She didn't know what had possessed her to invite him over for dinner. Maybe it was the tired look on his handsome face, he looked more brooding and withdrawn than he usually did.

When he got closer she saw the dark circles and the dull shine to his pretty green eyes, he looked dreadful. She wanted to reach up and cup his face in her hand, feel his stubbly cheek and make him tell her what was wrong.

They were at school and she couldn't do that instead she settled for inviting him over. Food was her language of care, when she wanted to take care of someone it usually involved feeding them.

Her stomach had been in knots the whole afternoon. She had set her students up with some worksheets and looked out of the window, you couldn't see the football field from her classroom and she sighed partly in disappointment and partly in relief. Her students wouldn't see her moon over the football coach, that could only be a good thing.

Natalia had woken up at an ungodly hour that morning, sleep evading her for some reason. She got up and marinated some chicken, in a homemade jerk sauce she kept in a jar that she had made in the evening before, intending to satisfy a craving but she had never got round to it, instead choosing a quick dinner of grilled cheese and soup.

When she got home she took a quick shower, washing the sticky heat of the day off her. She got dressed in leggings and an off the shoulder sweater, she spritzed her hair with an oil mist to reactivate the curls and finished off with brushing her brows, mascara and a tinted lip balm. Things she could take off easily later with one swipe of the makeup remover.

She made a spiced vegetable pilau rice that she had learnt from Lima's mother; since she didn't have time to make rice and peas from scratch and also prepare the chicken.

She had reserved some marinade from the jar, that she heated up and made into a basting sauce. She also put together a quick salad and fried some plantain. You couldn't have jerk chicken without any plantain it was sacrilege. For dessert, there was rum and raisin ice cream that Natalia always kept in the fridge.

She was so engrossed in cooking, Natalia didn't have a chance to get nervous about being alone with Gabe in her home. She was just setting the table when her doorbell rang. She didn't get many visitors so the noise made her jump.

Gathering herself with a deep cleansing breath she opened the door and greeted the man on the other side. He had a bottle of wine in one hand and flowers in the other, and a lopsided half smile on his lips. He still looked tired but there was a fresh tint to his skin, the kind that you can only get from a recent hot shower. He was dressed in a soft looking cotton white shirt and dark blue jeans that clung to his muscular thighs.

He leaned in slightly and Natalia stepped forward into his embrace, on tip-toes, her arms going around his torso, tightly. His forehead fell into the crock of her neck with a long, deep sigh. She felt his body relax into hers.

"Come in, dinner's ready."

She was barefoot, so he followed her in, after taking his shoes off. Natalia was impressed, she had been internally debating asking him to do so and weighing up how awkward it would be. Wearing shoes indoors was one of her pet peeves.

"Smells good in here," he complimented. "Can I help with anything?"

"No, just take a seat. And thank you for the flowers," Natalia said with a backward smile in his direction as she put the flowers in water and dished up dinner to put on the table.

He blushed, "They're what I could do on short notice."

"And they're lovely, I love tulips," she said taking a seat opposite him when all the dishes were on the table. "I hope you like Jamaican food."

"I kinda figured, I'd have to like Jamaican food with you." Gabe laughed as he opened the wine he'd brought dexterously and poured himself and Natalia a glass.

Natalia frowned. "How did you know I was Jamaican?"

"How could I not know you're Jamaican? There's a Jamaican flag in your car, you drink from a mug that says, 'have no fear the Jamaican is here' every morning, you sleep in a Jamaica t-shirt let me not even get started on all the Bob Marley paraphernalia..." he teased in a laughing tone much to Natalia's embarrassment. She was sure her cheeks were glowing hot enough to see from outer space.

She had only FaceTimed him once when they hadn't been able to see or speak to each other at work. She had spent the whole evening marking assessments and only had time when she was in bed, wearing a silk bonnet for her hair and a t-shirt that apparently had her country flag on it. He hadn't commented at the time, only telling her he'd missed her.

She touched her face to quell the heat somewhat and took a sip of the wine Gabe had brought. "Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. I had no idea I was so..."

"Jamaican...?" Gabe continued laughing, stopping abruptly, when he had his first taste of dinner. He groaned appreciatively. "This is so good, let the record show that I love Jamaican food."

Natalia grinned behind her wine glass. "Noted."

"Do you want dessert, I have ice cream?" Natalia asked after dinner. Gabe, despite her protests, had helped her with loading the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Babe, I'm bursting at the seams." He patted his belly, lifting his shirt up, as if it was protruding.

