The mini lunch date in the café with Jessica went extremely well, I was very delighted with the outcome. She had expressed herself as a different person than I was expecting. She was lively and was fond of music. After that, we took all the classes together. When we were done for the day, we headed out of the campus and onto the car park, walking together for the first time.
"What do you think of me?" Jessica asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"I mean, what you think of me as a person."
"You're sweet and attractive."
"Excuse me?"
"Shit, did I say that out loud?"
"Loud enough for me to hear it but it's alright."
"Sorry."
"It's alright Eric, don't worry."
"That's a relief."
"Oh yes, don't worry."
"Well Jessica, if you don't mind me asking then what is White bothering you about?"
"Oh. Nothing, he's just being stupid."
"How is he being stupid?"
"He wants me back."
"Alright, do you want to be with him?"
"Quite frankly, I don't. He's a jerk and he treats me like trash."
"Then in that case, if he bothers you again. Let me know, I'll teach him a lesson." I replied in a comforting tone.
"Thanks, Eric. It means a lot."
"You're welcome. I'm here for you."
"I don't understand why, but I think I can count on you."
"I feel the same."
"That's nice."
"Yes, it is."
"Oh, my car is here." She spoke as she took her phone out to see who was calling.
"You should go and relax. I'll take care of him if he bothers you again."
"You're a nice guy Eric, I like you. See you tomorrow."
I waved her goodbye as she walked out of the gate. Wow, that was extra-ordinary. She said she liked me. It was time to go home, as I moved towards the parking lot. I saw a group of people held up around something. This made me curious; as I grew closer, I realized they had surrounded Roxie. I made my way inside the crowd. Quietly went closer, unlocked, and opened the door. Everyone was stunned and started to make room for me to take it out. I sat inside and put her in the ignition. It revved up like a charm, making many instant fans. I took her slowly out of the parking but as soon as I reached the main road, a voice in my head said "Floor it." so I followed it and the result was even more mesmerizing.
I went straight home because today was very tiring. Parked Roxie as I usually parked cars then went inside and then headed straight for my room. I fell on my bed and went to sleep; I was so carefree at that time that I forgot about my hunger. Immediately, sleep took over and I dozed off.
Sleep was excessive and I woke up very late. I missed the first class and I had five new messages from Jessica. I guess she got worried about me a little; at least that was what her messages were telling me. I went to freshen up first and then downstairs for some breakfast but nobody was home. Everyone had left for their work and duties but I, being lazy or too sleepy, was still at home when it was 11:48 am on the clock. I was busy munching on my sandwich when suddenly my phone started to vibrate and it was Jessica.
"Good morning." I greeted in a pleasant tone after answering.
"Where are you, Eric?" Jessica asked in a tense tone.
"I'm at home, munching a sandwich. Want me to bring some for you."
"Are you not coming today?"
"I am, leaving in a bit. Is everything alright?"
"No."
"What happened?"
"It's White."
"Where are you now?"
"I'm in the ladies' room."
"Which floor are you on?"
"Second." she replied while crying.
"Stay there, I'm on my way." I assured her while hanging up.
Immediately, I put away the sandwich I was eating and grabbed the keys. Locked and left home, revved up Roxie, and took off for university. Throughout the way, I had the paddle pressed to the floor. Cutting and cornering through the traffic I made it to the university in 18 minutes and 49 seconds, I rushed inside and quickly climbed up the stairs to the second floor ladies room. After reaching, I dialed Jessica's number and after a few seconds, she picked up.
"I'm outside." I muttered in a worried tone.
"Five minutes please." she replied after thinking and immediately hung up.
I stood outside the ladies' room for five long minutes and eventually Jessica stepped out, her eyes were swollen and she was hiding her left cheek with her hair. I lifted my hand and moved her hair to the side a little to notice her swollen cheek. Yes, White had hit her.
"What happened?" I asked in a furious tone.
"We had a fight." she replied while ignoring my eyes.
"What was it about that he ended up hitting you?"
"It was nothing."
"He hit you for nothing?"
Jessica was struggling for words, looked up at me with tears in her eyes, controlling herself from crying. I took out a tissue from my pocket and wiped her tears. Her mood immediately changed, she felt rather comfortable.
