Stalker

Chapter Six


Greg unlocked the door to his apartment and pushed the door open. Sara stepped inside, two sacks of clothes she had bought at the nearby store in her hands. He followed her inside, another bag in his hand. He shut the door as he watched Sara take in her surroundings. He smiled as he stepped further into the living room.

“The bedroom is down the hall on the right,” he said.

Sara stared at him, an eyebrow raised.

“Somewhere to put your clothes,” he added, feeling his face flush.

She smiled at him then headed toward the bedroom. He followed her after a moment.

She placed the sacks on his bed and rummaged through his closet. He added his bag to the two and leaned against the bed, his arms folded across his chest.

“Like what you see?” Greg asked, smiling.

Sara spun around, staring at him in surprise. She cleared her throat and raised her chin.

“I was seeing if there was any room in here for my clothes.”

“And is there?” He asked, enjoying the fact he made her squirm.

Sara rolled her eyes and headed over to the bed. She opened a bag and set to putting her clothes away. She ignored him and he took the opportunity to admire her.

His eyes roamed over her body, taking in the form fitting shirt she wore. It hugged her in all the right places, causing heat to rise in his body. She turned back to the closet and his gaze dropped to the black jeans which hugged her rear. It suddenly grew hotter in the room and he cleared his throat nervously.

Sara turned around, the expression in her eyes told him she hadn’t expected him to still be there. It then changed to annoyance.

“Don’t you have something to do?”

“No,” Greg said, finding his voice a bit strange to his ears.

“You’re making me nervous,” she said, irritated. “One man watching me all the time is enough.”

Greg stared at her, not liking being compared to a stalker. He would admit he had watched her over the years, but he was far from the point of stalking. It hurt to hear she thought of him like that.

“Sorry,” he said as he straightened. “I’ll make us something to eat.”

“Good idea.”

She went back to putting her clothes away as Greg left the room. She hadn’t meant to imply he was a stalker, but it was all that came to mind to get him to leave. She wanted to be alone, to think. She needed to get herself back under control.

The past week had been stressful and frightening. She wanted to put it all behind her and get back to normal. As normal for her as it could be anyway.

She sighed as she placed the last article of clothing in the closet. She needed to apologize to Greg for the stalker remark. If they were going live together for however long it took, they needed to get along. She closed the closet door and headed toward the kitchen.

Sara found him warming up some leftovers. She watched him for a moment, taking his movements in. It was as if he was back in the lab with the way he moved through the kitchen. She smiled wistfully then cleared her throat.

Greg turned as the microwave beeped. He stared at her and she saw various emotions run across his eyes. She offered him a smile, hoping to defuse the tension she felt.

“I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it.”

He raised an eyebrow then opened the microwave and brought out the food. He placed it on two plates then set them on the table. He didn’t look at her the entire time and Sara felt as if he wouldn’t accept her apology.

“Greg,” Sara began hesitantly.

Greg shook his head, finally looking at her.

“It’s all right, Sara,” he said as he sat at the table. “I know you’re unsure about being here. It wasn’t your idea.”

Sara sat across from him, wanting him to know she wasn’t upset about being here. She felt safe with him.

“I’m fine being here,” she said, reaching across the table to take his hand in hers.

Greg looked up at her as she squeezed his hand. He smiled at her and the tension left her body. She relaxed as he squeezed her hand.

“I’m glad,” he said softly.

After dinner, Greg gathered some blankets and arranged them on the couch. He decided to let Sara have his bed while he slept on the couch.

“What are you doing?” Sara asked from behind him.

He looked up from his task and gave her a smile.

“Putting some blankets on the couch.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “You’re not going to sleep there are you?”

“You need to sleep, Sara,” he answered as he fluffed up his pillow. “The bed is a hell of a lot more comfortable.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

Greg smiled at her, touched by her concern.

“I can sleep anywhere.”

Sara smiled at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. He was glad she was here and he wanted to do anything to help her feel comfortable.

“I’ve seen the proof of that,” Sara said, laughing.

“I was dead tired that night and the soda was calling my name.”

“You looked so adorable I didn’t want to wake you,” she admitted.

Greg’s face burned and he looked away. He hadn’t known anyone had been watching him when he fell asleep in the break room. He had been embarrassed about it and was glad no one had noticed. Hearing from Sara she had caught him sleeping only renewed the embarrassment.

