Attraction

21.

Jessie's apron is still sitting untouched in the locker she last left it in before Liam called her after the last time I saw her. My fingers gently graze the cold metal of her locker and a small sigh leaves my lips.
Jessie where are you? I think to myself mentally- I really hope she's okay, this just doesn't feel right.

My phone vibrates and I see the text from Paul telling me that he's outside to pick me up- I smile trying to focus on the positive, I have a loving boyfriend who cares about me. He doesn't have to pick me up from work but he chooses to because he has a kind heart. As I walk to Paul's car, I open the car door and get inside.

"Hey, how was your shift?" Paul asks me- he carefully pulls out of the parking lot and drives out towards the road in the rain.

"It was alright- Jessie never came in but I didn't expect her to I guess. How was your evening?" I respond to him.

"I'm sorry, my love. Do you know if she has any relatives around here? Someone has to be looking for her. It was okay- I ended up fixing cars with Jacob again" He says as he softly smiles at what seems to be a funny memory of he and Jacob.

"I'll check Jessie's Facebook to see if anyone has posted anything on her timeline. Thank you for picking me up, I really appreciate it" I say gently. He smiles softly as he keeps his eyes fixated on the road.

Paul and I arrive at my apartment where I immediately step on a dahlia flower that's in front of my door. Paul picks it up and tosses it off of the balcony-but I can hear footsteps coming from the stairs above me.

"Maybe we should go inside." Paul says softly but I shake my head- I want to see who's coming.

As the footsteps get closer, I can see a shadow appearing from the stairway. A soft humming can be heard but I can't take the anticipation anymore—I decide I'm being ridiculous. It's no one, it's literally no one, I'm just being paranoid. Paul and I go inside as I lock the apartment door, a sigh leaves my lips.

"You okay?" He asks me in a worried tone.

"I'm fine. I just need to stop overthinking things. I'm going to go change." I sigh as I take Paul's hand he follows me to my room where I switch on the lamp beside my bed.

I take off my shirt and toss it in the dirty clothes bin in the hallway along with my jeans. I'm now wearing a black bra and black lace underwear- the lights are dim and I really don't feel shy as in front of him anymore— given the things we've done as well, I just feel more comfortable around him now.

I can feel his eyes are trailing my body as dig through my dresser and pull out a t-shirt and a soft pair of shorts.

"You look so good." I hear him murmur, his voice is soft but low.

I turn around and give him a sly smile before slipping on my shirt and walking over to him. His arms snake around my waist as he begins placing gently kisses on my lips- a small giggle escapes my lips as I pull away from his grasp and put on my shorts.

"You have no idea what you do to me..." Paul sighs and bites his bottom lip. I had no idea I could get this kind of reaction from him- I like it.

"Later..." I say in a soft whisper as a small giggle escapes my lips. I begin walking toward the living room and he follows behind me to the couch where I go to sit.

"I'm going to check online really quickly to see if anyone has posted anything about Jessie." I say as I pull out my laptop. Paul sits beside me and I lean into his torso letting the warmth cover me like a gentle heating blanket.

After checking online I frown when I see that only two people have posted on Jessie's timeline- one is a woman named Nancy and the other is a man named William.