Thread: To Finish the Job {{Soul +&+ The PG}}

At first, Brandons silence and slow movement to take up the seat beside her gave cause for Jai to worry that shed said too much, been too honest, made herself to look like the fragile, delicate, innocent girl that she really was, rather than the strong and confident, flirtatiously outgoing woman that she portrayed. She feared that he, in now seeing her true self, was put off, seeing that she was a lot more to handle than her work appearance and personality gave off. He believed her, of course, and that was good enough, but at the same time she couldnt help but to worry if he was contemplating having her committed, given that her sanity was fast slipping through the cracks in that moment. But he didnt instead, he slid his arm around her shoulders, something that shed have flinched or ducked away from if it were any other man, and he smiled, oh did he smile. She felt her heart warm and swell as she looked aside to meet his eyes, observe that boyish, handsome smile, and Jai found herself leaning into his side, pressing herself into his hold. She found comfort in it, warmth, and a sense of protection and safety that shed never had before with anyone, not since her father had been murdered before her eyes at least. The comfort was only solidified when he did finally speak, offering a finite resolve to keep her safe and bring down her enemy for good, in not so many words, and when he leaned in to engulf her into his embrace, brushing his lips against her forehead Her heart fluttered, skipped a beat and then worked double time to make up for it. She felt color rise in her cheeks and a shy smile pry at the corners of her mouth. It was almost embarrassing really, getting to giddily worked up over a hug a peck on the forehead, but it was Brandon, and shed had a soft spot for him ever since shed first met him that night at the bar. She still remembered it clear as day, and mentally cringed every time she remembered how girlishly shed smiled at him, how shed nearly knocked over her male co-bartender in her quick approach to greet Brandon and welcome him to the club... Truly, something about the man brought out the long since buried and destroyed girlish-romantic in her. She was still working out whether or not she liked it, but in good time, certainly that would sort itself out. The moment, as well as the sudden warm haze that Jai had melted into, quickly and abruptly ended when he pulled back with a final soft squeeze of her form and pulled out his cell phone instead. At first, she felt a pang of disappointment and rejection, but it became immediately clear that his reasoning was innocent, well-intended. Hed called Michelle, as Jai referred to the woman that he was partnered with on the force, to give her the update on everything going on, to find out about placing Jai under protected surveillance until the tides went back down. It was enough to make a tiny, relieved smile form over her lips as she gazed up at him, and idly she found herself wondering his intentions. After all, the man was at the bar nearly every night, and always from the start of her shift until the very end. It would have made sense if hed been a raving alcoholic but he wasnt, in fact, shed started to notice that he didnt seem to drink much at all on his nights at the bar, but he certainly talked to her a bit, and his gaze was most always fixated on her too. For any other man it would have put her off, scared her, made her uncomfortable, but with him, knowing that he was on the force, being introduced to him formally by the police chief and Michelle when hed been hired, and that almost impossible to resist attitude her carried, both physically in his expressions and demeanor and in his personality, well, she wasnt threatened. In fact, she was drawn to him like a moth to flame. Again, she was pulled from her haze when he encouraged her to her feet, leading her away from the building and out to the parking lot, his hand finding its way into hers. She found herself pressing in close to him, her fingers gripping firmly around his hand for support and protection, as it was dark and dimly lit in the parking lot, and there was no telling who was out there waiting for her. Once theyd gotten to his car, shed worked herself back up into a panic all over again, thankfully at a lessened height than it initially had been, and she was grateful when he closed and locked the doors to his safe, impenetrable steel box. From that point on though, she was silent, her memories and imagination far too occupied for her to even focus much on the changing surroundings, or the fact that he made a left turn when he should have made a right to get her back to her apartment. And when they did arrive at his apartment, she had half-hoped that he was intending for her to stay there with him for the night the best possible way to keep her safe and undetected leading any potential followers to the wrong address. It wasnt so though, and she wasnt about to beg him