Jolie blushed as she heard Warren, again, compliment her cooking skills above those of the local diner they were seated at. He'd taken care to speak softly in order not to offend anyone but loud enough that she'd hear. It was nice to have someone appreciate her efforts. It was even nicer that Warren seemed to enjoy them so much.
The entire day had been a whirlwind of activity. She'd been grateful for the distraction from the seething cauldron of emotions she was still trying to process her way through.
Hearing the Tate family, so happy and pleased to share their lives with her had opened up a little place in her heart she'd sealed off when she ran away. In that section she'd hidden away all the homesickness and guilt she felt about leaving. Then Warren had suggested they go and visit her home town.
Together.
It left her reeling, much more than the simple comment truly warranted. Her knee jerk reaction had been the usual refusal script she threw at everyone who suggested she come home. The lines were well rehearsed. However, this time, she'd heard herself telling him maybe. It wasn't a promise but it was more than she'd even given anyone since Luke's death.
Jake had kept up a steady stream of local events and gossip to fill in the spaces of time between Warren's tour highlights. Thanks to both her male companions she'd successfully avoided having to make any meaningful conversation.
She was surprised by Warren's informative lap of the town. It was so small she'd expected no more than half an hour's worth of entertainment. Much to her history loving heart's joy, Warren proved to have an extensive knowledge of local history and the town's origins. She found herself listening bright eyed and ears perked as he explained the historic downtown area, it's evolution during the great wars and rebirth after the great Oklahoma Dust Bowl catastrophy.
Two and a half hours elapsed before they parked at the drive-in for lunch. After satisfyingly greasy burgers and fries they perused the small but well displayed local museum and a few quaint shops that specialised in indigenous art and memorabilia. A trip to the grocery store for some items Jake had forgotten rounded out the remainer of the day until dinner.
All in all it had been a good day so she wasn't quite sure what seemed to have put a bug in Jake's attitude.
He hadn't done anything or said anything overt, it was more that she sensed an air of disappointment or displeasure radiating off of him. She caught him sending a couple of intense looks Warren's way out of the corner of her eye but he'd always been smiling jovially when she'd looked again.
She didn't have any particular evidence or instance she could analyze or put her finger on but an undercurrent of tension had been simmering just below the surface since he'd arrived.
Deep in thought Jolie wrapped her arm around Warren and snuggled against him. She smiled imploringly at Jake trying to silently communicate with the man, to understand what was keeping him from enjoying his trip. He'd come such a long way to visit, she didn't want it to be unpleasant to for him to think he'd wasted his time.
Jake threw her back a dazzling smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He excused himself to the bathroom.
Jolie turned her face up at Warren and kissed his jawline. "Something is wrong. I don't know what but he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself."
Warren kissed her forehead and rubbed her shoulder roughly. "I wouldn't say he isn't enjoying himself. I just think he had a different idea of how this would go and it isn't meeting his expectations."
She could feel her face scrunch in thought. "What more could he expect? It's a tiny town in Oklahoma and he didn't give any warning he was coming for me to make better plans."
Warren toyed with bringing up Jake's fairly apparent feelings for her but chose to hold off until they were assured more alone time together. "Don't worry about it babe. It's fine." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her just as Jake reappeared. He finished his kiss before turning to the other man."You're probably exhausted. We'll get you back to your rental car so you can get to the hotel and some rest."
Jake agreed that it had been a long day with a tight smile and walked out to the truck. Warren offered Jolie his hand and helped her stand up from the deep booth of the diner. She straightened her jacket and put her knit hat back on. Suddenly she felt exhausted too and couldn't wait to get back to the house to snuggle on the couch with Warren and mull over the day.
Guilt hedged the edges of her mind that she looked forward to the simple lack of pressure having Jake at the hotel would bring. He'd come all this way just to see her and she should feel grateful, special, but instead she just felt pressure and stress. He'd take back the stories of his trip to everyone back home. She wanted them to hear that she was doing great and they had no need to worry but today she'd felt a litttle like a dancing bear that he was scrutinizing from behind a glass protective shield.
It was disconcerting and exhausting.
When they'd gotten back to the house and dropped him back at his car she gave him a loose hug and waved at his receding rental car. When the taillights were out of sight she gave a heavy sigh of relief and leaned into Warren's warm body as he wrapped his arms around her.
"You ok? You seem out of sorts." He squeezed her gently.
"Ya. I'm out of the hang of social obligation I think." She shrugged. "I feel blessed to have people who care about me, I'm just not very good at interacting with them."
Warren rubbed her arms vigorously. "I disagree. I think your are great. Let's get inside before we freeze."
