Chapter 13 – Jensen
Chapter Thirteen
Jensen
I pulled up in front of my apartment, hoping I hadn’t left my place a mess. I hadn’t been planning on any company. I wasn’t overly messy by nature—not always having a room of my own as I was growing up had kept me from tending to be too cluttered.
“This is me.”
“Hmm.” She scanned the space and nodded.
“What?”
She shook her head, still looking around.
“No. You’ve got something on your mind.” Was she worried it wasn’t safe enough here? “This is probably not quite as secure as your building since you have a lobby and interior apartment door, but I’ve never once had a problem here.”
“I’m not worried about safety. I was just noticing the trees and flowers along the path and the fact that these buildings have a stone facade. Both add value.”
My lips twitched as I led her up to my unit. “You can’t turn the real estate part of you off, huh?”
“No,” she admitted with a shrug. “It’s impossible.”
“Everywhere you go, you see it through a Realtor lens? ”
“Occupational hazard. You’re probably the same way with cars.”
She stood behind me as I opened the door and stepped inside, not just for safety purposes but for me to give it a once-over and make sure I hadn’t left any underwear in the middle of the floor.
Thankfully, nothing embarrassing. My place was clean and minimalistic in design. Just the way I liked it.
She came in and looked around. I wondered what it looked like through her eyes. The Realtor’s eyes. The woman’s eyes.
I had a few photos of myself and my adoptive family and a couple of nature prints I’d gotten from Grace Young, one of the Resting Warrior guys’ wives. She and Harlan lived on a ranch property a little way away from Resting Warrior. At a family dinner at their place, I’d noticed some paintings sitting around and asked about them, and I was surprised to find out how good of an artist she was.
Lena was always threatening to take some of Grace’s paintings to a gallery and see if she could find her an agent. But Grace wouldn’t hear of it. She did it for pleasure; she didn’t want money. But I hadn’t wanted to just take them for free, so she and I had worked out a trade: paintings for automotive care.
Kenzie was still looking around. She hadn’t said much. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.
“You can have the bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“I don’t mind the couch.”
I shook my head. After what she’d been through today, she deserved to be able to sleep in a bed. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d slept on a couch. Hell, I’d spent half my childhood sleeping on the floor.
“No, I insist. You take the bed.”
The fact that she didn’t argue was testament to how worn down she was. She just nodded .
“I’ve got some spare bathroom things here.” I pointed at the basic essentials like a toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom. The guys had had extras from a camping trip, and somehow they had gotten stashed here.
I stopped at the linen closet and pulled out a couple of clean towels.
She clutched them to herself like a lifeline. “Thank you.”
I nodded, trying hard to ignore the warmth from her soft hand on my wrist.
“Anything else you need?” Being a host was an alien concept for me. I rarely asked anyone over, definitely not a woman. My one-night stands weren’t frequent, and when they did happen, I went over to their places. I didn’t want people here.
Yet, with Kenzie, I hadn’t even hesitated.
“I’m good, really. I just appreciate your letting me stay.” She gave my wrist a brief squeeze before releasing me.
“Oh.” I gave her a quick once-over, realizing she probably wouldn’t want to sleep in her jeans and blouse.
I motioned for her to follow me to the dresser, where I chose the smallest T-shirt I had. The gym shorts I picked up next would drop from her waist, but the drawstrings could help secure them if she rolled up the waistband. “These may be more comfortable.”
Her smile was so sweet, it was all I could do not to pull her into my arms. Standing in my bedroom with her felt risky enough. But tonight was not about any sort of attraction. It was about helping her know she wasn’t alone.
“Thanks, Jensen. This means a lot to me.”
“If you need anything, let me know, okay?” I grabbed a shirt and sweats for myself before leaving the room.
“I will,” she said softly as I closed the door behind me. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight. ”
I stood there at the door for a moment, staring at the panel of wood.
All through brushing my teeth in the bathroom and changing, I shoved back thoughts of her. I refused to envision her changing. I tried my best not to think about the image of her sliding under my covers and laying her head on my pillows.
Of what she looked like wearing my clothes.
I settled onto the couch with a spare blanket and pillow and prayed for sleep. I was wide awake, though, taunted by the idea of her so close, just on the other side of the wall and in my bed. I tried to walk through projects at the garage. Parts that were on order and vehicles that would be coming in for service.
I even started running through my custom woodcarving orders. I had several jewelry boxes, a few animals, and a set of chimes to work on next week. I was excited about trying my hand at more complex pieces like a rocking chair or end tables sometime in the near future. That would be a challenge I hadn’t tackled yet.
None of that made me sleepy.
Thinking about work got me wondering about that damn El Camino, and I had to force myself to stop going down that path. If I started thinking about the stalker, I’d never be relaxed enough to rest.
And while I would take all of this off Kenzie’s plate in a second if I could, I had to admit it’d been nice as hell to have her with me at family dinner tonight.
