Chapter 11 - "I Want You To Want Me"
(the next day)
Chris strolled easily into the living room and smiled at the bewildered looks his friends cast him.
Justin watched his older friend for a moment before smirking deviously, "Someone finally taking some friendly advice?"
Chris turned his head to meet Justin's gaze. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he stated, but the sparkle in his eyes told everyone in the room differently.
The truth was, he didn't really know what he was doing. He didn't know if the idea planted in his head by his three friends the night before was even going to work. All he knew was that now he had something mildly resembling hope on his side, and it made him feel so much lighter.
The problem that he was having, was that he hadn't witnessed the things the guys had told him about. Or he had, but he hadn't realized what was happening. He wanted to check it out for himself, see up close if there was something there to be hopeful about.
He had resigned himself to the fact that he did, indeed, have strong feelings for his best friend. He was attracted to her warmth, her beauty, her ESSENCE and there was nothing he could do to contain it. He had admitted it to himself the night before, when he didn't deny it to his friends. Just being able to come to terms with it had taken a load off of his chest.
He began whistling lightly as he grabbed his keys off the counter where they had been tossed.
"Where are you going?" Joey asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Ahh, I think I'm going to go over to Mary's and see if she needs help packing or anything," Chris said lightly, referring to the trip they were going to be taking to Pennsylvania for Christmas.
"Sure, that's all you're going to do over there," Justin mumbled under his breath, causing the people around him to snicker.
Chris once again shrugged his shoulders innocently and answered, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
He inserted the key into her lock and twisted the handle to the door. It creaked open and he tentatively took a step in. He didn't usually use his spare key to her apartment, but that time he felt the need to.
He was about to call to her when he heard her voice glided from the kitchen to his ear. Grinning, he walked to the room and saw her with her back facing him. She was putting together a salad and humming to herself.
She didn't like to sing in front of him because she always felt intimidated by his ability, so he had never really gotten a chance to hear her voice, save her singing Happy Birthday ever now and again.
Oblivious to his presence in her house, she began slowly swaying her hips back and forth while cutting cucumbers. Soon, her humming became a soft whisper of the words and then the lyrics bounced clearly off the walls of the mostly empty apartment.
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…"
Chris leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and smiled tenderly at the image she made. Her hair hung in its usual ponytail, her body covered by a comfortable looking red and green sweater and blue jeans. Chris' smile grew even wider and gentler when he looked down to see socks decorated with candy canes adorning her otherwise bare feet.
She always did go all out when it came to Christmas.
He let his temple press against the frame and his eyes drifted closed while he listened to her change to Silent Night in her unintentional serenade. Her voice was clear but untrained and slightly off-key. Chris silently took a shaky breath. It had been a while since he had heard a voice that wasn't redubbed or rehearsed to perfection. The honestly giddy way in which she sang the song made it one of the sweetest sounds he had ever heard.
His eyes fluttered opened once again and he drank in the innocent yet extremely sensual way her hips moved in time with the song she was singing. He looked down and noticed his hands trembling ever so slightly. God what she does to me
Pushing himself off the wall, he walked soundlessly until he was right behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and took a secure hold on the knife in her hand when she screamed. He pressed his cheek to her forehead and tossed the knife into the sink before continuing in the song where she left off.
"Sleep in Heavenly peace…"
Annie immediately relaxed when she recognized his voice. Turning around so she was facing him, her body trapped between his and the counter. She frowned, "How did you get in?"
"My key," he responded.
"And how long have you been here?"
"About 10 minutes," he murmured, his eyes traveling along the contours of her face.
Her face paled slightly, "So you've been listening to me?"
He nodded almost unnoticeably, "You have a really beautiful voice Mary."
Her cheek tinged red and she glanced down, "Don't lie Chris, I know what I sound like."
"Well, you're no Sarah McLachlan, but I liked it," he replied sincerely.
"Thanks," she whispered. Chris saw her eyes move involuntarily to his lips and he managed to keep his face straight while the blood began rapidly coursing through his body. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the closeness between them got the best of her and she quickly ducked under his arm and headed to the refrigerator.
Sighing, Chris gripped the counter in frustration and squeezed his eyes shut before regaining control, standing up straight and turning to watch her rummage through the fridge.
"I'm making some salad, do you want some?" She questioned.
