Elliot slammed the bedroom door behind him. Grabbing the banister and almost jumping down the stairs, he grabbed his jacket off the hallway rack and was out the door. Pausing only slightly at the front steps, he moved to his car and started the engine. Afraid to go and afraid to stay, he backed out of the driveway and headed toward downtown, not knowing where he was going or what his next stop would be. He considered going to the apartment that he had continued to rent, despite moving in with Amy, three months back. He wasn't sure why, but it made sense to keep it until the lease expired in a month or two and it had been renewed by default when he failed to cancel on the anniversary date.
Despite being a nondrinker, he considered going to a nearby bar and getting smashed. But the last thing he needed tonight was to get behind the wheel in a drunken state and get arrested, or worse, injure someone.
With his choices limited, Elliot opted for "Cover to Cover", an all-night bookstore and coffee shop. Maybe he would just find a good book, head back to his apartment and read himself to sleep.
Browsing through the paperback fiction section, Elliot frowned at the lack of new material by his favorite authors. He approached the end of the aisle, and turned to the aisle behind him. He never saw her, at least not until he had turned into her and saw the book she was reading fly in one direction and her all in another.
"I am so sorry," he stammered, reaching to help her up. As he reached for her, he froze unexpectedly. His eyes traveled from the floor to her thighs, and further up to the white panties and her exposed crotch. Coming to himself, he averted his glance and looked into her face, which, like his, offered an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry", he said.
"For what?" she answered, "knocking me down or looking up my dress?'
"Yes," he replied. "I mean both... I mean no."
"Forget it, Babe. Just help me up."
Elliot helped her to her feet, then picked up her book and handed it to her. With a smile and a slight nod, she was gone.
"Smooth work,"
Elliot turned to see an unfamiliar face grinning at him.
"Huh," he said to the man who had apparently been looking on.
"Thanks for that great look at her pussy. Quite a body, or did you notice?"
"Uh no. I guess I didn't, " Elliot lied as he made his way to next aisle.
Finally finding a book that offered some possibilities, Elliot decided to check out and head for home. As he walked toward the register, he noticed the beautiful stranger sitting in the book store's coffee shop. Hoping to avoid further embarrassment, he looked the other way. But it was no use. He was drawn to look toward her. To his surprise, she was smiling. To his surprise, she crooked her index finger and signaled for him to come over.
"Join me for a cup of Mocha?" she asked.
"Uh sure," Elliot replied. He walked to the counter, got his mug and walked over to her table. For the first time, he realized that she was beautiful, and not only her thighs. She stared at him, smiling slightly for what seemed like an eternity. Elliot broke the silence.
"Hey, I really am sorry about that."
"About what? Knocking me on my ass?"
"Yea. Pretty clumsy of me."
"Don't give it a second thought. What's your name?"
"Elliot," he stammered, still seeking to garner a degree of composure. "Yours?"
"Jenna."
"Well, nice to meet you Jenna. Can I get you a refill?"
"No thanks, I'm good."
All Elliot could think of as he looked at her was, "I'll bet you are."
"Things bad at home?' asked Jenna.
"Uh, yea. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," Jenna replied. "I know the signs. Besides a good looking guy like you wouldn't be here at this hour unless there was no one to go home to, or things were shaky. Woman's intuition."
"Yea. I guess. At any rate, I won't be going home. Or I guess I should say I will be going home, but not to what was our apartment."
"Keep a separate place do you?"
"Almost by accident. Planned to give it up, but I let the renewal date pass and the lease renewed automatically. Bad screw up on my part. But I'm looking for someone to sublease it to. Interested?"
"In what, the apartment or you?" Jenna asked with a straight face. Elliot looked perplexed. Finally, she laughed. "Lighten up, lover. Just a little joke."
"Sorry, long day. So OK, Jenna, What's your story?"
"What makes you think I have a story/"
"Male logic, I guess. Also, you keep staring at your cup and haven't touched it since I got here. So, how do I say it? A woman as beautiful as you wouldn't be here at this hour, unless things were tough at home, or you were lonely. And Ma'am if you don't mind my saying, a woman like you can't be lonely."
"Actually, Babe, I am lonely. Left hubby today, and I won't be going back."
"What happened?" asked Elliot.
"Let's just say, some things weren't meant to last, and leave it at that."
"Well, are you OK. Do you need a ride someplace?"
"Lover, I'm not going anywhere. Actually, no place to go. Guess I'll have to stay here."
"You can't stay here," Elliot replied. "Don't you have a home to go to?"
"I guess I could, but if I go back there and spend another night, I'll be forced to stay forever. That wouldn't be good for me or my husband. At any rate, I'll be fine. I'll walk around and find somewhere to sleep."
"That's ridiculous! Look, I have plenty of room. Why not come with me?"
"With you?" she asked raising her eyebrows.
"I have a spare bedroom. I promise you'll be safe. At lot safer than wandering the streets. And then tomorrow, you can decide if you want to go back to your husband or what it is that you really want to do."
"There's nothing to decide. It's out of my hands. Trust me, Elliot. There is no going back."
"Well, at least go with me. I won't be able to sleep if you stay here."
"Aren't you sweet? All right, Elliot. Thank you. I accept your offer."
"Great. Let's go." Elliot headed for the door.
"Elliot?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?" he asked.
"You forgot to pay for your book."
Elliot and Jenna left the parking lot and rode in silence for most of the trip back to his apartment. Elliot unlocked the door and entered first, turning on the lights, then motioning her inside. The apartment had a musty odor due to its recent lack of occupancy. Elliot turned on the heat and started the ceiling fan to start a little air moving.
"Here, let met have your coat. I'll hang it up for you," Elliot said, breaking the silence. "Did you leave your purse in the car?"
"No purse tonight, Love," replied Jenna. "Left a little unexpectedly and didn't bring it along."
At Elliot's bidding, Jenna found a spot on the sofa and tossed her the remote control. "Let me see what's in the fridge." "Not much to choose from since the place has been empty. You can have water or stale soda," he yelled from the kitchen.
"Nothing for me," she returned. "But feel free to help yourself."
Elliot grabbed a bottle of water and joined Jenna in front of the television. To his surprise, she had turned on the music, not the television.
"Nice choice," he smiled.