Paths Cross

{4}

The next morning I woke up bright and early, jumping out of bed and looking out my window to see if Jesse was out. Just as I expected, he was already in the garage under a truck, fixing it.

I was so happy that the location of my room allowed me to see right in Jesse's garage. He rolled out from under the car on the dolley he was laying on and looked around, fumbling for what I guessed was another tool.

I sat and watched him at my window until I heard Morty walking around the house. I closed the curtains and got dressed in some jeans and a maroon shirt with "butterfly wings" on them.

When I walked out of my room, I checked myself in the mirror and made sure my bangs weren't flat against my head or anything. "Morty!" I called.

"Yeah?" he called back from downstairs.

As I ran down the stairs and out the door, I told Morty I was going for a walk. I didn't hear his response, but he didn't come running after me either, so I figured he thought it was okay.

I walked over to where Jesse was under the truck again and waited.

"Hey, girly. I knew you would be over soon," he said from beneath the truck. He rolled back out and sat up, wiping the black grease from his cheek with his forearm. "So, what's going on?" he asked me. He stood up and walked over to one of the small side tables in the garage and picked up a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and sticking it in between his lips. He raised a lighter to the butt and cupped his hand around it, lighting it. I watched him intently as he executed the procedure.

He shoved the pack in a drawer and looked at me, leaning against the table.

"Oh, right! You asked me what was going on... not much since last night," I said.

He nodded and inhaled more smoke, blowing white wisps out of his mouth. Jesse met eyes with me. "Where are your friends?"

"At home."

"Ah." He threw the cigarette onto the ground and stamped on it.

"That's your way of putting it out?" I asked, laughing.

He looked up at me, smiling a little. "Yeah, I guess. I usually scrape it up at the end of the day before my boss sees."

"I see."

"Hey, um... I have something for you. Do you... want it?"

"It depends what it is," I joked. He smiled and walked back to a drawer, pulling it open. He walked over to me again, standing across from me.

"Open your hand."

"W-What?"

"Open your hand, Nina."

So I did as I was told. I laid my palm face-up in his, and he dropped a chain into it.

I looked at it and bit my lip, smiling. It was a necklace with a compass pendant on it. As soon as I looked up at him, he smiled too.

"Listen, Nina. I know who you are and what you did. And I know that sounds creepy, but... I do. And I know we just met. But I had to get that for you. To me, you're a traveler. You're always on the run."

"Thank you, Jesse," I said, throwing my arms around his neck. He hesitated, but wrapped his arms around me, too.

I noticed a patch on his upper arm as I let go of him, and skimmed my fingers across it. "Are you alright?"

"I guess. What do you mean?" he asked, tucking some hair behind my ear and meeting my eyes.

"This," I said, touching the patch lightly.

"Nothing," he said, pulling his shirt sleeve back over it. "That's nothing."

I narrowed my eyes, but he took my face in his hand and directed my gaze towards him. "Are you interested..."

"In what?" I asked.

"Would you like to... are you free on Thursday?"

"Yes. How come?"

"Would you let me take you out to dinner that night? On a date?"

Just then it hit me. I couldn't stay here. The government was bound to find me.

Or maybe I could stay here... and just hide. Because I absolutely could not leave Jesse. I think I loved him.

"O-on a date?" I asked, my heart beating fast.

"Yeah. It's okay if you don't want to."

"No, I do. I really do want to."

Jesse smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Sounds great."

"Where should we go?"

"We'll go somewhere fancy. With a candlelight table just for us."

I grinned, playing with a button on his shirt. "Now can you tell me about that patch on your arm?"

I looked up at him and he frowned, pushing my bangs back just so they fell back on my forehead again. "It's a nicotine patch to help me stop smoking. I just started, but I haven't been doing very well with it. I've become addicted to smoking, and I know it's bad. It's like an obsession." He rubbed his temples, sitting down on the hood of the old Mustang behind him. "Every time I'm alone to think about something, anything, I feel the need to pick up a cigarette and light it. And I don't want to mess up your lungs just because that's what mine are like." He groaned, slumping and burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Jesse." I said. He wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me towards him and into his lap. I shivered with the chills as he held me in his strong but gentle arms.

"Nina?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry that this is all so sudden, and you might even just want to run away right now. It's just... as soon as I saw you and met you, you changed my life. I need you. And right away I knew I felt something for you. Just please, stay." Jesse buried his head in my neck, his arms around my waist.

"I'm staying, Jess. You don't have to worry about me going anywhere."

He lifted his head again, meeting my gaze. "You're not going to leave?" he asked softly. "No," I whispered back. I eyed his lips, which were so close to mine I had to cross my eyes. Jesse moved closer and closer to me, my heart beating fast, his probably too.

"Nina!" a voice yelled, which belonged to someone I knew very well. Misty.

Jesse cursed under his breath and I clenched my teeth in frustration. "See you on Friday," I told Jesse, kissing the tip of his nose. I turned to scurry out, but he pulled me back by my shirt and took my head in his hands from behind, kissing it. "See you on Friday."

I ran out to see what Misty wanted before she suspected anything of me.