"Sure," he picked a napkin up from the counter and threw it in the garbage, "I came over to see if you needed any help packing or anything."
Her head popped out from behind the door of the cooler and she grinned, "I'm completely done actually. I had the urge to finish it up yesterday night."
She didn't mention the fact that she had so much nervous energy she had to do SOMETHING to waste time. Her whole body was alive and kicking at three that morning and she couldn't think of anything else to pass time and wear her out.
"That's good," he said, "We're leaving here tomorrow. Mom will be picking us up."
"Oh, that's great! Its been so long since I've seen Momma K!" She exclaimed.
Chris chuckled and shook his head. Annie had taken to calling his mother Momma K after he began calling Tina Benton "mom." She had to do him one better.
"She's so excited about seeing you too. And Emily said something about a picking up where you left off…I have no idea what that means," he told her.
"She called me a few weeks ago to talk about girl stuff," Annie said, giving him a secretive smile.
"Girl stuff?"
"Yeah, she asked me for an outsiders opinion on some boy she likes…"
"Boy?" He asked, sounding quite alarmed.
"Oh please Chris, you didn't think you're sister was dating? She's in a band for God's sake," Annie reasoned.
Chris grumbled under his breath while Annie laughed at his over-protective behavior.
The sound of the telephone ringing stopped their conversation, and Annie reached over to grab it. "Hello?"
"Afternoon honey," her mother chirped.
"Hi Mom," she spoke smoothly. Chris' head immediately shot up and his face lit up.
"HI MOM!" He screeched from across the room.
"Is that Chris?" Her mother questioned.
"Yeah, we're going to have dinner over here," Annie answered.
"I see. You're leaving tomorrow, right honey?" She asked.
"Yeah, tomorrow evening," she confirmed.
"Is he sleeping over then?" Her mother asked, mischief evident in her voice.
"MOTHER!" She hissed. She snuck a glance at Chris who was watching her and felt her face flush, "No, he isn't."
Chris' eyebrows rose in curiosity and his lips twitched into a smile. She's so innocent.
When she turned her back to him, he snuck out of the kitchen and inched his way into the living room where he knew there was a portable phone.
Picking it up, he quietly clicked it on. He heard her agitated voice. "Oh Mom, lay off of that already."
"It was just a question honey, you don't have to get defensive," she replied.
"What was just a question?" He asked.
"CHRIS!" Annie yelled, startled, "What are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Mom. I haven't heard from you for ages. How's the Richard Gere look-alike?"
"He's fine. I've seen you've talked to Annie about me."
"Well I heard you're going on a romantic cruise. Very nice," he teased. He grinned when he could practically hear her blushing over the telephone. It was easy to see where her daughter got her humility.
"Now you don't worry about that Christopher," she answered, strategically avoiding the question he noticed.
Chris sat comfortably on the couch. He strained to see if he could catch a glimpse of Annie, but she was safely tucked away in the kitchen.
"How is my daughter doing, Christopher?" Tina asked.
"Good from what I can tell. Just as beautiful as ever," he responded quickly and honestly.
"It doesn't sound like she's been getting much sleep," she countered worriedly.
"Hello!" Annie yelled from her extension, "Can you not talk about me like I can't hear you? Mom, I'm fine. I've gotten a perfect amount of sleep."
"Don't yell at your mother Mary," Chris scowled playfully.
"Oh shut up Chris," she snapped back.
"Are you taking care of her?" Her mother asked as if she hadn't heard a word she said. Annie sighed over-dramatically.
"You know I'm always looking out for her Mom," he answered.
"She's a disrespectful little thing. She doesn't deserve you," her mother declared in mock anger.
Smiling wistfully, Chris shook his head though he knew the two women it was directed to couldn't see. "No, you've got it backwards. I'm the one who doesn't deserve her. But trust me when I say I'm doing whatever I can to rectify the situation."
There was a loud gasp on Annie's end of the line. Chris smirked at her response.
"I…uhhh…I have to go to the bathroom," Annie said before clicking the phone off. Chris saw her walk swiftly down the hallway and slam the bathroom door.
"Christopher?" Her voice caught his attention and he focused on the phone.
"Yes Mom?" Her asked.
"I'm glad you're finally doing something about it," she told him knowingly.
"I am too. I am too."
