Lightning Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Bo sat on his couch, Nora was to be there at any moment. He had the file on his coffee table. He was staring at it. How was he suppose to even ask her about it? He never asked for a commitment, but still she should have told him she was involved with someone else.

His bell rang. Bo sighed, two days ago he was dreaming about this moment, now he was dreading it. It rang again, he got up and opened the door. Nora flew into his arms and started to passionately kiss him. Bo couldn’t stop himself, he kissed her back. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him as they moved towards the couch. All anger and hurt disappeared as Bo held her body close to his. They reached the couch, Bo gently laid her on it, then press his body on top of her. Nora gasped and reached out grabbing the table when he pulled her hips flushed with his. Bo moaned and kissed down her neck as his hands started to caress her body.

Nora suddenly stilled. Bo lifted himself up his breathing labored.
Her face was pale and her eyes were wide as she looked at him.

“Red? What is wrong?”
Bo then saw it with the corner of his eyes. The file was opened and the pictures were all over the table and floor. Nora pushed him away, she stood up quickly. She looked down at the pictures then back at him.

“Nora. I.”
“Where in the hell did you get these?” She quickly picked the picture up. Looking back at him tears starting in her eyes. “These were suppose to be destroyed.”

Bo felt his heart seize, her reaction told him these weren’t what he thought they were.

“Nora someone gave them to me.”
Her tears were streaming down her face.

“And you just took them and kept them.”
“NO! I was so shocked when I saw them, the person who gave them to me told me you were cheating. I kept them to ask you personally.”
“But first you decided you were going to have sex with me?”
“NO! You started to kiss me and my brain shut down. I swear to you. Please let me tell you the whole story. Please.”
Nora held the pictures tight to her body. Bo picked up the folder.

“Here you can put them back.”
Nora quickly took the folder and put them back in. She looked back at him.

“So, go ahead.”
Bo sat down with a heavy sigh.

“Wednesday Jennifer came into my office. She told me you were cheating and she had proof. I told her we were not technically in a committed relationship so it wouldn’t matter. Then she said something that made me realize she had been spying on us. I told her to never come around me or you ever again and to leave.” Bo put his head in his hands. “Then she left the file. I didn’t look at the file, I went to throw it away and one of the picture fell out.”

Bo looked up at her tears threatening to fall from his own eyes.

“I knew I had no right be jealous or angry. We just met and went on two dates. But it hurt, you have gotten in my heart Nora. So I put the pictures back in the file and decided I ask you directly. Then when you kissed me, all the hurt went away and I realized I didn’t care, I wanted to be with you no matter what the truth was.”
Nora wiped away her tears, then walked back to the couch with the file still clutched in her arms.

“These are pictures of me and my last boyfriend, taken by a stalker. These were part of evidence. My stalker killed himself in jail and the pictures were destroyed or at least that was what I told.”

Bo felt awful.

“Oh Red.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her temple. She began to weep in his arms. He held her tight.

“I am so sorry. If I had know I would have destroyed them.”

Nora put her head in the crook of his neck.

“I know Bo, I know you’d never do something so awful.”
Bo held her tight. His mind wondering how in the hell Jennifer got her hands on such evidence.

Bo kissed the top of her head and slowly let go of her and went over to the fireplace to turn it on. He turned towards her again and put his hand out. Nora gave him the file. He threw it in the fireplace and watched it start to burn. He went back to her and put his arms around her and kissed the top of head. Silent tears running down her face as she held him tight, her eyes never leaving the fire.

Bo closed his eyes. He felt so horrible for hurting someone who was already precious to him. He nuzzled her hair vowing to never hurt her again.

They had spent the rest of the night talking. She told him the entire story of her stalker, which he could see caused fear in her to this day. He was glad the man was dead. She told him about her boyfriend from the pictures broke up with her, unable to take the pressure and fear. He told her about the loss of his wife. By the end of the night Nora knew him better than anyone in his life. They headed upstairs to his room and fell asleep in each others arms. Bo remembered feeling such peace as he held her in arms, he was going to marry this woman.