Haunting Past

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

He looked on as the Dean led her up the stairs, to his apartment he assumed.  He had hoped she would remember him; after all he had made quite an impression on her before she left him, no warning and no explanation.  She had not replied to either of the messages that he had sent he found it quite rude.  It had taken him over a year to find her, the least she could do was to acknowledge him.  He put his binoculars away and climbed into his car, just as he was starting up the engine, he seen a woman leaving the apartment building.  He used his binoculars to take a closer look.  He knew her, she was the Dean’s secretary and she was dancing with him last night.  He climbed out of his car and made his way over to her, perfect way to check his cover would work.

“Excuse me, I’m new to the area, could you help me?” He flashed the helpless look that he had perfected.  The woman turned and looked at him, she clung onto her coat to keep it closed.

“What kind of help do you need?”  He smiled to himself as he made up his need for an apartment, she didn’t recognise him.  “Well the letting office is just at the end of the row of restaurants and bars; I can show you if you like it’s near where I’m parked.”  The woman started walking away from him towards the row of bars, he followed.

“Thanks so much for that, maybe I’ll see you around, I hope!” He handed her his business card and smiled at her before entering the letting office, he seen her blush before making her way to her car.  He waited for her to leave before returning to his car.  He had high hopes for that one, she could come in very useful, if not he could always satisfy some need.  Smiling to himself he took his phone and typed Grace another message, well he didn’t want her to be comfortable and worry free with the Dean, now did he.

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Grace sat at the dining table and watched as Jacob made them both a drink.  She couldn’t believe what had just happened; she came to talk to him but wasn’t expecting that kind of conversation.  Grace drew her eyes away from Jacob and looked around his apartment.  The main living space was open plan.  A central island separated the kitchen and dining area, both areas had deep gray slate effect floor tiles, and the lounge was defined by the introduction of a plush cream carpet.  The units in the kitchen and furniture in the dining area were all light colours while the lounge had dark wood furniture and an L shaped deep brown sofa.  Grace looked down the corridor off the lounge and saw three doors; she figured that must be the bedrooms and bathroom.  She thought for a single guy, it was clean and neat; she was surprised, her past would suggest that guys didn’t take pride in their surroundings or was that just the guys she had met.  Grace was snapped back from her thoughts when a cup of coffee was placed in front of her.  She looked up at Jacob and gave him a small smile.

“So....” Jacob wasn’t sure what to say.  That wasn’t exactly how he had planned to tell her how he felt, and now it had made things uncomfortable.  He had sat opposite Grace as he hadn’t wanted to crowd her.  She looked fragile and vulnerable; he thought there was an uncertain look in her eyes.  He took a sip of his coffee and waited for her to speak, he knew what he wanted but as soon as they had left the stairwell the doubts of what she wanted started to creep in.  As if she could read what he was thinking her eyes met his, before she spoke.

“I have a past that I haven’t shared and I’m not sure whether I am ready to do that just yet,” Grace looked down into her cup and she wrapped her hands around it for comfort.  She took a deep breath before speaking again.  “I have trust issues, and my self-esteem is a little shattered.  I don’t regret kissing you; I have wanted to do that for so long I thought it would never happen.  I’ve missed you so much, the past few months have been torturous.  I thought that maybe you had someone to keep you company and didn’t need me anymore...”

“Grace, I...” Jacob interrupted her but she held up her hand to stop him.  Grace got up from her seat and took his hand, leading them over to the sofa.  She sat down first and pulled him down beside her, she never let go of his hand. 

“This is difficult for me, and I just need you to be patient.  I like you, a lot and I didn’t realise until I wasn’t seeing you every day.  But it scares me, I’ve never felt like this with anyone, and it scares me that I might actually need you and you’ll turn against me just like...” she paused, should she tell him, could she tell him?

Jacob had stayed quiet letting her say what she needed to, but he saw she was putting herself under pressure.  He touched the side of her face gently and was rewarded when she leaned into his touch.  “Grace, you don’t need to.  When you’re ready for me to know, I’ll be here, until then we can go at your pace.  I don’t know if I made it clear enough, but I really like you too.  I have tried to tell you so many times over the past 2 weeks that I thought maybe it just wasn’t meant to happen, but I couldn’t stop trying.  I couldn’t let you go again today, I just couldn’t.”  Grace smiled, and this time it reached her eyes.  He leant forward bringing his lips closer to hers, but he stopped just before they were touching.  He could feel her breath across his lips, but he wanted her to close the gap, he needed her to.  Jacob caressed the side of her face gently, and he watched as she looked at his lips and then back to his eyes.  Grace placed her hand on his cheek and closed the gap between them.  The kiss was gentle and lasted only a few seconds but Jacob knew that it had meant more to him than the passionate, lustful kiss they had shared earlier.

“Slowly?” Grace whispered as they pulled away from each other.

“Slowly” Jacob confirmed, before he put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, lifting him onto his knee.  Grace tucked her head under his chin and accepted the embrace. 

Grace was exhausted; they sat for several minutes in a comfortable silence before it was broken by the sound of her phone.  It startled both of them and she scrambled off Jacobs knee back onto the sofa.  “Sorry, wasn’t expecting that!” She blushed while taking her phone from her pocket.  She frowned as she seen the number, and hesitantly she opened the message.  The message was a picture; she dropped the phone and put her hands to her mouth in shock.  Jacob looked at her with a worried expression and picked up the phone.  It was a photograph, of him and Grace in the stairwell, her legs wrapped around him in a passionate embrace, the message with it read “I see you!!”