After Hours

43. Darkest Hours

A gentle breeze made the hairs stand up on her unblemished skin and timely chills to shudder through her entire body. Shuffling back further into the plush leather seat, faint buzzing from the cars passing by filled the temporary serenity. The radio was turned down low; soft melodies mixing in with the quiet engine purr as the car pulled into a barren parking lot.

Putting the car into reverse, Silver placed an arm around the back of her headrest. He peered through the back window, concentrating hard with a clenched jaw and furrowed brows as he attempted to park. "I told you to wear my jacket for a reason you know." He declared openly, making a t'sking sound with his teeth.

Rainy tilted her head back, turning her face slightly so that she was facing the driver's seat. "Huh?" She uttered, barely listening to any of his words. She had too distracted by the goosebumps appearing on her skin when the warmth from his body forced her back to reality.

Cool, calm and collected. She had to remind herself to try and be all three.

Failing to stay still as another shiver ran down her spine, shaky hands shot up to rub at the sides of her exposed arms. The rubbing motion did hardly anything to warm her up.

All she could do was stare as he resituated himself settling back in his seat. The car engine switched off, and he unbuckled his seatbelt, shrugging the expensive jacket off. His messy hair looked darker in the dim lighting, his features a lot more striking.

She wondered if he could hear the fast tempo of her erratic heartbeat.

He took one glance at her and an expected frown sprouted. "You're shivering, baby. Take my jacket."

It wasn't said as a question this time.

She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, moistening it to saturate the dryness. Her almond eyes dragged over the valuable blazer folded in his arms, and hurriedly, she shook her head. "No!" forced cough, "ahem, I mean no thanks. It's fine, you don't have to do that. I don't want you to be cold because of me."

"I would not be offering you my jacket if that was the case," He reiterated, his smile fading as his interest flickered from her flustered face to her chest. "besides, I'm not the one wearing a dress."

The image of him in her little dress was enough to elicit a muffled laugh. Rainy reached over letting their fingers brush over each other and took his jacket gratefully. "Thank you." She said in a half-whisper.

He had been acting different for the whole car ride, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. This side of him had her mind doing backflips, but then he merged the sudden softness with his usual sarcasm, and she was left in further turmoil.

They had nothing to hide anymore, and yet all she wanted to do was to cower away.

As she unbuckled her seat belt and slid the jacket on, he unlocked the car door, pocketed his car keys and had already gotten out of the car. Rainy frowned, lifting her head up to look at him through the window. He walked from his side, in front of the car and all the way to her side with his head down.

She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

He was opening the door for her.

She resisted the urge to laugh at the sudden politeness. He opened the door causing her to tilt her head to the side. "Professor Rivera being a gentleman? I never thought I'd live to see the day." She quipped.

He bit his lip to suppress his discomfort, luring brown eyes running over her funny-looking apparel, "You have five seconds before I shut the door in your face." He advised bluntly, unaffected by her mockery.