Running Towards Love (11 page)

Jason and Rebekah exchanged small talk as they stood in line ordering their drinks. He showed her to a table, pulled out the chair for her, and took a seat next to her once she was comfortable.

“Thank you again for giving this back to me,” Jason stated once they were both seated, indicating the bag now resting on the floor.

“Like I said,” she replied, “I didn’t think you realized you dropped it. Besides, someone would be disappointed if you didn’t bring that Victoria’s Secret bag home with you.” She flashed a smile at him, and he could sense immediately that she was teasing him.

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to fight off the embarrassment. “My sister is getting married in a month. I figured she could use something nice.”

“Well, you are a sweet brother.”

“You have no clue. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a guy to walk into Victoria’s Secret and buy something?” She shook her head with a small smile, and he continued. “Well, it’s even more difficult when it’s his baby sister. I wanted it to be flannel, long sleeved, and ankle length.”

She laughed again, and it took his breath away. “So,” she asked. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you get?”

He glanced down at the table briefly before raising his eyes to meet hers. “Lotion and perfume,” he replied, laughing.

“Chicken,” she said, joining him in his laughter, thinking about how good it felt to laugh like this for a change. She did know how difficult it was for a guy to do that. Early in their marriage Steve had done that for her. He had wanted to surprise her, so he went all by himself and picked something out. By the time she came home that night, he had it wrapped and waiting for her. She could tell how embarrassed he had been.

“Rebekah?” Jason said her name, breaking her out of her reverie. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about something.” She decided to change the subject before he asked any more questions. “So, why were you left to do the shopping? Isn’t that something your wife normally helps you with?”

Jason took a breath and rubbed his hand over his face. He had to get used to saying this. “I’m not married anymore. Carrie, my ex-wife, left a year ago. We were able to keep it out of the press until just the last few days, when the divorce actually became final."

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No, that’s okay.” It was his turn to change the subject. “So, what brings you to New York?”

“I come here twice a year, once in February and once in June. I’m a teacher, and every year we have a Civic Education Conference in February.”

“Okay, I’m sorry to interrupt,” he broke into her sentence. “But, I have to ask. What exactly is Civic Education?”

With a laugh, Rebekah answered. “That’s okay; most people don’t know what it is either until it’s put in a different way. Civic education is teaching the foundations of our government. It’s combining U.S. History, historical documents, and government all into one.”

”Okay,” he drew out slowly, slightly unsure how exciting that could really be.

Sensing his hesitation and light skepticism, she continued. “What can I say?” she asked with a shrug. “It’s a passion of mine.” He watched as her eyes lit up as she talked, recognizing it truly was something she enjoyed greatly. “Anyway,” she continued. “The conference is a good deal for the teachers. They pay everything for us to come up here for four days. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. We meet all day, but then have the afternoons and evenings off.” As she took a sip of her coffee, her ring glistened in the light.

“So what were you doing this afternoon?” He could not figure out why he was so intrigued by this woman in front of him, but that ring on her finger bothered him. He had to find a way to ask her about it.

She saw him staring at the ring, but she was afraid to open that wound so soon. She was drawn to him, but what was the point? He was some famous guy who probably did this with all the women he met, and she was going home in two days. “We were just walking around, taking everything in. I love coming here. It’s so different from my home.”

“Where’s that?”

“Texas.”

“Wow. I’d definitely agree on the different part.”

“What about you? Where’s home for you?”

“New York. Actually I live in small town about an hour from here called Newburgh. I was in the City to take care of some shopping.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes; each lost in their own thoughts; enjoying each other’s company.

“Okay, I have to ask,” Jason stated, breaking through the silence. “How is it that you were one of the only people not running up and asking for an autograph earlier?”

“Ah, I’m sorry,” she said with a laugh. “Did I bruise your ego?”

“No,” Jason replied quietly, “It intrigued me. You intrigued me,” he answered honestly.

Rebekah blushed and looked down. “I told you I teach, but I actually teach in a suburb. Every time I go somewhere, I always run into one of my students, or one of my students’ parents. It’s extremely hard to feel like you have your own life when you feel like you are constantly being watched. I know it’s not the same scale as what you face, but because of that, I can sort of relate.”

He could not believe this woman sitting in front of him. His own wife, ex-wife, had never understood the pressures of being in the spotlight. She always wanted to do what she wanted, when she wanted, never caring about the consequences, and she had been around the fame for years. Yet, here was this beautiful creature that lived in Texas, and she understood part of the difficulty he faced every day in his life.

When he did not say anything, Rebekah decided to continue. “Anyway, like I said, it was always difficult for me. I’ve always felt like I had to maintain a certain image for my kids. I teach eighth graders and they are very impressionable. As a teacher, I’ve always thought it was important to take on the responsibility of being a role model. I’ve always believed that what I do outside of school teaches them as much as what I do inside of school.” She looked at him and was amused at the look of shock that still covered his face. “It’s okay; you can say that I’m crazy. My husband always did.”

