I reached out to tilt her chin up, because hiding from me wasn’t necessary, and I wished I could help her see that.
“What’s making you lose sleep?”
Another blush, but at least her eyes stayed on mine this time. They were so pretty too, almost a shade you’d see in autumn as leaves started to change to warm oranges and browns. Her eyes weren’t orange, obviously, but they had flecks of warmer tones in them.
“Caroline?”
“N… nightmares. I… they wake me a lot, so sometimes I just sit and read until I fall asleep naturally, because it’s too scary to lay with my eyes closed in the dark and be aware.”
Jesus. Ask for a gut punch and you get one, right?
“Damn. I hate that you have those. Are they about something specific? I’m trying not to pry, but if you wanna talk about them, I’m all ears. Unless people covered in ears are what you have nightmares about.”
She started giggling again and I grinned. “Lucky my daughter isn’t here to hear that one. I’d never live it down.”
“Who says I’ll let you?”
So cute when she banters. “I’m hoping you’re too kind. Now… why don’t we get you home, and get you some rest. You need to bring the laptop?”
“Yes please. The scanner can stay, but the laptop has all my personal stuff on.”
I turned and closed the laptop, unplugging it and reaching over to switch off the wall sockets.
“Okay, let’s go.” I lifted it up and stood up, dragging Caroline with me.
“Wait. My phone and keys are-”
“I’ll get them, but I have a request.” I grabbed my backpack and slid her laptop into it, while her questioning eyes watched every move.
“My-”
“Let me take you home, please.” Caroline froze for a moment, worrying at her bottom lip as she glanced outside, presumablyremembering that she came here by taxi, so there was no ride outside waiting for her. I was relieved she’d left it at home, because I wanted to see her home myself.
“You came by taxi, so your ride’s safe at home. Please. Can you trust me to get you home safe?”
She swallowed nervously. “On… on the back of your…”
I grinned at her, grabbing her keys and passing my backpack to her.
“Yeah, can you do that? Can you hold on tight while I take you home?”
She clutched the backpack in front of her like a life preserver.
“Hold… hold on to you?”
“That’s normally how it works, Caroline. You might like it, I mean, it’ll be a different experience, right? And you know you’re safe with me. If you like it, I can even drop by in the morning and bring you back, and it’ll all be fine.”
“I… Oh god. I never… what if I can’t?”
I checked the locks on the side door, and checked Rocket had his shit all switched off, and safe. Then I headed for the main door, switching off lights as I walked.
“If you wait here, while I check the locks in the bay, we can get on our way, okay?”
I knew her concern was more about her own safety, but I just wanted to show her that there was nothing to worry about. That her stuff was safe here, that her vehicle was secure already at her house, and that she could trust me to get her home.
I caught her hand and squeezed it. “You don’t mind touching me, do you? You don’t seem to mind me touching you. Do you really think you can’t do it? I’d never force you.”
Her posture suddenly stiffened, like she was steeling herself, and that’s when I knew she was determined to try. I was so proud of her for taking the plunge, and I led her gently to the entrance to the bay.
