Chapter 41.
Stevens decided to go and see Rebecca. He hadn’t been able to get how upset she was out of his head and kept trying to come up with possible scenarios that explained her behaviour, but he was drawing blanks. He was worried about her and needed to make sure she was okay. He wanted her to know how much he cared. He wanted to tell her everything, but the idea of her rejecting him again, well, that was too much. He thought it might be best with checking in, maybe bringing her some coffee. He reasoned it would be a less overtly romantic or ‘sorry you’re sick’ gesture than flowers, and she struck him as not being the run of the mill type.
Rebecca had spent the day in her apartment catching up on sleep and working out, she had neglected a lot in the last week and needed a sense of routine to calm all the chaos of the last few days. She had showered and changed into silk lounge bottoms and a vest when her buzzer rang. Seeing his face on the intercom, she felt a little flustered. It was a pleasant surprise, a little embarrassing after her swift exit, but she felt relieved to see him, that he’d come to her this time. She pressed the entry button, giving him access to the building and then waited. She decided that coffee, coffee was the thing that needed to happen to give her something to do and stop her from pacing. Then the knock on the door. A deep inhale and a quick smoothing down of all imagined wrinkles, she opened the door. He’d cleaned himself up. His beard was less dishevelled and looked even better than she remembered. He handed her a gift bag with the coffee he’d bought inside.
“What’s this, a bribe? Are you trying to buy off the press Detective Stevens?” Her tone was laced in mischief and he felt himself relax instantly. They both laughed. She brought in the pot of coffee that she’d already made and sat it on the table along with two mugs and some biscuits.
The sound of soft electronic music playing in the background set the tone for a relaxed atmosphere as they sipped the hot aromatic liquid.
“I’m sorry about last night, you must think I’m a freak.” Rebecca finally mustered the courage to say.
“No, not a freak, but I was worried. I hope it wasn’t anything I did, or didn’t do. What happened?” Stevens held out his hand to gently touch hers. Their eyes connected; they both felt the spark of electric. She looked down at his hand resting on hers, it was a sweet gesture, but how could she tell him what she saw. He really would think her crazy, she was sure of that. She couldn’t think of anything to say, there were no quick and easy excuses stored away in the back of her mind for an emergency like this.
“No, no, it wasn’t you.” She didn’t want to add anything to it, and she didn’t want him asking anything more than that. “I… I just remembered I hadn’t fed Cyprus in two days, that’s all.” It was the best she could come up with. But he knew it wasn’t the truth. He could feel her holding back, but he put it down to feeling embarrassed about it and decided not to push at her. He simply smiled, and asked “Cyprus?” Reading the puzzled expression, she laughed and added. “My cat, he’s out on the prowl tonight. No doubt he’ll stagger in during the very small hours of the morning and then laze about all day tomorrow.” They both laughed.
They talked for a few hours together, and seemed to be at ease with each other. It was as if they had known each other for years. The comfortable feeling took them both a little by surprise. Glancing at the clock on the bookcase in the living room, he noticed was pretty late and both Stevens and Rebecca had work in the morning, they decided to be sensible and call it a night. That maybe they should try taking things a little slower. Ease into whatever this was going to be.
“Can I see you again soon? Maybe we could go out, for dinner this time?” Stevens asked, standing up to leave. Rebecca stood up and walked over to him, putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him on the cheek. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” She smiled and stood back a little. He moved in and kissed her passionately before walking to the door. He paused before reaching the handle, turning towards her. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” And with that he left.
She smiled, deep and intense, she liked the way he made her feel. Although nothing had happened beyond coffee and conversation, but the sweet feeling he left behind was enough to make her smile on the inside. She locked the front door and sauntered into the bathroom to brush her teeth before bed, bathed in the warmth of fresh romance and possibility. To even the most casual of observer, he was getting under her skin every bit as much as she had gotten under his. And they were both as much in danger of falling in love as the other. She stripped off and slipped into bed, between the cool crisp covers and drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep for the first night in what seemed like forever.
Stevens walked out into the street and got into his car to drive home. Still not realising that his wallet was missing. Hoping that his sister had worked her magic and that his room would be a haven of cleanliness by the time he drove back. That he wouldn’t feel as embarrassed if having a certain woman visit him again. He did nothing but think about Rebecca the whole journey, and felt that same smile, deep on the inside, like he was now untouchable. He knew that it would be straight to bed when he got in, no sitting up until the stupid hours of the morning with a bottle of whiskey. The bruise didn’t matter anymore, he didn’t need to feel that hurt, something wonderful had replaced it. He didn’t feel sorry for himself anymore. That part of his life was gone, happily gone.