Her Eyes

Chapter 40: ALL THE WASTED TIME

It was Natalia. He knew why she came back—she was always the first to apologize after a fight. She glared at him from the doorway. "What the hell is she still doing here?" He wasn't sure what to say—he couldn't tell her that he couldn't ever say no to the woman or that he was madly in love with her. Her anger only grew through his silence. "I came over here to apologize to you. And you're over here playing house with some slut?"

He didn't hesitate. "We're done." He wouldn't stand for anyone talking about Norma like that. He hated that this was the way everyone treated her. He needed to protect her. He didn't care about anyone else—just her. Natalia stared at him; she didn't believe him. "I'm asking you to go," he told her. "I'm not gonna let you talk about her like that...not to her face, not behind her back. Now please go."

She scoffed at him, glancing over at Norma. He didn't need her—she knew that since day one. "Gladly." She turned and slammed the door.

"I am so sorry," Norma mutttered. It was genuine.

"It's not your fault. It's probably for the best anyway." He shrugged.

She moved closer to him. "What are you talking about? She seemed...lovely." She was lying, he could tell.

He gave her a slight smirk. "Yeah. You seemed to really love her." She rolled her eyes at him playfully. Their eyes met as she got closer, but he looked away. "I left your suitcase in the car. I'll go get it for you." He moved past her to the doorway, sighing as he exited the house. The cold air cooled his hot skin. He didn't know how he was going to make it through the night with her—let alone multiple nights with her. He didn't have an extra bedroom, which meant he'd have to sleep on the couch because he was not going to share a bed with her. He could barely handle being in the same room with her. He reentered the house with her suitcase in hand. "Here you go." Their hands brushed as she took it from him.

She smiled lightly. "Thanks."

He felt his heart racing. He could barely speak. "You can stay in my room. I'll sleep on the couch."

She tried to protest. "No, no, no. I—"

"You're gonna stay in my room," he spoke over top of her. She gave him a smile and headed down the hall. He moved over to the couch when she left. She caused him a great deal of trouble, but he didn't mind. She was worth it.

She came back rather quickly. "Alex. You didn't pack me any pajamas?" She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the reason.

He had been so distracted by the lingerie that he forgot. "Uh, sorry. I must've forgot. You can borrow something of mine." He led her back to his bedroom and opened the top drawer of his dresser, handing her his red plaid shirt. "Do you want some pants?" he mumbled.

She smiled at him. "No, this is fine. Thanks." He turned and left her in the room to change, making his way back to the couch. He wasn't sure how to act around her anymore. She made him nervous. He wasn't really sure what she wanted from him or what he wanted from her. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off. Making his way back to the room, he knocked on the door softly. "Norma?"

"You can come in," she stated.

When he opened the door, she was still buttoning the shirt. His mouth dropped a bit as he gazed at her. "I, uh, just wanted to throw this in the hamper." He raised his uniform up for her to see. She nodded as he made his way to the hamper, throwing the article inside.

She sat on the end of the bed. "Thanks for everything—not just for today, but for every day." She bit her lip, staring up at him.

He turned to face her, smiling a bit. "It's no problem." He never could have imagined that she'd actually be in his room—in his shirt. He smiled at the thought. It was amazing how much their relationship had changed since the day they met. He was falling for her, though he'd never admit it. He realized that they didn't really know much about each other. He wanted to know more—to be closer to her. He sat on the bed next to her, hesitantly glancing over to her. "Tell me about your husband." She froze. He knew it scared her, but he wanted to know—and he knew that a part of her needed to talk about it. "You can tell me anything."

She took a deep breath, gently fidgeting with her hands inside the sleeves of his shirt. "His name was Sam. He was a salesman." He knew she wanted to stop there. She glanced over at him tentatively. "I ran away with him when Dylan was six, because I was pregnant with Norman." He placed his hand on her leg, disregarding the fact he was touching her bare skin. "It wasn't till after we were married that he started drinking a lot, and a few years after that the abuse started. It was just verbal at first, but then." He felt his muscles tense at the confession. Her eyes started to well with tears, but she remained strong. "I knew he was sleeping around and that's when he started hitting me—beating me. I couldn't leave him...I had nowhere else to go. I didn't know what to do. I was stupid. I—"

"He didn't deserve you," he cut her off. "You were stuck. You were anything but stupid. Okay?" He looked deep into her eyes, hoping to catch something.

She shrugged it off. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. I have Norman and that's all that matters." After a moment, she glanced down to see that his hand was still on her leg. "What about you? Have you ever been married?"

He kept his eyes trained on the side of her face, admiring her features. "No."

She brought her eyes up to meet his. "Why?"

He chuckled softly. "I don't know." He didn't know the reason. He never really loved anyone the way he loved her. "I guess with my job I never really had time to meet anyone."

She feigned shock. "Sheriff Romero the big daddy of White Pine Bay, doesn't have time pick up women?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah. I'm too busy saving your ass," he shot back. They shared a laugh. He looked over at her, the smile dropping from his face. "Would you ever consider getting remarried?"

She laughed a bit. "After two failed marriages?"

He smiled at her. "Third times the charm."

She returned the smile, leaning into his side. She rested her head on his shoulder. "How did we get here, Alex?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe fate brought us here. We'll never know." They sat for a moment in the silence before Alex stood up and moved towards the door. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Alex?" He turned around to face her. He didn't know what she wanted. Her face held a look he'd never seen before. She stepped towards him, placing her hands on his chest. He knew she could probably feel the rough beating of his heart. She leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He knew what she wanted—she would have to take it from him. He tightened his grasp on her as her lips settled on his. He returned the kiss softly, pressing himself into her a little. After a while, he released her, staring into her eyes for a moment. She was flushed. He smiled at the lustful look on her face. "Night, Norma." He turned and headed back to the couch, quietly chuckling to himself.