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As he pushed open the door to the living room he found Cora sat on the sofa with her legs curled to the side and her sunshine yellow socked feet tucked under her bum whilst she was flicking through the channels. He smiled as something tugged in his chest. 

“So, tea is sorted. What are we watching?” He rubbed his chest pushing away the weird spasms.

“Well, we have
Shark Attack
or there is a comedy that starts in half an hour?”

“What’s the comedy?” he asked as he pulled off his trainers and got comfortable on the sofa next to her.

Strawberries, sweet and fruity swamped him taking away any sort of normal thought process. He took a deep breath and fought for concentration.

“It’s about some detective that gets shot and then he is partnered with a man who is scared of bullets. Why he would become a cop is beyond me.”

“It sounds good though.”

“So what’s for tea?”

She pulled her hair free of its bobble and shook it. Her thick brown hair dropped to her shoulders as she forced her hands through it, brushing out the kinks with her fingers. His fingers twitched. The bobble was hanging out of her mouth, her lips sealed around it holding it whilst she got her hair ready. Taking the bobble from her mouth she flipped it around her hair a few times with mastered precision. Dropping her hands, she looked at him.

             
O-kay, he realised as her right eyebrow shot up and her eyes questioned him, he'd been staring at her. And now she was staring at him. He felt his pulse quicken as his heart started thumping in his chest. He couldn’t move his eyes. Or he didn’t want to. He wasn't sure anymore. His eyes followed the contours of her face, the sweep of her long dark lashes that framed her inviting eyes. The warm raspberry in her cheeks made her face glow. He remembered her blush when she'd giggled earlier.

             
He moved his focus to the television trying to ignore the heat rising in his face.

“Jack...?”

“Mmm....” He continued to look at the TV.

“Tea... what’s for tea?”

He looked at her now and opened his mouth. The knock on the front door made him jump. He smiled and stood up. “Tea is here.”

“What? That was quick.”

He made his way to the front door and knew without looking back that she was following closely behind him. He knew this because he knew her. She needed to know things; she hated not knowing what was happening. To put it another way, she was nosey.

He opened the door to Ryan holding two large newspaper packages with a huge smile on his face. He was still wearing his apron smeared with chip fat.

“Thanks Ryan, what do I owe you?”

“Nothing man, it’s on the house,” he said winking.

“I’ll speak with you later.” He started to close the door aware that Ryan had seen Cora behind him.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Ryan said as he grinned and whistled.

He hurriedly shut the door. His face suddenly felt like it was on fire.

“So, that's what you call tea,” she teased him.

“These are the best chips around, I'll have you know”

“They are the only chips around,’ she laughed.

             
She'd followed him into the kitchen and hoisted herself up on the counter. He put the bag down as he fumbled with the stack of plates. He heard the rustling of paper and looked around the open cupboard door. She had a chip mid way to her mouth.

“You know, if you keep gobbling them like that you won’t have any to put on your plate.”

She stopped chewing as she cocked her head to the side and looked at him. “I don’t gobble....”

He dropped an even amount of chips on both plates, handed her the salt, vinegar and utensils and headed back towards the room.

“Sure you do,” he grinned loving the way the heat in her cheeks deepened. “So,” he said, popping a very salty, vinegary chip into his mouth. “Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?” he asked knowing that she would have struggled. She'd had about the same amount of time as him to get presents. All that time added up to precisely no time at all.

“Uff! No I haven’t! I'll have to get it all online now and Ayden is constantly hogging the laptop. It's becoming a bit of a nightmare. Have you got anything yet?”

“I have actually!” he admitted rather smugly. The scowl on her face made the ache tighten. “Hey, don’t hate me because I’ve found some time. I’ve found one great present for Eli, you’ve seen the kitchen so you know he is obsessed with gadgets.” He popped another chip in his mouth.

“Yeah, you have the Content Identification Device, and that’s why we have to wear those weird things during training.”

Eli had produced tiny little ear gadgets so they could talk to each other as a team and attack as one unit. They had used them a little in training, especially to warn someone against the many Ayden’s moving around the place. Tabitha and Eli stalked the side lines barking instructions into their ears. It was irritating having them shout in their ears, however they were useful and probably when it came down to it, life saving.

“I've got him a watch that practically does everything but tell the time.”

“What's everything? Does it tell him that he has a stupid kid brother?” she teased and squealed when he threw a chip at her.

“The watch wouldn't tell him that, it doesn’t tell lies.” He threw another chip at her enjoying the sound of her laughter. She ducked but the chip hit her forehead. He leant over and wiped the vinegar with his finger. She sucked in breath, or had he imagined that? He shook himself and pulled back. “Do you want to buy some things before the film starts?”

“Yeah, that would be great but no peeking,” she smiled, her lips nervously twitching at the corners.

He pulled the laptop from under the sofa and passed it to Cora as she put her plate on the floor. If he wasn’t allowed to peek did that mean she was going to buy him something? Should he buy her something? They hadn’t mentioned anything. There should be a rule book for this.

             
He sat in silence eating the last of the chips on his plate and watched as she sat with the laptop balanced on her lap. Her face was a picture of concentration. Her teeth pulled at her lower lip and nibbled. His heart jack hammered.  “I'll just go and wash up.”

“I will give you a shout when I’m done or if the film comes on. Thanks,” she smiled and a new wave of pink flooded her cheeks.