(at the airport the next night)
"You're going to Mississippi?" Annie asked.
"I know, pretty crazy, huh?" SJ commented, "That's the last place I'd ever expect to be going for Christmas."
"I'm sure you'll love it," Annie responded assuredly.
"I know, that's the really crazy thing," SJ admitted and sighed, "Oh the things I do for my man."
A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her. "Your man?"
"Yeah, you gotta problem with that?" SJ demanded.
Lance shook his head, "None whatsoever. Its just, if I'm your man, does that make you my woman?"
"Don't push it," she responded.
Annie reached over and hugged SJ and then Lance. "Merry Christmas guys."
"Merry Christmas," they chorused in unison.
Turning around, she saw Justin hovering behind her. She reached up and brought him down into a tight hug, "Take care little man."
"Hey, watch who you're…" he was cut off by her.
"Watch who I'm calling little, I remember."
He grinned that breathtaking smile of his. "Merry Christmas, Annie."
"Merry Christmas," she replied.
Suddenly, she was picked up securely from behind. "Merry Christmas," a voice hummed in her ear.
"Merry Christmas Joe," she answered with a smile.
"I'll see you when we get back,` beautiful."
"Sure will. I can't wait," she told him.
He gently put her down and grabbed his bags and took off for the plane leading to the Bahamas where he and his family were vacationing.
Seeing JC out of the corner of her eye, she made her way to him.
"Hey! Merry Christmas," she said sweetly.
He turned his head away, refusing to look at her. "Merry Christmas."
She put a hand on his shoulder gently, "Are you…"
He surprised her by brushing her hand off of him. "Don't touch me."
A look of hurt crossed her face. "JC?"
He hung his head a moment before turning to her. "Look Annie, I'm really sorry. I just…I don't think we should talk to each other anymore."
The hurt changed to shock, "What?"
"Please," he said.
"JC, I don't understand…" she was cut off by him.
"Just please do this for me, okay? Just for a little while," he practically begged.
Slowly, she backed away from him. "Yeah okay. Merry Christmas JC," she said sourly before walking swiftly in the other direction.
(on the plane)
Annie glanced over at Chris' sleeping form next to her and sighed. What did he mean by saying he wanted to "rectify" the situation? Annie was so shocked by his words that she could think of no reply. She knew she had to get away from the phone and away from his voice for as long as she could.
Why suddenly did that high, adolescent sounding voice of his spark something inside her every time he heard it? What was it about it? It took Annie but a minute to realize it was the sincerity with which he spoke each and every word.
And JC. She didn't even know what to think. What had she done to hurt him? What reason had she given him to push her away? Why was he doing this?
Annie searched through her memory and couldn't think of anything that could have occurred to cause that sudden change in his behavior. It didn't make any sense to her.
She shook her head, if JC wanted to be that way, and then there was nothing she could do. She decided that as much as he hurt her, she wouldn't think about him during her trip. It was Christmas, and being so close to Chris with everything that was going on between them was enough confusion for one holiday.
"But trust me when I say I'm doing whatever I can to rectify the situation." How Chris? How are you planning to rectify it? And why did the way you said that send chills down my spine in anticipation?
(airport terminal-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
"Chris! Annie!" Through the crush of people, they saw the hand of Beverly Kirkpatrick rising to grab their attention. They made their way to her and Annie thanked God if was harder to notice one NSYNC member as opposed to all five.
"MOM!" Chris yelled happily and launched himself into his mother's opened arms. Annie stayed behind and let Chris have a moment. The last time he had seen her was for the lawsuit and Annie doubted he was totally there to appreciate it.
When she finally let go of her son, she locked eyes with Annie and smiled widely. "Annie! It's so good to see you again!"
"Momma K!" They embraced tightly and Annie felt tears spring to her eyes. That woman was like a surrogate mother to Annie and it had been so long since she'd seen her.
Chris broke them apart eagerly and hopped up and down. "We have to get out of here. Someone is going to notice me."
"Alright, alright, let's get going," his mother consented.
They walked out of the airport quickly since neither person brought anything more than carry-on luggage with them.
About twenty minutes later, they had arrived at Chris' home. Stepping out of the car, Chris bounded up the stairs with Annie right behind him. He threw open the front door and took a moment to just gaze around.
Finally, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and made a shrill whistling sound. Annie covered her ears and shot him a weary look. "I hate it when you do that."
