Running Northwest (16 page)

Smiling she said, “I was wondering if you were going to kiss me.”

Thomas laughed a little and said, “So did I…still can’t believe I did,” he said and let out a slight sigh then added, “I’m not so good at stuff like that; you know, making the first move and everything.”

Tracie smiled as she looked into Thomas face, she saw a nervousness there she had never seen before. He was normally so strong and bold and exuded confidence but not in an arrogant way, something she always thought was sexy. But the look on his face, the unspoken words he said with his eyes was beyond sweet she thought to herself.

“Well I’m glad you did Tommy; really glad. You did it really well too,” she answered, biting her bottom lip again out of nervousness.

In her own mind she was thinking that it was probably the best first kiss she’s ever had. They stood there kind of smiling and staring at each other not sure what they should do next. They turned and headed back to the house holding hands as they walked. Layla jumped down off the rock, stretched and followed them down the beach.

A few minutes later they got back to the house and walked inside. Together they walked down the hallway and opened the door to Daniel room and peaked in to check on him. He was sound asleep curled up next to Harley. They walked out into the living room trying to be as quiet as possible. Thomas looked over at the clock on the wall and noticed the time; it was nearly midnight. He looked at Tracie who was getting her purse off the kitchen table and looking for her coat. A big smile came across his face just from looking at her and how beautiful she was.

“Hey Tracie?” he said as he walked over to where she was standing by the table. “I have an idea.”

“What’s that, handsome?” she said as she put one hand on his chest and lightly rubbed her fingers on it.

“I was thinking maybe you should stay here tonight. It’s already late as hell and you’re tired. I’m a little worried about you driving home now. Besides, I bet Daniel wouldn’t mind at all having you here for breakfast in the morning,” he said slowly and nervously.

Tracie smiled and looked down at the floor. Inside she was thrilled with the idea but also scared about what it would mean.

“I don’t know Tommy; I want to. I like you so much I can’t even begin to explain. I just don’t want to jump into things too fast with you and screw this up before we even figure this out. Do you know what I’m saying, handsome?” she asked as she looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes that seemed to be studying her face.

Thomas grabbed her other hand and held it tightly and sighed a little, slightly amused.

“Tracie, I like you a lot too and I care about you more than I can explain right now. I want you here; you saw how nervous I was just to kiss you and I’m still scared as hell. So the last thing I’m ready to do is try to make love to you. I’m not even thinking that far yet. So don’t worry too much, okay?” Thomas said with a nervous laugh.

“Stay here tonight with us, Tracie. You can sleep in my room; the door locks and you’ll have your own bathroom. I’ll crash out here on the couch. You can have breakfast with me and Daniel then we can drive into town at the same time, sound good?”

Tracie thought about it for a minute as she looked at Thomas and studied his face, silently considering what he had said. She had known Thomas for a long time and had always known he was a great guy. Most guys would be trying to do anything they could get her into bed after what just happened on the beach. But then again she knew that Thomas was not like any other man she had ever known or met.

Tracie smiled and said, “I’d love to stay Tommy, thank you. I can’t believe how sweet you are, I don’t get how it’s possible for a guy to be this wonderful.”

Thomas seemed to blush a little and managed a shy smile as he rubbed the back of his head since he wasn’t sure what to do; finally he said, “Great…so… yeah, I’m gunna go change a minute. Sit tight and I’ll be back in a few, all right?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Tracie answered back matching his smile along with a little wink.

Thomas turned and walked toward his bedroom. Tracie stood alone in the kitchen and walked over to the refrigerator, she looked at all the pictures on it. She noticed one of her, Thomas and Daniel from the boy’s last birthday. It made her smile as she thought back on that day and how fun it was. Tracie sat down in one of the chairs at the table and crossed her legs, a few minutes later Thomas came out wearing shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt.

“Now what girl wouldn’t think that was sexy?” she said smiling.

“Well I can’t sleep in what I normally do since I’m sleeping on the couch tonight,” he answered.

“And what’s that?” she asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“Umm…you know,” he said coyly.

“Oh…well yeah, I guess you can’t,” she said laughing and adding, “Speaking of which, I don’t have anything to sleep in. Do you have a t-shirt or something I can borrow?”

“Sure, come on and I’ll see what I can find you,” he said.

Tracie followed Thomas towards and into his bedroom thinking how surreal this was. She set her purse down on the nightstand as he went through his dresser looking for something for her to wear to bed.

After a minute or two of digging through the drawers he asked, “Umm…does a hoodie work Hun? I’m low on clean t-shirts. Sorry, but
its
gunna be a pretty big on you.”

“No, that’s perfect Tommy. Thank you,” she said as Thomas laid the hooded sweatshirt on his bed.

“Okay well, I’ll let you change and go to sleep. If you want to take a shower before you go to sleep there’s clean towels hanging in the bathroom,” he said.

“Thanks, I may if you don’t mind; I have sand all over me,” she said

“Whatever you need, it’s yours; just make yourself comfortable,” he said smiling as he walked towards the bedroom door, turning to add, “And if you need anything else just let me know.”

“I will. Thanks, Tommy,” she said as she thought how sweet it was that he was doting on her, trying to make her more comfortable.

“All right, well…goodnight then,” he said with a smile.

“Goodnight Tommy,” she replied, smiling as he closed the door behind him.

