Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 86

Much as he wanted not to be anxious about coming face to face with Alexa, Jay felt like he might be about to crap himself when Clementine opened the front door and showed him into the house. Physically, Alexa was about as far away from intimidating as it was possible for a person to be, but mentally she was terrifying. He couldn't stop thinking that all she had to do was take one glance at him and his every thought and insecurity would be on full display for her to pick apart and analyse at her convenience.

"Come in. Come in," Clem said warmly, holding the door open as he carried his travel case over the threshold. He found himself in a hallway that looked as modern and clean as the neighbourhood outside. Effort had been made ahead of his visit.

"Lexi!" Clem called out.

"Hi! Be there in a second!" came Alexa's voice from somewhere at the back of the house.

"Let me take your coat. Leave your case here for now and I'll show you around," Clem said.

Jay set his case against the wall near the bottom of the stairs then took his coat off. He had just handed it over to Clem when Alexa appeared. The petite, gorgeous blonde had a warm smile on her face. None of it put Jay at ease in the slightest.

"Hi, Jay. It's nice to see you. Thanks for coming to help Clem with her character and storyline. It's very kind of you."

"Hey, that's no problem," he said, feeling sure that he sounded as awkward as he felt.

"Would you like something to drink? I know Clem's going to want coffee."

"You know me too well," Clem said, going over to her lover. "Hey, baby," she said before they kissed each other on the lips.

In other circumstances, with other women, Jay would have liked seeing that, finding it hot. But his relationship with Clem was one that wouldn't lead him to looking at her in that kind of way, and Alexa was simply too scary.

"Jay?" Alexa asked, waiting for his drink request.

"Coffee's fine. I'll take it the same as Clem's. Thank you."

"Come through, Jay. This is the living room," Clem said, leading the way in there.

"We like guests to feel welcome, so please treat the place like your home," Alexa said. "My only request is don't go into my office."

"No problem," Jay said, wondering what kind of top secret FBI material was in there. Did behaviour analysts even handle top secret material? He didn't know. Either way, he was more than happy not to go near it.

The house tour took five minutes. It was a nice, well cared for home, just not to Jay's taste. He wished he felt at home. If it had only been him and Clem, maybe he would have.

Clem had left him to take his travel case up to the bedroom he had been given. It was spacious and had a double bed that looked quite comfortable at first glance.

"Who cares about the fucking bed?" he grumbled to himself as he dumped his case onto it. He turned around and found himself looking at a mirror. He walked closer to it and glared at the reflection. For the first time in a while, he didn't like the person he saw looking back at him.

"Thought you were making progress," he told it.

He turned away from the mirror and took out his phone, wanting to see his lock screen - a beautiful selfie that Erin had once sent him. Looking at the picture didn't provoke the reaction he had expected. Rather than get on even more of a downer by wondering why she was with a loser like him, his brain went in the opposite direction and confidence returned to him. How or where from, he had no clue.