"Sorry," he said before his gaze fell close to the ground. Annie followed his eyes and saw eight year Taylor running full speed across the carpeted floor.
"Chris!" She exclaimed while Chris bent down to easily scoop her up into his arms. He lifted her up over his head and she shrieked with laughter. He brought her down where her legs wrapped around his waist and kissed her forehead.
"Tay-bear! How've you been?"
She giggled at his nickname for her and responded, "Good, Mom said I can open one present tomorrow!"
"Really? That's great!" Chris exclaimed, his face contorted into a look of pure happiness and shock for her benefit, "Say hi to Annie."
The little girl's head swung around and when she saw Annie she gave another ecstatic shriek. She untangled her arms from around Chris' neck and stretched them toward Annie.
Annie laughed and accepted the young girl into her arms, but not without a grumble from Chris who didn't want to give her up. However, his face went from bleak to lit up when another one of his sisters, Emily, walked into the room.
"Em, hey!" He called before sweeping her into a hug. She returned it and then pulled back slightly, a grin on her face.
"How you doin' Chris?" She asked before reaching up to ruffle his hair, "So this is what it looks like up close. I like it."
"Glad I have your approval," he laughed and touched the spikes experimentally himself.
Their mother was standing behind them the whole time, and when greetings had finally been made, she clapped her hands together.
"I have to go to the store now to get some things for the dinner tomorrow. Does anyone want to come with?" She inquired.
"I'll come with Mom," Chris offered, "Mary, you wanna come too?"
She shot her eyes over to Emily who lifted her eyebrows and motioned up the stairs.
"Umm, I think I'm going to stay here and get reacquainted with everything," she said.
"It might take awhile," Beverly said cautiously.
"It's okay Mom," Emily jumped in, "I want to talk to Annie alone."
Chris eyes narrowed instantly and he focused on Emily, "What is this I hear about you and some guy?"
All four women, including Taylor rolled their eyes at him.
"Chris, I'm almost 17," she said by way of explanation.
"I want to meet this guy while I'm here," Chris declared.
Annie stifled a laugh behind her hand when Emily turned her desperate eyes on Annie and then her mother. "MOM!"
"Chris, come on, let's go," his mother said and began tugging his arm.
Chris stilled himself and turned his eyes on his youngest sister in Annie's arms, "Taylor, you never date, you hear me? Never."
Taylor clumsily pushed the hair away from her face before grinning broadly, "I already have a boyfriend."
His eyes bugged out, "WHAT?"
The room erupted in laughter. "Chris, he's eight years old. Their idea of dating is sharing their cookies during snack time," his mother explained between giggles.
Shaking his head, Chris grudgingly followed his mother out the door. As soon as the door closed, Emily ran and Annie, still carrying Taylor, followed her into Emily's bedroom. They plopped down on the bed.
"Ok, now tell me about him…" Annie said immediately.
Emily grinned and her eyes lit up, "His name's Seth…"
(one hour later)
Their conversation had died down and Emily had gotten up to call one of her friends. Taylor and Annie had moved into the living room and were sitting in front of the fire that had been started before she arrived there.
Taylor was sitting comfortably on Annie's lap, her head resting on Annie's shoulder. The lights were dimmed and Annie read Taylor a book the younger girl had chosen from her collection. The cackling fire provided more than enough light for her to read by.
She paused a moment to check her watch. It was nearly 10:00 PM. Chris and his mother would be home soon.
She began to rock the drowsy girl slowly the best she could in her position on the floor as she continued reading.
Chris put his coat in the closet and went in search for Annie. He was almost going to walk right past the living room, thinking it was dark, but then a shadow caught his eye. It was a flickering on the wall and Chris knew after a second that it was a fire.
Walking curiously towards it, he leaned in to see a sight that made his heart flutter. Sitting in front of the fire with his sister sleeping peacefully in her lap was Annie. She looked absolutely radiant with the light of the flames flickering over her olive skin.
Her head bent down as she quietly read the pages of the children's book. The way to a big brother's heart…through his little sister.
He let himself once again take her in without her realizing it. It was becoming a habit for him, but he couldn't stop himself from staring.
"How long has she been out?" He finally asked quietly.
She looked up at him and then back down at the little girl, tucking wisps of light brown hair behind her ear. "A while."
