Jake's POV:
The rain stops and starts again, but our lips do not waver. We continue to dance and kiss until the sky turns twilight. This is bliss. My arms alternate from her waist to her cheek to her hair. She smells of orange blossoms and rain. Her lips are sweet and soft like cotton candy. We shift between soft, sweet pecks to deep longing drags on each other's lips. Occasionally, we pull back when things become too dangerous. She wraps her arms around my waist a nuzzles her head closer to my chest. She sighs.
"Jake, I love this moment, I don't want it to end, but I am getting a little cold," she speaks.
How could I ignore the obvious? "I am so sorry. Of course, you are." I say apologetically. "I got caught up in the moment and have neglected you."
"I was caught up in the moment as well." she smiles devilishly and then blushes. "Trust me, I don't feel neglected and you don't have to be sorry."
"Well, we actually do have plans." I look at her and then at my watch. "Go get warmed up and dressed. I have a surprise for you." She gets excited by the surprise and I see a smile light up her face. She really does love surprises. I love the way they bring out such enthusiasm in her. Reaching up one last time, I brush her cheek with my thumb. I kiss her cheek quickly and send her into the house. "Put on a nice dress, if you don't mind. I'm taking you out." I yell playfully.
While she is showering, I start the coffee and write a quick note for Mahri. I keep thinking about our dance, the kissing, and how much I want our lives to be shared. I have to calm myself down. Being a little obsessive in nature, I tend to want everything all at once. I can be patient in actions when my heart is not involved, but with Mahri, that is not the case. My entire being is involved and my actions are hard to control. These last two days have been a miracle, a dream, and though I haven't finished telling her my story, she will see why I have no doubt about our future.
I am lost in thought when I feel her wrap her arms around me from behind. Her lips land on the back of my neck and my body is immediately on fire. Quickly, I spin her around so we are facing each other. She doesn't move her arms and I place my hands on her hips. I smirk, "Hey there, love." I lean in and kiss her soft and slow, enjoying once again, the taste of her. We pull apart.
"Beautiful is not a strong enough word for how you look tonight," I whisper.
She is wearing an emerald green dress that is cut low in the back but has long sleeves and maintains modesty. The length is just above her knees. It is simple, but it brings out the green in her eyes.
I look her up and down and then find her eyes. "How fortunate is the man who gets to have you on his arm."
She blushes but says nothing. Her eyes never leave mine. I can gaze into her eyes for eternity.
"If you don't like the dress, we can stop by your house and you can get something else. I want you to be comfortable."
"It is beautiful. I would have picked it out myself. Thank you."
We pause awkwardly. For the first time since she showed up at the cabin, my nerves have been struck. Her beauty and the intimacy of this moment leave me without words. I am afraid to breathe, afraid this dream sill vanish and I will feel the warmth of my heart leap out of my body, She owns it and It goes where she goes. I am anxious to break this feeling and bring us back to the place that we were just a few moments ago.
"I made coffee." That is all that I can think of. She is here, looking at me with love in her eyes and this is all that I can think of. Where has my brain gone? I know, right in the bliss of being with her.
"Oh, those are the words I wanted to hear." She is rescuing me. She is finding a way to solve this uncomfortable silence, the first that we have had. She is incredible.
"What?" I ask incredulously as she wiggles out of my arms, heading straight to the coffee pot.
"I compliment you and tell you how lucky I am and you only want to hear about coffee?" I feign offense.
"What can I say? I have priorities." She winks.
"Enjoy," I speak over my shoulder as I head to the bathroom. I need a shower too. A cold one. "I left something for you on the counter. I will be out soon."
I get ready quickly. I am excited about the plans I have made tonight. It is the end of a long process and it has been a long wait to get to be with her. I hope she will be pleased.
She has drained the pot of coffee by the time I exit the bathroom. How does she drink so much coffee? I am starting to wonder if she has some medical needs.
I notice that the note is missing, but I will wait for her to bring it up.
"Shall we go?" I ask, holding out a hand to her.
She takes my hand and asks, "Are you going to tell me where we are going yet?"
"No." I say firmly, "We have a bit of a drive. I wondered if I might continue the story of my escape, or my salvation, depending on you might look at it."
"I would love that, and it would be just as much my salvation as it was yours." I kiss her forehead.
Inside the doorway, I see her leather jacket. I hold it out for her and she slides her arms in. The jacket fits her personality, as though she is in armor, keeping part of her safe from the outside world. She wants people to see her as a tough girl, one not to be messed with. She is that, but underneath there is a heart that is afraid of being broken. When you combine this tough outer shell with the softness and grace of the green dress and the warmth of her smile, she is breathtaking. She looks...well...I can't stop looking.
We walk out the door and I frown. "I didn't think about the rain and those shoes." I point at her black stilettos, "...though I think you must wear them on a regular basis." I grin lasciviously. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
With that, I swoop her up in my arms and carry her to the car. Her breath is hot on my ear as I walk, almost making me lose my balance. I open the door and make sure she is settled in. I can feel her eyes on me as I walk around the car. I love it. I can't belive the way that it makes me feel to be watched by her.I am in awe of the love that has started and anxious to see where it goes.
