The Look In His Eyes (Jasmine & Zack, #1) (8 page)

‘I loved that,’ he said moving back to his side of the seat.

‘Me too,’ she said looking straight ahead too afraid to look into his eyes.

‘Where would you like to go?’ he asked.

Jasmine turned to him and said, ‘There is a restaurant a friend and I frequent. They even know me now...’ she giggled. ‘They know my silly quirks.’

‘They’re not silly, different doesn’t mean silly.’

‘Why are you being so nice to me, why are you doing this?’ She felt nervous. All her life people had been judging and dismissing her behaviour and calling her crazy. And here was this man who didn’t seem to see it.

‘I like you and that’s all there is to it,’ he said genuinely.

Jasmine sat back feeling a little uncomfortable, it was hard to imagine that he liked her just the way she was. There were only a handful of people who liked her or tolerated her, to name one Clive; he tolerated her for his own benefit.

‘So direct me to this restaurant and let’s go and eat.’

She nodded accepting that perhaps he just liked different and she hoped that she wasn’t a project, someone he was studying or trying to make different.

‘It’s in Leeds city centre I think you know it, everyone does.’

‘Well then let’s be off.’

It took them a good thirty minutes to finally settle into the seats, after Jasmine had done her part of wiping down the seat. Majority of waitress’s on duty knew who she was and had become familiar with her. A couple of them nodded and she nodded back.

‘You were right they do know you,’ he said with a grin.

‘Yep, I’ve been here a few times. I mean how can they forget a woman who cleans the seat before she sits down.’

‘True.’ He laughed and gazed at her.

Jasmine shifted and took in a deep breath, it felt right and yet her mind wouldn’t rest with the chatter.

‘So what are you going to order, since you know this place so well?’

She giggled.

‘Do share,’ he raised his eyebrows loving the sound of her giggle.

‘I’ve only just tried their salad a few days ago after years of just having a diet coke.’

‘Well then that’s big right?’

‘I think so, I mean I know they have an A star rating for cleanliness, one of the reasons I chose them.’

‘Well that’s a bonus, at least you have somewhere to go and who knows in future you’ll find another place just as good.’

She nodded, it was nice being with him and in a way he seemed too good to be true. But each statement he made sounded genuine and true and there wasn’t anything that stated otherwise.

‘I think I’ll go for the steak and jacket potato,’ he said and shut the menu. ‘Half a pint of lager would do too.’

‘Sounds nice.’ Her eyes wandered down the menu. Would she be able to take another step of faith and order something different? ‘I think I’ll go for the salad and a bowl of their thick cut chips.’

‘That sounds great.’

The waiter soon arrived and they placed their order. They went on to talk about things that weren’t of much importance. Zack didn’t want to put too much pressure on Jasmine all at once nor did he want to overwhelm her with too much information of his life.

‘So do you love your job?’ she asked.

‘I do, I mean I run my own architectural firm. I love having the freedom of being the guy in charge although it is a lot of work.’

‘What made you choose to become an architect?’

‘I’ve always wanted to build my dream home abroad. I have the drawings all set up and ready and I know one day I will.’

‘Wow, when do you think you’ll start and where do you think it will be?’

‘Well, I’ve always had this vision that it will be somewhere romantic, a place where I can take my future wife and share an amazing time. My dream is to build this dream home with her.’

Jasmine felt shy a little while, it sounded so romantic so huge.

‘I guess she will be a lucky lady.’

He laughed at her statement, deep down he wanted her to be that woman but at the same time he didn’t want to frighten her away by mentioning it too soon.

‘I think I’ll be a lucky man to have her.’ He gazed into her eyes to send her the message.

Jasmine lowered her lids and gazed at the table, for a moment she fiddled with her hands and then looked back at him.

‘What about you, why accountancy?’

‘Numbers, I’m good with numbers and for some reason when I’m working with numbers, I’m at peace. My mind goes into this state of calm and all that occupies it is numbers.’

‘That sounds interesting.’

