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was not your fault, you understand that right?” He
had the softest caramel eyes while looking at me. I saw the pity in
his eyes, but I didn’t want pity.
    “ I know that, but I can’t
help but blame myself. Stefan, he killed my mother and hated me for it. He hated me
for what he did;
it’s hard to pretend everything is just fine.”
    “ You don’t have to pretend
everything is fine, but you shouldn’t walk around with that weight
on your shoulders, it’s not fair to you.” He grabbed my hand and
gave it a loving squeeze.
    “ Until you’ve been there,
until you’ve walked in my shoes and watched your mother murdered in
front of your eyes, you are not allowed to tell me what weight I
can and cannot carry on my shoulder.” I pulled my hand away
quickly.
    “ You need to let it go,
Jennifer. That will eat you alive, if it hasn’t already. I may not
understand what you went through because I’ve never experienced it,
but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my own problems in life. This
world will eat you alive, Jennifer, if you let it.”
    “ I deal with it,” I shot
him a pointed look; “you don’t have to worry.”
    “ Well I disagree on that,
Jennifer. You shouldn’t have to deal with anything. Your dad is
fucked up and you need to understand that wasn’t your fault and
move on.”
    “ It is what it is Stefan.
It’s not that easy to forget about and move on.” I huffed the air
through my lungs. How could I just forget about that and move on? I
couldn’t, I’ve tried.
    Stefan shrugged and glanced down at
his watch again and held out his hand. I grabbed it and we began
walking to the door. We threw our cups away and I was suddenly
overpowered by a strong sadness for having to leave him. There was
no place I wanted to be more than in his presence.
    We got to the car and I scanned the
parking lot for Charles and saw the black SUV parked on the other
side of the lot. Stefan walked me over to the car and opened the
door, closing it as soon as I stepped in. Charles pulled up next to
Stefan’s car and rolled down his window and the two exchanged some
words and nodded.
    “ What was that all about?”
I ask once Stefan is seated in the drivers’ seat.
    “ Just telling him what we
were doing so he knew where to go.” Stefan turns the key and the
car comes to life. Just starting it, you could hear the power under
the hood.
    We drove in silence to my house, each
of us in our own world thinking about everything. When we pulled up
to the house I let out a sigh; who knew how long it would be until
I saw him again?
    Stefan looked over at me and brushed
the bangs out of my eyes. “I really had a nice time this
afternoon.”
    “ Me too. I’m so sorry about
what happened last night. I’m so embarrassed.” I looked down at my
hands, not wanting to make eye contact with him. He placed his
finger under my chin, forcing me to look directly into his dark
eyes.
    “ I’m just glad you’re
okay.”
    His lips touched mine and I suddenly
forgot how to breathe. He slipped his hand to the back of my head,
gently grabbing my hair. Softly, he tugged my head back and
released my lips from his. He kissed a trail down my neck and back
up my jaw line but stopped before reaching my lips; he pulled my
head back down, looking deep into my eyes. He was waiting for me to
stop him, turn away, but I couldn’t. I wanted this.
    “ Please,” I
whispered.
    He crushed his lips into mine again
and slipped his free hand under my shirt, caressing my breast. A
moan escaped my lips.
    Without warning he stopped and pulled
away, leaving my body craving more.
    I tried to calm my breath
as Stephan reached over and straightened my shirt; his eyes never
leaving mine. He got out of the car and walked around to my
side. Why in the hell did he
stop?
    “ Thank you for the coffee,”
I said as he opened the door for me to get out.
    “ You’re very welcome.” He
walked me to the door, grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me
on the forehead. On