"Be cool," Jace interrupted. "I'm helping her grab the stuff that she wants and then you'll never see her again." I didn’t realize he had come to help me and as I stared at his impressive frame towering over the stumpy old man, I felt my heartbeat soar. I’d never had someone stand up for me before. "We'll leave with no trouble. You have my word."
My old landlord crossed his eyes and sighed in frustration as he reached for his set of keys and opened the door. "You have one hour to get your shit out." His voice sneered as he addressed me with a lecherous smile before turning around and hobbling away.
I licked my lips before stepping inside with Jace following closely at my heel. He stood there silently taking in the surroundings of the small apartment. It smelled of sweet vanilla. Just like Jace’s place had.
"I think that we can fit most of this stuff in my car." He paced the apartment while muttering under his breath. "You don't need your bed. You can have the one at my house. You don't need that TV, it's small and outdated." He stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room. "I have a dresser, TV and bed that you can have, so I guess all that you really need are just items that you can't live without."
I ran into his back as he stopped and peeked back into my room. "Is the floor your second dresser?" He looked down at the pile of clothes from the night we had first met and grinned. He was teasing me, but I had stuff that was more important on my mind.
I pushed him out of the room and back into the living room. "I can't just let you give me everything." I threw myself onto my worn-out couch and looked up at him as I grunted. The couch was sunken in and hurt my back. "It's too much. Plus I’m not staying long."
He rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen, grabbing an empty box. "It's easier to do it this way for the both of us." He walked back to my bedroom with me trailing behind him. "It's really not a problem."
He emptied out my dresser clumsily, throwing all of my clothes into the huge box. I looked down next to him to see him surrounded by my panties. A cocky smirk sat on his face. "Nice panties,” he winked, cocking an eyebrow as he stared at the assortment of underwear. He looked rather happy.
I ran over and knocked him out of the way. "I think that I should just take care of this." I grabbed for my panties and pushed them under my legs to hide them as I sat on the ground. "You just take that other empty box and pack up all of the bathroom stuff."
He laughed and nodded his head in agreement, turning around and walking out of the door as I tried to calm my racing heartbeat. This person was making me crazy.
Thirty minutes later, we were done packing and pulling back into Jace's driveway. I got out of the car and started reaching for the pile of boxes when suddenly I felt Jace's hand on mine.
He looked me in the eye with an intensity that made me shiver. "Do you mind?" he questioned. "I'm the guy so I'll grab all of this stuff. I'll bring it in and let you unpack it."
I backed away from his touch and took a deep breath. He had already touched me more than what I was comfortable with and it was making my insides summersault endlessly. I turned away and smiled as I walked into his house and into the spare bedroom. Jace followed behind, arms piled high with boxes, and set them down on the floor by the dresser. He was more helpful than I expected. It was nice.
He sat on the edge of the bed and watched me as I unpacked. "Can I help you with something?" I questioned. I couldn’t understand why he was hanging around so much. I wasn’t quite use to the company. I liked being alone.
He stood up lazily and smiled at me. "Take a shower in a bit and get dressed. We're going out tonight." He walked past me and grabbed the strap of the silver dress that was in my hand. Then he looked me in the eye. "I like that dress. I’m sure it looks nice on you." He looked at me briefly before turning away.
I stood up and threw my arms in the air in frustration. Too confused by what he had just said, I didn’t even realize that he could be flirting with me. "What do you mean we're going out?" I wasn't in any kind of shape to go out and be social. I had too much on my mind. I stared at him with confusion written all over my face.
He calmly leaned into my door and ran his hands through his hair. He looked as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Some of my friends are picking us up in a few hours and we're going out for a few drinks." He smirked confidently. "It’ll be fun. I'm a lot of fun."
I felt my cheeks flush as he ran his tongue over his lip ring. "I don't know about that. I really need to work tonight. I have no money." My voice filled with adrenaline, as I tore my eyes away.
"Who said that you need money?"
I dropped the dress to the floor and pulled a tendril of hair out of my eye. "I don't expect anything from you, Jace."
He grinned and pushed himself away from the door. "Be ready in a few hours, beautiful." Then he was gone, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as I swallowed a lump in my throat.
My mind filled with confusion at the thought of Jace thinking I was beautiful. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I bent over and picked up the dress that Jace said he liked.
An hour passed as I finished unpacking the rest of my baggage in an effort to make my new home feel as personal as possible. Finally, I finished, placing down a bottle of my favorite perfume on the bedside table before turning around and wiping a bead of moisture from my forehead. Unpacking everything had made me surprisingly tired, and I knew that I needed to freshen up especially if I was meeting Jace’s friends tonight. As much as I hated the idea, he seemed set on me going and after all of his help, I owed him.
Sighing, I walked out of my room and into the bathroom with a towel in my hand. The bathroom was small but very clean with a large shower in the corner.
Brushing a strand of hair out of my eye, I walked toward it and turned the water on before undressing and hanging my towel on a peg. The shower was hot and as I washed myself, I threw my head back and sniffed the air. It smelled of Jace, causing my mind to wander.
I stepped out of the shower and reached for the fuzzy black towel, clutching it between my fingertips as I brought it to my face and exhaled in contentment. I felt so much better after freshening up, however as I opened my eyes the sight that greeted me made me feel like I needed to shower all over again.