Unexpected Visitor, Part 2

Dan and Libby

While she waited for Dan to change, Libby went into the kitchen to make coffee. She was so flustered that it wasn't until she opened a cabinet door that she remembered she didn't drink coffee and had no coffee maker! What was it about this man that did that to her?!

Hopefully, he'd settle for hot chocolate. Libby put on a kettle to boil and got out some milk. Luckily, she'd been to the Braddock's grocery a few days ago and bought a few things. Milk, chocolate, cokes, sandwich makings.

She set two cups on her new table and remembered, for the first time since Dan had come to the door, her shopping date with March last Saturday. Running a finger across the table and over the back of one of the chairs, Libby's mind went back to just how much fun she'd had that day. That is, until March had broken the news to her that he was still trapped in some arranged marriage back in Italy. That he could be a friend or a lover to her, but nothing more.

The kettle whistled and, as Libby stirred chocolate, her thoughts returned to the man in her bathroom. Dan Evans. The little time she'd spent with him so far was not anything you could label as fun. She was drawn to him by something she couldn't explain. They hadn't talked very much at all, or gotten to know each other very well. Yet, every time she saw him, Libby was pulled by some urge to be closer to him, to be in his arms, to have him kiss her and...

"Guess they're a little small." She started and spilled some chocolate, as the man she'd just been obsessing over yet again spoke to her. She hadn't even heard the bathroom door open!

The legs and arms of the gray sweats were both a little short on him. "My brother's not quite as tall as you are," Libby told him, with what she hoped was a confident smile. He was carrying his wet things, and she took them from him.

"Have a seat." She pushed one of the cups across the table. "I hope hot chocolate's okay. I forgot that I don't have a coffee maker yet."

"Anything hot is fine with me." Dan Evans sat down and pulled the steaming cup toward him. "And these sweats are the warmest, driest, most comfortable things I've ever had on, after all that cold rain out there!"

Libby stepped into the tiny alcove off the kitchen that contained the washer and dryer, and placed his clothes in to dry. When she came back, she asked, "How about some cookies, or a sandwich or something? I haven't bought a lot of groceries. So far, I don't eat at home a lot."

"Oh, a couple of cookies'd be fine," Dan told her, looking at her flushed face, her still-damp hair. God, she was beautiful! Somewhat like Alice, his ex-wife, yet not like her. Libby was some kind of woman that he'd never run into before.

As she took a package of cookies from the top shelf of the cupboard, Libby turned around to catch Dan staring at her long legs beneath the hem of her short blue robe. She actually blushed a little. And it looked as though Dan were actually embarrassed to be caught looking at her.

Bringing the cookies to the table, she sat down, carefully tucking the short hem underneath her to sit on it. When she'd put it on, Libby hadn't been thinking about how short it was. She was used to being here in her flat alone, not having anyone around to see what she was wearing.

When Dan bent his head over his cup, she took the opportunity to study him more closely. His hair was dark brown, almost black. The beard and mustache he wore were a little lighter, nearly reddish at times. She couldn't see his eyes right now, but Libby thought they were burned into her mind anyway. Dark brown, always intense. Just thinking about them sent a shiver through her.

Just then, he looked up to catch her soft, blue gaze on him and their eyes locked. It was as though she forgot to breathe for a moment. Dan's breathing didn't seem to be coming too easily either.

"Why- " Libby cleared her throat and started over. "Why did you come to check on me?"