Even though I enjoyed going to family dinners at my friends’ homes, sometimes I avoided them. It was a lot, seeing all the love and experiencing the laughter and the closeness when I was alone.
I’d always been content with my bachelorhood. But sometimes, in my more vulnerable moments, being around my friends and their women had me longing for something more.
Not to mention, being with them reinforced that I was not a great conversationalist and tended to be antisocial. Mumbling one-word answers was sometimes the most I could do. I was well aware that I was never going to be the life of the party. I worried that it wore on my friends.
I hated that I felt that way. Lucas was like a brother to me—and the others too, by extension. They’d proven over and over that I didn’t need to change, that they accepted me the way I was. And I appreciated that more than they would ever know.
But watching Kenzie with my friends… She fit in like she’d always belonged. I envied her ease of conversation and general enjoyment of being around them. It felt good being with her there, like she was my partner—balancing out my taciturnity.
I’d never really believed in opposites-attract stuff, but I had to admit that?—
The bedroom door opened, cutting into my thoughts. “Kenzie?”
Her footsteps were light and quiet as she walked into the living room. “Are you awake?”
“No,” I replied wryly.
She giggled.
“How come you’re up?” I asked.
“I can’t sleep.” She stepped closer to the couch, hugging her arms around her waist.
And there it was. Her in my clothes. I couldn’t stop staring. Maybe it was just a T-shirt and shorts, but they looked way sexier on her than they ever had on me.
“Why are you up?” she asked, dragging my focus back to the conversation.
“Same. Couldn’t seem to get my eyes to close or brain to turn off.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “What do you do when you can’t sleep?”
“Think about work—properties or clients I’m representing. Or redecorate my house in my mind. Or stage my dream home. ”
I laughed. “I was thinking about work stuff too.”
“Or sometimes…” She trailed off, biting her lip.
I cleared my throat, wishing I could lick away the bite she was giving herself while standing there in my clothes. “Sometimes, what?”
“Or I watch old reruns of House Hunters International until my eyes get tired.”
I laughed. “Still pretty work-related.”
I was beginning to see how much of a hardship not having her work was for her. Most people might enjoy a period of forced vacation, but it was a stressor for Kenzie. No wonder she’d jumped at helping out with my social media and website stuff. It wasn’t her career, but at least it kept her busy.
“Yeah, I can be a workaholic.”
“Well, watching television is definitely a part of your job I can help you with.” I patted the couch and scooted aside to make room for her. She came close and sat while I turned on the TV and found her show.
It wasn’t one that I tended to seek out. I didn’t travel a lot. I liked hiking and camping, but going to Europe and seeing big, famous cities didn’t appeal to me. I was a small-town guy, and after the way I’d lived, I liked the comfort of staying put and knowing I had a place to call my own.
We sat pressed together, sharing our warmth. Kenzie curled into me, tucking the blanket over her legs. I was aware of every place our bodies touched. And while the show wasn’t holding my interest much, I was even further from the idea of sleep.
“ Lots of charm .” She scoffed. “They mean lots of updates are needed to bring it into this century.”
I almost smiled at her obvious disdain.
“And commuter’s dream ?” She shook her head. “That’s usually code for the house is next to the highway. Loud and noisy. ”
I shifted a little then held my breath as she laid her head on my shoulder. Damned if that didn’t feel right.
“Which house do you think they should pick?” she asked. “I say House One would be the best compromise.”
One. Ten. I didn’t fucking know. I wasn’t sure how many houses were even in the running. “Uh, two.”
All I could concentrate on was her snuggling up to me. I pushed all thoughts of taking it any further than that out of my mind. This wasn’t the time. She seemed content, relaxed. That was more than enough for me.
When house two was declared the winner, she smiled up at me. “You got it.”
She licked her lips, nearly pulling a groan from me as she ran a hand up my arm.
“Thank you.” I held my breath as she reached forward and softly kissed me. “For letting me stay here and relax. For watching this show with me when I know it doesn’t interest you.”
I didn’t want her sweet lips on mine out of gratitude. Cupping the back of her head, I dipped my mouth to hers and kissed her long and hard.
But I didn’t let it go past that. No moving my hands to touch those curves under my clothes. No matter how desperately I wanted to. This wasn’t the time.
The kiss ended and she sighed, resting her cheek against mine. That show of trust hit me deep down, and I knew I couldn’t ruin this moment. I couldn’t take advantage and press for anything more than a kiss.
The next episode came on, and she resettled herself against my side. A few minutes into the show, she stopped her commentary, and I knew she’d drifted off to sleep.
House Hunters had done its work again, but I didn’t want her to stay here. She needed real rest after the day she’d had.
“All right, City,” I mumbled quietly, picking her up and carrying her to my room, loving the way she snuggled into me as I walked.
I felt the loss immediately when I placed her back in bed, but I pulled the covers up over her and lightly kissed her brow, wishing her a night full of sweet dreams.
I headed back to the couch, convinced she’d star in all of mine.