Commitment Phobia (Journey Back Home 1)
Page 5
"Oh stop! You can stand to gain a pound or two."
The women were still laughing together when Devon suddenly looked over to the window of the restaurant. She saw a man standing there just in the shadows and out of the street light. It seemed as if he was looking in at them. As she watched, he moved from the shadows into the light just long enough for her to see his face.
"Oh my god!" she gasped. Leaping up from her chair, she took off for the door of the restaurant. By the time she had yanked the door open, the man was gone. She went outside and looked up and down the street but there was no sign of the man. Janina appeared at the door as Devon stood on the street corner.
"Hey, what's going on?" Janina called.
"Nothing," Devon said. "I just thought I saw someone I knew."
She went back inside the restaurant to find the manager eyeing her warily. Oh my god, she thought. He probably thought she was skipping out on the bill. To put his mind at ease, she quickly paid for both meals plus a generous tip and they left.
"Ok, now tell me the truth," Janina demanded. "What did you really see?" "I did tell you the truth," Devon replied. "There was a man standing outside the window and he was watching us. I'm sure of it. Then, he stepped briefly into the light and I saw his face. Janina, it was Dan!"
Janina watched her for a several minutes before replying. She wanted to be very careful of the next words she chose.
"Dev, you've been through more than anyone should have to. I understand that and I know that you've been trying your best to move past it. It's no wonder that you see guys sometimes that remind you of Dan." "This man did not remind me of Dan! He looked exactly like Dan! I did not imagine it! I saw him!"
"Ok, ok, sweetie, calm down. But you know that there's no way you could have seen Dan standing outside of that window or any other window. You need to accept that you're not going to see him again. Look, I'm coming home with you and we're going to spend some time unpacking some boxes. Then, I'm spending the night with you. It's obvious that you're overly tired and I'm here to help."
At first, Devon started to argue, but then realized that not only was she grateful to have the help in getting her apartment in order so she could start feeling at home, but she was also more than a little shaken by what she had seen. So she just nodded and they both walked back to her apartment. It was a short walk and the night was pleasant, so they were able to enjoy the rest of the stroll.
After Devon let herself and Janina into the apartment, they broke out a pitcher of sangria that Devon had made the day before. It was nice and chilled and ready to be enjoyed, and enjoy it they did! Within a few hours, they had unpacked nearly all of the boxes and had the apartment looking almost like someone lived there. The sangria was also gone and the ladies seemed to be feeling no pain.
They were sprawled on the sofa and laughing at some joke one of them had told when Devon decided that she really needed a shower before she was ready to retire for the night. She told Janina to make herself at home while she had a quick shower. As she moved through her bedroom, Devon started stripping off her clothes and leaving a little trail of them as she made her way into the master bathroom. Stepping under the warm water spray, she couldn't help but remember what had occurred in that very shower not so long ago. It's probably because of all the sangria, and then the wine before that at the restaurant.
She started to soap up her body with the lavender and vanilla scented shower gel. Leaning her head back under the shower spray, she closed her eyes and let her hair get really wet. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and a wet, naked body pressed against hers.
Screaming from fright, she tried to turn around but was held in place by those strong arms...
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