"And you've been sitting there with her?"
"I didn't want to wake her," she responded, her voice barely a whisper.
He gave her a lazy grin, "Why are you still reading?"
She shrugged her shoulders and closed the book, "I don't have any brothers and sisters and I didn't baby-sit, so I really don't know how this is done."
"You did a great job," he assured her.
She smiled at him and he took in a gulp of air. She's so good with Taylor.
Walking over, he knelt down and lifted his sister out of Annie's arms. "I'll put her in bed," he said.
She nodded as Taylor wrapped her arms trustingly around her brother's neck in her sleep.
Returned a moment later carrying a blanket. "Here," he said, spreading the quilt over her lap.
"Thanks," she whispered.
He sat down next to her and she held out a corner of the blanket for him to take and snuggle into. They stared at the fire for minutes, until finally Annie spoke up.
"I miss my mom," she said quietly before turning to Chris to see if he heard. He was looking back her and when their eyes met, he nodded. "It's just…this is our time, you know? And I know it's dumb to feel like that, but I always look forward to seeing her at this time of year."
"That doesn't sound stupid Annie. She's your family, and Christmas is a time for family. It's only natural," Chris sympathized.
She nodded but didn't say anything else.
"Tell me what you guys usually do," he whispered.
A ghost of a smile danced across her lips. "Well, in the morning we exchange presents over a breakfast that my mother cooked. Pancakes or something like that. Then we just lounge around in our pajamas and watch Christmas movies…It's A Wonderful Life or The Christmas Carol…things like that.
"Then we'd eat lasagna, Mom's specialty, you know," she glanced at him and he nodded in recognition, "after dinner we'd put the Christmas lights on and she'd play the piano while we sang Christmas songs. And right before we went to bed, we'd each have a slice of cherry pie."
"Your favorite," he said.
"My favorite," she confirmed, "with REAL cherries."
"It sounds nice," he breathed.
"It is," she answered.
"You'll see her soon," he consoled her.
"She invited me for New Years," she told him.
"Go, we'll all be in Hawaii," he said.
"I will go then," she smiled.
They sat in silence a little longer before he swayed a little and nudged her shoulder. "Are you tired?"
"I think restless is more like it," she admitted.
"C'mere," he coaxed.
"What?" She asked. .
Rolling his eyes playfully, he rotated her until she was sitting with her back to him. Moving the blanket, he placed it securely over her legs and tucked it in at her waist.
He brought his hands up and slowly began to knead her shoulders. She gasped quietly and closed her eyes. "What are you doing, Chris?" He noticed her voice was shaky and he massaged harder to calm her.
"I'm making you tired," he answered simply.
It was mere moments before he felt her relax completely and saw her head droop down until her chin was touching her chest. When he finished with her shoulders, he went lower, down her arms, releasing any tension that had built there.
Then he concentrated on her shoulder blades, rubbing his thumbs in circular motions over them. Her spine was next. He ran two fingers up and down the length of it a few times causing her to shudder. She felt every bone in her body go lax under his ministrations. Her mind went fuzzy and she was lost in the pure pleasure of the moment. She felt her eyelids grow heavier and her breathing deepen and steady as he switched his focus to her lower back. His touch was gentle and caring and he did everything in his power to make her forget about everything…at least for that little while.
After ten minutes of massaging, he realized that she was about to fall asleep and he felt the dizzy, lightheadedness of sleep overcoming him as well. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind, he eased them slowly down until they were both lying on the ground in front of the fire.
Annie fumbled with the blanket until it covered both she and him. He pulled her against him, his arms still around her from the back. Moving one arm up, he put it under her head so it acted like a pillow against the hard carpet of the floor.
"I'm sorry you aren't at your house right now Mary," he mumbled into her hair.
"Thank you," she answered back.
(next day, Christmas Eve - around 5 PM)
Annie sat by the window watching the snowflakes flurry down from heaven to the grass in front of the house.
"Snow always looks better in Pennsylvania than in New York, why do you think that is?" She asked him.
"I don't know…maybe it's because it's home or because the moment it touches the ground, it doesn't turn into that brown sludge stuff," he offered quietly.
"All of the above, and probably more reasons too," she answered.
"Probably."
