The two of them made their way back to James' apartment and he let them in. It was a modest one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen with a gas stove and just enough bench space for a cutting board. The kitchen opened out to the living area where he had a large couch with its tough springs in front of a TV atop a bench. Book cases lined the walls either side the TV filled with fiction and non-fiction alike of historical novels, science fiction and police procedural manuals. His bedroom had a single king size bed and it was the tidiest part of the apartment with everything locked away in the closest, all his personal belongings locked away in boxes at the top of the wardrobe. Turning in the light James led Jasmine into the apartment and I laced the doggy bag on the kitchen table.
'Bathroom?' asked Jasmine and James pointed her to room next door to the bedroom. While she freshened up he portioned the food out onto two plates with cutlery and took them over to the coffee table in front of the TV. By the time he had made some room and plushed up the cushions on the couch Jasmine had returned.
Sighing loudly James relaxed onto the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. 'It's been a long day,' he sighed. He had been all over the country and conducted so many interviews his head was overflowing with intangible information that made sense individually but didn't when added to the melting pot of stories from suspects.
'Maybe I can help you relax,' he heard Jasmine day and James' eyelids sprang open suddenly, staring wide as Jasmine hiked up her dress and straddled over his lap, a shy grin on her face.
'Oh,' said James, the word slipping out between stunned lips as Jasmine gyrated her hips, rubbing his lap. Leaning forward she slipped her arms around his neck and nestled her nosed into the crook of his shoulder, her hair falling into face. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Her hair smelled of berry shampoo and there was an underlying scent of some perfume that was neither too sweet or too overbearing. Her soft lips brushed his neck, parting slightly as she planted light kiss up his neck, across his chin before finally locking onto his lips. Her lips were soft and wet and James stomach lurched, the familiar feeling of sensory overload and remote disgust he tried to keep hidden. He pulled back ever so slightly from her kiss, trying to control his jagged breathing.
Sitting back, Jasmine ceased gyrating on his lap, arms still draped over his shoulder. She frowned, brow bending down, eyes filled with confusion. 'James?' her voice was low and only just audible.
He could still feel her on his lips, they were damp and every fibre of his being was put into drowning the urge to wipe his lips with the back of his hand. It wasn't her. It definitely wasn't her. It was him and he knew it. The conversations and her presence were stimulating but anything just stirred his stomach.
Resting his hands lightly on her arms he eased her onto the couch beside him, He shifted to face her, tucking one leg under the other. 'Please don't be mad,' he said gently. 'This is nothing to do with you. I just... can't.' He ended the sentence there, at loss for how to portray his feelings without hurting hers. 'You're like no one I've ever met and I can't explain how and however brief this has been tonight I have loved every second. But this - I can't go that far.'
'Oh. Okay.' Jasmine's face fell. 'It's okay. Some people can't and,' she rushed her words together, placating, 'it's a natural occurrence for men -'
'No,' interrupted James, his harsh word cutting through hers. His face was pleading, begging for her to understand what he himself had trouble understanding. 'It's not that,' he said. 'I don't have a problem there. I'm just -' he sighed loudly. 'I'm not interested in that in a relationship.'
Jasmine looked at him, her eyes confused, head on a slight angle as if a crooked view of him would help her understand him better. She straightened her head, the confusion still in her eyes, but she dropped her arms from around his neck and took his hands in hers, looking into his eyes. 'I don't quite understand, but that's okay. We don't have to do that. I'm disappointed but that doesn't change how I feel for you now.'
YOU ARE READING
Don't Cage The Birdie (Book 2)(rough first draft)
غموض / إثارةIt's summer in the city of Syracuse, New York and a woman has been found murdered in the living room of her house. On top of that her daughter is missing and all signs and witnesses point to her abusive ex-partner as being the one responsible. But a...
