Wake Up Call

CHAPTER 4

My old landlord rolls his eyes and sighs in frustration while reaching for his set of keys and opening the door. "You have one hour to get your shit out." His voice sneers as he addresses me with a lecherous smile before turning around and stomping away.

I nervously lick my lips before stepping inside with Jace following closely at my heels. He stands there silently taking in the surroundings of the small apartment as I walk further in.

"I think we can fit most of this stuff in my car." He paces the apartment while muttering under his breath. "You don't need your bed. You can have the one at my house. You don't need that TV, it's small and outdated." He steps out of the bedroom and into the living room. "I have a dresser, TV and bed that you can have, so I guess all that you really need are just items that you can't live without and your clothing."

I run into his back as he stops and peeks back into my room for a second time. "Is the floor your second dresser?" He looks down at the pile of clothes from the night we had first met and grins. He's teasing me, but I have stuff that's more important on my mind to be able to enjoy it, so I ignore his playful question.

Trying to get him out of my room, I push him back into the hallway and walk to the living room. "I can't just let you give me everything." I throw myself onto my worn-out couch and look up at him with a grunt. The couch is sunken in and hurts my back, but I put on a brave face, embarrassed. "It's too much. Plus, I'm not staying long. Maybe just a few weeks or so."

He rolls his eyes and walks into the kitchen, grabbing an empty box. "It's easier to do it this way for the both of us." He walks back to my bedroom with me trailing behind him. "It's really not a problem."

Getting started, he empties out my dresser clumsily, throwing all of my clothes into the huge box. I look down next to him to see him surrounded by my panties. A cocky smirk sits on his face as he notices too. "Nice panties." He winks, cocking an eyebrow as he stares at the assortment of underwear. He looks rather happy. A little too happy.

I run over and knock him out of the way. "I think I should just take care of this." I grab for my panties and push them under my legs to hide them as I take a seat on the ground. "You just take that other empty box and pack up all of the bathroom stuff. Please."

He laughs and nods his head in agreement, turning around and walking out the door.

Fifty minutes later, we're done packing and pulling back into Jace's driveway. I get out of the car and start reaching for the pile of boxes when suddenly I feel Jace's hand on mine.

He looks me in the eye with an intensity that makes me shiver. "Do you mind?" he questions. "I'm the guy so I'll grab all of this stuff. I'll bring it in and let you unpack it."

I back away from his touch and take a deep breath. He has already touched me more than what I'm comfortable with and it's making my insides summersault endlessly. I turn away and smile as I walk into his house and into the spare bedroom.

Jace follows behind, arms piled high with boxes, and sets them down on the floor by the dresser. He's more helpful than I expected and it's definitely nice. But I also need to remember that he's a man. My wall needs to stay up.

He sits on the edge of the bed and watches me as I begin to unpack. "Can I help you with something?" I question. I don't understand why he's hanging around so much. I'm not quite used to the company. I like being alone and that's exactly what I've been.

He stands up slowly and smiles at me. "Take a shower in a bit and get dressed. We're going out tonight. You need to relax and breathe a bit." He walks past me and grabs the strap of the silver dress that's in my hand. Then he looks me in the eye. "I like that dress. I'm sure it looks nice on you." He looks at me briefly before turning away.