Chapter 34 All The Time In The World

*** Dear reader, I am not one to leave messages within my stories but this chapter is an exception. I wanted you to know that I struggled and struggled with this chapter and as you read it that will become very clear. The words just would not come. I finally pushed through to get the story moving forward. Please bear with me if you find it lacks in any way or seems off or different. Jackson was just not cooperating.

As always, thank you for reading Unlikely Places. 😊

Nervous excitement had me chewing at my bottom lip as I pulled my car onto Pierce's long, tree-lined driveway. This would be our second date this week. Technically our third if I counted the lunch we had after that horrible meeting. Pierce had asked me to stay and eat with him and after the kiss we had shared, denying him anything had been impossible.

On the nights we hadn't met up we had still talked on the phone. I wasn't a big conversationalist any given time, even less so on the phone. My usual experience had been more or less, get to the point communications.

With Pierce it was different though. We seemed to stumble across so many things to say and discuss and share. Talking on the phone with him wasn't a chore for me as it usually was and it came naturally, too. I didn't feel awkward or tongue tied.

I had learned a lot about him while we talked. He had more of a sense of humor than I would have guessed though admittedly it had a dry sarcastic slant to it but it wasn't mean or cruel. A lot of it was actually self-directed. He had an even greater ability to laugh at himself than I could have imagined.

And he was very curious.

Mostly about me.

He had question upon question that seemed endless in his desire to know more about me. It was a little embarrassing but at the same time surprisingly flattering. I'd always considered myself boring but to Pierce it seemed like nothing about me was too dull for him to want to know.

And if the lunch and the dinner and the phone calls didn't give us enough time to talk, to share, to learn, the texts in between all of those flew incessantly throughout the day right up until I went to sleep.

The texts were never serious. They were cute, fun, and I would say most especially flirty. Not really by me. I didn't have a clue how to flirt. But by Pierce. The man had powers of flirtation that affected me both emotionally and physically.

Yeah, physically.

Pierce, this, what we were doing. All of it was an entirely new, and I had to admit, completely exhilarating chapter in my life.

I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw my smiling reflection. The newness of seeing this side of myself hadn't worn off. I sometimes did a double take when I caught a glimpse of the sparkling excitement shining out of my eyes, or my lips always on the verge of a smile these days, or my ever-present flushed cheeks in a complexion that I could only ever describe before as pale.

I was kind of unrecognizable to myself. I could only imagine what my parents would think if they could see me like this.

This appeared to be my new personal state, too. I couldn't say I liked it or disliked it. It just was. I could however, say I liked the cause of this change very much.

Pierce.

Yeah, I had pretty much stopped denying to myself how I felt about him and how he made me feel. I was even starting to no longer doubt his feelings for me. He was so verbal about how he felt. Sincere and warm with all of his actions towards me.

Pierce liked me. It was as simple and weird as that. The more that assured certainty of his feelings for me grew the more comfortable I became with him and with my own emotions. The more comfortable I became the more natural it all was beginning to feel.

I parked the car and sat for a second looking blankly towards his home marveling that I was even here. We had met in an unlikely place, under unlikeable circumstances and yet here I now sat, my face sporting a huge grin, my stomach jittery in nervous anticipation; the good kind, too something I didn't even know there was, and my heart hammering in excitement.

These feelings were so similar to what I have always felt in the past with my anxiety yet the context with why I was feeling them now was so different... and made the similar sensations which once plagued me, now feel so wonderful.

How was that possible?

The excitement seemed even stronger tonight. We were staying in. Pierce said he would make me dinner and we could watch a movie or whatever I wanted. He'd made suggestions like playing pool or tennis, or even go for a swim. He'd finished by simply saying "anything."

Anything

A simple word, yet it had me all aflutter. The impact of his husky voice, his blue-ice eyes and the connotations of what that one simple word could mean was tying me in knots. But despite my uncertainties I was not running away. The exact opposite in fact. I was about to walk right through the front door of Pierce's home and an abyss of possibilities.

Shaking my head, I heaved a sigh and climbed slowly out of my car.

I was frustrated with myself. I was acting like a teenager. I was a grown ass man that could do or not do what he wanted. My nerves and anxiety were braided together with excitement and real honest attraction and it was confusing the hell out of me. My biggest fear wasn't what could happen tonight or if Pierce was even expecting anything to happen, it was how I would act or possibly even react.

