Page 42 of The Keeper and I

He walked her right to one of the barstools at her kitchen island and helped her onto the seat. She was shivering, so he pulled his hoodie over his head and offered it to her. She slipped it on, the sleeves flopping loosely over her hands, and took a deep breath.

“You smell nice,” she said.

“Thank you,” he replied, smiling.

She suddenly went rigid. “Is the door locked?”

His eyes shifted over and he saw that he had locked it behind them. “Yes, it’s locked.”

She let out a breath. “Good.”

While he put the kettle on, he racked his brain for some other way to comfort her. “D’you wanna watchTitanic?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t deal with that kind of stress tonight.”

“Don’t you know how it ends?”

“Well, yes, but I feel it differently every time.”

He bit back a laugh. “Alright. What will make you feel better?”

“I dunno…” she said. “You pick something. Make sure it’s low stakes, preferably with a soothing soundtrack.”

“Uh…Pride and Prejudice?”

“That’s perfect. I’ll put it on.”

She got up and started toward the living room, but came to a halt before she was out of the kitchen. She turned back around.

“On second thought, I’ll stay until the tea’s done,” she said.

His gaze softened. “Laci—”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said. “At all.”

He nodded and got back to work on their tea. She was still too nervous to eat, but Jordan made popcorn anyway in case she got hungry later. Together, they went to the living room and plopped onto the couch. Jordan pulled up the movie, and as he did, Laci tucked herself under his arm, pressing into his side and resting her head on his chest.

“Is this alright?” she asked. “I know we aren’t for real dating, but I need—”

“I’ve got you,” he interrupted and lowered his arm around her. “I don’t mind.”

“Perfect. Lovely. Um, thank you.”

“Sure.”

He pressed play, and she eased into him, relaxing with every note of the soft piano music. Delicately, he ran his fingers through her blonde curls. He knew she was on edge, but he hoped she would sleep anyway.

“That feels nice,” she said.

“Is it making you tired?”

“Not really.”

He considered arguing that her eyelids were slowing down with every blink but decided against it. “That’s too bad. Some rest would do you some good.”

“Maybe,” she said with a shrug.

A beat passed between them, the movie filling the silence.