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Chapter 15
- Take Two-

*unedited*
-Clover-

Impressively, Demarco talked Nola's ear off. She came back gifting us with my favorite blueberry muffins and a fresh pot of coffee.

He barely ate and whatever he did eat he stole from my plate instead of taking from the basket in the middle of the table.

High key, he stole my friend. Making me feel like the third wheel.

Luckily, by the time I single handedly finished the basket of muffins, Nola had to get back to work. Mr. Jackson ran into the diner aiming straight for the men's bathroom and that was our cue to leave.

The last thing I wanted was a run in with my ex boss.

The act was over once we were out of eye sight of the diner. He was back to his distant self, only asking if I needed anything before we headed back home.

"Can we stop by the pharmacy or a Target".

He did without question, choosing a Target that was only 10 minutes away. We walked together and I went straight to the personal hygiene section.

I grabbed a hot water bottle that was on sale and a bottle of molten in the drug section.

Even though he didn't say anything he looked at the products weirdly. When I grabbed a box of pads it all made sense.

He paid for the stuff and we were back on the road, going home.

This car ride was much more tensed than the car ride to the diner. I tried playing around with the new phone to distract me. I didn't fail to notice that, there were already preexisting contacts saved.

Cleon
Demarco
Denziel
Drew
Heidi
Jordan
Mia
Nola
Oscar
Patrick
TJ

My finger hovered over Demarcos contact.

I was too hard on him earlier, right?

Despite everything he's done to me when we first met, he didn't have to do the stuff that he was doing for me now.

For starters, he didn't have to be nice to me. As much as I wanted to say, the only reason he was being nice was because he was sick, but that wouldn't be true. From the night that he gave me his sweater to cover up, he's been nothing but a decent human being. Barely around but polite and kind when he was. It was just me who would rudely ignore him.

He didn't have to make sure I was cared for. Even though his intentions was to pull information out of me, he mad sure I was more than comfortable. I had a warm bed, food and Dr. Harris to check up on me every morning.

Other than that, he didn't have to get me a phone. He didn't have to buy me pads and pain killers. He didn't have to speak for me when his parents were making me nervous.

He didn't have to suggest that I contact Nola or my brothers. He had every chance between that day and now to say no, but even when I made him upset minutes before walking into the diner, he kept his word.

So why was I acting like such an ungrateful kid.

"Demarco?"

He didn't answer, he continued on driving as if I never spoke at all.

I sighed, turning my attention back to the phone. Clicking through apps, but that wasn't enough to distract me from the guilt.

Fine, if he was going to ignore me, I was going to do something he could not ignore.

Being bold, I took it upon myself to adjust my seatbelt as best as I can and lay my head on his shoulder.

He stiffen under my touch but relaxed slowly but surely. For the rest of the ride home he remained silent but at least he didn't push me away like I thought he would.

He smelt amazing, the right combination of a masculine woodsy smell and clean laundry. His body radiated a unexpected amount of warmth with how cool it was outside, but there was no sign that he was physically hot.

Was this how it felt last night when we slept together? Were we even touching at all?

I rolled my eyes, glad he couldn't see my face. First I was complaining about sleeping with him and now I'm wondering how it felt.

Caught up in my daydream, I didn't notice we rolled into his driveway. It was only when he killed the engine that I realized we've arrived at our destination.

I didn't move and neither did he.

Taking a deep breathe, he sighed.

"What do you want Clover?"

"Can we talk?" I asked shyly.

There was a long pause before he finally said "yes".

I disconnected from his arm, missing the warmth and unbuckled my seat belt, turning to face him. He mimicked my action and unbuckled his own seat belt turning towards me.

I had his full undivided attention.

Time to make amends.

"I didn't mean to offend or disrespect you in anyway today" I started off. "Despite how we met, I want you to know that I really do appreciate everything that you've done for me lately".

He shrugged his shoulders looking away. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing". He ran his hand threw his hair. It was clear that he was beating himself up over this and frustrated. "You have nothing to be sorry about".

"I go through my...phases when...I'm not the best person to be around. That's not an excuse for what I put you through, but it's who I am".

It felt like he wanted to say more but he ended it there. His eyes seemed to linger as he stared into the forest ahead of us and his hand gripped the clutch.

Once again, in an act of boldness I did what I thought both of us needed. One by one, I peeled his fingers off the clutch, and spread his hand out for me to hold.

The tingling feeling that I felt whenever he touched my skin returned as the butterflies that laid dormant within me awakened.

"You're right, but I like the person you are now".

He look at me, his neutral facial expression was not the easiest to read but he didn't let go of my hand. Instead, he dropped his gaze to our joined hands, flipping mines over to rub his thumb across my palm.

My heart accelerated at the gestured, it was small but it felt intimate.

Was it getting hot in here?

"Thank you for that".

My mind was hazy, barely catching what he said "Hmm? For what?"

"For being honest with me, not everyone knows how to, but you do. And I want you to know that your anger isn't misdirected, I'm not proud of it but I take full responsibility for what I've done to you".

We stayed in that comfortable silence, neither one of us saying anything.

We didn't dare to make eye contact and honestly, I think deep down we both knew any slight thing could ruin such a comfortable but intimate moment.

Even Denziel didn't try messing with us when he walked out the house and to his car. He just nodded towards us, climbed in and speed off to wherever he was going.

He didn't let go of my hand, he kept continuously gliding his fingers across mine in a soothing way. Wherever he touched, his skin set off a trail of sparks underneath my skin.

