I Swear It: Herophine

Chapter 20

"You know I've never been inside your apartment, can I get a tour?" I say, not moving from my spot on the couch and flashing her a cheeky smile.

"You are... relentless. Fine, a quick tour and then off you go so I can actually go to sleep." Jo says, waving her hand to tell me to follow her. It's a small place, not really too much to show off but it's very Josephine. Small plants everywhere and kitchen filled with cookbooks and recipes. There are pictures everywhere, group pictures, some with girls I recognize and others of Josephine and her family, there are also pictures of Katie and her family but I don't pay those any attention. Jo tries to skip showing me her bedroom but like I said, I decided to push my luck tonight. So without asking I push the door open and walk in, I hear Jo mutter something under her breath and then quickly follow me in. More plants and pictures but what I notice most are the stacks of books next to her bed. Some look like novels with titles I recognize and others are nonfiction that I actually read. One in particular catches my eye, it looks like one of those self-help books and when I look closer I see the title, How to Spot a Dangerous Man. I look back at Josephine and she's smiling at me, obviously noticing the book that caught my eye.

"Taylor gave me that after Dylan and I broke up. I guess I need to reread it," she says, lifting one eyebrow at me.

"This is quite the collection you have here Ms. Langford. I think it's time you invest in a bookshelf though, wouldn't you say?" I sit on her bed, bouncing a little bit as I plop myself down.

"Don't get too comfortable there Mr. Tiffin your tour is over," she says, rather unimpressed by my obvious attempt to prolong my stay with her. But I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

"So what's December 19th?" I ask, not making a move to get up off her bed, instead kicking my shoes off and moving further into her bed and lying back on her pillows.

"Not so fast there, and I just told you not to get comfortable!" she tries and fails to keep the smile from her face as I continue to stare at her, waiting for an answer. When she doesn't give me one I pull out my phone, opening the calendar.

"Hmm it's a Saturday, I don't usually do too much on Saturday's so I'm sure I'm free. I'm also sure that this notification I just got on Instagram is from your mother liking one of my pictures from four years ago." I'm lying about the Instagram thing but it has the desired affect when Jo scrambles onto the bed to get my phone to see for herself if her mother had actually done such a thing. This makes me laugh and pull Jo into me, hiding my phone behind my back while she desperately tries to get it from me. She's now straddling my waist, hands grabbing at my shoulders to get me to move and it isn't until my hands grip her hips that she realizes the position she's found herself in. She tries to climb off of me but I keep her sat right where she is, sitting myself up and bringing her with me, her hands clutching my shoulders to keep her from falling into me while we move.

"You should go," she says staring at my lips and I lick them subconsciously. My hands remain on her body, one staying on her hip while the other one moves up the length of her torso, to her face, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"What's December 19th Jo?" I ask once more, this time staring into her eyes, cradling her face in my hands.

"My sister's wedding."

"Are you going to ask me to go with you?" Please say yes.

"I was." Okay so not a yes but not a no, I can work with not a no, and with that thought, I decide one more time to push my luck.

"I'll say yes." She looks confused so I continue, "when you ask me. When I figure out a way to get us back to the place we were when you wanted to ask me. I'll say yes."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself there."

"I'm sure that I want you. That I have since I brought my sister to the hospital and she was lucky enough to have you as a nurse. That our handful of dates and one night together wasn't enough for me and come December I'll still feel the same way, I'll still want more with you, more time with you. Because this isn't just sex to me, although thinking about sex with you while we're alone in this apartment and you're sitting on my lap is giving me an awful lot of ideas baby..." I trail off with a groan that I absolutely can't stop and she huffs out a laugh, cheeks a beautiful shade of red and lip between her teeth.

"Hero, I" she's quickly cut off by the sound of the front door being slammed closed and Katie's voice screeching through the apartment.

"Jojo tell me everything! Do not leave out a single detail!! Taylor told me she went home with one of hot Uncle's friends and that Hero chased you down the street?! Oh my God this is so exciting! When are you gonna let him fuck y—" Josephine's door swings open and Katie gets a front row seat to Josephine hurling herself off of my lap and across the room, her face so red I'm concerned for her and breathing so fast I think she may pass out. To Katie's credit she takes one look in the room, closes her eyes, stifles a laugh, and says " Hero one day I will learn and not cockblock you I swear" and with her eyes still closed Katie turns and walks to her room, closes the door, and lets out a booming laugh.

"Well that's probably my cue." I stand to my feet and Josephine walks me to her front door, face still bright red but her breathing has finally relaxed.

"I meant what I said you know? I'm gonna make this right. I swear to you I will. Which is why I'm keeping December 19th open, even gonna put it in my calendar." I smile down at her and kiss her cheek and quickly turn away to make my way down towards her elevator.

"Hero," she calls to me, still standing in her doorway, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as if she hadn't meant to call out to me and now was punishing her mouth for doing so. "When you do it. When you make me trust you again and when I eventually ask you to go to my sister's wedding with me, don't make me regret it. Promise?"

I take a deep breath because I know this carries more weight for her than she'd like to let on, that she's telling me she's going to let me try to prove myself to her again, and that she will only tolerate so much. And that is why I look at her as intensely as I can without scaring her and say, "I swear it."