Friendly Strangers {2}

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I bit my lip, contemplating my decisions. "I think I'll just stay in town. I've never actually stayed here for more than a few minutes, always passing through to get home from my cousin's place."

"Well the nearest hotel is about twenty minutes away or you can stay here with us, free of charge. I promise that it's not just us three boys. My wife lives here as well as my daughter." Dave offered.

"I couldn't possibly-"

"Sure you can! Twenty minutes without a car in the middle of the night is just plain dumb! Come on. I'll show you your room." Jay's grandfather interrupted me and took my arm with his, shuffling towards the door he came in through.

"Thank you..." I trailed off, not knowing his name.

"You can call me whatever you please, sweetheart. Gramps, grandpa, Mr. Hottie with a body, I really don't care." I laughed at his antics.

"You can call him Grandpa Jack if you want." Jay whispered next to me before opening the door.

Grandpa Jack led me into the kitchen and sat me down at the little bar they had that was connected to the wall.

"Louise!" He shouted.

"I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Louise came running around the corner. "Hello! What's your name?" She asked as though having a stranger in her kitchen was totally normal.

"Mom, this is Maddy. Maddy, mom. She's staying here tonight." Jay said, introducing us.

"Nice to meet you sweet cheeks." Louise pulled me in for a great hug. "You can call me Louise."

"Thank you for letting me stay the night, Louise. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, honey! I've been livin' with these three men for too many years, and only my daughter to keep me sane. It'll be good to have new company." She winked at me. "Now, let's get you some food!"

Louise began making sandwiches. I tried to help but she forced me back into my chair before I could even touch a slice of bread. When Grandpa Jack reached for the bag of chips, Louise smacked his hand before he was even close to the bag.

"Woman! I want my chips!" He whined like a four year old.

"Not until everyone is served." She pointed the butter knife she had in her hand at him.

We all ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence and Grandpa finally got his chips. After everything was cleaned up, Louise showed me to my room.

"Jay should be getting you a change of clothes. I'd offer you something of mine or my daughters but she's 13 and I'm definitely not your size." She chuckled.

"Thank you. I really appreciate all you've done for me. I will find a way to repay you." I said with as much sincerity as I felt.

"It isn't a problem. We were blessed with a home big enough to support those in need for a reason so don't worry about it. Goodnight, hun! If you're not needing or wanting anything else I'm gonna hit the sack." Louise yawned.

"I think I'm good. Thank you again." I said as she waved goodnight to me and turned down the hall. I turned towards the mirror on the wall and began taking my hair out of the French braid I had it in. It was a pretty loose one and fell down my back in weird waves as I combed my fingers through it.

"Excuse me but I brought you something you can sleep in if you'd like." A voice said behind me. I turned to the door to see Jay standing with a t-shirt and a pair of sweats folded neatly for me to wear.

"Thank you." I said, taking them from him.

"No problem. Goodnight!" He said and turned for the door but I put my hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Uh, Jay, I just wanted to say thank you for everything. Stopping on the road and offering me a ride and for helping me with my car and for giving me a place to stay and-" I stopped my rambling when I saw the small smile form on his lips and felt a blush creep up my neck. "It means a lot, knowing that there are still nice guys out there." I said in a hushed voice. I looked at the ground, a bit embarrassed by how flustered he made me.

"Maddy," he said, taking hold of my chin with his fingers and gently raising it so I made eye contact with him. "It's been my pleasure." Before I had time to think about it, his lips were molded against mine and all too soon, we were pulling apart. My eyes fluttered open and reality came crashing back down on me when I saw his stunned features.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! I-" I began to say extremely embarrassed.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I-" Jay said at the same time as me. "Wait, you kissed me?" He asked. "I thought I kissed you."

"Well I guess we kinda just kissed each other then." I said timidly, still mortified that I could've just made things horribly awkward.

"I guess we did." He stood there, studying me for what felt like forever until a door closing downstairs made us remember the situation we were in. "I should probably go to my room." Jay said quietly.

"Yeah, probably." I ran my fingers through my hair nervously.

"Okay. Good night Maddy."

"Good night Jay."

I was turning towards my bed when Jay gently took my shoulders in his hands and pulled me to him for another kiss. My hands landed on his chest and rose on their own accord to the hair at the nape of his neck. I felt one of Jay's arms wrap around my waist as his hand cradled my face. This kiss lasted much longer than the first but was still too short in my opinion.

When we finally pulled apart, I was unable to stop smiling.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" I asked, looking into his eyes. "The spark."

"Well you may have felt a spark but I felt a fire." He leaned his forehead against mine and then we were kissing again.

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