Chance Encounters of the Canuck Kind

It had been two weeks since Jacob had met Juliette for coffee. He hadn’t seen her since and was getting restless; sure, they texted near enough every day, but there was something about being in her presence that uplifted him. She was his drug, and he couldn’t get enough of her. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was that made him so enamoured with her, she was nothing like any of the girls he’d ever dated before. She seemed both fragile and strong all at once and there were so many dimensions to her, which he couldn’t wait to explore and understand. Jacob laid in the darkness of the hotel room he’d called home for the last two days; he was due to fly back to Vancouver that morning and the anticipation of being back in the same city as Juliette gave him butterflies. Eight days on the road was beginning to take its toll on Jacob and he was beginning to feel sorry for his roommate, Anders Nilsson, whom had been subjected to Jacob’s low moods the most. He checked his phone, his eyes squinting at the explosion of light from the screen. 2:15am. “Shit” He thought. He wanted nothing more than to text Juliette, but knew she was likely to be asleep, like he should have been. He decided to send her a message anyway, hoping he wouldn’t wake her.
“Hey, so it’s late & I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about you and about how much I want to take you out again, how’s about dinner once I’m back in Vancouver? With no time restrictions this time ;). My flight leaves at 10, I’ll be back in the city by 4. I’ll call you as soon as I land. M x”
***
Juliette heard her phone vibrate on the bedside table. She turned over sleepily and looked at the screen with her bleary eyes. Noticing it was a message from Jacob she awoke from her dazed sleepiness and opened it eagerly. Without thinking she called him.
“Shit, did I wake you?” he whispered
“No” she lied, her voice still thick with sleep.
“I did, didn’t I?”
“Just a little, but it’s okay.”
Jacob smiled to himself in the darkness before asking: “You’re not at work tomorrow are you?”
“Luckily for you I’m not, otherwise you’d feel my sleepy wrath” Juliette teased.
“So, that means you’re free?” Markstrom asked hopefully.
“I never said I was free…”
“You wound me, Andersson”
Juliette let out a laugh before quickly correcting herself, remembering that Suzanna was asleep in the room opposite.
“I’m actually off for a few days” she said.
Jacob’s stomach flipped at her words; his mind began racing. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to take Juliette out on a proper date.
“So, I get back tomorrow…”
“Yeah…” Juliette liked where this was going.
“I think we should spend a day together, a whole day, just me and you. We can do whatever you want, as long as it involves dinner.”
“That sounds good to me” Juliette said softly. “Although…” she trailed off.
“Yeah?”
“You say you get in at 4?”
“mhm”
“Maybe… maybe we could hang out at my place? Get pizza? Suze is out, she’s going to her boyfriend’s parents. It’s just be you and me. Oh, and Pickle”
“Pickle?” Jacob said bemused.
“Our cat, he’s called Pickle.”
Jacob could barely contain himself. He wanted to agree before she’d even finished speaking, she had him at “hang out”.
“It’s a date. You, me and Pickle. Text me your address. I’ll drop my gear off at my place, grab a quick shower and come right over.” Jacob replied.
“Just drop your gear off. You can shower here.” Juliette responded, eager to see him again. “I’m going to go, you should too. You’ve got an early flight.”
“I know, I hate this part” Jacob said sadly.
“Me too, but it’s only till tomorrow. Goodnight Marky, sleep well.”
“You too, Juliette. Sweet dreams. Goodnight.” He whispered softly, making all of the hairs on Juliette’s neck stand on end. She replaced her phone back on the nightstand and turned over, closing her eyes.
***
Jacob approached the bright yellow door, he could see the soft glow of lamplight through the wooden blinds at the window. The house stood resilient against the encroaching darkness of the late autumn evening, a warm inviting beacon shining in the cold dusk of October. He pressed the bell and waited, shuffling from side to side, half out of nerves and half in a desperate attempt to stave off the chilling wind that gripped the city. The door opened and Jacob was greeted by a woman.
“Hi…” he said slowly.
“Hi! I’m Suze, you must be Jacob. Come in! Come in! You must be frozen.”
She moved to the side, allowing Jacob to pass. She motioned to an open door on the right of the hallway, the sound of an acoustic guitar mingled with soft humming drifting out of the room. Jacob made his way towards the noise and paused in the archway of the door. There she was; sat on the floor, engrossed in the instrument she was playing and singing softly. She was completely oblivious to him, which Jacob liked, for she was so lost in the music that he couldn’t help but think she’d continue to play even if the walls were falling down around her. Suze cleared her throat:
“You have a visitor, Julie”
Julie’s trance was broken and the music stopped, she turned her head towards the doorway. Seeing him standing there she felt a wave of uncontrollable emotion. She placed the guitar down and sprang to her feet, launching towards him with neediness and excitement. She threw her arms around him before she could catch herself and buried her face into his hoodie, his cologne intoxicating her. Jacob wrapped his long arms around her and placed his hand on the back of her head, running his fingers through her silky hair.
“Hey you” he whispered into the top of her head.
Realising that Suzanna was watching the whole thing, Juliette pulled away and stood awkwardly.
“Erm, do you want to sit?”
“Sure” Jacob sat himself on the sofa, moving the plethora of cushions out of the way.
“Sorry” Julie said embarrassed. “We have wayyy too many cushions.”
“I like it.” Jacob said softly, “makes it feel home-y”
They sat in silence for a few moments, Juliette making eye contact with Suzanna and desperately willing her to grab her coat and go so that they could be alone. Suzanna seemed to get the message:
“Okay, so I’m gonna head out now, I said I’d be at Will’s for 5 and I’m already late!”
Juliette mouthed a thank you at her friend as she left the room and turned her attention to Jacob.
“Can I get you a drink? Coffee? Beer?”
“A beer would be great, thanks”. Markstrom smiled.
Juliette rose from the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed two beers from the fridge and the selection of pizza menus Suze had left out on the side (she made a mental note to thank her friend later) and made her way back into lounge where Jacob was waiting for her.

Notes

Chapter 3 up folks, next chapter is going to be a lot steamier. I just need to get over my heebie jeebies about writing smut :') might be a slight delay for 4. x