Immediately, she regretted the words. She couldn’t believe she just said that. It was something she did not want to get into. She looked at him and was surprised to see a look of defeat in his eyes. Instinctively, she began twisting the ring on her finger. Jason watched her, feeling surprisingly dejected. ‘She is married,’ he thought to himself. ‘So why do I feel as if I’ve just been punched?’

Jason noticed she was still playing with her wedding ring. The silence between them was now uncomfortable, and he could sense she did not want to talk about this. He decided to ignore the statement for the time being. She had said her husband ‘did’ say that, and he could deal with past tense for the moment.  Looking around, he decided to change the direction of their conversation. “We’ve been here for an hour already. Why don’t you let me walk you back to your hotel? Where are you staying?”

Relief flooded Rebekah’s face as she realized he wasn’t going to push for an explanation. How was it that this man seemed to know exactly what she needed? She smiled at him, “I think I will take you up on that offer. I’m staying at the Marquis Marriott in Times Square.”

“Wow,” he replied standing and offering her his hand. “They really are putting you guys up well aren’t they?”

Taking his hand, she stood and again flashed him a smile that made his stomach flutter. “Yeah, they take pretty good care of us,” she answered, staring into his eyes, almost getting lost in them. He gazed back at her, both of them forgetting the fact that her hand was still in his.

“Excuse me,” a nearby woman said, tearing both of them out of the moment. “Aren’t you Jason Taylor?”

Rebekah grinned at him, and they broke their contact, hesitantly. He turned from her and faced the woman. “Yes, I am.”

Rebekah watched as he made some small talk with the woman standing there. ‘What am I doing?’ she thought to herself. ‘I can’t be falling for this guy. I’m going home in two days. I’ll just let him walk me back and call this my lucky afternoon. That will be all.’

“Are you ready to go?” Jason asked, turning back to face her.

“As soon as you can tear yourself away from your fans there,” she teased.

“Very funny. Come on.” After putting his jacket on, he opened the door for her and placed his hand on the small of her back as he ushered her out of the coffeehouse.  He did not leave his hand there long, but he still could not believe the feeling he got from this simple touch. For some reason, he felt he could not just drop her off at the hotel and walk away, but how did he propose anything else?

“Welcome to my life,” he said as they started walking towards her hotel. “And before you ask, yes, it is always like this. But then again, you got a taste of that earlier.”

“I told you I understood. The only difference is that the people who come up to me aren’t complete strangers.”

“Sometimes I think that would be easier.”

“I don’t know, a stranger may judge you, but you don’t have to worry about running into them at school or church the next day.”

“That makes sense. Plus, I can walk away from a stranger much easier than you can from a student or a parent.”

Again, Rebekah glanced at him. She could not believe that this man she had met less than two hours ago understood something her husband never did. ‘This doesn’t make sense,’ she thought to herself, struggling with her emotions. ‘He can’t understand me; he’s just saying what he thinks I want to hear.’ The only problem with those thoughts was no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that they were right, she could not. He just seemed too honest to be making this up. For some strange reason, she felt herself trusting him, and that terrified her.

Their conversation remained light and general as they walked towards the hotel together. They stopped at different stores along the way, enjoying each other’s company, more than either of them thought possible. They shared some more about themselves, both of them walking at a slow pace, neither wanting the walk to end. All too quickly though, they reached the hotel. Rebekah turned to face him. Shyly, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thank you for walking me back,” she started, not sure if she should continue.

“Sure,” he replied. “And thanks for giving this back,” he continued, holding the bag up towards her, “Kacee will be very appreciative.”

Again his breath was taken away as she smiled at him, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Sure she will. She won’t know what to do without that lotion on her honeymoon.”

“You think you’re very funny don’t you?” he teased back, joining in her laughter, which ended all too soon. “And,” he continued after taking a deep breath, “thank you for spending the afternoon with me. I had a great day, better than I’ve had in a long time.” He finished that last part quietly, so quietly she almost did not hear him.

She reached her hand out to him and shook his lightly as he took hers, losing himself in the feel of her small hand in his large, strong one. “I had a nice time too,” she whispered back, too scared to say anything else. Her mind was telling her to run into that hotel, but her heart would not let her legs move. They stood there together for a moment, neither one wanting to break contact, but both too unsure of anything to admit it. Finally, she broke the silence. “It was nice to meet you, Jason.” After another glance into his eyes, she dropped his hand and turned to walk into the hotel.

Jason sighed as he watched her walk away. He was not sure it was the right time to start anything, but he just had this feeling that he could not let her walk away. In the short amount of time he had spent with her, he already felt this amazing connection. He had to trust his heart on this.

“Rebekah!” he called out.

She turned back around, smiling nervously as she did. Within a matter of seconds, he closed the distance between them.