InBetween 2 - Supernatural Story Series - Chapter 8

C H A P T E R | 8

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“Just a minute,” I yelled out the bathroom door. The knocking persisted. I set down my toothbrush and ran down the stairs to the door. I opened the door in a hurry to reveal a young man with blonde hair standing on the front step.

“Hey! It’s been a while! How are you?” He said.

It was James. He was the last person I thought I would see. “I-I am good?” I said with uncertainty in my voice.

He smiled. “That’s good! I was hoping to see you again.”

We looked at each other for a moment – too long of a moment. I looked away.

“Would you have dinner with me sometime?” Asked James.

I looked over at him. I thought about Thomas. It didn’t feel right. But maybe he just meant as friends. Plus, Nadine did say I needed to get out more. I wasn’t sure. I looked at his warm smile – it melted away my loneliness. “Sure,” I said.

“Great!” Said James excitedly. “How about I come by tonight and pick you up?”

“Tonight?” I looked shyly to the side. I wasn’t ready…but was I ever going to be? “Sure,” I replied. “How about 7:00?”

“7:00 sounds great to me, see you then!” He smiled, waved, and walked down the street. I closed the door and raced over to the window. I watched him walk away. Dinner. Nothing wrong with dinner.

I glanced at the clock. I was going to be late for work! I raced upstairs to quickly finish getting ready and rushed out the door. I ran into work, making it through the doors just in time. Coworkers stared and giggled at me. I was a little bit of a mess, but somehow, I didn’t care. This day wasn’t the same as all the others, and that was making me feel alive again.

I watched the clock all day, nervous and excited for my dinner with James. I smiled thinking about him, but quickly got after myself to drop the romance from my thoughts. We were just going to be friends. I couldn’t think of being anything more. I shouldn’t. I put my mind onto my work, and the day quickly flew by.

As my work day ended, I found myself speed-walking to my car. I rushed home and changed into dressier clothes, fixing my hair as to look my best. The doorbell rang. I looked into the mirror at myself and gave myself a pep talk. This is it! Just friends. Just friends. Just friends. I walked down the stairs to the door.

Just friends. Just friends, I reminded myself.

I opened the door. James stood there all dressed up.

“You look nice,” he said. “Are you ready?”

I smiled shyly. “Yes.”

He gestured for me to walk outside, so I turned out the lights, grabbed my keys, and walked out the door.

I thought about his compliment on my appearance and felt guilty that I didn’t compliment him back. “You look nice too,” I said. It felt like an awkward compliment that had missed its time. He smiled at me.

He opened the car door for me, and I sat down in the passenger seat. He got in his side of the car and started driving. The air was cool. I reached for the dial to turn the heat up, as did he. Our hands met on the dial. His skin was ice cold. He pulled his hand away and smiled shyly.

“You’re even colder than I am,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah, it is a cool night tonight,” James replied.

I thought about his cold skin. It reminded me of Thomas. I started feeling sad. I missed Thomas. Over half a year had passed with no sign of him.

The car began to slow, and then stopped. We were at a small bistro. James got out of the car and opened my door. I stepped out of the car. It was freezing outside. James took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. I tried to contain my smile as I felt his warmth from it.

“Thanks,” I said.

He held his hand out to me, and I placed my hand in his. We walked up to the little bistro.

Just friends. Just friends, I reminded myself.

Once inside, we got seated at a small table near the window. James pulled a chair out from the table and gestured for me to sit.

The waitress took our order and we started chatting about the recent events in our lives.

I looked over at James. A golden medallion dangled from a dressy chain around his neck. The medallion had an intricate symbol etched on it.

“Your neck chain is very pretty,” I said. “Does the symbol stand for something? Or is it just decorative?”

He smiled across the table at me. “It’s for good luck.” The candle light illuminated his blonde hair.

I blushed and looked away.

“I am so happy to be with you tonight,” he said. “I have been thinking of you a lot.”

My heart was splitting in two. Half of me wanted him, but the other half wanted to wait for the chance to see Thomas again. I felt conflicted. James was so nice, but I missed Thomas.

We finished dinner. James didn’t really eat much of his food, but I cleared my plate. I was hungry from missing my lunch at work.

We walked out to his car and got in. I sat silent as he drove me home. I was afraid to say anything because I knew where it would lead. I didn’t know what I wanted, or what I should want.

We got out of the car and raced through the brisk air to the front door of my house. I unlocked the door and we rushed into the warm entryway. The air was silent. The moment was calm. He reached over and grasped my hand. “I was hoping we could make this a regular thing…you know…you and me?”

He stepped closer to me and looked into my eyes.

“I…” He was slowly breaking down the barriers I had built to keep myself on hold for Thomas. He carefully leaned in toward me, softly placing his hand on my back, and then - I don’t know how it happened, but a sense of freedom suddenly replaced my guilt. I leaned in toward James and our lips met. His arms held me tightly against him. I ran my fingers through his hair and lost myself in a new found feeling – a feeling of new love. I had fought so hard to not fall for him, but it happened.

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Other Chapters

 
Read the entire first story here (InBetween Story 1, Chapters 1-17)

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