Episode 5

Alex grabbed her satchel and jacket and then rushed out her bedroom. She was walking across the hallway into the living area when her mom said, her brows rising in question, "You're going out, honey?"

Alex nodded as she said, "Yeah, I'm going to the Thompsons for dinner." She glanced at her dad in the lazy chair, now reading the Otago Daily Time. He must be getting better, she thought, and he did look a lot better, too. His face was now not as pale as before.

"Bye, Dad," she said.

Jacob looked over to his daughter and nodded. "Drive safely, won't you."

"You know I do," she said and came over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Good girl," he said.

"Hey, I want to come too," Emma said over the many scattering papers and science books on the dinning table. Her dark curls were in a wild mess and her brown eyes were sparkling with hope as she gazed at Alex.

"No you may not. They only invited me. There will not enough food for everyone if you come along," Alex teased.

Tim, his eyes narrowed as he glanced at his younger sister, said, "Get back to your homework, Missy. Otherwise you won't get into uni with your laziness. All you think about is food."

Emma poked her tongue at her brother, telling him to bugger off. Then turning back to Alex, she said, "Hey, I don't eat that much. I've been told that I'm way too thin anyway."

"Yeah, yeah," Alex mumbled. She turned to her mom and gave the woman a peck on the cheek. "Love you," she said.

"Love you, sweet heart," Chan said.

Ten minutes later Alex parked her Toyota Corolla in front of the Thompson's house and got out. She rushed to the door and rang the bell. As she waited, she glanced at the beautiful view before her. The Thompsons' house sat on top of a great hill that over looked the harbour and city below. In days like this one, though slightly breezy and cold, the view of the harbour was spectacular what with it's turquoise blue colour of the glistening water, the dark blue colour of the clear sky with the occasional columbus clouds scattering here and there, and the green colour of the hills with dots of houses on the other side.

Their living room also faced north, which received all day sun. A must have in Dunedin if you were buying or selling a property.

The door opened.

Alex glanced up, all smiley face and expecting to greet one of the Thompsons. But it was not any of the Thompsons who were standing there at the door, grinning down at her.

It was Jay.

Her heart missed a beat and then it started to beat faster and faster.

Calm down, old girl, it's only Jay. And he's gay. He's not interested in you.

"Hey there," she said cheerfully. "What ya doing here?"

Jay, his greeting smile still fixed on his handsome face, said, "I'm staying here for a wee while. Love the view."

Alex nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, Waverly's great."

She waited for him to take a step back so she could enter the house. When a heartbeat or two past and he still hadn't move and simply stood there looking down at her from his great height, she made a move forward. She ended up squeezing herself through between him and the side of the door.

She glanced up at him as she passed, her heart beating out of control. Her face was red because he was so near her that she could actually feel him. She could feel his warm breath on her forehead. She could feel his muscular chest brushing against the side of her arm. Oh my God!

She told herself to clam down and not act stupid in front of him.

Once she was in the threshold of the house, she bent down to take her shoes off.

"Alex, that you?" Mrs. Thompson shouted from the living room.

"Yes. Hi, Mrs. Thompson," Alex said, shooting up as she did so.

Poof!

She collided with Jay, his body very close to her. Why was he behind her when there was plenty of room in the hallway? It was not like they were in a tiny closet, for God's sake.

"Sorry," he said, grinning down at her, his face seemed to be moving closer to hers.

Alex smiled apologetically at him and stroked her fingers through her hair because she was getting rather hot from being so close to him. Her body was working overtime, she thought, just because he was so near.

"That's okay," she managed to say, avoiding his eyes as she walked into the living area, with Jay following close behind her.

"Oh gee, haven't seen you for a long time," Mrs. Thompson said as she came around the bench, her arms wide open. She hugged Alex, patting the girl's back as she did so.

"Sorry, I was quite busy with work and all," Alex explained, moving back.

"What would you like to drink, honey," Mrs. Thompson said as they both walked into the kitchen.

"Ribena would be good, thanks," Alex said, watching Jay who was now on the other side of the spacious, modern living room picking up his big mug of beer.

"Ribena? You got it," Mrs. Thompson said, opening her massive stainless steel fridge door.

That's better, Alex thought, with him on the other side of the room. Space. She needed space. She needed to breathe properly. Then she felt her heart slowed its furious beating back to a normal rate.

She left the satchel on the bar-stall and then took her jacket off.

Mrs. Thompson handed her a glass of Ribena.

"Thanks," Alex said, taking the cool glass in her hands. "How come Jay's staying here?" she asked, taking a sip.

Mrs. Thompson glanced up and said, with raised brows, "You know each other, huh?"

"I met him two days ago at the hospital. Peter was there with him," Alex said. "I thought he's staying at a hotel or something."

She thought that he was the type of person who would only stay in a five stars hotel like the Scenic Hotel or the Southern Cross Hotel in town or something.

"Peter thought Jay needed company and a change," Mrs. Thompson said as she took out the roasted pork and vegetables from the oven. She grunted as she carried the heavy, hot tray across the small space and placed it on the chopping block.

"Why don't you set the table, dear?" she said as she started picking out the roasted potatoes, kumara, and carrots and put them into a large serving bowl.

"Sure," Alex said, put down her drink on the bench and proceeded to roll up her sleeves. "Smells delicious," she said. Then she shook her hair and stroked the strains so that they were out of her face. "Where's the plates?"

"Behind you," Mrs. Thompson said without looking up from her pork.

Alex nodded and turned.

"Shoot!" she gasped as she felt a hard body against her.

Jayden caught her arm with one hand to steady her. He placed the now empty mug onto the bench-top as he searched her face.

She glanced up and her heart started to beat out of control--again. Oh God, he was touching her again. Oh God!

Then Alex felt something wet about her breasts. She glanced down and saw that her jersey was soaked with a dark stain liquid.

"You all right?" Jay asked, still searching her face, his body way to close for Alex's comfort.

Alex said, her body trembling with excitement and anxiety, "Sorry, I didn't see you behind me."

Mrs. Thompson looked up from her pork and said, "Accident. Why don't you clean up before dinner, Alex?"

Alex turned to smile nervously at Mrs. Thompson. "Yeah, I'll do that. Excuse me." Then she squeezed herself between Jay--who didn't seem to notice that she needed some room and wouldn't move an inch--and the bench and walked to the door.

After watching her leaving the room, Jay said, "I think she's upset with me."

"Oh?" Mrs. Thompson looked at him with raise brows.

She like doing that, Jay thought, rising her eyebrows like a judge at her suspects in court, questioning their innocence. Well damn, she was one.

"I better go and see how she's doing since I'm the culprit," Jay said and left the kitchen.

Mrs. Thompson smiled and went about preparing their dinner, humming to herself.

Peter came down the stair just then and saw Jay walking toward the bathroom, swearing under his breath and frowning darkly. He came into the kitchen and said, "What was that all about?"

Mrs. Thompson looked up at her son and said, "What?"

Peter shook his head and said, "Renovation not going too well."

"Why?" Mrs. Thompson asked.

"They found moulds in the bedroom. We have to take down the whole walls. Tracy's not happy."

"Of course she's not happy," Mrs. Thompson said. "They're pulling down her house."

Peter watched his mom returning to her work. He thought, no, Tracy his fiancé was not very happy at all. They had started doing this house renovation thing for three months now and there seemed to be no progress at all. The bills just kept coming in and piling up but no proper work had been done as yet. What a headache this all was. And to top it all off he missed Tracy dearly, even thought it had only been three weeks since he had last seen her back in Sydney. He was counting down the days when he'd able to see her again, which was in two weeks time.

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