Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
They were back at his house, and Foster wondered if he’d said too much. Pen had looked shocked when he’d told her he would help her. Maybe he was overstepping.
“Would you like something to eat?”
She dropped to a chair in the kitchen and let out a long sigh. “I know I need to eat something, but I’m not sure what I want. The cookie kind of filled me up.”
He opened the refrigerator then the pantry. “I have some soup. I could add some pasta to it. What do you think?”
After a moment she finally nodded. “Sure, soup sounds good.”
“I’ll whip us up some soup and add pasta. You can sip on it this evening and it will be calories and hydration.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you helping me. I don’t know why you are.”
Foster poured the soup into a pan and added water. Then started some water for pasta, wondering if he should say more. “I think you’re very brave.”
He glanced over, seeing her watching as he added salt to the water so it would boil faster. He grabbed the pasta from the cabinet and measured up enough for them.
“I’m only going to boil the pasta for a few minutes, then I’ll add it to the soup. That way it doesn’t soak up all the water in the soup.”
“That makes sense.”
After Foster added the pasta to the water, he turned to face her. He probably shouldn’t say anything, but he wanted her to know he felt more than friendship. He wouldn’t push for more now, but he wanted her to have an idea that he was interested.
“You know I like you, right? I know we don’t know each other well, but when you first came out of that cage, you were filled with sass.”
Her laughter was surprising, but nice. “There have been some rough moments, and I haven’t really felt like myself. I think I’m just trying to get back to feeling semi normal.”
“I’m sorry. Can I help?”
Pen didn’t know what kind of help she needed. She felt unsettled, like there were too many pressures on her. “I don’t know how to get myself back.”
“Time and friends.”
She snorted a laugh. “Everything I had before is gone, even my friends.”
“I’m sorry that what you had before is gone. But I’d like to help you build something new.”
She met his gaze and held it. Her stomach tightened as a thrill shot through her. She hadn’t felt anything like this in ages. But it couldn’t be real, could it? There was no way she’d really heard Foster expressing interest in her.
Foster stepped closer and then sat across from her. He held out his hand, and she hesitated only a moment before she placed her hand in his.
“I know you went through hell. I’m not expecting anything from you. We could just be friends if that’s what you need.”
She nodded though a little bit of the spark seemed to dissipate. She had heard him wrong, but being friends with him was better than nothing. “Friends.”
His timer rang and he slowly let go of her hand, disappointment flashing quickly over his face. Had she imagined the disappointment?
Could she trust what she’d seen? She no longer knew how to read people and decipher emotions. It seemed like every time she got back a little bit of her spark, it vanished under the weight of all that had happened. She’d thought Foster wanted to be more than friends, but now, she wasn’t sure.
If she trusted Foster, would it go badly for her? Could she rely on him? She needed friendship, that much she knew. But she wanted more. Maybe it was silly to want more from him.
Foster served her some soup with pasta and sat across from her. His smile seemed genuine, if not a little shy.
“You know, I’m unsure of everything around me. I feel like myself sometimes, but then everything crumbles.”
“That’s the time part. As you heal, it gets easier.”
“I hope so. By the way, this soup is excellent. I love it.”
“Thank you.”
They ate in silence for a bit, then she set down her spoon. Her thoughts twisted up so tight she needed to get them out.
“I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but is there more?” She met his gaze and held it though the pressure in her head grew. She should look away but didn’t because she wanted to know how he felt. She’d been bold and independent before, and maybe she could be bold again.
He set his spoon down. “I know you don’t know me well, and I’m not asking for anything more than you can give.
I’m serious about you staying here. And I know that may seem weird since we haven’t known each other for long, but I want our friendship to grow.
I don’t know how that will look because I’m not sure what you will be able to handle.
I don’t want to frighten you off with too much too soon. ”
She thought about his words. He wasn’t saying he wanted a relationship, but he wasn’t saying it was out of the question.
“I like that.”
Foster was relieved Pen accepted what he’d said. He hadn’t lied. He wanted to be friends with her. How much more could he expect? She’d been through hell and was in no state to make long-term decisions. It wasn’t fair of him to expect more from her.
After they ate, she settled on the couch and turned on the TV. She was asleep in minutes. He didn’t want to disturb her, so he headed to his room and started reading some articles he’d wanted to dig into.
There were some advancements coming in weapons he wanted to catch up on.
