He held my shoulders, and gave me a warm look. The moment he touched me, I had shivers run down my spine. These shivers were different from the ones I felt earlier.
His eyes were now soft and deep, and they were looking for answers, "are you okay, Emma?"
I could barely speak; I just blinked my eyes in response.
"Talk to me, Emma, did those guys hurt you? Did they touch you?" I could see his jaw stiffened at the mention of those guys hurting me, and the rage that had disappeared from his eyes a minute ago, was now back again.
"I am fine Jake...." I stuttered, while rubbing my arm which was sore from the rough grip.
"Show me your arm". He took my hand in his and scanned my arm that now had a red mark imprinted on it.
He brushed his fingers on it, and his soft feather-like touch felt like fireworks on my skin. His eyes had a disappointed look, he was blaming himself for not helping the situation sooner.
"You should be careful, Emma. What were you thinking? Walking down the road all alone in the middle of the night? I can't even imagine what those bastards would have done if I did not find you in time".
"Thanks, Jake. If not for you, I am not sure what would have happened. Thank you for helping me tonight". The tears that were welling up ever since I sat in car, escaped and trailed down my cheeks.
He held my hand gently in one hand, and was caressing my cheeks with the other. There were so many unsaid things, so many unanswered questions, yet I was able to draw comfort just by being around him. Effortlessly and unknowingly, he brought me peace.
He was wearing a black body-hugging t-shirt that outlined his curvy muscles along with a pair of black jeans. He had a light stubble along his defined jaw, and his very kissable lips threw a soft smile, causing me to forget my world, and imprisoning me in his.
We both got out of trance almost at the same time. He broke the awkward silence, "relax, I am here now. Tell me your address, and I will drop you home."
I gave him my address, and he drove off towards my apartment. After some time, I settled down and came to realise that I did not even know how from the middle of nowhere Jake came to my rescue.
Was he following me?
"How did you find me, Jake? How did you know I was here?"
He did not respond and continued to drive silently.
"Please I need to know, in fact, I think it's high time we talked Jake? Or shall I call you Jacob Richmond?"1
He flinched a little when I called him so formally, but he still ignored me, and continued to drive. I was getting a bit mad at his behavior.
"Jake, I am not stepping out of this car until I get my answers. You have to tell me; how did you find me?"
He stopped the car again. We were just one block away from my apartment now, "what do you want to know Emma?" He was dodging a direct eye contact.
"To begin with, how did you find me? Were you umm... following me?"
"Really? You think of me as a stalker Emma? I just happened to be at the same club as you tonight and I saw you leaving all alone in the middle of the night."
He closed his eyes and paused a bit, before he continued, "I also saw those guys following you out, and my immediate instinct sensed trouble. I just wanted to be careful when I decided to check on you outside the club."
He was running his hands in his hair now, trying to hide his anger. "I was ensuring to keep a safe distance from you until I saw those bastards cornering you." This time he completed his explanation with a sense of hurt and anger in his tone.
"No. I did not mean to call you a stalker Jake, I was just surprised to see you there. I wasn't expecting you to come to my rescue".
"I wasn't expecting to see you tonight either. And yes, I think, we do need to clear a couple of things, especially now when we have to work from the same office."
He let out a deep sigh, before he continued, "Whatever happened in Corsica is in the past Emma, unlike how you were implying, I did not lie about my identity, Jake is short for Jacob, and my close friends still call me that."
I didn't imagine that the surreal moment we shared a while ago would turn into a bitter confrontation like this. His words were sharp as a sword, yet his eyes told a different story. Unsure as to what to believe or reason with, I attempted to clarify myself.
"Jake, you are getting me all wrong. I was shocked to see you in the conference room the other day. I have thought a lot about you in the past couple of months, but I met you in the most unexpected circumstances. I was just confused".
"I know what you mean, Emma, I have thought about you too. A lot. But it's irrelevant now, and we should forget about it and move on already."
Deep inside I knew that kiss might have meant nothing to him. He also had quite a reputation with girls. However, when his mouth blurted those words, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.
"We are at very different places right now, and I do not want you to have any false hopes. I hope we can stay
