CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
(part one)

Two days later
Sunday night — 11:20 P.M.

Jill woke up in an empty bed. Grabbing her warm bathrobe, she wandered through the loft looking for Jacob. Not finding him, she was about to head down to the Castle when she saw light coming from under the door to Jacob’s old apartment. She wandered through his old bathroom until she stood at the door to his apartment. Her eyes searched the dark room until she found him.  Jacob was sitting in his sagging old leather chairs by the window. Not wanting to disturb him, she hesitated to move forward. She was about to go back to bed when she heard him say, almost as an exhale:

“Jill.”

Smiling, she moved forward to him. She took the hand he lifted to her. So unlike Jacob, he continued to stare out into the night. She was about to ask what was wrong, when he shifted to pull her onto his lap.

She yelped with surprise then laughed. He buried his face in her neck.

“What’s going on?” Jill whispered.

He pulled back to look into her face. Giving her a soft smile, he kissed her slowly first, then with deep and rising pressure. She responded to his passion. Out of breath, she pulled away to look at him. He shrugged at the question in her eyes, then returned to looking out the window. Not wanting to push it, she rested her head against his shoulder. They silently watched the night sky. After a while, Jacob sighed.

“I used to sit here, like this, hoping, wishing, longing. Right here. In this chair. A lot.”

He fell silent. Jill kissed his cheek. Trusting him to tell her when he was ready, she rested in the warmth and comfort of his lap.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow….