Page 22 of Separate Lives

Jess sprang up on the bed cover. Her heart was racing.

Another shrill ring followed close on the heels of the previous one, still echoing in the air. Jess had yet to recover from the dazed stupor of her dreamless sleep, when she heard Reece muffled, but annoyed, voice coming through the front door.

“Open up, Jess. It’s me.”

Ignoring the insistent banging that soon replaced the doorbell rings, Jess left the bedroom. Holding her throbbing head, without turning on the lights, she tiredly dragged herself towards the door.

“Stop it. You’ll wake up the whole neighborhood.”

“Open this damn thing,” Reece boomed. The stubborn mule was going to cause her a lot of embarrassment and awkward explaining if she didn’t open the door quickly. Having already witnessed practical examples of his obstinate nature, Jess was dismally aware that once Reece had set his mind on achieving a goal, he wouldn’t give up until he succeeded.

“Yes, I’m coming.”

Mentally cursing him because she hated it when he imposed his will on her and she had to relent, Jess asked him to wait a moment while out of habit, she briskly finger-combed her hair, tugged her sweater and jeans back into place, and straightened her shoulders, fortifying herself against whatever Reece might want to dish out on her tonight.

Finally, she unbolted the latch, turned the key several times, and opened the front door.

He stood there, unmoving for a few suspended breaths. His broad frame filled the threshold while he apprized her.

“Took you long enough. I was about to use your spare keys,” he said irritatedly, moving to step inside the apartment, only to stop short the moment he saw her eyes. Whatever he’d been about to add died on his lips as he studied her more closely. The lights were off. The only illumination shining on them came from the corridor behind him, and from the streetlamps outside her windows. It was thanks to those that Reece noticed her disheveled state.

He’d never seen her so downcast before –except maybe when he’d chased her to Alaska last year and found her burning with fever. But back then, tenderness had nothing to do with why he’d helped her. In the log cabin he’d seen to her mainly because she was alone and in trouble, not because she was someone dear to him.

This time, instead, tenderness surged inside him like a tidal wave. He desperately wanted to crush Jess in his arms and hold her forever, soothing all her worries away. Unfortunately, he had a hunch he was the main cause for her current state, and held himself in check. “Can I come in?”

Without speaking, Jess stepped aside.

“I came to return these,” Reece began once the door behind them was closed and both were engulfed in the semi-darkness. Jess could not distinguish what he held, and seriously doubted Reece could see past his nose, but did not reach for the light switch.

A terse silence descended upon them. Tension mounted. They stood, facing each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. When Jess sensed Reece was about to speak, out of pure defiance, she snapped the overhead lights on. Closing her eyes a few seconds, she winced against the sudden glare of the LED piercing the interior of her apartment. Let him see the disruptive effect he was having on her. She was too tired to care if she didn’t look her best. Too tired to engage in the daily battle against herself fighting what she couldn’t resist. Too tired to hide the truth from her best friend and her family, and live a lie.

“Would you like something to drink first, or would you rather we go straight to bed? I would prefer we just get to it, if you don’t mind. Your wall yesterday left me sore,” Jess declared, ignoring both his quick intake of breath when he saw her and the content in his open palm. If he’d come for sex, there she was. Why waste time with small talk?

“Actually, I also came to apologize, but I see I picked the wrong moment.” He sidestepped her, moving to sit on one side of the ‘L’ shaped sofa in the middle of her living room.

Jess’s brows shot up. She was still standing by the door, her eyes following him. “You came here to apologize? What for?”

“For the way I treated you last night.” His compelling eyes searched hers. They held their stare. “As you said, I physically hurt you, then left you alone and failed to see you safely at home. For this, I’m sorry.”

Reece would’ve liked to explain to Jess that when he’d left her in the kitchen, he hadn’t meant to abandon her there like an unwanted toy. But his ego was keeping him from barring his soul to her, and explain that afterwards, coming back to his senses, he’d felt a strong revulsion for himself and what he’d done. Blind jealousy had motivated his actions last night, unleashing in him the compulsive need to punish Jess, to humiliate her for making him feel like a gawky teenager left high and dry by his date.

She held her silence.

A few seconds later, Reece cleared his throat. “You said something about a drink?”

“Beer is okay with you?”

“Whatever you’ve got is fine.”

Silently, Jess moved to the refrigerator, coming back seconds later with two cold bottles of Corona. Handing one to Reece, she took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa.

Once again silence stretched between them while they sipped their beers. Reece keenly observed her every move. Jess kept her eyes fixed on her lap, self-conscious of his scrutiny, refusing to speak first. He’d said he’d come to apologize? Well, let him do the talking then.

“Your pins and bracelet.” He nodded his head in the direction of the coffee table in front of them where he’d placed her jewelry soon after sitting down.

“I wondered where I had left them.”

“A gift from the lover-boy?”

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