"You look very dapper." She said as I sat in the car. "You smell good too, like smkae and cedar and...oranges?"
" I checked the fire and I shared your shampoo." I respond.
"well, whatever it is, it works." She said and I blush. Simple things, Simle complements and observations mean the world to someone who has been in isolation for so long, especially to someone who had no place to lay his heart for long before that.
"Thank you." I grab her hand and our fingers intertwine. Normally, I like to drive fast.However, we have a lot to discuss tonight, and I don't mind driving slowly because I am next to her. I bought this car because of its speed, but I love it now because it forces her to sit close to me.
"Let's hear the rest of this story," she looks at me. "I can't wait any longer."
"Ok." I take a breath." So, my mom had to work two jobs for us to stay afloat. During the day, she did secretarial work and at night, she worked in an all-night supermarket. During this time, though I didn't know until later, Mom also watched a young boy. His mother couldn't have her son at her job, so he stayed at the grocery store with my mom. This boy, about ten years old at the time, was Alan."
Mahri held her hand up to her mouth. "You are kidding...Our Alan, Alan Bloomgate?"
"Yes." I nod. "He even called her Auntie Elle. I never met him. He told me this... I am getting ahead of myself. ANyway, one night, Mom was working and a robber came in. He pointed a gun at Mom, and then at Alan. Alan didn't give me all of the details, not that I want them anyway, I can't imagine wanting to hear them, but Mom protected Him and she was shot. After the robbber pulled the trigger, he ran out of the store. Alan immediately checked on Mom and called 911, She was still breathing, but barely.
The ambulance arrived, but it was too late. My mom died in Alan's arms. The police didn't arrive until much later." I realize that I was squeezing her hand tightly, she didn't flinch, instead took her other hand and wrapped it over mine.
"They never caught the man that killed my mother."
I look over and see Mahri crying. That was not my intention. "Mahri, It's ok. It is not what I wished to happen, but it did. As much as I would like to change it, to have more time with Mom, I can't. It is part of my story now."
As tears flowed down her cheeks, I remember the genuine compassion that Mahri has. I know this is not exclusive to me. She cares deeply for everyone that she loves. To me, it makes her even more luminous.
I pull over and hold her as close as I can within the confines of the car and kiss the tears from her eyes. "Thank you for your loving, compassionate heart. It is one of the many many reasons that I love you." We stay there for a moment until I feel he tears stop and her grip on me loosn. I wipe her eyes one more time and I kiss her forehead. She kisses my cheek and then places her hand back on mine. Such tender moments haven't been a constant in my life.
"Are you ok? Can we keep going?" I question. She nods.
I pull back onto the road and begin again. "Alan told me that he never got over the death of my mother. He loved her and she saved him, but the fact that the cops didn't come in time to catch the man is the reason he wanted to be a police officer. He went to Police Academy so that he could keep that from happening again. While I didn't know about him, He knew all about me. He was only a few years older, but he was in a position to watch out for me.
After mom died, I was lucky. I had Nana. We lived a quiet, happy life until she passed when I was 14. Then I was assigned to a foster family. I was again fortunate, they were good to me. My foster father was a hacker and spent many days teaching me his skills. I was a quick learner, he seemed proud of me. When I graduated high school, I was invited to start working for him."
"We were good at our job, always busy. People sought us out. I never did anything truly terrible. I would sneak inside a husband's account for a worried wife, check bank statements from employers to ensure honesty from their workers, and things like that. I thought that is what Frank, my foster dad was doing at well.
One day I got a text from Frank.
"I am sorry, Son. Run fast. Trust no one. Erase your identity."
I instantly went into hiding. I had saved money and I was able to live off of that for a while. I felt confident that no one could find me. I trusted and needed no one. I thought Frank was watching out for me, though I had no idea what I had done. When he said trust no one, I had no idea he was included in that statement.
One night, I was in a bar and saw the news. The picture on the screen was me. They were claiming that the police were looking for me in relation to money laundering and drug trafficking. I had never done any of this. Frank had pointed all of the evidence n my direction. I was devastated and believed that I had no one on my side.
I didn't find out how wrong I was until a few months ago when I met Alan.
Alan was a young police officer who had been following my life for a while. He knew who my foster father had been and some of the things that he had been accused of. When this case came up, he believed in me and knew that I didn't do these things. He felt that he owed it to my mom to prove my innocence. During the four years of my running, he devoted all of his time to my case. Incredisle, right?" I say to her, she nods. I have never seen her so quiet. I squeeze her hand that is in mine and she moves her fingers do that they intertwine with mine.