‘It is, I figured that out while I was at school dealing with stuff. When I focused on my maths, did maths problems nothing else mattered, everything was just on the problem. The thing is though, I must make sure it’s perfect and this drives my boss insane.’

‘Well it can’t be that bad otherwise he would’ve fired you.’

‘Believe me, he’s wanted to do that for so long but our clients keep me in my job. If I move they move with me.’

‘You must be good.’

‘I suppose I am, I mean it’s kept me in a very good job.’ She smiled.

‘I guess things aren’t as bad as they seem.’

‘Maybe not.’ Jasmine had never thought of it that way.

The waiter arrived with the drinks and not long after that the food arrived. Jasmine pulled out her little bag with cutlery and pulled out a fork. Zack smiled gently as he picked up his knife and fork but made no comment, instead he started to eat as if nothing odd had just happened.

Jasmine started with the salad, it was easier because she’d done it before. The move onto the chips was harder but she picked up one and slowly placed it in her mouth. As she chewed and tried not to think about how it had been prepared and the damage it could do to her body, she felt her throat restrict. Zack noticed the change in her face and reached out and took a chip from the bowl.

‘I am going to demonstrate how good and how clean these chips are. They’ve just come out of extremely high heat that is able to kill any bacteria that was on them.’ He pushed it into his mouth and began to chew.

‘Hmmm, they taste so good.’ He chewed a little longer then swallowed. ‘There, everything’s perfect.’ He started back on his own food as if nothing was wrong.

The whole act had tickled her and set her at ease. Nothing had happened to him and it was safe to say nothing would happen to her. The chip slid down her throat and soon Jasmine began to enjoy them.

‘Do you ever wish you were a different person?’ she asked suddenly.

Zack looked at her a moment with kind eyes then said, ‘When I was younger yes, but now...no. I love who I am and who I’ve become. Why do you ask? Do you?’

‘All the time! I wish things had been different growing up. If I had been a different person then things wouldn’t be this way.’

‘Believe me you wouldn’t want to be a different person. Everyone has their own story and sometimes theirs is worse than yours. You’ll discover that your life is better in comparison.’

Jasmine tried to think how that could be. How could anyone’s life be worse than hers? The torture she lived with each day and not truly understanding herself was the worst feeling in the world.

‘You are a beautiful woman, don’t ever let anything or anyone tell you otherwise.’

Jasmine felt a little shy, being with Zack almost felt like being under a spotlight. But under that spotlight she wasn’t being judged, rather being adored for who she was, it was confusing indeed.

The rest of the evening eased onto small talk, talk much more comfortable and soon they were walking through the busy streets of Leeds heading for the car. The ride back to Jasmine’s house was a little quiet, each one deep in their own thoughts. When the car finally pulled out outside the house Jasmine felt a sudden panic. There was something in the air, something they both felt but were not sure how to say it. But it was Zack who finally broke the silence.

‘Can I come in?’ he asked.

Jasmine knew that was coming, what had she expected? He was her boyfriend, at some point he would want to come in, touch her and be with her. There were so many things swirling around in her mind that she felt as if her heart would stop.

‘The real me lives in there,’ she said finally.

‘I want to know the real you,’ he said gently. ‘I think I’m falling for the real you.’

She felt her heart swell; she was falling for him too but what about all the crazy that went on behind her door. What would he think of her, and it wasn’t like she was going to change in a split second.

‘It will be okay, I promise.’ He stepped out of the passenger seat and walked round to her side.

He opened the door and held out his hand, she hesitated but then knew that there was nothing to fear. It was in his eyes, they told her to trust him, allow him in. As they took steps towards the house that voice disappeared and was clouded by fear. Fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment and the more she tried to resist the more apparent it became.

‘I can’t,’ she said once they stopped at the door. ‘I can’t show you that part of me.’

He lifted her hand to his chest and looked into her eyes. That said it all and without much thought Jasmine pulled the keys from her bag and put them into the keyhole. She shut her eyes knowing very well that the minute she stepped into the house she would have to turn the key back and forth to make sure it was locked. Did she really want him to see that part of her?

