Running Towards Love

  “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 It’s combining U.S. History, historical documents, and government all into one.”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 th
oughts 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.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  Rebekah sighed. She wanted nothing more than to say yes to this man, but she did not know if her heart could take the pain again. “Jason, I had a wonderful time today.”

  “So did I,” he cut in.

  “But, honestly, what do you expect to come out of this? I’m going home in two days. Let’s just call this an incredible afternoon and leave it at that. What else could you possibly want from me?”

  Feeling slightly defeated; Jason quickly realized he was not ready to give up yet. “Hey, I’m not asking for a relationship here,” he started as Rebekah dropped her head with a sigh. “And,” he continued as he used his thumb and forefinger to gently lift her face towards his, “I’m not looking for a one-night stand.” Her eyes twinkled at that last statement, so he decided to continue. “I like you. I had a good time today, and I would like to take you to dinner tonight. All I want from you is a chance to get to know you better. You’re in town for two more days, and so am I. Why don’t we take that time and spend it together? I would like to think that a wonderful friendship is starting here.” He stopped at that, never intending to go on as long as he did.

  Rebekah stood there for a minute, thinking about his words. “Okay,” she whispered.

  “Okay, what?” he questioned back, knowing full well what she was talking about, but wanting to hear her say it.

  She smiled back at him. “Okay, I’ll go to dinner tonight, on one condition.”

  “What?” he asked, ready to agree to just about anything just to get her to go.

  “We don’t go anywhere too dressy. I didn’t exactly pack for a fancy dinner.”

  Chuckling slightly, Jason nodded, acquiescing to her request. “I think we can arrange that. Besides, I want tonight to be about us getting to know each other. If we go somewhere too fancy, someone there will cause a scene, asking for an autograph or something. I don’t want us to deal with that tonight. Is seven okay?”

  “Seven it is then,” she answered with another smile. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” Turning, she headed back into the hotel, glancing over her shoulder at him one last time.

  Jason smiled more than he had in several months. “Now,” he said to himself, “I have a couple of hours to find something to change into, and to find a hotel room. I think I will be staying here for the next two days.”

  Once Rebekah got upstairs to the meeting room, just about every teacher from the conference was waiting for her. All had heard of her meeting him this afternoon and they each wanted to know what Jason Taylor was really like. She graciously answered their questions, trying to get out of there as quickly as she could, wanting as few people as possible to know about tonight. Finally, she was able to leave. Taking Kate with her, she left for her room. “I’m having dinner with him tonight,” she whispered as soon as they were out of earshot of everyone else.

  “You’re what?” Kate squealed. Although Rebekah and Kate were best friends, Kate lived here in New York. Between everything that had happened with her husband and the physical distance separating them it had been a long time since they had the opportunity to share secrets like school girls.

  “He asked me to dinner tonight, and I’m going,” Rebekah repeated.

  “Good for you.”

  Rebekah’s head whipped around and her eyes widened in shock. “What? No lecture?”

  “No, Rebekah. I told you earlier. It’s time you moved on with your life. It’s been over a year,” Kate finished quietly.

  “I know, Kate. It’s just, I don’t know if I can do this again. And besides, what’s the point? I leave in two days.”

  “So? Go, have fun tonight. Enjoy his company, and stop worrying so much!”

  “Fine, then help me pick out something to wear that doesn’t scream ‘teacher.’”

  Two hours and many outfit changes later, Rebekah was ready to go. She had borrowed a blue, off-the-shoulder top from Kate, and had it on with her black pants. Her hair hung down past her shoulders, slightly curled, and she had a minimal amount of makeup on. “How do I look?” she asked Kate, giving a slight twirl.

  “Amazing. Something tells me he will be speechless, and it is time for you to go down to the lobby.”

  “Thank you Kate, for your help, and for your words earlier.”

  “Have fun tonight. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

  They walked to the elevator together and Kate gave Rebekah a hug. She knew this was hard for Rebekah, but she also knew it was time. She had grieved long enough.

  As soon as Rebekah stepped off the elevator in the lobby, she saw him. ‘Good gosh, that man is sexy,’ she thought, immediately trying to shake that thought from her head. “Just friends,” she told herself, but she was having a hard time convincing herself of that as she watched him standing there in dark slacks and a gray, button up shirt. She could see his muscles outlined through the material of the shirt. When he turned around, he froze. She looked beautiful, and she was going to dinner with him.

  “Hi,” she said quietly as she got closer. When he did not respond, she gave a small laugh, thinking of Kate’s words, ‘he will probably be speechless.’ Her heart gave a small flutter when she realized he was. “Earth to Jason,” she called out, trying to get his attention.

  He shook his head slightly; trying to convince himself this wasn’t a dream. “Hi,” he replied, grinning sheepishly. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  “Are you ready?” he asked, offering her his hand. She took it gratefully, and aga
in, her heart fluttered at the simple touch.

  “Yes,” she replied, not removing her hand from his.

  As they walked out of the hotel, Kate’s words from earlier ringing in her ears, her small hand in his, she felt she truly was ready, for the first time in a long time.

  They grabbed a taxi and headed towards Little Italy. “Is Italian okay?” he asked.

  “One of my favorites.” She was impressed by the fact that they took a taxi. She half expected him to try to impress her with a limousine and a fancy restaurant. But, in the short amount of time she had known him, she had learned Jason was a simple man, not one to show off that he had tons of money, and she liked that.