Chapter 8 #2
It was true, when the right person came along…
you just knew it. Jane filled all the lonely holes deep within him he’d refused to acknowledge.
He didn’t regret asking her to consider spending more nights with him.
He couldn’t think of anything better than coming home from a long day of work to her.
He didn’t need dinner on the table, or the house cleaned…
he just needed her to talk to. Laugh with. Snuggle with.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jane looked down at her phone during one of her breaks and smiled when she saw she had a text from Storm.
Storm: It’s been three nights. Any chance you’d consider coming over tonight?
She typed out a short but heartfelt response.
Jane: Yes!
His reply came almost immediately, as if he’d been waiting for her to text him back.
Storm: Thank God. I should get off around five-thirty. Come over anytime after six.
Jane: Okay. I need to go home and get my things, but barring any disasters here at work, I should be there by six-thirty.
Storm: Sounds perfect. I’ll start dinner.
Jane: What’re we having?
Storm: I went home at lunch and put a pot roast in the Crock-Pot. I hope that’s all right.
Jane: Yum!
Storm: You’re easy to please.
Jane: Actually, I’m not. I’m picky in my taste in men, I don’t like seafood, and kale goes on my gross list.
Storm: Crosses kale off list for dinner tonight.
Jane: Shut up.
Storm: :)
Storm: I’m looking forward to seeing you. I feel like it’s been forever since I saw you last.
Jane: You saw me this morning when I brought your mail up.
Storm: Like I said, forever.
Jane sighed in contentment. She’d sorta thought Storm would be standoffish at work and not very romantic when it came to everyday life, but she’d been wrong.
While he didn’t bend her over his arm and make out with her while they were on the base, he didn’t hesitate to touch her, to kiss her on the cheek, to let her know he was happy to see her.
His text and emails were sweet and somewhat sappy.
And when he called, he never hesitated to let her know how pretty he thought she was, how happy he was to talk to her, and how much he missed her.
The difference between him and other men she’d dated was night and day.
It almost made the way they’d gotten together, with her practically naked after being doused with tear gas, worth it. Almost.
Jane: Do you want me to bring anything when I come over tonight?
Storm: Just you.
Jane: I’m serious. I can pick something up from the store if I need to.
Storm: I AM being serious. Just bring yourself, baby.
Jane: Okay. See you later.
Storm: Can’t wait.
Jane put her cell back in her pocket. It was amazing how good Storm made her feel. It scared her but at the same time made her feel decades younger. She’d never expected this. Not at her age.
Taking a deep breath, she got back to work with renewed purpose.
She needed to make sure she was finished with sorting the mail on time tonight so she could get home, pack, and head over to Storm’s place.
Being with him made her realize how lonely she’d really been.
She’d worked her ass off to raise Rose, and after she’d left, Jane had spent a lot of time and energy worrying about her… as any good mom would do.
But with every year that passed, and the closer she got to retirement, Jane realized that she had a lot of years left of her life.
That she’d be alone if she didn’t manage to find someone to spend her golden years with.
She would’ve been content with finding a group of friends, but being with Storm was like a dream come true.
She was nervous about the beach party that weekend but decided to do her best to take things as they came.
Worrying if people would like her wasn’t going to do anything but stress her out.
Knowing she needed to concentrate on work and put Storm and the upcoming night out of her mind, Jane reached for another packet of letters.
At six-thirty on the nose, Jane knocked on Storm’s door. He opened it almost immediately. He had a huge smile on his face and pulled her into his arms even as he shut the door with his foot.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” she responded.
Then he kissed her. A long, deep kiss that Jane knew she’d never get tired of. When he lifted his head, he smiled down at her once more, brushing a lock of hair off her forehead. “Damn, it’s good to see you. Come on, dinner’s almost ready. You’ve got to be hungry.”
Bemused, Jane let him pull her into his house, loving how he kept hold of her hand. Dinner smelled delicious, and she couldn’t remember ever being spoiled like this. She loved it.
He pulled her small bag out of her hand and put it by the stairs, continuing on toward the kitchen. Within twenty minutes, they were sitting at a small table off the kitchen and Storm was telling her about his day.