But all Natalia could see were abs of steel, from the brief flash of skin. She reddened yet again when he caught her staring interestedly.

"Okay, suit yourself," she muttered, taking another sip of wine.

He had polished off two and a half servings, the half at Natalia's insistence, true to her Jamaican roots, she couldn't stand seeing a guest with an empty plate.

"Come over to the living room, so I can introduce you to Breaking Bad, I still can't believe you haven't seen it."

"I was in the Military when it came out, so I guess I never got round to it."

Natalia whipped her head round, she was a little bit tipsy so she couldn't school her reactions to be less obvious. She knew from Ella, that Gabe had been in the military but he'd never mentioned it to her before.

Was he getting more comfortable and more open with her? In the last couple of days something had shifted in their dynamic and Natalia was both terrified and excited by the prospect of their relationship somewhat maturing.

Natalia switched the TV on, selecting the show they had agreed to watch and settling into her favourite corner of the sofa. Gabe took a seat next to her close but not touching.

"You're telling me everyone with a chemistry degree can cook Meth?" Gabe asked skeptically, half way through the first episode where the central character, a chemistry teacher was setting up a meth lab in a trailer. They had mostly been watching in silence, with the occasional question from him.

"Yes, and Cocaine and Heroin." Natalia smirked. "We don't get enough credit."

"No, you absolutely don't, I'm in the company of a potential criminal mastermind," Gabe said with a sideways glance at her.

"What did you study at uni?"

"Business Administration."

"Yeah, I can see that," Natalia nodded.

"Must be the corporate clothes and the expensive watches, right?"

"No..." Natalia paused before elaborating with, "From your leadership and strategy skills." And she could tell she had taken him by surprise because he grew quiet and trained his eyes on the screen more intently, withdrawing into himself.

Natalia wondered what the full story was, as much as she wanted to know she also knew Gabe did things on his own timetable and that she couldn't push him to talk if he wasn't ready.

He yawned as the next episode started. "We can call it a night if you're tired," Natalia said with concern.

"One more episode I need to know what happens." He stifled another yawn. "Besides I'm much more comfortable here than I ever would be in my bed trying to fall asleep."

"Trouble sleeping?" Natalia asked.

He looked as if he wasn't going to answer and then nodded gravely as if he was admitting a serious defect. His tiredness and his strange mood made sense.

"Come here." Natalia patted her lap. He eyed her briefly, she could see the hesitation play out on his face, it was strange for him, he usually gave and received affection easily. Natalia unfolded her legs from under her, and moved her arm out of the way in a silent invitation.

Gabe moved his upper body down so he was draped over her thighs with his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, like she had always wanted to do and now she had free reign.
Her other arm came over his shoulder and laid under his elbow on his chest. Their fingers were tightly clasped.

He was out before the new episode had even started, his breaths coming out evenly and his chest rising steadily.

She watched him with a fascination she had never paid to any other man in her life previously. She always found it corny and a little too cliche, but here she was watching a man sleep. Alert the press!

Whilst Natalia has always been a die hard romantic, her scepticism and fear of hurt had made her keep romantic interests at arms length. If she didn't let them and didn't develop an attachment to them, then she wouldn't get hurt was her reasoning.

But against her better judgement and defences, this man, one Gabriel Mercier has slyly breached her carefully built fortress.

"How long was I out?" His voice was gruff with sleep, Natalia peered down at him, her gaze averting from the tv screen to his face, his green eyes were hidden from her in their sleepy half-lidded state.

"Oh, just the entire episode," she teased.

He hummed, happily, she could feel the vibration of his chest under her. "It was worth it, best nap ever."

"Yeah? Well my services are there whenever you need them."

"Don't make promises you can't uphold."

"I say what I mean and mean what I say," Natalia told him with a smirk.

Gabe deftly lifted himself off her lap, Natalia marvelled at his core strength. He pulled her in for a kiss on her jaw, his hands lingering on her face, "I'm gonna go to bed before I'm comatose on your couch."

"Ok, thank you for the company," she said, suddenly feeling shy, after he'd helped her up.

"Thank you for dinner." They had shifted to the front door, where they stood, holding hands, his thumb rubbing circles over hers, neither of them wanting the evening to end.

"Goodnight, I hope you sleep well," she said to his retreating back, once they couldn't prolong their goodbye any longer.

She heard his slight chuckle and his comment of, "Oh, I will."

She sighed when she caught herself leaning on the door once she had shut it, with what must have been a wistful look on her face.

Natalia knew she was in trouble when she missed him, immediately after he had left.

Her heart hammered in her chest.

She was in a world of trouble.