She took his hand as they turned to go inside. It felt good to finally just relax with Warren who didn't make her feel like she had to perform or put on a show. With him she could just be herself.
Inside he helped her shrug out of her coat and warm things. She trudged down the hall to her room and changed into warm flannel pajama pants, fleece socks and a tank top. Her hair was tamed into a messy bun behind her head.
Warren was busy in the kitchen when she returned to the common living space.
"Cocoa?" He called over his shoulder.
"Yes please." She flopped onto the couch and pulled the quilt from it's folded state behind her. She wrapped it's soft folds around her body and settled into it's comfort.
A few minutes later Warren appeared in a soft gray cotton shirt and flannel pajamas with two mugs of cocoa. She took one and sipped it appreciatively.
"Hmmmm.... thank you." She held the mug carefully to keep it from sloshing as Warren sat and shimmied under the quilt with her.
"Do you mind?" He looked confused and she realized she'd only spoken half of her thought while the first portion had remained inside her head. She smiled apologetically. "I meant, do you mind that Jake just showed up out of the blue unannounced? I never asked you. It just evolved."
"I don't mind if you don't mind. Any friend of yours is always welcome." He kissed the side of her head.
"Part of me minds. Part of me doesn't. I know they miss me back home and I don't communicate enough, but Dustin or Maria would never just show up like this because they know I'd get angry," she took another drink. "Jake has always been pushy. It doesn't matter to him if it angers me. He wanted to be right there after Luke died. He wanted to be my rock to lean on, offered to help in any way. I think I hurt him when I declined all his offers and took off."
"It sounds like the Tate's understand you need your space and want you to do what you need to do to heal. They care, but they aren't going to push or suffocate you. I don't know this guy but he's seems a little selfish with an ulterior motive. Unfortunately, crowding you seems to result in getting pushed away." His eyes searched her face for any sign he'd angered her.
"You're right. What other motive could he have?" She wasn't offended just confused.
"Babe, anyone with eyes can see that he has a thing for you."
She was shocked. It had never occurred to her and she wasn't quite sure Warren had it right. "I don't know. We've been friends for years, I can't see it. He knew how much I loved Luke."
Warren thought hard about his response. "I'm not trying to bash your friend or drive a wedge. Please don't think that. The last thing I want is to cause an issue between you and me." She nodded that she understood so he continued. "I think he has had a thing for you for a while. You were off limits when you were with Luke. Then he died and Jake felt he had gotten a second chance. You turned him down,then you took off."
She finished her cocoa and mulled over what he'd said. Little memories of the past kept popping up. Events she'd attributed to their commraderie at work that now looked like they may have meant more in the light of his words.
Warren continued. "Now he makes, what he feels is a grand gesture, but finds you here with me."
She certainly had to admit that his explanation partially cleared up a lot of her questions about his current attitude. She felt more than a little guilty that she'd never noticed his feelings until now. It could not have been easy on him.
"I feel terrible. I never meant to lead him on. I really only ever saw him as my friend. I don't feel that way about him." She buried her face in Warren's warm, hard chest.
He stroked her hair soothingly. "I'm sure you haven't done anything to feel bad about. You had no idea."
"Well that little tidbit of information is going to make this visit all the more fabulous," Her voice dripped with sarcasm and she let out a dramatic sigh.
"It'll be fine. I'll be right by your side. We'll just have a pleasant uneventful visit and then he'll head home. Don't worry about it." He hands continued to stroke her hair and she felt lulled into a relaxed peace.
"If you say so." Her eyes were getting heavy and it was hard to think of anything other than the feel of his hands.
"Babe?" His voice sounded so far away.
"Hmmm?" Was all she could manage as a reply.
"I don't want to let you go but we can't sleep on this couch again. It's just not big enough." She just made a noncommital humming sound again. He chuckled. "I'm going to carry you to my bed. I'll behave. I just want to hold you. Is that ok?"
"Mmmmnn Hmmmn," She wrapped her arms around his neck as he got her situated into a cradle carry.
He lifted her and carried her to his room and placed her on the bed. Carefully he climbed onto the bed and lay there looking at her sleeping face. A couple inches separated them. As he watched her eyes fluttered open slightly and her green orbs landed on his face. She smiled shyly at him.
"I thought you wanted to hold me?" She whispered. Then she shifted to close the gab and laid her head down in the crook of his arm.
"More that anything."He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him so that she was snuggled in against his side. He reached over slowly so as not to disturb her and turned off the bedside lamp. In the darkness he contemplated the very real chance that every night in his life up until this moment had been incomplete without her by his side.