Tracie sat on the edge of the bed and looked out through the slider. She could faintly see the ocean surf in the distance, the moonlight reflecting off the surface. She reached over and grabbed the hooded sweatshirt and set it on her lap, running her fingers across the lettering on the front. It was from a college she had never heard of back in Thomas’ hometown in Michigan. She had never been to Michigan and wondered what it was like there. She wondered also what Thomas and his life were like there; Derrick’s life too for that matter since they had been friends when they lived there. She didn’t know much about his life in Michigan other than that he would never go back. And when he did it was only to visit his family. It was a subject that had been off limits to talk about with both Thomas and Derrick for as long as she had known them. Thomas was never willing to talk about his past relationships, or the women he dated prior to moving to Oregon. She knew that Thomas and Derrick had been best friends for a long time and they, for reasons she never could fully understand, were very protective with each other’s lives and pasts.

Tracie quietly sat on the bed thinking about the night, every little
detail and feeling running thru
her mind. She stood up and turned the ceiling light off and then turned a lamp on that was next to her purse on the nightstand. She had been in his room before and noticed something was missing off the nightstand but couldn’t recall exactly what. She slowly walked towards the bathroom and reached around to her back and unzipped her dress then letting it and everything else fall to the floor in a pile. She felt momentarily awkward that she was completely naked in her boss’ house and hurried into the bathroom, then feeling completely insane for it. A few minutes later she was in the Thomas’ huge walk in shower, the hot water running over her face and down her body, the steam relaxing her nerves. She smiled to herself, realizing how happy she was…and nervous as hell, but in a good way.

On the other side of house in the living room, Thomas was laying on his couch trying to get comfortable. It had been a long time since he had slept on it and the thing wasn’t exactly built for a guy his size. He could faintly hear the shower in his bedroom turn on through the wall. Since he had gotten settled onto the couch, he could not stop thinking about what had happened. And being the type of man he was he thought about what could happen, the things he was scared of happening. And even more how completely confused he was and it was a change for him because normally he was a fairly calm and in control guy. He was rarely surprised and wasn’t the type to let his emotions show except on rare occasions. He didn’t often let things happen unless he thought them through and wanted them to happen. But tonight with Tracie, he was completely caught off guard and totally unprepared. But as he laid there thinking about her and everything else he realized for some reason, some way…he was happy and comfortable with what had gone on. He put his arm behind his head and closed his eyes listening to the waves from the ocean as he waited for sleep to come.

Tracie had finished her shower and walked out into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her. She picked up the hooded sweat shirt Thomas had given her to wear. She unfolded it slowly and slipped it over her head and pulled it down. She looked towards the door and stared at it. She hadn’t bothered to lock it, and a small part of her was hoping Thomas would come into the room. But she knew better than that, he wasn’t that kind of man. She let the towel fall to the ground and put on the hooded sweatshirt then sat on the bed. She ran her hands through her wet hair and pulled the blankets down so she could crawl under them. Suddenly, for some reason she began feeling very bold and she got up and walked to the door. As quietly as she could she opened it and tip toed down the hall way and towards the living room. She knew what she wanted to do, but she was nervous and unsure. She stood around the corner hesitating as she watched Thomas on the couch, the moonlight shining down on him making him glow almost. His dog Layla was curled up on the ground not far away, looking directly at her. She felt self-conscious and started to second guess herself. But by control of some inner force she slowly moved closer to him and eventually stood near his feet motionless.

Thomas faintly heard his dog Layla make a noise causing him to wake up a little. He opened his eyes slightly and was surprised to see Tracie standing at the end of the hallway looking at him. She was wearing the hooded sweatshirt he had given her to sleep in. He thought to himself how sexy she looked in it. He watched as she slowly and quietly walked up to the couch “what was she doing he wondered” to himself. He felt a surge of nervousness go through his body, his heart beating faster with every step she made.

He kept his eyes barely open, not sure what else if anything to do, or what he was supposed to do for that matter.

As Tracie stood near Thomas’ feet she thought she saw his eyes move, a nervous panic went through her body. Her heart was beating as fast as it was on the beach earlier and she froze, “what the hell am I doing?” she thought to herself.

Thomas noticed that she seemed nervous about whatever she was doing and feigned waking up. He pretended to be surprised by her standing there so she didn’t feel so awkward.

“Hey Darlin,” Thomas said as he wiped his eyes and sitting up slightly pretending to have just woken up.

Tracie laughed nervously and said, “Hey,” in reply as she played with her hair – a nervous habit of hers.

“Umm, did you need something, is there anything I can get for you?” he asked her.

All she could do was look down at this handsome man that she was seeing in a whole new way. Tracie wasn’t sure what to do, let alone what to say to him; she just looked at him, trying to get ahold of herself and say something – anything –remotely coherent.

Thomas laid there smiling as he looked u
p at this beautiful nervous woma
n standing next to him. “She made it out this far” he thought as he realized what she was doing out here. It was the same thought that had been going through Thomas mind for nearly the last
hour. He reached out and took
her hand and pulled her gently down towards him.

Tracie let herself be guided gently down on to Thomas, his other hand now on her waist. She reached up and brushed his stubbly face with her fingers and looked into his eyes. Again
,
as they did earlier on the beach their lips slowly met. This time the nervousness and fear was replaced with raw passion and wanting as their mouths met. Their
lips met again and again, their
hands slowly moving
over each other’s bodies. Their
kissing only lasted a few moments but for both of them felt like much longer. In their minds it could have lasted for days and they would not have cared.

Tracie slowly pulled her head up and looked down at Thomas looking back at her. His fingertips gently brushed the side of her thigh as she traced invisible lines on his face with her own fingers. They smiled at each other and laughed like a pair of stupid teenagers.

“So, beautiful, is that what you needed?” he asked as his hand went slowly up her thigh, then her side, finally touching her jawline lightly and running his fingers through her hair.