The two fell into an easy truce over the next few hours. JC was proving to be an exceptional host. He was solicitous and made sure Laura was resting on the couch and that the guest bedroom where she had been before was welcoming. He was on hand if she needed anything – a glass of water or opening her medicine bottle.
JC had even made arrangements to turn her rental car back in – without telling Laura. He had decided she shouldn’t be driving with one arm so he did what he thought was right. He also had his assistant stop and gather all of Laura’s belongings from the hotel where she had been staying and bring them to his house.
After eating pizza that JC had had delivered for supper and entertaining casual conversation between the two of them, Laura headed for bed. Stepping inside the bedroom, she stopped when she realized all her belongings were there. Deciding she didn’t like how someone else had gone through all of her stuff, she was turning back to confront JC when she ran into his chest.
“Whoa, are you alright?” He grabbed her shoulder with his free hand, steadying her on her feet. In his other hand, he carried a trash bag and rubber bands to wrap around her cast.
“Yeah, thanks. Um…how did my stuff get here?” She asked taking a step back from him, but she didn’t get far.
He kept a hold of her shoulder and turned her, pressing her down so she was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, I had my assistant stop and get your stuff and check you out when she turned in your rental.”
Busy wrapping her cast, he had no idea daggers were being shot into the top of his head, where he kneeled in front of her. “You did what?” She asked in a deceptively calm voice.
“It was no problem. She was happy to do it, anything you need while you’re here, just let Katie know and she’ll be happy to help.”
Suddenly standing, she knocked JC back to the floor. In shock, he stared up at her. “What gives you the right to run my life?”
“Now wait a minute.” He scrambled to his feet, towering over her.
“No, you wait a minute, you’ve turned in my car? How am I supposed to get any where?”
“I’ll take you or if I can’t, Katie can. You shouldn’t be driving with one arm in an unfamiliar city any way.” His logic just made her madder.
“Why would you check me out of the hotel?” She stepped forward, forcing him to take a step back.
“Because what’s the point of wasting the center’s money for a hotel room that you’re not staying in? Look I know this isn’t how you wanted to spend your time down here, but this is how it’s playing out – You’ve got three or so more weeks down here, so you’re staying here for the rest of the time. Don’t worry, I’m a safe guy, Katie lives in the guest house out back so if you’re worried about me attacking you, well trust me I won’t. You don’t need a car because you shouldn’t be driving. Going to the center with you will give me a chance to get to know the kids a little better. I don’t spend enough time there so this will give me the opportunity. I’m trying to do something nice, what’s so wrong about that?”
She turned away in a huff. “At least you could’ve asked me about it.”
“Well, in the future I will. I figured you had been through enough so far and didn’t want to stress you out any more.”
Laura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What he was saying made sense, if she stopped and thought about it. “I’m sorry, it’s just…I’m such a control freak that it’s hard for me to let go of anything. I appreciate you seeing to the details.” She turned back to him much calmer.
“Now can I finish wrapping your cast?” She sat back on the edge of the bed where silence reigned.
Standing, he paused before he exited. “When you get done, come downstairs and I’ll have your medicine ready for you.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
***
He closed the bedroom door behind him and headed for the stairs. His foot had just touched the bottom step, when he heard a voice full of laughter calling to him.
“I told you so! You didn’t believe me!” Katie sat at the island, her elbows resting on the counter behind her.
“Shut up, just because you’re my cousin doesn’t mean you can make fun of me. I pay you, you know. I can fire you.”
“No, you can’t cause then who would you get to do your dirty work? Who was the one who said she would be mad if you checked her out of the hotel and returned her car? Huh? Huh? Oh, that’s right, the greatest, most intelligent assistant ever. I deserve a raise you know!”
“Don’t you have your own place, why are you always here?” She turned on the stool, following his movements as he circled the island and grabbed a drink out of the fridge.
“Cause you love me!” He threw the plastic cap off his drink at her while she laughed. “Alright, I can tell when I’m not wanted. Just remember who told you so!” Her laughter echoed as she walked down the hall and out the back door.