“Course it was the first time the lab had been quiet for more than an hour.”

Greg tossed his pillow at her. He smiled in satisfaction when it hit her.

“Greg!” Sara shouted, glaring at him.

“That’ll teach you.”

“I don’t think so.”

Sara picked up the pillow, leaned over the back of the couch and smacked him across his head. He ducked, but misjudged the length of her arms. The pillow hit the back of his head.

“Ow, Sara!” Greg yelped, moving out of the way before she could hit him again.

“Now, we’re even,” she said as she dropped the pillow on the couch.

Greg looked at her, her eyes shining with mirth. His heart flipped and he wanted to kiss her then and there.

The silence in the room grew around them, becoming almost deafening. They stared at each other for long minutes, Greg not wanting to ruin the moment.

Sara broke the spell as she moved away.

“We better get some sleep,” she said softly.

Greg nodded as he watched her head into his bedroom. He wished he could follow her, be with her like he always wanted.

He sighed as he stared at his make-shift bed. He suddenly felt completely alone, the silence engulfing him.

Might as well get some sleep, he thought as he took off his shirt and jeans. He then turned off the lights in the living room.

He pulled back the blankets and climbed under them. He stared into the darkness as thoughts of Sara undressing in the next room filled his mind. He closed his eyes, the images becoming more vivid. He groaned as he pulled the blankets up over his head as if they could drive out the arousing images. He fell asleep with the images still in his head.


~*~


Sara and Greg arrived at the lab five minutes before their shift was to begin. Sara wanted to know if Nick had made any progress in finding the stalker.

She found him in the break room, nursing a cup of coffee.

“Any progress?” She asked.

Nick looked up at her and sighed. Disappointment set in as she sat at the table.

“The paper is typical printing paper,” he said after a sip of coffee. “We found nothing unusual about it. Either he has a brand new printer or takes great care of it.”

“What about the tapes?”

“Archie’s still on them. Hopefully they’ll tell us what we need to know.”

The two were silent for several minutes. Each deep in their own thoughts. Nick finally broke the silence.

“How was your first night at Greg’s?”

Sara smiled, “He let me sleep in his bed while he took the couch.”

Nick laughed causing her to stare at him. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what was so funny. He shook his head as he got himself under control.

“He finally gets the perfect opportunity to woo the socks off you and he plays the gentleman.”

Sara shook her head, not understanding why it was funny. She thought Greg’s actions last night were sweet.

“Sara, he has a thing for you,” Nick explained as if she didn’t know.

“That’s obvious,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Greg won’t force himself on me.”

“I’m not saying that. I’m just surprised he would sleep on the couch while the object of his desires is in his bed.”

“Which is the difference between you and me,” Greg said as he entered the break room. “I don’t take advantage.”

“Which is probably why you’re not dating her now.”

“Hey, I’ve asked her out more than once. She keeps saying ‘no’.”


“I’m right here, guys,” Sara said, her voice aggravated. Did they have to talk about her as if she wasn’t in the same room with them?

“Sorry,” Greg said as he sat beside her. “Did you sleep well?”

“Like a baby.”

“Good. I woke up with a back ache.”

“See, if you slept in your own bed that wouldn’t have happened,” Nick said, his eyes glittering with mirth.

Greg said nothing and Sara glanced at him. He appeared to be contemplating what Nick had said. A spark of heat went over her at the thought of him joining her in bed. It was his bed after all.

“It’s up to her,” Greg said as he looked at her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes. She was drawn into them, everything else disappearing around her. She had never noticed how beautiful his eyes looked. She wanted to drown in his eyes, never to return.

“Sara!” Nick’s voice broke into her thoughts.

She jumped and stared at Nick. He nodded behind her and she turned to see a secretary standing in the doorway.

“This came for you,” she said as she handed Sara an envelope.

“Did you see who it was?” Sara asked as she fought down the sense of dread.

“It was the usual mailman,” came the answer.

“Thanks,” Greg said as the secretary left.

Sara had to force herself to open the envelope. She took a deep breath as she felt Greg’s hand on her back. His touch soothed her, filling her with courage. It also sent a jolt of awareness through her.

She read the note and froze, fear chasing every thought and feeling from her body.

“You didn’t come home last night. Where were you?”