Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
F ranklin
I knew Junicia had been up for a minute before she came into my room because I heard her moving around. I couldn’t sleep either, which was why she found me watching television. It was hard to sleep knowing the woman I had fantasized about was right next door.
I felt her jump when the lights went out, then she went completely still. She hadn’t even opened her mouth. She’d already expressed her fear of the storm, and I knew the power going out didn’t help.
“Junicia, are you okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell by her tone that she was scared, and it bothered me. She jumped again when I moved closer to her.
“It’s just me. Come here.” I pulled her into my arms. She stiffened for a second, then wrapped her arms around my waist. “I have a generator, but I’m not sure why it hasn’t come on yet.
I don’t think any power lines fell, so maybe the power won’t be out for long.
Do you think you can stay up here by yourself while I get some candles and see what’s going on with the generator? ”
I felt her nod her head against my chest. “Yes. Ahh.” Thunder rumbled again, and she buried her head in my chest.
Having her in my arms did something to me. I never would have imagined we would be here, but I wasn’t mad at it. I didn’t want to let her go, but I needed to check things out before it got too cold in the house. I also needed to make sure the board was still on her window.
I held her tightly against me and inhaled her sweet scent.
“Did you bring your phone in here with you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, good. I’m going to let you go, but I want you to turn your flashlight on, then get under the covers.”
“Okay.”
I slowly released her. The bedside table was close, and there was nothing on it, so it was easy for her to grab her phone, even in the dark. A few seconds later, the flashlight lit up the room.
The fear in her eyes made me not want to leave her, but I had to.
“Look at me.”
Her brown eyes looked up at me.
“I’m not going to be long. I don’t want you to leave the light on, though, because I don’t want your battery to run out. Lay down and try to relax for me. Can you do that?”
She nodded, pulled the covers back, then got under them. I stayed until she pulled the covers over her body.
“I’m going to grab another blanket real quick and put it on the bed. I’ll be right back.”
My phone was on the dresser because I didn’t like keeping it near my bed, so I grabbed it and turned the flashlight on.
I looked back at Junicia, and even though it was hard to see her, I could feel her eyes on me.
I left the room and went to the hall closet to grab a couple of blankets.
It was still warm in the house, but I wanted to have extras just in case.
After grabbing the blankets, I went back into the room and put one of the comforters on the bed.
“I grabbed a couple of blankets just in case. I’m going to check on things but turn your flashlight off.”
I had mine on still, so I pointed it in her direction so she could see me. She turned the flashlight off, and the room darkened since mine was the only light.
“I’ll be right back. I promise you are safe.”
“Okay.” Her voice trembled, and I knew I had to move quickly.
I used the light from my phone and went downstairs. I looked out the window, and it looked like one of the powerlines had fallen, so I wasn’t sure when the lights would come back on.
I went into the hall closet to grab my boots and raincoat so I could see what was going on with the generator. After I was prepared, I went out the back door. I located the generator, then messed around with it for a minute until I got it to work.
“Thank goodness,” I whispered. At least we would have some light and heat. I had just got some food from the store, and I would have hated for it to go bad.
Since the generator came on, I walked next door to make sure Junicia’s house was okay.
The wind had picked up, and I wanted to ensure it didn’t affect the broken window.
That shit still pissed me off because her ex was trash for that.
If I could, I would beat his ass again. It was cool, though, because if he hadn’t done that, I would have never talked to her or had her in my bed.
Granted, she wasn’t in my bed for anything other than the storm, but still.
Once I saw that her house was fine, I headed back to mine through the backyard.
Some of the lights were on, and it was still warm, so I was pleased with that. I did turn off any unnecessary lights but kept the light over the stove on.
I didn’t want to track water through the house, so I left my boots and coat in the kitchen. I grabbed some water bottles from the fridge and headed upstairs.
The television had come back on, but Junicia wasn’t watching it. It looked like she was sleeping, so I tried to be quiet as I made my way back to the bed and took my pants off before getting in. Since I had worn my pajama pants outside, I couldn’t wear them in the bed.
“Everything okay?” Junicia asked as she rolled over to face me.
“Yes. Sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t. I was just resting my eyes. I couldn’t go to sleep.”
I pulled the cover up and faced her with my head resting on my hand. The light from the TV flickered, giving me a view of her beautiful face. She looked stressed, but not as scared as she did earlier.
The urge to kiss her puffy lips was strong, but I wasn’t that bold. I might have seemed tough on the outside to her, but inside, I was nervous to be in the same bed as her. I pictured it multiple times over the last year, but I never thought it would happen.
“As you can tell, the generator is on, but I turned pretty much everything off to conserve energy. I also got you a bottle of water if you get thirsty.”
“Thank you. Should we turn the TV off too?”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” I told her, then reached for the remote.
Without the television, the room had gotten dark again.
I lay back on the pillow and stared at the dark ceiling. I felt Junicia shift a little, and she ended up closer to me.
“I’m not too close, am I?”
“Not at all.”
My arm was up on the pillow she occupied, so she scooted closer and put her head under my arm.
We were quiet for a while, with nothing but the sound of the rain beating down on the windows.
“When is this storm going to be over?” Junicia asked as more thunder rumbled.
“Who knows? I didn’t even check the weather earlier to see how long it was predicted to last. We can talk if you want. Maybe it will help take your mind off it.”
“Okay. I have a question. What made you come back here after college?”
I shifted a little to get more comfortable. Being so close to Junicia made my man’s twitch, and I didn’t want her to notice.
“I came back because it was quiet, something I didn’t appreciate as a teenager. I also knew it was a good place to raise a family, and they had an opening for the position I wanted.”
I didn’t want to mention my parents because I didn’t like talking about them. As long as she didn’t ask, I wasn’t going to say anything. I didn’t necessarily hide my parents, but I wasn’t bragging about them either.
“How many kids do you want?”
“I honestly haven’t thought about a number, but maybe at least two. But really whatever my wife blesses with me. Do you want children?”
“I do. I am just glad I didn’t have one with my ex.”
I was glad she didn’t either because things could have turned out way worse than what they were. I kept it to myself though.
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“That’s what they say.”
Junicia yawned, and I had gotten sleepy myself. The rain had slowed down, so we probably were at the end of the storm.
“Maybe we should try and get some sleep,” I suggested when Junicia yawned again.
“Okay. Good night, Franklin.”
I thought she would have moved to the other side of the bed, but she didn’t, and I didn’t want her to.
“Good night, Junicia.” I kissed the top of her covered head and closed my eyes.
A few minutes later, Junicia’s light snores filled the room, but sleep didn’t find me too easily.
It was hard falling asleep with her being so close.
I knew she had just gotten out of a relationship, but I enjoyed her company.
It had only been a few hours, but her being in my house made it feel like a home.
It was a feeling I couldn’t explain, and I wouldn’t try to. I just knew I didn’t want to end.