Footsteps coming towards me at a fast clip announced Pierce's imminent arrival. I headed towards the sound. An instant later a smiling Pierce stood before me with a waddling Ziggy trailing behind him.

I returned Pierce's smile with a shy one of my own.

"Go ahead," he said dryly as he reached me and I arched my brow at him in confusion, not understanding the direction of Pierce's thoughts.

"Go ahead and stoop down and pet the damn dog," he drawled, out in a long-suffering sigh, stunning me for a second before I suddenly caught the teasing glint in his eyes that he could not quite hide.

"I saw how your eyes kept darting to her despite your valiant attempt to follow proper etiquette and greet the human being, me," he emphasized, putting both hands to his chest as if to say 'this fine specimen,' making me giggle.

"So, go ahead," he said again with another long dramatic sigh, his hand sweeping down to his wiggling fur baby, in an over exaggerated sweep. "Say hello to Ziggy by all means. I'll just stand here," he finished, looking as pitiful as Pierce would ever look which was a joke unto itself.

There was nothing pitiful about Pierce.

I almost... almost played along. I stepped forward fulling expecting myself to squat down to make a big deal over the dog and give him lots of hugs and kisses. But instead of squatting as I had intended, I found myself stepping forward, rising up on my tiptoes, patting Pierce's head behind his ear and snuggling my nose into his cheek murmuring, "Who's a good boy!"

I felt Pierce freeze.

His reaction made me freeze.

I squeezed my eyes tight wishing with all my might for a do-over. What had I been thinking?

As I made to step back, Pierce's arms snatched up around me and he pulled me into a tight embrace. I felt a rumbling vibration throughout my upper torso and it took me a second to realize Pierce was laughing!

I grinned in relief; my face pressed into his neck as he rocked us back in forth as his laughter grew. I wasn't sure what he found so funny but his laughter was contagious and I found myself giggling into his warm neck.

Pierce's laughter did finally quiet and he pulled back slightly to look down at me but he didn't let me go. His eyes were lit up with affectionate humor and his lips still teased a smile.

He was beautiful.

My expression must have conveyed my thoughts because Pierce's expression altered. His eyes strayed to my lips and rested there in a look so intently focused I felt them begin to tremble. My involuntary response must have acted as some sort of silent signal to him because while one of his strong arms continued to hold me tightly, he released the other and let his hand come around and up towards my face, his fingertip lightly grazing the soft flesh of my lower lip.

As if in a trance I watched Pierce as his eyes remained focused intently on the path of his finger as it teased at my mouth. On a quivering sigh I slightly parted my lips without thought, drawing in a deep breath of air as the tightening of my chest was constricting the flow of air into my lungs.

Death by suffocation due to a simple look, a simple touch. Yesterday I would have said no way. Tonight, I knew it to be a real possibility.

Pierce smirked down at me but it wasn't a hateful look. It was smug though. It was also sexy as hell.

"What the hell and I going to do with you, Jackson?" Pierce murmured, his eyes leaving my lips to stare into my eyes.

My head suddenly filled with a dozen answers. Some that had me blushing to the roots of my hair. I didn't voice any of my thoughts aloud though, I didn't have the nerve nor was I really ready for the possible results my words could trigger.

"A beautiful enigma that I am not sure I will ever fully understand, but I really, really want to spend my life trying," Pierce whispered.

My eyes widened and my heart galloped. Pierce's candid words were almost overwhelming. I wasn't sure what to say or what to do. I blinked several times and swallowed as my mind fought to form a thought.

The sudden gentle touch of his lips to mine thankfully stopped the frantic chaos of my mind. Then I felt his mouth smile against mine and I knew this smile was gentle and sweet. I could literally feel the silent messages he was sending me.

Don't panic.

Don't worry.

No rush.

We've got time.

All the time in the world.

My hands that had been hanging down by my sides slowly raised up along Pierce's sides, up along his arms to his broad shoulders where I firmly clasped the tight muscle. On tip toes, holding onto his warm flesh I pulled back away from his mouth and looked up into his eyes, hoping my eyes conveyed their own message back.

I'm not panicking.

I'm not worried.

You're not rushing me.

We've got time.

All the time in the world.