a man in my home, as you can see I am not the best hostess when it comes to guests."
"Delbert mentioned you were distracted at work-" She shook her head, "Never! I have been rather busy as work actually. Taking off from work for nearly 4 weeks has caused a rather heavy book load on my end and I have been staying late nights to write. I am not distracted, there is merely not enough time to stop and say hello to Dr. Doppler. And a lack of sleep." He remained quiet for a moment before he crossed his hands and rested his elbows upon her table.
"Then I would like to court you," he announced and her brow furrowed. "I do not wish to be courted," she countered. His eyes widened and she said, "Jim I am at the apex of my career and I cannot commit to a relationship that deserves everything I cannot give it." Her words were so proper, so prim, nothing like the woman he knew on the ship. He eased closer to her and she arched a brow. He would like to test her. "And what if I refuse your denial?" he pondered as he reached up and cupped her face. Lunette eyed Jim and shook her head. "I would not do that if I were you." She swatted his touch away when she recognized the teasing in his eyes, and went to turn until his large hand caught her arm and pulled her back around to face him. "You cannot deny that we have something between us," he said. Her eyes looked up at him and she sighed, "But here we cannot have what we did." His eyes widened and she reminded him, as she said, "You are an officer of high standards and I am a librarian. We are not who we were on that ship."
His touch left her and he nodded. "Good."
"Good?" she asked. "We're you just testing me?"
"Yes," he answered simply. She arched a brow and eyed him. "I do think you need to be leaving." He smiled. "Have I offended you?"
"No, you clearly came here to discuss that we had sex with one another," she said bluntly. He coughed on his tea. She rose from the table and he scrambled to politely do the same. "You stated yourself that I would not be a distraction to you and yet here you are toying with me and practically mocking what we did. If you wanted to embarrass me you have done so." He shook his head and she stormed through her home with him following at her heels. He struggled to put his coat on, to button it and just as she reached her door he placed his cap on his head and said, "Lunette." He stood in her door stoop and smiled boyishly at her. "Have I upset you?" She scoffed, "No you've done worse. You've wasted my time." His eyes popped open and he pressed, "How?"
"Because I had been hoping to see you all week, and because you were right. However it is not what we did that is a distraction to me, but that I wish we would have done, had I the time to do more." And with that she went to shut the door in his face until his hand stopped it. Her head tilted back, her brow arched, and she eyed him. "Mister Hawkins I will advise you not to do that again," she said so lowly the hair on the back of his neck stood up on end. He smiled at her though, pressed the door further open and leaned into steal a kiss from her. Her eyes widened and she reached up to smack him until he pressed further back into her home and kicked her door shut with the heel of his boot. Lunette fought him and he finally pulled away with a smile.
Smug. He was so smug!
She said, "Get out!" And he took up the very hand she had raised to smack him and he kissed it. "May I court you?" he asked again and he saw her eyes flicker. He kissed the inset of her wrist and admitted as he whispered against her skin, "I couldn't stop thinking about you Lunette." He pulled away and leaned in to kiss the apple of her cheek. "You said-" she began and he said, "I lied." She shook her head and pressed him off of her. "Go away. I don't like being toyed with." He sighed and stepped away from her. He walked to her door and opened it. "My mother is hosting a family party tomorrow evening. I would like to invite you to come, it is at the inn." She eyed him, crossed her arms, and replied, "I'll think about it." He chuckled and took his leave. She huffed at him when the door shut, but smiled and cursed herself. She would attend the event.