“Thanks! I appreciate it. So how did you get to take off so early in the work week?”
“I just needed some time alone to get away from it all. I don’t get to get away from the office much.” He has not taken the bait of my light conversation starter and is still as tense as ever.
“Oh, I’m sorry, you should have told me. I didn’t have to come along today.” Now I just feel bad.
“It’s not a problem. Really.” Apparently, he doesn’t like me to feel bad. He breaks his intense gaze off the road for just a second to look my way and rub my arm briefly with just a hint of a grin on his face. I want to take advantage of his lighter mood, but his touch has sent me into somewhat of a frenzy and my brain is not functioning properly. I just smile his way before grabbing my phone out of my bag to search for who knows what. I just need a distraction because that grin of his has me wanting to kiss him more than anything else in the world. He allows me to sit in silence for a long time before he clears his throat and glances in my direction to begin what I have been dreading.
“Bailey?” His voice is soft and caring but not without being laced with a small amount of intensity.
“Hmm?” The tone of his voice is forcing my gaze towards my phone and not allowing me to look at him and find either pity or anger. Doesn’t matter which it is, I don’t want to see either one.
“You can’t hide behind those glasses all weekend. Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“No. I wasn’t planning on it.” I still don’t look up but I can feel the tension again. He doesn’t respond. He just switches on his iPod and continues to drive, no longer relaxed and I hate that I’m the one ruining his relaxing time. So I put my phone back in my bag and lay my head against the cold window and close my eyes while feeling the weight of the world on me.
I wake startled and confused as to where I am. I must have been sleeping really hard because I am scared, shaking, and so nervous. It takes me a minute to realize that Talon’s hand is gently rubbing my thigh and his low voice is saying something calming but I can’t focus on his words because I see my glasses in my lap and know that he can see the extent of the damage done to my face. I grab them quickly with sweaty, shaky hands and gently place them on my face. I was lying on the bruised side and I really want to be crying right now because it hurts so dang bad I can hardly stand it. I begin to wipe the few tears that have fallen down my cheeks as I focus on Talon and what he is saying to me.
“I’m sorry I startled you, I was just letting you know we’re here.” He still has his hand on my thigh and I do not mind at all. It feels comfortable, peaceful. I take in the gorgeous scenery around us. He’s driving up a small hill on an old paved driveway. The colors of the leaves have changed but not all have fallen and I cannot look away. When we come into a clearing from all of the huge old trees and shrubbery, an absolute fantastic house comes into view. It’s massive, but it’s so cozy looking with the light blue siding and brick combo. It has white shutters on all of the windows. There’s a wraparound balcony on the second story with several doors that lead out to it with a few Adirondack chairs and side tables. I would love to be curled up on one of those chairs with my Kindle and a cup of coffee.
Talon walks around the back of the car and comes up beside me as I take in this ‘family home’ as Kali put it. He places his hand on the small of my back and takes my bag out of my hands.
“Come on, let’s get you inside, I’ll come back out for your other bags.” I nod my agreement and let him guide me up the brick stairway to the front porch.
“This place is incredible Talon.” My voice is still shaky.
“You like it?” he asks with his eyebrow raised and a hint of a smile on his lips. He sounds as if he’s truly unsure whether or not I was going to like
“I just needed some time alone to get away from it all. I don’t get to get away from the office much.” He has not taken the bait of my light conversation starter and is still as tense as ever.
“Oh, I’m sorry, you should have told me. I didn’t have to come along today.” Now I just feel bad.
“It’s not a problem. Really.” Apparently, he doesn’t like me to feel bad. He breaks his intense gaze off the road for just a second to look my way and rub my arm briefly with just a hint of a grin on his face. I want to take advantage of his lighter mood, but his touch has sent me into somewhat of a frenzy and my brain is not functioning properly. I just smile his way before grabbing my phone out of my bag to search for who knows what. I just need a distraction because that grin of his has me wanting to kiss him more than anything else in the world. He allows me to sit in silence for a long time before he clears his throat and glances in my direction to begin what I have been dreading.
“Bailey?” His voice is soft and caring but not without being laced with a small amount of intensity.
“Hmm?” The tone of his voice is forcing my gaze towards my phone and not allowing me to look at him and find either pity or anger. Doesn’t matter which it is, I don’t want to see either one.
“You can’t hide behind those glasses all weekend. Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“No. I wasn’t planning on it.” I still don’t look up but I can feel the tension again. He doesn’t respond. He just switches on his iPod and continues to drive, no longer relaxed and I hate that I’m the one ruining his relaxing time. So I put my phone back in my bag and lay my head against the cold window and close my eyes while feeling the weight of the world on me.
I wake startled and confused as to where I am. I must have been sleeping really hard because I am scared, shaking, and so nervous. It takes me a minute to realize that Talon’s hand is gently rubbing my thigh and his low voice is saying something calming but I can’t focus on his words because I see my glasses in my lap and know that he can see the extent of the damage done to my face. I grab them quickly with sweaty, shaky hands and gently place them on my face. I was lying on the bruised side and I really want to be crying right now because it hurts so dang bad I can hardly stand it. I begin to wipe the few tears that have fallen down my cheeks as I focus on Talon and what he is saying to me.
“I’m sorry I startled you, I was just letting you know we’re here.” He still has his hand on my thigh and I do not mind at all. It feels comfortable, peaceful. I take in the gorgeous scenery around us. He’s driving up a small hill on an old paved driveway. The colors of the leaves have changed but not all have fallen and I cannot look away. When we come into a clearing from all of the huge old trees and shrubbery, an absolute fantastic house comes into view. It’s massive, but it’s so cozy looking with the light blue siding and brick combo. It has white shutters on all of the windows. There’s a wraparound balcony on the second story with several doors that lead out to it with a few Adirondack chairs and side tables. I would love to be curled up on one of those chairs with my Kindle and a cup of coffee.
Talon walks around the back of the car and comes up beside me as I take in this ‘family home’ as Kali put it. He places his hand on the small of my back and takes my bag out of my hands.
“Come on, let’s get you inside, I’ll come back out for your other bags.” I nod my agreement and let him guide me up the brick stairway to the front porch.
“This place is incredible Talon.” My voice is still shaky.
“You like it?” he asks with his eyebrow raised and a hint of a smile on his lips. He sounds as if he’s truly unsure whether or not I was going to like
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