"He asked me out on a date, I refused… we argued and he ended up hitting me. He said to come willingly or else something worse might happen".
"What?" my blood was boiling.
"I'm scared Eric. He said to come with him willingly; otherwise, he will hit me again and take me forcibly. I don't know what to do." she started crying again.
I could not watch her crying like this, with her cheek swollen. How could he dare hit Jessica? How could he muster so much energy to ruin her beautiful face? I had to do something quickly.
"Go to him." I muttered in a shaky voice.
"What?" she asked with her eyes wide open.
"Go to him, meet him on the gate. Then tell him I am with someone now, you do not stand a chance against him. So you should be scared of what he might do to you because you made a grave mistake by hitting me."
"What will you do?"
"Just trust me."
"Don't do this Eric."
"Please, call him and tell him to meet him on the gate."
"I don't want to hear his voice."
"Don't call then, just send a text."
"Okay." She took out her phone and started typing.
Her expressions changed as she was typing. Even in this state, I found her adorable.
"There, sent." she seemed unhappy.
"Good, now go and wait by the gate. Come outside when I tell you to." I replied as I headed towards the stairs.
"But, wait! What are you going to do? Eric listen to me, please. I don't want him to hurt you."
"I'll be fine."
I waved my hand and went down the stairs. As I reached the ground floor, I called Tom.
"There is a problem, go and wait outside the gate. I'll call you in case I needed some help." I spoke as soon as he answered and immediately hung up.
By now, I was almost near the gate and I could see White standing outside waiting for Jessica. Seeing him made my blood boil again, so I rushed towards the parking. Upon reaching, I popped my trunk open and grabbed the spanner from the undercarriage. Unlocked Roxie and sat inside, revved her up, and took her outside. I was lucky enough to get a parking right in front of the gate, with eyes focused on White. I sent Jessica a text to step out.
As expected, she stepped out fearing the harm White could do to me more than what I was going to do to him. She told him what I asked her to say and his behavior was as expected. He had hold of her wrist now and that was what I was waiting for. I was out of Roxie, heading towards them with the spanner in my hand.
"Hey." I shouted at the top of my voice, filled with anger.
Everyone stopped and looked at me, including these two. White was shocked and so was Jessica.
"Leave her alone." I shouted again.
"What can you do?" White teased.
I stepped closer to White.
"Don't try to be smart with me." I spoke, as I looked him in the eyes.
"Eric, please." Jessica called out in despair.
White now stared at Jessica.
"Oh, so you're Eric Brown." He mocked me.
"Yes, I am Eric Brown and you should leave her alone right now."
"What are you going to do, coward? Mind your own business and leave us alone. It's our matter." White mocked while turning towards Jessica, grabbing her wrist again.
I stepped closer to white, poked his arm. As he turned and look towards me, I grabbed the spanner and hit him on his face with all my might. It was enough to knock him down. White let go of Jessica's wrist and fell towards the paved floor, conscious. I grabbed Jessica's hand and took her towards Roxie. I opened the door and politely signaled Jessica to sit. She hesitantly sat inside as I went to White again, to finish him off. When I was standing right in front of him, I sat down and grabbed his face with force so that he gets an aftershock.
"Listen to me, forget about Jessica. Consider this my final warning to you. If I ever see you bothering her again, I will come to your house with this same spanner and beat you upright in front of your family. This blow is in compensation for what you did to Jessica. If you had not hit her, your jaw would have been fine right now. So, stay away from her." I whispered in his ear while giving the spanner a jerk.
White was stunned, I got up and went towards Roxie. I sat inside, revved her up, and took off with Jessica. She was confused as well as shocked and sat facing me. I did not talk to her the entire time we were on the road headed towards the nearest ice cream joint.
"What do you want to eat?" I asked her as politely as I could while I parked outside the ice cream joint.
"Cold coffee please." she replied after thinking,
I ordered a cold coffee for her and a chocolate shake for myself. We sat there and enjoyed our deserts in silence. As we finished, Jessica turned to the window and started crying again. I could not see her cry so I grabbed her hand and looked away, I knew it was awkward but still. I had to hold her hand to assure her and maybe wipe her tears.
