I placed the hoodie behind me and took the towel, but he was too tall for me to dry off. I inched closer to the counter and jumped up; he unwillingly smiled at me. I lifted up my hands and gestured for him to come closer. He warily came into my space and I placed the towel over his head and softly began to dry him off. He stood obediently waiting until I was done. Another loud thunder boomed and he reached up his hand and grabbed onto mine, holding it to his head. I stopped what I was doing and waited. His breathing was slightly erratic and my need to protect him kicked in.
“It’s okay. You’re not the only one who hates thunderstorms. They freak me out too.” Still covered by the towel, he held his head down, holding onto my hand. He gradually let go of me and I finished drying him off.
“There,” I said taking the towel off. “Do you have your gym clothes?” I asked, seeing he had a duffle bag, which he had left at the door. “I can dry your clothes for you? Oh, wait, no electricity. Shit! I forgot,” I said rather nervously.
He looked at me and at the same time the lightening hit. The flash lit up his face, his grey eyes now piercing through me. I let out a deep breath. He was fusing me to him. The thunder, which followed, shook me out of the trance that was Jason. I jumped off the counter and made my way to the table.
“I think my brother may have left some clothes here. You could put them on until yours dry,” I rambled.
“It’s fine. I have some clothes with me to change into. If it’s okay, I’ll use your bathroom?” he asked, still looking at me.
I sat down in my chair in front of my laptop. “Sure, it’s right upstairs, second floor, the door on the right.”
He walked back to the doorway, picked up his bag and headed up the stairs.
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding in. I instantly put my hand over my heart. It was beating so quickly that I could feel it pounding through my chest. It must be the storm outside. That’s right Kassia, keep telling yourself that you’re not interested in him.
He came back downstairs and my eyes unwilling stared up at him. He was wearing his SWAT uniform. “I'm going to work now.”
I nodded, losing most of my ideas for my story. “O…k...”
He smiled faintly as he walked on by me.
“The rain stopped.” He pointed outside, the clouds were dissipating and the sun was now peeking through.
“I guess my electricity should be coming back soon, or should I ask the SWAT team to check it out for me?” Bad attempt at a joke, Kassia! He chuckled not saying anything.
“Hey, Jason? Was there a reason why you showed up?” I wondered.
He stopped in mid-stride. I watched as his shoulders dropped down. Did I say something wrong?
He turned around. “I was thinking that we could be friends, considering that we keep seeing each other.” He forced a smile. I stood up and walked over to him.
“Friends?” I asked, wary of his expression.
“Yeah friends. Why? You have too many?” He waited.
“No! Sorry. Yeah, I’d like that.” I smiled back.
He reached into his pocket and showed me his phone. He then nudged his head towards the table behind me.
“Let’s exchange numbers at least,” he noted.
“Sure, just tell me your number and I’ll text you.” I offered. He told me his number and I texted the usual ‘HI.’
I felt like an idiot. So he wanted to be friends. Okay, so I totally read him wrong, but at least I would get to see him around more often.
He left me alone in complete confusion on what was going on. My phone chimed. It was Jason.
Jason: Lock ur door and thanks for letting me stay @ ur place while it rained
I stared at my first text from Jason and smiled.
Me: Ur welcome, now go save some lives
“Friends”
“So you got me a new hoodie?” My brother picked up the freshly laundered and perfectly folded sweatshirt and started examining it.
“But it looks old!” he said, rather disappointed. I yanked it out of his hands and began folding it again.
“It’s not yours,” I bit out.
He eyed me carefully.
“Then whose is it?” he asked.
“Are you seriously going down this route again?” I asked, staring right at him. It took a whole week for him and me to be on good terms again.
You see, my brother and I like to fester and it always takes at least one of us to cave before we start talking again. It wasn’t me this time. He let out a heavy sigh and began rummaging through my kitchen.
“Is there anything to eat?” he asked, not looking at me.
“I made some hummus and pita chips,” I offered as I gently put down the sweater.