Understanding You *Completed*

Four

Stepping into her apartment, she suddenly became self conscious of her small living space. It was a studio apartment and the first apartment she'd got on her own- the sense of independence giving the space immeasurable sentiment.

"It's not much but it's home." She announced as she locked the door. Miles walked further inside, his eyes intently taking in the space, yet holding no visible judgment. When his eyes finally made it back around to her, Jocelyn nervously smiled and placed her hands behind her back.

"It's perfect." Miles expressed as he now studied her as if to commit her to memory. Jocelyn felt exposed under the gaze and quickly moved to take the bag from his hands.

"I'll put this in the fridge because I like my juice cold," she pulled the peach juice from the bag before placing it into her small fridge, "I can make you a drink now if you'd like, though."

"You know how to make a whisky neat?" Miles questioned as he neatly laid his jacket on the back of her chair.

"Isn't that just liquor?" She questioned as she pulled both liquor bottles from the bag. Opening a cabinet, she balled up the bag and placed it among the others she recycled.

"Essentially. But it's mixed with ice then strained into the glass." He spoke as he joined her at the counter. Jocelyn reached up into her cabinet and pulled a glass down for him while grabbing a shot glass for herself.

"Alright. Let's see how I can do that." She muttered as she realized she didn't have any real mixing materials.

Before she could move to search, Miles lightly grabbed her wrist. "It's fine, don't stress yourself for me. I'll just have it as it is." Jocelyn noticed the embarrassment that filled him and felt herself frown.

"I don't mind. Besides it's not even that big of a deal, I got you." She pat his hand before moving towards the cabinet closest to the door. Pulling a spaghetti strainer out, she moved on to get ice from the freezer. As she managed to get all her materials together, she finally looked up to see Miles staring intently at her. "What?"

"I know you're not going to use that big spaghetti strainer for some whiskey." The smile on his face was more playful than she'd seen and her eyes took in the crowsfeet by his eyes.

There was something so manly yet adorable about Miles. While Jocelyn had only seen the more polite side, she had no doubt Miles was a man you didn't want to be on bad terms with- if you ever somehow managed to push him to that point.

"Well beggars can't be choosers, can they?" She chirped before cracking open the liquor. Pulling down a regular plastic cup, she popped in four ice cubes before pouring in the whiskey. As she swirled the drink her head unconsciously followed the motion and before she knew it, her hips moved along.

"Oh, move like a snake!" Jocelyn referenced her favorite youtuber, a giggle escaping her as Miles laughed at her movements. "Come on, Miles. Move like a snake!"

"Oh no. I think I'll let you handle that." He laughed as she placed the cup down and held her hands out to him. Jocelyn placed her hands on his hips and lightly pushed them to move along with her.

"Look at those hips go." She cheered as he stiffly moved along. The effort was admirable and Jocelyn swooned at the idea of him entertaining her silly ideas.

"Shakira's got some serious competition over here." Jocelyn threw her head back as she laughed at his joke, her mind painting a picture of Miles moving stiffly beside Shakira's fluid movements. It felt good to simply laugh with a man whose only thought wasn't getting into her pants.

Staring up at him, Jocelyn realized Miles truly was a catch- the darker side of her mind conjured up reasons why he wasn't happily married by now. Working with victims of domestic violence, unfortunately, made Jocelyn lose sight of what it meant to truly love someone.

She was well aware of an abuser's ability to seem incredibly likable, humorous, and loving in the beginning- their way of reeling in their victim. Before her mind could destroy the moment, she placed distance between them and began to pour the liquor through the large strainer.

"Jocelyn? I-I'm sorry. Was it something I did?" Miles shyly asked as he noticed her sudden distance. Once more he ran his hand through his hair before they found his pockets. Jocelyn cursed herself for being so pessimistic sometimes.

"No! Miles, it's nothing you did or said. I'm just not used to feeling this way, I guess?" She confessed before producing the drink. He gently took the glass from her and stared at the brown liquid for a second.

"Yeah, I get that." He nodded absentmindedly before taking a gulp of the liquor. Turning back to the counter, Jocelyn poured herself a shot of grey goose and quickly downed it- her body shivering from the taste. She coughed as the taste lingered and reminded her why she would always need to have a chaser on hand.

"I don't know how you do it." Looking at Miles sip the brown liquor like juice made her nearly gag. He rose an eyebrow before he eyed the liquid as well.

"Do what?"

"Just drink liquor without any mixers or chasers." She grimaced before moving to pull her juice from the fridge needing to get the lingering alcohol taste from her mouth.

"It's not that bad. I guess it's just something you have to get used to." He shrugged as he watched her mix the juice and alcohol in a red plastic cup. Jocelyn placed the juice back in the fridge before ushering for him to follow her to the couch. Due to the size, it left no other option but for them to sit closely.

"Can I have some?" He motioned to her cup although his own still had a sip of whiskey.

"You know it's not good to mix alcohols." Swirling her drink, she raised an eyebrow as he waved off her warning.

"I think I'll be okay." Miles softly took the cup from her, his hand holding her wrist lightly to stabilize it. He looked into the cup for a second before taking a couple sips. Jocelyn was surprised to see his face scrunched up as he finally passed the cup back to her.

"You don't like it?" She pouted. Grey goose and anything peach flavored was one of her favorite ways to consume alcohol. Miles continued to hold his scrunched face before taking the last sip of his whiskey- his head shaking no rapidly.

"Way too sweet for my liking. I like my alcohol to taste like alcohol." Jocelyn rolled her eyes as she leaned down to unbuckle her heels. The aching of her feet let her know it was past time for them to be removed.

"Let me." Miles muttered as he noticed her struggle to juggle her cup and unbuckle the strap around her ankle. Sliding from the couch, his large body kneeled before her and he gently took her heeled foot into his hand. Jocelyn felt her body heat at the feeing of his skin against hers as he took great caution to remove the heels.

"I don't get how people walk around in these all day. Every woman says they hurt their feet yet you all wear them to every function." He muttered as he softly rubbed the tender skin where the strap had been placed.

"They make your legs look amazing. It just adds a little razzle dazzle to your outfit, you know." Jocelyn giggled as he raised an eyebrow up at her. His hands moved to the other heel and she unconsciously moved her leg higher so he wouldn't have to bend down so far- the action chasing her dress to slide even further up her thigh. Unexpectedly, his eyes never drifted upwards and he placed the heels next to the couch before rejoining her.

Jocelyn felt conflicted. One part of her was happy he respected her enough not to look up her dress while another wondered if he found her attractive. It was a silly contemplation but one that plagued her nonetheless.

"All better?" He questioned. Jocelyn nodded her head, unable to think past her dilemma. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about something for work." She finally snapped out of her thoughts and smiled softly at him.

Miles nodded thoughtfully, "I can't imagine doing what you do. It's really admirable work."

"Thank you, but in all honesty our clients do the real work. It takes a lot to leave and puts them at an even higher risk, but they bare down and do what has to be done."
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