Chapter 4 #4
“When my husband left me, I was so busy trying to keep my head above water and a roof over our heads that I didn’t have time to think about dating again.
Then, when Rose was going through her issues, I couldn’t think about anyone but her.
I worried about her for quite a few years after she moved out, because I knew she was out there doing drugs and other dangerous things.
It’s only been in the last five years or so that I’ve even thought about wanting to share my life with a man again.
“But…it’s not as easy to find someone who’s serious about wanting a relationship at my age as it was when I was in my twenties.
The guys I’ve dated have either seemed to want a sugar mama to pay for everything so they can stay home and watch sports all day, or they’re turned off that I don’t need them.
I’ve gotten used to my own company, and I make enough money now to be comfortable. That scares a lot of men.”
“It doesn’t scare me,” Storm assured her. “Actually, it’s a relief. I mean, I’m happy you make your own money and can obviously take care of yourself.”
They smiled at each other for a beat.
“I’m just sorry it took me so long to notice you,” Storm said honestly.
Jane shrugged. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right time.”
“Maybe not,” Storm agreed. “Although I’m glad I got my head out of my ass the other morning. When I heard you were in trouble, I couldn’t think about anything other than getting to you.”
“I’m still embarrassed about that,” Jane admitted.
“Why?”
“Why? Because you found me on my hands and knees, snot running out of my nose and having just puked my guts out. Then I had to get naked in front of you. Not exactly the way I imagined you finally noticing me.”
“You want to know what I saw when I entered the mail room?” Storm asked.
“No,” Jane said, but nodded her head as she did.
Storm grinned, then got serious. “I saw a woman who’d selflessly sent all of her employees out of harm’s way. Who was bent, but not broken. And trust me, the first time I inhaled CS gas, I reacted much worse than you…and I didn’t get a direct hit to my face.”
She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“I did,” he insisted. “I pissed my pants while it felt as if I was coughing up a lung.”
Storm loved the smile Jane tried to hide from him. “Seriously?”
“Yup.” Then he brought a hand to her face and tilted her chin up so she had to look at him.
“Don’t be embarrassed. First, because you were reacting in a completely normal way.
I’ll invite you out to watch the guys in boot camp as they go through the CS gas training so you can see for yourself.
And secondly, while it wasn’t exactly appropriate for the time and place, you have absolutely nothing to be worried about when it comes to your body. ”
She snorted in disbelief.
“I’m serious. You’ve got curves in all the right places, Jane…
and there’s nothing I like more than a woman’s softness against my hardness.
” Storm knew his words were a bit crude, and could have more than one meaning, but he was being completely honest. He’d had enough of women with so-called “perfect” bodies.
He wanted a real woman. Someone who wasn’t afraid to eat and whose skin he could sink his fingers into. Jane definitely fit that bill.
“My ex used to call me Plain Jane,” she admitted.
Storm caressed her face gently. “He was an idiot, I think that’s more than obvious with the way he cheated on you and left you and your daughter to fend for yourselves.”
He stayed still as Jane’s gaze bored into his own. He had no idea what she was thinking but hoped he hadn’t been too honest. Too open.
When she sighed and turned her head back toward the TV and settled against him once more, Storm let out a breath of relief.
“This is crazy,” she muttered. “I’ve crushed on you so hard for so long…I have no idea how this is even happening.”
Storm smiled. “I got my head out of my ass,” he reminded her.
She chuckled, and Storm relaxed even further.
They both turned their attention back to the movie and watched Jane’s favorite part…Red narrating how Andy escaped from the prison. It wasn’t until Red was walking down the beach in Mexico toward his old friend that Jane looked up at Storm once more. “This movie never gets old.”
“Nope,” Storm agreed.
As the credits rolled, Jane yawned hugely.
“Time to get you home,” Storm told her. He hated to see her leave, but they both had work in the morning, and he knew she was exhausted.
“Thank you for dinner,” she told him as they stood.
“You’re more than welcome.”
“I’d say next time it’s on me, but you already know that I can’t cook.”
Storm loved what she was saying without words and couldn’t help teasing her a little. “You askin’ me out for a second date?”
“If I was, would you say yes?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“Then I guess I am.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too,” Jane said shyly.
“Come on, Cinderella, let’s get you back to your apartment before you turn into a pumpkin.”
“I think you’ve got your fairy tales mixed up,” she said with a chuckle.
Storm didn’t give a shit about fairy tales, so he simply smiled.
He held her hand all the way home as he drove, and this time when he pulled up to the curb, he climbed out of the car and walked her to the door of the apartment complex. He took her hand once more and brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back. “Thanks for coming over,” he told her.
“Thanks for asking me.”
“Sleep well.”
“I have a feeling I will,” she said with a small smile.
“I’ll see you in the morning?” he asked.
Jane nodded. “Probably. We’re supposed to be able to get back into the mail room, so things will be crazy busy until we get back into the swing of things and clear out the backlog of packages and mail.”
“Don’t work too hard,” Storm told her.
“I could say the same to you,” she quipped.
Storm squeezed her hand then dropped it and took a step back. He wanted to kiss her. Badly. But he respected her no-kissing-on-the-first-date thing. “I’ll be in touch,” he told her.
Jane nodded.
“Go inside, sweetheart,” he ordered.
With one last long look at him, she turned and entered the lobby of her apartment complex, giving him a small, adorable wave before heading for the elevators.
Storm went back to his car and climbed inside.
All the way home, he thought about the last few hours.
About how much he’d enjoyed hanging out with Jane.
She was…comforting. He didn’t feel the need to constantly entertain her or to keep the conversation going.
Whenever there were lulls, they felt natural. Right.
Pretty much everything about her felt right.
It should’ve scared the shit out of him, but instead it just made him more determined to get to know her better.
He knew it had been years since her ex had left her, but he still thought the man was an idiot.
Though that idiocy had opened the door for Storm today, so he couldn’t be too upset.
How he’d gone from confirmed bachelor to being infatuated with a woman in a day and a half, Storm had no idea, but he wasn’t going to question it.
Too many things had happened in his life that could be called miracles for him to wonder about the timing of finally seeing what was right in front of him.
For the first time in a very long time, Storm was excited about something other than work. He had no idea what the future would hold for him and Jane, but he was going to work damn hard to be the kind of man she deserved.