The morning sun slowly filtered into the quiet room, stretching and yawning, as it crept towards her. She tried to ignore it, mumbling something incoherent, snuggling deeper into her blankets. The blanket was soft and warm and she didn't want to leave her cocoon. The sound of the birds chirping and singing outside seemed to urge her brain to get a move on. She grumbled again because it was working. She was slowly drifting into the world of the living.
As she lay there contemplating her next move, her thoughts drifted to last night. The pool, the shower, and finally Rick. He was sexy, patient, slow, and knew exactly what she needed and how far to push her. It still amazed her how comfortable she felt with everything. She just gave up her control... but he made her want to give it up. Rick made her want to trust him. He was serious but still cocky. It honestly scared and unnerved her how easy it all seemed to be. Well, how easy it seemed to be last night.
Shook her head, trying to get out of her thoughts and musings. She was fully awake now. Might was well wake up Mr. Sleepy Head over there. Stretching fully and twisting her body from head to toe as if she were a cat, she turned over but stopped and drew in a quick breath. His side of the bed was empty. She tentatively reached her hand out and placed it down onto the sheets. They were cold. She felt her heart stop and her stomach drop as she continued to stare at the empty spot. Her mind was blank and she just didn't know what to think. Did he leave her?
She sat up in bed, still wrapped in the comforter, and tried to map out her next move. It was proving to be difficult since her thoughts didn't seem to want to cooperate. Her body seemed to be insistently nudging her towards the bathroom. As if in a daze, she went to the bathroom and took care of business.
Stepping back into the bedroom, she started to pace, trying to think of something. She could just take her stuff and get out of here and ... hitchhike? Would he come after her? Did she care? Just as her plans and thoughts were about to take off, she heard someone at the door. She stopped, turned, and held her breath as the doorknob turned. Rick walked in. He looked up and gave her one of his oh so sexy smiles as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
"Good morning beautiful, you hungry? I went out and grabbed us some breakfast...?" His voice trailed off, she didn't need to listen to the rest, those words put her in easa, he hadn't left.
"I was hoping to get back before you woke, but I guess I wasn't quick enough." he finished.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to regain some of her composure. Opening her eyes again, she let a smile slide onto her face as she tried to calm herself as well as him. He approached her then, stopping right in front of her, bending down to place a kiss on her forehead. He let his lips linger as he spoke and she felt a flutter in her stomach at the contact.
"You smell nice." She could hear the smile in his voice and she let her body relax a little.
"You were gone when I woke." She paused, not exactly sure how to put the next part without giving away her conflicting emotions. "I wasn't .... I didn't see a note or anything...." She decided to leave it at that, hoping he didn't see right through her, hoping she sounded nonchalant and unfazed by everything.
He didn't say anything as he walked away from her and towards the bed. He lifted a note that was sitting on his pillow and looked at her, smirking and lifting an eyebrow.
Oh. Well. Now she felt like a complete idiot.
"Oh God," she chuckled and covered her eyes with a hand and then looked back at him "I didn't see that sorry." She shrugged. His smirk turned into a knowing smile. Oh crap.
"What did you think happened?"
"Nothing,"
"Jen." he stepped towards her.
"I might've.. had it in my mind.... that you left me." she tried to stifle a smile hearing how silly it sounds now.
He laughed slightly, "That's not gonna happen. You don't have to worry about that anymore."
***
Breakfast was actually quite good. The breakfast muffins were hot and fresh and the croissants were buttery and flaky. Everything seemed to melt in her mouth and she had to catch herself a few times from moaning out loud with pleasure. The coffee was rich and aromatic and exactly what she needed. She glanced up a Rick through her eyelashes and gave him a once over. He gets a few extra points for this. She smiled and continued eating.
They got in the car and it was more of the same. The music played softly in the background as Rick drove and she looked out the window, deep in thought.
"Do you want to talk about last night?" he suddenly asked.
She turned in his direction, regarding him for a moment. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to talk about it yet.
"I.... I..." She wasn't sure how to say what she wanted to say. She wanted to be honest with him, but she was still hesitant, even after last night. Why, she wasn't quite sure yet. Her brows came together in a slight scowl as she let her thoughts drift together and then apart.
He didn't say anything or try to urge her into talking. It's like he knew and felt her confusion.
"It's ok to still be confused about it." he offered.
He'd read her face like an open book. She still said nothing.
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation in her answer and that brought a cocky little smile back to his lips.
"It sounded like you did." She blushed at that and he chuckled as he watched her reaction.
"I'm just.... I guess I'm still thinking about everything." she said.
He nodded. Then he did something she wasn't expecting, he reached over the space between them and took her hand in his. Her breathing hitched in her throat and her heart sped up. His large hand was warm and a bit rough, but it felt nice against her softer skin. A strange sense of peace enveloped her and slowly spread through the rest of her body. She felt comforted and .... Safe... almost, something she hadn't felt in a long time.
It was a simple gesture, but she felt there was more to it than that. Was he reassuring her? Was he comforting her? It felt like he was. Was she just reading too much into this? This was making her head hurt but she didn't remove her hand from his. After a few silent moments, his thumb started to rub back and forth across the back of her hand. It was soothing so she didn't complain or move away.
It was quiet for a while as they drove in comfortable silence.
"What time did I wake up last night?"
"5 am. That's later than usual. Was the dream different last night?" he asked.
She was surprised. That was later, much later than usual.
"Yeah it was. I was at the lake again, but there was no one else there and there was no danger. It was sunny, not dark and ominous. I went swimming for a bit then the sky got dark at the end. That's when I woke up." For some reason she didn't mention the person in the field. She wasn't sure why exactly.
They started to pass through a small town and she looked at the clock. It was about lunchtime so everything would be open now. She looked up and spotted a bowling alley in the distance.
"Can we go bowling?"
"Sure. We could use some time to stretch our legs and grab some lunch before heading out again." It had been ages since she had bowled. Hopefully she wouldn't be too horrible.
They pulled into the bowling alley and got out, walking together towards the entrance. Rick's phone suddenly started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and made a face when he saw who it was. He stopped walking and looked up at Jennifer.
"I have to take this." He answered the phone and told the person to hold on one second.
"Why don't you go grab us some shoes and a lane? I'll be right in." He handed her a few bills and started to walk towards the back of the parking lot before bringing the phone back to his ear. She stood there and watched him, curiosity rising up within her, poking at her, trying to gain the upper hand. Again he was talking privately to people. Maybe it was for his job. He never really told her what he did. He never really told her much about himself at all. It all seemed very mysterious.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, she turned around and headed inside.
Ten minutes later, when Rick still hadn't come back, she lifter her head to look around for him.
She felt the seats shake a little and she looked up expecting to find Rick, but she found herself looking into another familiar face.
"Joey?" t