The door unlocked and she stepped in and Zack stepped in behind her. She pushed the door closed, placed the latch on and put the key into the keyhole. She leaned against the door in darkness and turned the key once but couldn’t resist the urge to turn it back and forth. She scrunched her eyes closed with her other hand against the door and began to turn the key back and forth. She felt him move closer and his hand touched hers and together they were turning the key back and forth. His lips gently touched her neck, his hand not moving from hers. She gasped at the feeling, the soft touch of his lips and slowly and surely the turning back and forth of the key stopped.

Jasmine reached for the light to the left of the door and again the urge to switch it off and on overwhelmed her. But that didn’t stop him, instead he kept his hand over her hand and as she switched the light off and on, his hand simply followed her lead. Jasmine shut her eyes and let his tender lips explore her outer neck. It sent shivers down her spine that exploded between her legs. She’d never felt this way with anyone and although it was a new feeling it was the best feeling in the world.

‘I...’ she stopped flicking the light and turned towards him.

‘Ssssh, its okay,’ he whispered and cupped her chin in his hand. ‘It’s okay.’

Jasmine felt safe and okay even though there was the urge to pull away and run. But Zack took her by the hand and directed her up the stair as if he knew where he was going.

‘Show me to your bathroom,’ he said.

Jasmine pulled on his hand and they turned right into the bathroom. He turned around so that she was directly looking into his eyes. He smiled tenderly and took her face into his hands.

‘I haven’t done this before and I don’t think I can.’ She felt weak and yet there was still fear.

‘We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll have a shower, get clean with you and you can decide from there what you wish to do. I promise not to hurt you. I won’t do anything you don’t want to do.’

His words melted the fear and soon she found herself relaxing and trusting the flow of life, trusting that this man would be what she needed. He carefully undressed her and allowed her to fix the clothing while he turned the taps to the shower. He stepped in and waited patiently while she made sure all the clothes were folded neatly and put into a pile where she found it comfortable.

Jasmine took two deep breaths before stepping into the same shower as him. He accepted her with his warm smile and calm eyes. She felt her body melt and all resistance left her. He lathered her body with shower gel and she took in each sensation; the way his hand lowered down the middle of her back, the way he cupped her ample bum with his hands. And then she felt him, up close and felt the hardness leaning against her bum. She let out a light sound of pleasure as Zack pressed his solid wand against her. He ran his hands forward and upwards so that he could take in her voluptuous breast. He took each nipple between his finger tips and pulled on them at the same time pressing his lips against her neck.

There was no room for the tormenting thoughts, Jasmine was caught up in the moment and she couldn’t remember how she’d moved from the shower to her bed. He towered over her with a sly smile on his face.

‘What?’ she asked shyly suddenly aware of her nakedness.

‘You are beautiful.’ He ran a hand down her wet glistening body.

Jasmine felt shy and yet she also felt the depth of his words. She was beautiful.

‘You’ve always been beautiful don’t ever forget that,’ he said as if reading her mind. ‘I love every part of you and I’m going to show you just how much.’

Zack started gently on her lips then lowered to her neck. He took the tip of her dark nipple between his teeth and pulled on it gently. Jasmine was too caught up in the emotion of it all to think of anything else. His tongue flickered against her erect nipple and she whimpered. All the locked up emotion and sexual tension had begun to release itself.

He moved down towards the middle of her stomach and planted short kisses all over her tummy. She giggled gently causing him to stop momentarily and wonder about her amusement.

‘I’m just happy,’ she said.

‘Well I’m glad.’ And he was, he was glad she wasn’t forcing away his hand or his mouth and so he took it a little further hoping she wouldn’t resist.

Finally his mouth landed between her legs. He widened her so that she was open to him. Jasmine shut her eyes unable to resist the sweet temptation that was between her. She felt the wet flicker of his tongue against her middle as it travelled down her swollen lips. He gently pushed a stiff tongue into her tight little hole and she cried with pleasure. Zack knew it was a delicate situation to which he would attune to her needs.

He lifted back up over her and asked, ‘Do you want to do this?’