“Dag and I reviewed records today and narrowed the list of suspects down to about five.”
“That many?” Jane asked in surprise.
“Yeah. There are a lot of good men and women in the Navy, but there are also quite a few who never quite conform. Sometimes they’re lazy and want to take the easy way out.
Other times they just make a stupid mistake that can’t be overlooked and forgiven.
We’re assuming the bomber is someone who was court-martialed out of the Navy.
It might be an erroneous assumption, but we don’t think so.
Someone has to be upset enough at Dag to blame him for whatever happened to them, and if someone was just given nonjudicial punishment, I don’t think they’d be as upset. ”
“What does NCIS think?” Jane asked.
“They agree. And they’re investigating as many of the sailors who were kicked out of the Navy in the last year as they can. Trying to find out where they are now and interviewing new coworkers if possible. It’s a slow process. And I know it’s frustrating. Are you okay?”
“Me? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Jane asked in surprise.
Storm reached over and took her hand in his. “You haven’t had any flashbacks or bad moments about what happened to you?”
Jane hesitated. She wanted to say no, that she was fine, but she also didn’t want to lie. She settled for shrugging. “Nothing major.”
The look of concern on his face made her melt. “I’m sorry, baby. I know it’s not a lot, but hopefully it’ll help in the long run that you weren’t the target.”
“I know. That’s why I feel stupid about the bad dreams I’ve had. I was just unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire, so to speak,” she told him.
“Don’t feel stupid,” Storm said immediately, taking her hand in his. “What happened to you was traumatic. It was unexpected, and you were attacked in your safe space. You’re allowed to react badly to that.”
Jane nodded. “The dreams aren’t horrible. I usually wake up just as the bomb is going off. For a second I can’t breathe, remembering how much the tear gas stung, but then I realize that I’m just dreaming and I’m safe.”
“You are safe,” Storm told her.
Jane smiled at him. “Thanks.”
He squeezed her hand once more, then let go to finish eating.
They talked about nothing important until they were done and continued talking as they sat on the couch afterward.
In fact, Jane couldn’t remember ever talking this much about nothing with someone else and not feeling awkward or having any long pauses between topics.
It wasn’t until he yawned that she looked at her watch and realized it was almost ten o’clock. They’d been chatting away for hours. “Holy crap,” she exclaimed. “It’s late.”
Storm chuckled. “So it is. You ready to head up?”
He made it sound so normal. This was only the third time they’d spent the night together, and already it felt as if they’d done it a hundred times. “Yeah,” she told him.
“I’ll just make sure everything’s tidied up and locked down here. You go on up. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She appreciated him giving her some time to get situated. She felt comfortable with him, but not quite comfortable enough yet to change in front of him as if she’d done it every day of her life.
She nodded and stood, but Storm grabbed her hand before she could walk off.
“Jane?”
“Yeah?”
“I like this. A lot. You have an open invitation to stay over here as much as you want. Feel free to leave some of your things too, to make it easier. Shampoo, nightgown…whatever.”
Jane stared at Storm for a heartbeat. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
Storm stood and ran his finger down her cheek. “I’m more than sure. I feel more relaxed and content with you here.”
Now that was an awesome compliment.
He brushed his thumb over her lips then stood back. “Go on. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Nodding, Jane grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs.
Upon entering his room, she took a deep breath, loving how it smelled like him.
She quickly changed into the boy shorts and T-shirt she liked to wear to bed and got ready in the bathroom.
By the time Storm came upstairs, she was sitting in his bed with her iPad, reading.
He saw her and smiled hugely. “Fuck, I love seeing you there,” he muttered then headed for the bathroom. He came back out a few minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He turned off the overhead light and climbed in next to her.
“Will it bother you if I read?” she asked.
“No,” Storm said immediately. “Does it bother you that I left the bathroom light on? I’m not a fan of pitch-dark rooms. Spent some time in captivity once and ever since, haven’t liked the dark.”
“Of course not,” she told him, feeling her heart break for him. If he wanted to leave all the lights on in the room, she wouldn’t complain. How could she after what he’d been through?
“Thanks.” Then he plumped his pillow, scooted closer, lay on his side, and draped his arm across her lower stomach.