Being a SEAL was about strength, but there was also the finesse of knowing which tool to use to get the job done.
They didn’t just operate blindly, instead they studied what worked, and what new advancements would work in the future.
He texted with his team about some of the new technology he was reading about.
They seemed excited. Wave said that he’d been talking to Kevlar and his team, and they planned on putting together a presentation on some tech.
Foster was looking forward to hearing what Kevlar had to say about the new technology.
Close to seven that evening he heard Pen stirring in the den, so he got up and moved to the doorway. His heart squeezed. She looked beautiful as she stretched her arms over her head. He wanted to go to her and pull her into a hug, but that would be irresponsible of him.
He needed to be sure about his feelings before he moved forwarded with a relationship.
She’d been through enough and didn’t need any BS.
The last thing he wanted was to do was make her life more difficult.
The feelings he had for her made his heart expand to the point it pressed on his lungs and made his stomach tight.
Being friends first would help them develop a deeper relationship. They’d get to know each other better, and she would have time to make a decision about what kind of relationship she wanted. If she couldn’t handle more than friendship, he would be okay with it.
She wiped her hand over her face then turned to him. “Sorry, I fell asleep.”
“You need the rest. Would you like more soup?”
She let go a heavy sigh. “I need some, though eating seems like a chore instead of something to enjoy.”
Her not wanting to eat wasn’t great, but he understood her hesitancy. “Well, hopefully that will eventually change.”
Pen stretched again, lifting her arms over her head once more, but this time she winced. He stepped closer, worry for her growing.
“Are you okay?” He didn’t like seeing her in pain. Her road to recovery would be long. It was good that she could stand up now without having to bend just to walk, but her body still needed more time to recover.
“Sorry, still sore.”
She might be sore, but at least she was alive. Telling her how to feel wasn’t his place. She’d lived through hell for more than a year. He would focus on supporting her. “Would you like me to help you stretch?”
She cocked her head to the side, looking adorable. “How would that work?”
“I could offer resistance or pressure, only gentle pressure, to help you get into position.”
She seemed to be contemplating his offer. If she said no thank you, he wouldn’t push. The last thing he wanted was to overstep one of her boundaries.
After a moment, she nodded. “Okay, sure.”
“Lift your arm. I’ll help with some pressure.”
She stretched her right arm up, leaning over to the left. Foster put his hand on her side, then her arm. He pushed gently, just enough for her to get just a little more of a stretch in. There wasn’t any pain, just a good stretch that made her feel much better.
He helped with her other side and then helped her stretch her arms and shoulders. As he helped her, he rubbed her shoulders and back a little. It all felt so good.
He was being very nice. It had been a while since someone had been nice to her. While being held by the asshole she had forgotten what being nice felt like. Of course she’d tried to be kind to others at first, but that had gotten her into loads of trouble.
As he helped her get into new positions, she closed her eyes, thinking that his hands on her felt good. It was a little weird that she liked his touch. It didn’t feel possessive, instead she could feel the respect coming through when he touched her.
When he slid his hand down her side to her waist, she couldn’t stop the shiver that overcame her. The feelings that slid through her felt warm and were tinged with hope. There was nothing negative coming from him.
“Are you okay?” Foster asked.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Good. How about your legs now?”
“Sure.”
He helped her get into better positions to stretch her legs and then offered to rub her back.
She wasn’t sure at first, but once he touched her shoulders, it felt like heaven.
He didn’t even try to reach his hands around her sides to touch her breasts.
It was obvious it wasn’t trying to manipulate her into letting him feel her up.
She couldn’t believe he was being so respectful.
By the time he finished with the massage, she really did feel better.
She stood and lifted her arms over her head. “Thank you. I feel much better.”
“Good. I’m glad I could help.” He glanced at his phone. “We should get your things from the hotel.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I don’t have much, only what was given to me, but I should go get it.”
“Come on, we’ll drive over and get your stuff.”
She turned to him, placing her hand on his arm. “Thank you for letting me stay here. This is much better than the hotel. I really appreciate the Navy putting me up there, but that place was loud, and this is much quieter.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.”
Finding this man, well, him finding her had been a huge blessing. Maybe things were looking up for her. Could she make plans for a future, or would her problems return, sinking her under again?
She didn’t want to dwell on the negative, but so much had happened to her. The thought of having a relationship with Foster made her insides tingle. Was she ready? She wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Foster was okay giving her the time she needed to figure out what came next.