(Christmas Day-December 25, 1999 - early morning)
They sat in front of the Christmas tree opening and exchanging presents. Taylor was captivated by the stack of presents all for her. The decorated boxes were almost more impressive then the gifts themselves.
Chris proudly thrust his gift to Annie into her arms. "Open it."
She smiled slightly, "You think?"
"Smart ass," he replied.
Taylor gasped, "Mooooom, he said…"
"Oh hush Taylor, I'm sorry," Chris amended.
Annie chuckled as she opened the box. Inside of it was a machine that looked like a cross between a calculator and a computer. "Chris, what is it?"
"It'll will help you do statistics and organize lists and things like that in half the time it usually takes," she tugged it from her hands and pointed things out, "This button here programs all the information into…" he trailed off when he saw Annie staring in awe at the contraption.
"Do you like it?" He asked.
"I…wow…Chris, how much did this COST?"
He chuckled at her blunt question, "Why, are you paying for it?"
"No, that's the problem…" she mumbled while experimenting with the different buttons, "This is perfect Chris. Thank you." She reached over and gave him a little hug and a peck on the cheek before hastily pulling away from him.
"That's not your whole gift, but the rest comes later," he told her cryptically.
"More? Come on Chris…" she started.
"Don't worry, the next part didn't cost too much. Honest."
She sighed, "I don't want to give you your gift now."
"What? Why?" He asked incredulously.
"Because its nothing compared to this…" she gestured at her new toy.
"Mary, give me the gift," he directed.
"Can I get you something else?" She questioned pitifully, "And maybe give it to you tomorrow or something?"
He groaned loudly and rummaged through the piles of presents until he arrived at the one she had bought for him.
He opened it greedily while Annie buried her head in her arms. The box decorated with red paper and a big, metallic green bow contained a Pittsburgh Steelers sweatshirt. Smiling because she knew they were his favorite, he lifted it up to see what it looked like.
Annie still hadn't looked up and as he unfolded the shirt, something fell from inside of it. Furrowing his eyebrows, he reached down to see what it was. He picked it up and felt tears prick at his eyes. How could she not think I would like this?
He held in his hand a single to the song "Stand By Me", the same song they danced to not that long ago. Taped to it was a note that simply said "To remember. Love, your Mary"
He ran his fingers over it lightly before turning to her and putting his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I love it. I absolutely love it."
"You're not just saying that?" She asked meekly.
He shook his head violently. "I'm not just saying that. I couldn't have asked for anything better."
He reached over and grabbed her in a huge bear hug while his family looked on.
(later that night)
There was a full house, but finally the last of the people had left, the last of the dishes were washed and the last of his family members were in bed.
Annie had gone to bed in the spare room 45 minutes ago, but he walked up the steps to wake her.
He opened the door to her room and stepped in. He knelt beside her bed watching her sleep for several moments before nudging her. "Mary, Mary, wake up."
She stirred slightly. "Maaaaary, come on….wake up. Don't make me turn on the lights."
She groaned and finally opened her eyes. "What do you want Chris?"
He chuckled, "Come on Grinch, get up."
Moaning, she let him pull her up and out of the bed. "What are we doing?"
He led her downstairs and turned on one of three kitchen lights before gesturing for her to sit down at the table.
He walked to the fridge and grabbed something from inside of it. "I have something for you."
Heading back to the table, he placed it in the middle of it.
"Cherry pie," she whispered.
"With REAL cherries," he added, mimicking her earlier comment.
"You didn't have to do this Chris," she said.
"Merry Christmas Mary," was his response, "Cherry pie before you went to bed, I got it right, didn't I?"
"You got it right," she replied.
"Well alright then, let's eat!" He cut two pieces of the pie, one for her and one for him and placed them on two plates.
She began eating her immediately, savoring that one bit of tradition. He sat back and watched her. She looked so serious as she steadily cleaned her plate. It was then that he decided.
He was going to get her. He wanted her to want him and nothing short of her declaring her undying love for someone else would get him to stop. He needed her, it wasn't healthy but it couldn't be helped.
He'd think back…everything he knew about her and he was sure he could formulate some sort of plan. He'd just have to utilize his self-control. He needed to make sure she felt for him just as deeply as he felt for her.
He had the distinct feeling that somewhere in her mind she was falling for him, but there was no reason he couldn't…help her out. And he was prepared to do a lot of helping…