The Dance

Chapter 105 Secrets

"Was that a proposal?" Matt played with the fringe of her hair.

Jill giggled, "Don't panic, I think that was just the sex talking." Jill grabbed Matt's shirt and pulled it on to check on their dinner. "Hungry yet!"

Matt was hungry but not for food. He sat up with one knee pulled to his chest watching her move around the kitchen. He could see her cheeky ass peeking out from under his shirt. She only whetted his appetite for more. Damn, just as he thought he was becoming respectable and then this sexy little taste of heaven walks into his life. He broke all his own rules that he had set for himself with her. He promised himself he wouldn't jump in the sack right away but the chemistry between them was stronger than even he thought.

Jill turned to him with two bread bowls full of chili and cheese. "Table or floor?"

"Floor." Matt waved her over and she sat cross-legged next to him. She hungrily dove into her dinner. Matt fiddled with his spoon.

"Something wrong with your chili?" Jill hoped she hadn't over spiced it as she was usually heavy handed when it came to spices.

Matt sat his bowl on the table and turned to her. His brow furled and his tone turned from light hearted to serious. "Are you sure you're okay with what just happened between us?"

Jill sat her bowl down next to his. "Regrets already?"

"No, no regrets. I just don't want you to think this is routine for me." Matt stopped himself, knowing that his statement didn't quite come out like he wanted. " What I mean is that this is my routine..." Matt stopped mid-sentence again.

Jill smiled and stroked his cheek. "Stop. Don't say anything else or you'll ruin this moment for me." She held his gaze with her eyes. "I told you before that your past doesn't matter to me. It's not like we both haven't been around the block before."

Matt exhaled deeply as if she had lifted a burden from his shoulders. "And my past shouldn't matter to you either." It was an odd statement for her to make which only peaked his curiosity in learning more about her.

Matt waxed off his dinner finishing half of hers as well. For dessert, she offered him ice cream but instead he opted for a second helping of her to which she readily acquiesced as long as they moved their amorous activities to her bedroom.

Matt fell asleep spooning Jill close to his chest. She loved the feel of his chest rising and falling against her back. It had been a long time since she had invited a man into her bed and the familiarity of it was a welcome change from her solitary evenings alone. Nights were hardest for her and she only hoped she would make it through the night without any recurring nightmares from her past. The last thing she wanted or needed was to scare off the only man she had shown genuine interest in a very long time.

The clock read 2:11am when Matt woke to find Jill gone from the bed. He called out her name but got no response. He climbed out of the bed thinking she may have slipped into the bathroom but she wasn't there. He grabbed his jeans and slipped them on finding the front door partially open. Matt padded across the floor and called her name again but all he got was silence. When he fully opened the door, he found her sitting on the steps in just his shirt with a faraway stare. In the moon light, he thought he saw tear stained cheeks.

"Jill, what are you doing out here? It's freezing."

Jill didn't respond or look his way. It was if she couldn't hear him or see him. Matt bent down and touched her shoulders softly as to not startle her from her trance like state. His touch brought her back to reality. "I'm sorry Matt. Did I wake you?"

"Baby, you're freezing." He scooped her up and carried her back to the warmth of the bed laying her down gently. He crawled back in the bed next to her and wrapped his leg over her leg pulling her to the warmth of his body.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" He stroked her back trying to warm her up.

"It was nothing, really. Nothing for you to be concerned with." She snuggled closer to him. "Hold me tighter." She whispered, and soon fell fast asleep in his arms.

Matt surmised that whatever was on her mind and wherever she had slipped away to must have been important to her. He also knew when she was ready, she would tell him what weighed so heavily on her mind.