JC shook his head in amusement as he thoughtfully finished his Pepsi. Laura’s eyes had been flashing in anger earlier and had definitely caught his attention. They had been full of fire, but that hadn’t detracted from her beauty. He liked a woman who would stand up to him if he needed it. He truly hadn’t wanted to bother her with the details of the arrangements he had made. In trying to save her stress, he had caused her to be angry. He half hoped that the medicine would still cause a reaction in her tonight so that he would have to comfort her again. The shampoo that his sister kept in the bathroom that Laura was using gave Laura a heady scent. Smelling that all night the night before had JC dreaming of doing it again.
Smiling to himself, he was startled when he saw Laura out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t realized he had been standing there so long. Jumping into motion, he grabbed the bottle of pills and twisted the cap off, before pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge and opening it.
He tipped the bottle and let two pills fall into his palm. Silently handing one to Laura, he watched as she placed it on her tongue before turning over the bottle of water. His eyes followed the movement of her delicate throat as she swallowed. He took the water back and handed her the second pill again watching as she swallowed.
He cleared his throat as she finished the water and tossed it in the recycle bin behind him.
“Good night, thank you again.” As silently as she had entered, she left and headed back upstairs with JC tracking her motions.
His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he said to himself, “JC, man, you need a girlfriend.”
He put the cap back on the pill bottle and took the stairs two at a time. Knocking softly on her door, he opened it at her command. She was sitting in the bed, covers at her waist, with reading glasses on and a book open on her lap.
“You know, this is probably the worst thing about having a broken arm.” JC looked at her quizzically. “I always hold the book in my left hand and to not be able to do that is very awkward for me.”
Falling silent, she sat there waiting for JC to speak. “Do you mind if I leave this door open a little bit, just in case you need something in the middle of the night? I want to be able to hear you. My room is just across the hall and I’ll leave mine open as well.”
Pulling her glasses off, she smiled. “That depends, do you snore?”
JC laughed out loud. “I guess the better question is – do you?”
“You tell me. I’m sure I got more sleep last night than you did.”
They shared in self-conscious laughter as JC backed out the door. “Then I’ll just leave this open, if you need anything, let me know. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Going through his nighttime routine, JC settled into his own bed across the hall. He smiled at the irony as he put on his own glasses and grabbed a book off the nightstand. He finally closed the book and turned off the light, noticing the guest room was dark as well.
Sometime in the middle of the night, he awoke to a light shining on his face. A shadow passed over his face as Laura walked out of the room and partially closed the door behind her. He couldn’t see her face, so he threw back the covers and stood, pulling on a shirt as he left his room. She was unsteadily making her way down the stairs, holding tight to the railing.
He flipped on the light so she could see, but scared her in the process. She stifled a scream as she missed the last step and almost tumbled down. He had rushed down the stairs behind and grasped her by the waist holding her upright. He could feel her breathing heavily, just like she had the night before. Still gripping her waist, he moved so he could look into her face. It was in shadows.
He reached one hand over to flip the switch near where Laura’s rested with a death grip on the railing. As he looked into her eyes, he saw the panic again from the night before.
With his right hand, he grabbed hers, and with his left, he placed it on the small of her back, guiding her to a seat on the couch. Her pulse was racing under his fingertips. As he positioned her in front of the couch, she sank down as if she couldn’t stand any more.
Almost without thinking she wrapped her arms around her waist and rocked back and forth. In a quivering voice, she spoke, “I don’t know what was in the medication, but it should be outlawed.”
He sat next to her, trying to figure out what to do. “Do you want something to drink?” He asked when he noticed her licking her lips.
“Yeah, that’s what I was coming downstairs for and hoping a change of scenery would help.” She leaned forward as if she were going to get up when JC stopped her with a hand on her arm. As she looked at him, he noticed the panic slowly subsiding.
“Stay still, I’ll get you some water.”
In the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and the pill bottle and sat back down next to Laura.
Handing her a pill, they repeated the process of pills and water before she quickly drank the rest of the bottle. JC got up and threw the empty bottle in the trash before grabbing a couple more out of the fridge.
Laura had curled up in the corner of the couch and was hugging a throw pillow to her chest. Her breathing had slowed and JC could see that once again the calmness was overtaking her body.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up or keep you up. I’ll be fine now.”
JC considered her words as he looked over her profile. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.”
Passing her a blanket from the back of the couch, JC and Laura settled down in companionship, watching movies and talking for the rest of the night. They got to know one another on a intensely personal level, allowing someone into their lives where not many had been allowed before.
Story Tags: daddyjc marriedjc
