Rex sat down on the coffee table, directly in front of me. He leaned forward resting his
elbows on his knees. "We're locked up good and tight, you're safe now, but stay away from
the windows and doors, and don't open them for any reason. Do I make myself clear?"
His jaw was clenched and his brow was scrunched into a hard scowl. I fidgeted
beneath his demanding tone, feeling like a scolded school girl, and managed a weak "yes."
‘Sheesh.’ I didn’t like the idea of what might be outside for me either; he didn’t
have to tell me twice.
"Now then, off to bed, come on, you look exhausted." He said in a gentler tone,
almost light-hearted, but not quite.
He pointed down the hall. "Yours' is the first on the left, we’re on down but one
of us will always be up on watch if you need anything."
I got to the doorway and didn't look any farther than the bed. I crawled under the
covers fully dressed and feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I slept like rock for awhile but woke up when it was still dark outside to find the
knot in my stomach had returned with a vengeance. I rolled over to find a bedside clock
staring at me in bright green numbers. It was three in the morning. I groaned as I sat up.
There was no use trying to force myself back to sleep, it wasn’t happening.
The room was small and nearly empty. A dresser and mirror on one side of the bed,
bedside table on the other, one closet door and nothing else. No pictures, no vase with
flowers, no color whatsoever except for the solid blue bedspread and matching dark-blue
curtain over the window. I groaned again as forced myself to get up and walk to the
dresser where my bags had been left. I changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a comfy
long-sleeved t-shirt.
Out in the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised to find Derek sitting at the table
sipping a cup coffee and reading a newspaper. He had also changed and looked more
comfortable now. He, too, wore jeans with a simple grey t-shirt that stretched across his
broad shoulders and showed each line of his muscular upper body. I felt a shiver run along
my spine. I had to shake myself out of it; this was no time to be thinking of sex or my
new roommate slash bodyguard naked.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked in his easy-going, not-a-care-in-the-world tone,
"Coffee's fresh, if you're up."
Instantly, I felt the knot in my stomach melt a little bit. He was easy to be
around, to talk to, he put me at ease in a way that no other person had ever done,
especially not one so attractive.
"Yeah, I'm up, but what are my chances of finding some hot chocolate?"
"Cupboard above the sink." He said as he took another sip of his coffee.
"So you do this a lot, then?"
"Which part?"
"Being locked away in a random house, protecting a complete stranger from a
complete lunatic."
"Safe-houses and stake-outs are a necessary part of the job, but no, this is my
first time on witness detail."
"So, am I a promotion or demotion?"
He laughed a deep, strong belly laugh. The sounded was so endearing and so warming
that it melted away all the remaining bits of fear and anxiety in my stomach.
"They choose Rex because of his Special Forces background and decided we would be
your round-the-clock protection. I just got lucky."
"Lucky, huh?" I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face, but couldn’t
quite tell if he was flirting or just being perfectly honest.
"You know the best part so far," he leaned back, abandoning his paper, and clasping
his hands behind his head sending another shiver through me as I enjoyed the view, "I love
being awake when the rest of the world is sleeping. It’s quieter and more peaceful
somehow. Plus, it’s a great excuse to drink beer and watch the raunchier shows that they
play in the middle of the night."
“That does sound like fun,” I said, trying not to take offense and just remain
casual, “and a beer sounds a lot better right now than hot chocolate does.”
He chuckled at that, then stood up and headed to the refrigerator, “Let’s see if we
can find something scandalous and fun to watch.”
I heard the clink of bottles as he grabbed two beers out of the fridge and we
headed to the couch. I curled up against an armrest on one end and pulled my feet up,
feeling almost at home. He took the middle, leaning back, and stretching his long legs out
in front of him. He handed me a beer, took a long pull from his own, and stretched his arm
out along the back of the couch. It felt easy and natural like everything he did, but the
proximity made me tingle, and in place of the knot in my stomach came a fluttering of
butterflies. I felt like a teenager again from the excitement of the mutual attraction
that makes you stare into each others eyes for just a beat too long and then grin from ear
to ear.
We sat there drinking and laughing all night, I couldn’t even tell you what we
watched, we just flipped through channels laughing at people, at commercials, and at
ridiculous reality shows. He had a razor-sharp wit that made me laugh more than anyone
else ever had.
We happened upon a music video that made me cry out “Oh, wait, this is my all time
favorite song,” a little too exuberantly and I flung my arm out in a stop gesture,
knocking into the hand that held his beer. It was one of the more clumsy moments of my
life.
“Oh, god, I’m so sorry.” I quickly apologized, but not much had spilled out onto
his jeans.
He reached over and squeezed the top of my leg, just above my knee, not too high up
but it was still more than friendly.
“It’s okay,” His touch was so warm against my leg that I could even feel it through
my jeans. “No harm done.” His voice was sincere and relaxed as always and his grasp was
much stronger than I had anticipated, but made sense considering his well muscled arms.
The simple gesture sent a warming rush of pleasure through me. A smile quickly spread
across my face and I had to look away from his intense gaze. I didn’t want him to stop but
he moved his hand. I wished we could somehow get the moment back, but it had faded away.
We both turned back to our beers and it looked as though he, too, was beating himself up
for letting the moment slip away. The silence was soon broken by more laughter and we
slipped easily back into conversation which eventually turned deep and philosophical.
Aided by the alcohol, we talked for hours about life and love, and our hopes, our dreams,
and our fears.
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