Unknowingly I sucked in my bottom lip, giving myself away.

"What's bothering you, Lucky Charm?"

I was thinking about a whole bunch of things I shouldn't have been thinking about.

His warm hand was large compared to my smaller one. That, combined with the tingling sensation made my thoughts linger to how it would feel if he touched other parts of my body.

If it wasn't clear to me before, I now had a full blown out crush on Demarco in a new way.

I swallowed the excess saliva that formed while I daydreamed about the man in front of me. All triggered by him holding my hand.

"I'm thinking about my brothers" I lied. I said the first thing to come to mind. "They're going to be so mad at me and ask a million questions about you".

Demarco really thought about his response before saying. "Tell them as much as you can". His hand stopped its movement, he held it firmly. Our unspoken agreement not to look at each other was broken as he now stared deeply into my eyes.

There was something out of character in his eyes and he smiled, trying to make light of the situation. "Do you want me to stay with you while you call them?"

I frowned confused. "Weren't you going to stay with me anyways? Ya know, to make sure I don't tell your business?"

Squeezing my hand, he let go. Immediately, I missed the warmth and feeling.

"I trust you".

His words hit me hard.

He trust me?

He got out the car, grabbing my bags from the back seat and sat on the pouch sets. He didn't pull out his phone, but he also didn't watch me like a hawk.

He was giving me something that contradicted my kidnapping. He gave me privacy.

He just simply sat and seemed to be taking in the night.

With the distance, my mind begin to clear up and I was faced the a tough decision.

Which brother do I call first?

It was a no brainer. Nola had called Drew earlier and even though I know by now he would've relayed the message to TJ. I wasn't prepared for my oldest brother to yell at me yet, so Drew was my final answer.

The phone rang four times, I thought I'd be lucky enough for it to go to voicemail but at the last minute he picked up.

"Clover?" Yup, he was expecting me. 

"Yeah, hey Drew..."

And here comes the yelling.

"Its been three weeks Clover. What the hell were you thinking running off with a stranger like that?"

We had the same conversation that Nola and I had earlier. However, Drew had a lot more questions that I couldn't answer.

"Does your friend have a name?" he asked referring to Demarco. I made Nola leave any details about Demarco out of their conversation. I wanted to be the one to tell them about him.

"Yeah, but the second I tell you his name you're going to google him and try to scare him off". It was the best that I could do, my brothers were resourceful, even without having Demarcos last name they were going to hunt him down.

"So you like the kid?" Drew asked seriously.

Like the dummy I am, I nodded my head before realizing that he couldn't see me. "Kind of" I whispered, being paranoid that Demarco would overhear me from the porch.

Drew sighed deeply, he knew he wasn't going to get the information that he wanted from me. "How do we know if you're safe, if we don't know who you're with?"

If they knew who Demarco was, they'd be here in a heart beat and in all reality, I wasn't even sure if I was 100% safe. "He keeps me safe, I promise" and when I said it, it didn't feel like a lie.

I took my time walking to the house, I haven't felt this free since he trusted me enough to go grocery shopping with Cleon and Heidi.

As I approached I gave him a small smile.

"How did it go?" he asked standing up leading me inside.

"I only spoke to Drew, he's the more reasonable of the two. He was upset like I expected, yelled more than Nola did but he's at least satisfied with the thought that I'm safe".

There wasn't much that he could say.

He opened the door for me, and closed it behind us.

I took my bags from his hands, thanking him again before we both went our separate ways.

The house felt unfamiliarity quiet in a good way. I showered first, then found my way to the kitchen to eat a sandwich before heading to bed by 10pm.

Like the night before I couldn't sleep so I stayed up for a little bit longer, working on the same stectch from earlier.

After an hour I called it a night, trying to force myself to sleep.

My phone lit up from where it was on the night stand and I crawled over to see the incoming text message. My heart started beating fast as I read the name on the screen and the message below his name.

Demarco: Goodnight, Lucky Charm. Sweet dreams.

And just like earlier butterflies bombarded my belly. I stared at the message for a while before replying.

Clover: Can't sleep but thanks anyways. Rest up for work tomorrow...whatever your sketchy 9-5 consist of. Lol.

Before I could turn the screen off three dots at the bottom appeared as he responded quickly.

Demarco: Lol, you got jokes. I'm already looking forward to coming home to you

It wasn't a response that I expected. I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I ended it there.

Clover: Goodnight Demarco

My heart fluttered as I kept rereading our short mini messages it took me a good minute to realize he responded after my Goodnight text.

Demarco: I thought you couldn't sleep?

Clover: I can't, but that doesn't mean I should keep you up. You have work in the morning.

Demarco: Let's watch a movie together this time in the living room.

Clover: Its late and you have work in the morning.

Demarco: I'm a big boy, I'll wake up on time

I turned the screen off and stared at the ceiling, smiling like an idiot. Another incoming message awaken the screen.

Demarco: Don't worry, if you start to fall asleep I'll just kick you off my couch.

Clover: you better not, lol, I'm coming down

I pulled shorts on and headed downstairs. I found him already sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

"That was quick" he smiled at me patting the seat next to him and I happily took it.

He set a box of cookies on my lap, they were peanut butter fudge and they were my favorite.

I looked to him to ask, how did he know but he started the movie and his eyes were focused on the TV screen.

Like the night before, I fell asleep before the movie was over. This time, when I woke up in the morning, I was back in my room... in my bed... alone.

It was what I asked for, but it felt wrong.

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