“Not a problem.” he said as his throat went dry.

             
The plates didn’t take more than two minutes to wash but he waited in the kitchen messing with Eli’s little gadgets. It was a big no-no to mess with Eli’s gadgets.

“Hey, little bro. What you up to?” Eli called as he walked into the kitchen lugging shopping bags.

Jack quickly pulled his hand back trying to look innocent. He couldn't be sure if Eli had seen him. “We are just waiting for a film to start. Cora is using the laptop so I left her to it. You finally got food?”

“Yeah, the cupboards were looking at bit bare.” Eli dropped the heavy bags to the floor and playfully punched him on the arm.

“You're telling me. I got some food from the local chippy thanks to Ryan. You can watch the film if you like?”

“No, no. I will leave you to it,” he winked.

“Eli!” he sighed and pushed him.

Eli had thrown several comments his way regarding Cora. They were just friends.  So why was his heart punching his ribs?

“Jack, I’m finished and the film is just about to start,” Cora shouted.

“Hello, Cora!” Eli shouted whilst stood on his tiptoes. Did he think that would elevate his voice in some way?

“Hey, Eli,” she called back.

“Speak later,” he muttered to his brother trying to ignore yet another wink.

“Do you need a drink before the film starts?” he asked Cora as he stepped into the room.

“Nope. I’m good.”

             
The opening credits started rolling accompanied by a high screeching rock ballad. He didn’t have a clue who was in the film, or what had happened so far. His attention was focused on how close her hand was to his. He risked a quick glance at her face. Her face was animated with all sorts of emotions as she watched. She licked her lips and smiled. He clenched his fist and stuffed it roughly in his pocket. This was going to be a very long film. 

Chapter 43

OUT WITH THE OLD

Wrapping his coat tightly around himself, he trudged towards the shop.  This was the part of the day that made him get out of bed every morning, seeing Cora. It was the bloody weather that made him want to stay curled up in bed. It was either raining, sleeting or it was just too damn cold all the time.

             
He reached the cluster of houses and could see that the shop was crowded. A little mini bus was parked outside and people were either boarding or dawdling near the window talking in little groups. He caught sight of Cora who was stood in the middle of a group of women and a lone man. A warm feeling flooded his chest as he looked at her. She was wearing her grey coat that hugged the slim lines of her body but her hair was pulled back into her usual ponytail exposing her neck to the cold wind. This didn't sit right in his gut.

             
Gritting his teeth, he walked towards her taking off his scarf. He hoped the mini bus would make a quick exit before he got there, but how slow can a person walk? The street simply wasn’t long enough. He stepped alongside Cora as she said her goodbyes and promised more goody bags for their next visit. She turned towards him, those warm eyes greeting him as a smile played on her pink lips.

“You had a good day’s business?” he asked as he wrapped the scarf around her exposed neck ignoring the way his fingers brushed against her soft skin.

“Yeah. That was our second mini bus today. I’ve given out over 75 goody bags, I made up 90 this morning, I very nearly didn’t but I’m glad I did. What have you been doing?”

They stepped inside the shop where the warmth on his hands was so lovely he nearly sighed. She shook off her coat revealing a teal coloured jumper that highlighted everything that was perfect about her. She handed his scarf back to him as she walked towards the till.   

“I’ve practised but I still don’t feel confident enough to get everyone up in the air. What if I drop someone under the pressure?” He didn't mind admitting this in front of her. He found he could discuss anything with her.

“Jack, you won’t drop anyone, I know this because
you
won’t allow it.”

“How can you be so...so
calm
about this?”

He watched her move the remaining goody bags into the little back room. His nerves were all over the place and she always looked composed. She turned and joined him in the middle of the shop.

“I’m not calm. I’m anything but.” She put her hand in his.

The feel of her hand sent electricity buzzing through his body. He fought to concentrate on what she was saying.

“If I think about it, I could throw up.” He pulled a face and stepped back but he didn't let go of her hand. She laughed and squeezed his hand. “Seriously, I'm scared but what good would it do to sit here and wait for them to come? We have to do something. We can't just give up, not after everything we've been through.”

He nodded his head and sighed.

“Well, Jack, how are you today?”

He stood straighter, his gaze reluctantly moving from Cora’s face to Tabitha.  Cora let go of his hand.

“Fine, Tabitha. I was just telling Cora that I’ve been practising today but I still don’t feel confident enough.” He tried not to feel dejected that Cora had dropped his hand.

Tabitha wrapped her arm around Cora’s shoulder affectionately. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Well, Jack,” Tabitha said and smiled, her amazing leaf green eyes dancing. “It’s a good job we’re having a practice session tomorrow.”

“Are you being serious?” Cora said looking sternly at Tabitha.

“Yes, I’m being
serious
. Why?”

“Tab, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, which means it's Christmas on Sunday.
Christmas
... does that mean anything to you?”

Tabitha laughed grabbing Cora tighter and crushing her into her body. “Well, we could do it tonight in the freezing winds.” Tabitha paused brushing some of Cora’s hair behind her ear. “We could make a day of it tomorrow and then leave training until the New Year?”

“But-”

“Cora, sshhhh,” Jack interrupted. “We can do tomorrow.”

He grinned at Cora who stuck her tongue out at him.