Hiding Anna [rewritten]

Chapter Thirteen: Goodnight

We drove in silence.

The quiet, although comforting, left me to my thoughts which were mostly about George... and me... and a bed.

Oh gods. What had I gotten myself into? Why did I have to make this deal with George - of all people?

I should have insisted to pay him for the tutoring instead of the this. Though I doubted he would have accepted. The closer we got to his house, the closer I became to backing out of this all together and figuring out how to pass my resits by myself.

Time passed swiftly as he pulled up into his drive and I found myself in awe once again at the beauty of his house. It challenged the basic notions of architecture. The barn conversion style which suited a farm house still managed to look like a work of art with the huge windows revealing the large staircase hanging over the kitchen.

I sat in the car for many moments observing the small farm animals, ducks, chickens and even some peacocks wandering around the yard. I took in the vegetable patch at the top of the garden and the empty garage.

"Cassie? You coming?" George asked, interrupting my thoughts. I hadn't realised I'd been sat there for such a long time.

I nodded and opened the car door, taking my overnight bag as I stepped out into the brisk air.

I walked around his snowy Audi and quickly followed George into his house.

Again, I was gobsmacked by how beautifully designed the interior was. How could I have forgotten this artistry? My legs refused to move as I stood in the doorway examining the large room which was spilt into a kitchen, dining room and lounge area.

"Blondie?" George called, snapping me out of my trance again. I shook my head to wake myself up and looked up at him.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I said in an apologetic voice. It seemed the night was catching up with me.

He smiled in disbelief and gestured for me to join him as the breakfast bar. The counters were black granite and sparkling clean.

"Here, let me take your coat," He offered, and since we were inside the floors were heated and the air was warm, I shrugged off my black coat and placed it in his hand. Immediately, his eyes widened and a look down at my dress seemed to clarify his reaction.

"Woah..." He trailed off, his eyes scanning down my body. "Nice outfit."

Because I was wearing a top underneath the dress I wasn't entirely sure why he was so bewildered. It did sit really nicely on my curves so maybe that was why. The satin sort of rippled like water as I moved.

"Um, thanks," I said quietly and sat down opposite George at the breakfast bar, playing with my hands nervously.

Nervously.

Nervously?

What was happening to me?

I didn't know what to say as we sat for a moment just staring at each other. Taking in his appearance, I ogled at the perfect balance of his facial features and tousled brown hair. Those stunning eyes observed me too, almost curiously as if he was simply fascinated by how I breathed.

After a while he stood up, walked over to the fridge and poured a glass of milk and then opened a cupboard and pulled out a packet of Oreos.

Quickly, he brought them back onto the counter and placed the glass in front of me and opened the Oreos, gesturing for me to take one.

My stomach had been full, but one look at those dark, delicious biscuits and the cold, white milk had my hunger growing.

He took a biscuit dipped it in the glass for five seconds before pulling it out and eating it whole. I did the same and decided the looking, observing, watching, was getting far too much for me to handle.