Second Chance

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"James" Mallorie barely whispered.

Mallorie was absolutely shocked; she completely did not expect to see James of all people here in the United States, or in Dallas, Texas for that matter. All she could do was stare at him, while he stared back at her. Well, actually his gaze roamed all over her face and down her body back up to her face, and it landed on her lips for a split second. Then, he looked into her eyes and his dark brown orbs seared Mallorie's entire being.

"Wow, how have you been Mallorie? I can't believe I bumped into you"

Mallorie finally stopped staring and composed herself, "I've been good, thank you; yeah, I definitely wasn't expecting to bump into you of all people."

"So where are you going? Do you wanna grab lunch together?"

"Well, I was gonna grab a sandwich and then head back home."

"I see, well then let's go grab a sandwich together, we haven't seen each other in 2 years." James smiled.

Mallorie pause, in reality she didn't want to seem too presumptuous towards James despite how she really felt about him, so in the end, she agreed.

"Okay we can do that, but I do have to go home very soon though."

"Alright no problem." so they went to a local sandwich shop and when they arrived, they sat in a medium size booth at the back of the restaurant. As they were sitting in the booth, James's legs were so long that they touched Mallorie's knees constantly but truthfully Mallorie didn't mind. While they were conversing Mallorie couldn't help but notice James intense gaze in the way that he gave her his full attention. As she was talking to him Mallorie noticed James warm brown eyes roaming over face and settling on her mouth a few times. As he spoke, she took the time to study his strong chiseled jaw and his goatee. And then, she looked at his lips which were full and oh so kissable but as soon as she looked at his lips, James paused and saw that Mallorie was looking at his lips. He smiled, he didn't know if Mallorie was interested in him or not, but currently at the moment he knew that there was some attraction on her part.

When James and Mallorie caught each other's eye, Mallorie felt her face grow warm as she started to blush; James had just caught her staring at his lips, what must he think of me now? When they finish their conversation and sandwich, James paid for their lunch and Mallorie had to go. Before Mallorie left, he decided that he wasn't going to let her leave without getting her number first.

"So how long are you going to be Texas?" James asked.

"Only for the summer and I then I go back to school." Mallorie replied.

"I see. Well I'm glad we ran into each other Mallorie, it's just like the good old days in Japan." he smiled, "We should hang out again since I'll be in Texas for a while, so can I get your number?"

"Yeah sure its 938-227-9382."

"Alright, I'll text you this week."

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you later."

"Well have good day then Mallorie, it was nice seeing you."

Mallorie smiled, "thanks James, it was really good seeing you too." and then she walked off. As she walked off she couldn't help the huge grin that came on her face at seeing James. Although, she was truthfully happy at seeing James, Mallorie didn't want to get her hopes up at anything happening between them. She had enough of heartbreak and didn't want to waste her time.

The next day on Sunday, James texted Mallorie to see if they could hang out sometime that week, he didn't want to seem eager but James realized that he's been in love with Mallorie ever since she left and he wouldn't let her leave without telling her how he felt. If there was a possiblity that they could be together and start a relationship, then why not. When James texted Mallorie, she responded within half an hour and they agreed to meet up on Tuesday. They decided to go see a movie Tuesday afternoon at 5:00 and then grab dinner afterwards.

When Tuesday came, James picked Mallorie up at her apartment at 4:45 since the movie theater was close. When they got there, they arrived just in time to get good seats while they saw the Hunger Games. During the movie, they were sitting close to each other and as much as Mallorie tried to ignore it, there was a definite attraction between them and it seemed to grow every time they saw each other. Yet, Mallorie felt conflicted; part of her wanted to fully enjoy herself while she was around James, yet, the other part felt like holding a piece of herself back. Deep down, she felt resentment and hurt that there was no communication between them and that he never initiated any for 2 years. However, a part of her brain is telling her to just let go, forgive, and move on; but everyone knows that letting go and forgiving is easier said than done. Overall, their movie and dinner date went well and they agreed on meeting up again.

The following Saturday James and Mallorie hung out again, this time they decided to go to the Park in the Houston, Tx area and the weather was perfect that day. Before James came to pick up Mallorie, Mallorie took one last reflection of herself in the mirror. She was wearing a light blue jumpsuit with thin straps and a black jacket over it and blue flats. Mallorie curled her hair since it had grown about an inch and a half since she last cut it. When James came to her apartment, he knocked on the door and right before she opened the door she sprayed perfume all over herself before she left. When she opened the door, James was looking extremely handsome dressed in a casual red collar shirt with beige khakis. To say that he didn't look really good would be an injustice, Mallorie couldn't help but blush as she looked him over, thankfully James couldn't see her face warming up as well.

"Wow, you look really nice." James said deeply as he looked Mallorie over.

Mallorie blushed even more, "Thank you James. You look good yourself."

James smiled and opened the passenger car door for Mallorie; as they were driving through town, Mallorie noticed how good James's muscular frame fit through his shirt. His bicep muscles were straining through his shirt, but they weren't overbearing while the muscles and veins on his forearms further punctuated his masculinity. Mallorie tried not to stare, but when they stopped at a red stoplight and James looked over at her, he caught her ogling his frame. Mallorie's face lit on fire and she looked away and tried to play it off. I knew I should have brought my sunglasses, so I could stare at him and not get caught! Mallorie shamefully thought to herself.

"So how are your parents and everyone at the church doing?" Mallorie asked in an attempt to break the awkwardness as the light turned green.

"My parents are doing great, they actually asked about you, your mom, and your grandmother a couple of times in the past. And, everyone else at the church is doing good however, so many people are leaving Japan since they're being re-stationed to other Bases."

"I see...well I had always hope that I could come back to Japan one day but, other things got in the way."

"Don't loose hope, I'm sure you'll be able to revisit Japan one day in the near future." James said.

"Hopefully, cause I miss it so much on some days that I physically hurt. Um mean, I miss the food, the culture, cars, scenery, everything. But, I'm so thankful that I got the opportunity to go to Japan in the first place and meet everyone, those were some of the best years of my life. I hope I'm not rambling." Mallorie said nervously.

James chuckled lightly, "No you're not, I understand you completely. If it wasn't for Japan, I wouldn't have met so many people including you." and when he said that he looked at Mallorie directly in the eyes for split second before refocusing on the road. Even though James didn't say anything further, she got his subtle message, and so for the rest of the ride, they remained quiet until they arrived at the park.