"A few years after my hiding began, Alan found out that Frank had been arrested and went to see him, trying to convince him to admit to the crimes. Evidence piled up at the hands of Alan and Frank was left with no choice. Frank, who had denied his crimes for a long time, finally admitted his actions to Alanin exchange for a shorter prison sentence.
Once this fell into place, Alan immediately began to try and find me. He knew that I was hiding and wanted to tell me the news that I was free.I wouldn't be officially free until I met with the police and answered questions and filed paperwork. This is one of the reasons that it took me a while to get to you.
In Alan's attempts to find me, he ran across the case of Hannah. He didn't know I was involved, but he also knew who my real father was. That piqued his interest. If Hannah was involved, he thought that I may be trying to save my half-sister. Then, your number came up as being involved in the case. You were a stranger and he thought you might have some new information on how to find me. He kept trying to call you. You were brilliant and smart and kept trying to protect me and I didn't trust anyone so we avoided the calls. If we had only known what he wanted to talk about maybe we could have had our freedom together a lot sooner." I lower my head and chuckle. It isn't a bitter chuckle, not a humorous one, rather, this is just befitting of the way my life works out. The timing is always just a little off. Until now with her, and for that I thank the heavens.
"So, when you finally talked to Alan and you told him where Michael was, he rushed to the mines. You know what happened with Richy. After he managed to get Hannah safe, Alan came looking for me. I wasn't wanted by the government anymore, but we weren't sure if the others agents knew I wasn't. He couldn't stand to see me locked up after all of the things that I had gone through. So when he found me, he threw me in a police car and drove me to a safe house.
I was in bad shape, with smoke inhalation, a broken leg in several places, and burns on my arm. I was very weak by the time he found me, I had been down there for many hours. I had been on the run for much longer. it had begun to wear on me mentally and physically. Keeping me in this safe house allowed me time to heal, It allowed me the space to build myself back up and deal with some of the demons that come from being on the run for so long. Alan gave me a phone to text you. He said that I needed to keep a lifeline. You were my lifeline. You are still. When I told you that I was safe, your sweet words spoke even more healing in my heart and body." She smiles and leans over to kiss my cheek.
"While I was recovering, Alan talked to me and told me his story. I spoke mostly of you. I thought mostly of you and dreamed of the day we would get to be together, like this." I pause thinking of the fact that every day with her is a literal dream come true. This is the most fortunate of fortunes. "There was pain, but the thought of you, the texts from you, madethe healing and loneliness bearable. I knew, then, that all of the pain of my life had led me to you."
"Alan and I are now close friends. I trust him completely. He became my therapist and my brother," she looks at me incredulously.
"I had to wait a while to see you. Paperwork had to go through so that I could officially be free. I didi not want to walk into your world just to walk right back out if ai wasn't truly free. Thank you for being so patient with me. Thank you for waiting for me." I kiss the back of her hand.
" I had no choice," she said, " My heart was already tethered to yours. I couldn't;t have walked away if I tried."
I shake my head and can't believe the wonderful words coming from her beautiful mouth. I won't take her for granted, not for a second.
"Alan called me a few days ago and let me know that all of my charges had been cleared. The second that I knew I was absolutely free I sent you the text and you found me. It was the best moment of my life. One I knew my life had been building up to."
"You see, If my mother hadn't met my dad and I wasn't born, if I hadn't met Hannah online, if I hadn't had a hacker for a foster parent, if my mom hadn't watched Alan, if Alan didn't happen to find your number, if you hadn't been accidentally involved with this case, and if Richie hadn't kidnapped Hannah, we never would have met and we never would have fallen in love. All of these little things had to happen to bring us here together. I would have chosen you a million times over, but it seems as though we didn't have a choice. Fate led us here"
"I am so incredibly glad we met and that we are here. I am sorry the circumstances were so poor," she smiles sadly.
I was going to respond when I realized that we had arrived at our destination. "I have been waiting so long to fulfill this promise and to make this particular dream come true.. This was one of the thoughts that kept me going during those days when I was still hiding out." I smiled from ear to ear. She reciprocated the smile, not noticing where we were.
"Close your eyes." I stop to watch her for a moment. Nothing is more beautiful than she is at this moment. Her hair glows in the neon lights, and a slight sheen was on her lips. I softly rub her cheek with the back or my hand and place a light kiss on her lips. I hear a soft moise escape from her lips and she responds, holding my cheek in her hand, eyes still closed.
Then, I help her out of the car and turn her around, so my hands rest on her hips as if they have always belonged there.
"Do you remember the night that I asked you if you liked Chinese food?" I brushed a piece of hair out of her face.
"Yes, I will never forget that. I knew then that you were thinking about me. It became more than a wish in my heart."
"I thought about you more than you will ever know. I've not stopped thinking of you since."
I spin, my arms moving around her waist until I am standing behind her.
"Open your eyes." She scans her surroundings, eyes wide.
"This was the place that I imagined having dinner with you. Would you join me and make another one of my dreams come true?"
Tightening her grip on my hand, she pulls me toward the restaurant, a smile wide on her face.