Chapter 43

Jesse

Jesse clenched her fists in her lap. She had gotten into the cab not knowing that the driver would be so insistent on having conversation with her.

“So what are you doing heading out to the other side of town?” the driver asked, his New York accent horribly thick and nearly unintelligible.

“Just visiting someone,” Jesse answered, not wanting to be rude.

“Visiting who?” the driver asked, scoffing as though he didn’t believe her.

Jesse was silent, beginning to really get annoyed with the man. She crossed her legs and moved to look out of the window of the cab, fixing her eyes on the buildings passing outside.

“Alright, alright,” the man waved her off. “None of my business, I know. I’m just asking is all. I know it’s a pretty high end side of town.”

“It is,” Jesse agreed shortly, still not looking over at him.

“I’m just saying,” the man went on, holding up one hand in a gesture of innocence. “I mean I don’t see it a lot. I don’t come this way a lot, you know.”

Again, Jesse declined to respond. She saw that they were getting close to Hal’s building, and she could see him standing out in front of the building on the sidewalk, waiting for her.

“Hey, ain’t that the movie star guy?” the driver asked. “What’s his name? Hal Rogers?”

“Roberts,” Jesse corrected.

“Yeah, yeah, Roberts,” the driver nodded excitedly as they pulled up.

The cab pulled up to the sidewalk, and Jesse reached into her purse to pull out money to pay the man.

“Oh, I see what you’re coming over here for now,” the driver said, his voice dropping.

Jesse ignored him and made to hand him the amount that read on the meter.

As she reached between the two front seats, she gasped as the cab driver took hold of her wrist.

“When you’re done taking care of him,” the cabbie said, his voice low and his eyes sparkling with intent. “Why don’t you give me a call …”

Jesse blushed furiously and gaped at the insinuation. She was just about to protest when suddenly her door of the cab flew open, and Hal peered into the cab. The cabbie immediately dropped her arm as he saw the rage flickering in Hal’s green-gold eyes.

“Is there a problem here?” Hal asked, his voice hard and his jaw set as it clenched.

“No, no problem,” the driver quickly replied, and Jesse could see the apprehension in his face. “Just—just caught me a little off guard, see …”

Jesse looked up at Hal, who narrowed his eyes at the cabbie’s lame excuse. It was obvious that he didn’t believe the man. Instead of contesting his claim, though, Hal looked down at Jesse.

“Is everything alright, Jess?” he asked her, his eyes intense.

Jesse nodded, feeling anxiety roil up in her stomach at this encounter. She saw Hal relax a little, and she, too was relieved. He held out his hand, and she took it, allowing him to help her out of the cab.

Once she was standing, Hal leaned over into the car to address the driver again.

“In the future,” Hal uttered, his voice icy, “you ought not to be surprised when someone makes to give you your fare.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” The driver nodded eagerly, his hands tightly gripping the wheel.

“Very good,” Hal said softly, standing up. “Go.”

With that, Hal shut the door of the cab, and the wheels of the taxi screeched against the pavement as the driver pulled back out onto the street as he drove away. Hal looked after the cab, and Jesse could see his fists slowly uncurl from the balls they had been clenched into. Jesse looked at him apprehensively as he turned to face her.

“Are you alright?” he asked her gently and maintained his distance from her.

Jesse nodded and stayed still as Hal began to slowly move toward her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I startled you,” Hal said, his eyes downcast. “I saw the way he was looking at you. And when he grabbed you I … I had to do something.”

“It’s alright,” Jesse said softly. “I … I’m actually glad you said something to him …”

“He wasn’t just taken by surprise, was he?” Hal narrowed his eyes, and Jesse could see the anger simmering deep in them.

Jesse looked down at the sidewalk and shook her head, offering Hal a grim smile. She heard a hiss of breath from between Hal’s teeth, and she watched as he shook his head.

“No matter,” Hal said dismissively. “I’m sure not all the cabs in the city are driven by men like him. But just know, you never have to take a cab again if you don’t want to. I can always send someone for you or even come get you myself.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Jesse shook her head, smiling softly up at him. “But thank you.”

Hal smiled down at her and cupped her face gently in his hand.

“Shall we go up?” Hal asked her, his mood already drastically improved. Jesse smiled a little brighter as well and nodded excitedly, feeling a soft flutter in her stomach.

Hal took her by the hand and easily led her into the building. They crossed through the floor and Hal ushered her into the elevator. The doors slid open as they arrived on the floor of Hal’s living space. Taking her by the hand one more, he led her into the hallway.

The place looked different than when she had last visited. The furniture was arranged differently, and the couches in the living area were oriented so that one was facing a large television mounted on one of the walls, with a coffee table in front of it, and the other was adjacent to the wall.

On the coffee table was a plethora of snacks and drinks, some alcoholic and some not.

“I don’t know what you like to eat,” Hal explained as they drew closer to the couch, and Jesse took a seat. “So I just got a bunch of stuff.”

Jesse laughed.

“You didn’t have to do all that,” she said, though she beamed up at Hal, very flattered to know he had put so much effort into their meeting.

“Well,” Hal shrugged, “you can have anything you like, just in case you get hungry.”

“Thanks,” Jesse offered him a smile as he sat down beside her, and he smiled back pleasantly.

As he sat down, Hal stretched, opening his mouth in an audible yawn as he raised his arms up over his head. Jesse’s eyes flicked down to the hem of his black shirt, which had risen to reveal the belt threaded through the loops of his jeans and the dark trail of hair that stood out against his skin and disappeared beneath his waistband.

Jesse felt her face flush as she averted her gaze to look into her lap. Her heart rate had already increased, and she worked hard to keep her breathing steady.

“Jess?” she heard Hal’s voice, and she turned to look up at him, feeling like a kid who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “You okay?”

Jesse floundered for a moment and ended up releasing a nervous laugh. Hal looked down at her, his eyes sparkling with amusement and a small smirk on his face.

“I’m fine.” Jesse nodded, shifting her weight a little on the couch. Hal raised his eyebrows, but he did not press the issue for which Jesse was eternally grateful.

“Okay …” Hal said though she could hear the lingering suspicion in his tone.

Jesse could hardly breathe, much less gather her thoughts. She had no idea that being alone with Hal again was being so hard. It seemed to her that their relationship was moving incredibly fast, and each time she saw him, she wanted more of him, emotionally and physically.

Jesse took a quiet breath and tried to collect her thoughts. She knew that she had to reign herself in and act like an adult, not some teenage girl with a crush. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that was the most accurate representation of her feelings for him. Even as she sat so close to him, his nearness was driving her crazy. She could feel her skin tingling and her heart beating erratically in her chest.

She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to get through the rest of the night with her sanity intact. Somehow, though, she knew that there was no way she would rather feel.