to let her sleep on his couch for the evening. So instead, she held quiet, helping him where possible, and it wasnt much longer before they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. It was nearing the end of August, and thus the end of the summer season in the run-down city, so the nights were starting to get cooler while the days were as warm and humid as ever. The maintenance tech that managed the central air systems hadn't changed the settings of the building yet, so the moment that they walked through the front door, they were met with icy cold air. Any other night Jai would have been fine with it, indifferent, but she'd felt as if the warmth and life in her body had completely vanished from existence the moment she had seen that Tony's eyes and recognized his voice. The memory caused her to shudder, and subconsciously she pressed closer to Brandon as she led him up the stairs and towards the third floor, where her apartment was. It wasn't overly fancy or expensive, but it was tasteful and comfortable. The color scheme consisted of soft browns and baby blues, those being two of her favorite colors. The living room furniture was leather and anything with wood grain was cherry-wood. In her bedroom, she had a full sized oak dresser with matching vanity and bed-frame, and the bed itself was queen sized with a tempurpedic memory foam mattress, extra soft. The kitchen had been something she'd had no part in the design of, nor the time to redesign, but the granite counter-tops and beech-wood cabinets with stainless steel appliances were nice enough that she couldn't complain, especially not with the island bar-counter- roomy enough to seat up to five people on. The light fragrance of honey and vanilla floated into her nose when she finished with all five locks on the outside of the door and pushed it inwards, causing her nerves to all but turn to jell-o with the amount of calm it brought out in her. Home, where she knew that she was safe and no one could get to her that wasn't expressly invited. Home, the one place she knew she could be entirely herself, with no fronts and no barriers and no walls, and not a single person to ruin that for her. Home... where she was often alone, and incredibly lonely, secretly longing for the company of someone that could, in some mystical way, make a bad day turn good with nothing more than a simple smile. Leaning down in the darkness, Jaime unfastened the straps of her pumps and slid them off, allowing her bare feet to sink into the soft white carpet on the floor beneath her as she heard Brandon fastening the locks on the door behind her. The darkness didn't allow her to see very much, especially not with the late hour that it was, but she knew the layout of her apartment like the lines of her palms, and there was just enough light entering through the window of the sliding glass door in the back of the room- which led to a small balcony overlooking the city- for her to make out the shadow of her couch. Any other time, she'd have shrugged out of her work clothes and been clad in none but her underwear and bra by the time she got to the couch, but with Brandon there she knew better, and given the night and day she'd had, having clothes on or off wasn't really going to affect her ability to relax. So instead, she quietly padded across the carpet, nodding her head gently in response to what Brandon had said. Turning slowly, Jai sank down onto the cushion, drawing her knees up toward her chest and tucking her legs beside herself before she leaned over and pressed her cheek into the arm, her gaze peering across the room to Brandon. Im not very hungry, she admitted quietly, her voice small. But if you want something to eat Ive got plenty of stuff in the fridge Id be happy to make you something. What are you in the mood for? I can make you a drink too if you like, whatll it be? Gin, whiskey, rum? Ive got some brandy too I think, and vodka is always a staple for drinks. Unless you just want a beer or something? Before she even knew it, she was listing off the inventory of her bar-fridge as if she was back behind the counter at work, talking to Brandon as if he was a customer. She wasnt accustomed to having people over, despite the fact that the place was spacious and designed enough to be a perfect weekend get-together spot. But she wasnt comfortable around people, no matter who they were or how close, and most days she wasnt even fully comfortable with just herself there either. The worst part was that it was Brandon, someone shed been interested in for some time, and now there he was, in her apartment, under less informal pretenses. It had her on a bit of an edge, especially with the way everything else had gone on, and she fidgeted listlessly as she looked over at him, caught between getting up to head into the kitchen and just staying comfortably where she was repeatedly. Id be happy to serve you, she added on a final note, her voice pitching slightly, revealing just how nervous and unsure she was.