In my flow, I turned towards Jessica and saw her staring at me. The thought of me crossing the line took over and I withdrew my hand but in that same instant, Jessica held my hand herself and refused to let go. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I leaned towards her to wipe her tears and she let me. This was the second time I wiped her tears.
"Do you want me to drop you off at university or should I drop you home?" I asked in a very polite tone.
Jessica was still in shock and she was staring at me again, confused and without words to share her decision with me. She took about a minute to piece everything together.
"Can't we just stay here or go up to the mountains for some fresh air?" she asked hesitantly.
Without a word, I started driving towards the mountains.
"Eric, your car is comfortable. It even smells nice, I like it." she muttered while looking out the window.
"Thanks." I replied while being focused on the road.
We were still holding hands and we continued to hold hands until we reached up the nearest hill mountaintop.
"Eric, I want you to be honest with me." Jessica spoke in a polite tone.
"Okay." I replied without looking at her.
"Why aren't you looking at me?"
"I just, don't want to see that mark on your cheek or your swollen eyes. It makes me angry at White and right now, I don't want to think about him."
"Do you like me?"
"What do you think?"
"At least look at me."
"I'm looking now." I replied while looking in her eyes.
"That's better. Now, answer me."
"I already did."
"What did you say to White after you settled me in your car?"
"I didn't say anything to him."
"Please Eric, I want to know."
"I told him to stop bothering you."
"What else?"
"It was just this."
"Do you know that you struck him with a spanner?"
"Yes, I do and he deserved it."
"Deserved it, how?"
"He ruined your pretty flawless face. How could he hit you, Jessica? Do you know how much it is bothering me even right now? It was so beautiful and he ruined it. I should've chopped up his hand instead."
"Eric."
"What's with him anyway? Why is he after you? You told him that it could not work out then what was the point. It is not as your mind would change by forcing you or something. I feel bad about not being able to stop him before he could harm you. I am sorry, but I failed."
Jessica turned towards me, I felt her grip loosen from my hand so I withdrew it as well but within seconds, I felt her warm hand on my cheek.
"Eric, look at me please." Jessica muttered in tears.
I mustered all the energy I could and looked up in her tearful eyes. This time, the tears were different. They were not the tears of sorrow; they were the tears of joy, comfort, and trust. She pulled her hand towards herself while holding my cheek, bringing me closer to her. She moved further across her seat and came close to me. In trance, she wrapped her arm around me and pulled me even closer as much as our lips touched. That was our first kiss, which lasted about 10 seconds before she raised her head and looked me in my eyes. God, those eyes were gorgeous. They look even pretty when I saw them up close. After looking into my eyes for about 2 minutes, we both went back to our seats. I looked straight on the road while Jessica was looking outside the window.
"Eric." Jessica spoke in a polite tone. We both looked at each other in the eye again.
"Can you drop me home?" She asked with a smile.
"Sure thing, point the way." I replied with a considerably large smile while revving up Roxie.
My first journey to Jessica's home was very quiet. We did not talk to each other, I focused on the road, and Jessica was looking outside the window. In about 18 minutes, we were outside her home. I parked on the driveway and got out to open Jessica's door. She was stunned as I did it. I do not know what I was thinking when I offered her my hand to help her get out of the car and to my surprise, she accepted it. I dropped her home for the first time; I did not even think that I would reach this stage. As she opened her door, I moved towards Roxie opening the door. Jessica stopped and looked back at me. I caught her while I was sitting inside and looked in her eyes.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked in a worried tone.
"Oh no, Eric. See you tomorrow then." She replied with a fake smile, I knew that the moment I saw it.
"I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully." I replied with a smile.
That was the end of my first trip to Jessica's place. Slowly, I took Roxie out of the driveway and onto the main road. As I was pulling out, I saw Jessica still standing outside her gate. I stopped and looked back at her with a smile.
"Take care, Jessica." I spoke with a mild tone and waving my hand.
She did not say a word but waved her hand with a real smile this time. At that moment, I knew that we were about to be glued together. I was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow now and I had a feeling that she was looking forward to seeing me as well. When we kissed, it seemed like our souls touched rather than our body because it left like a current that sparked something inside. I knew Jessica felt the same. I absolutely could not wait to see her tomorrow now. I am about to have a long day ahead.