To Hire a Cheerleader Pt. 03

Tori rolled her eyes and laughed at Jake. "No, those will do. Are you sure about this? I mean, what if you find that I'm some sort of slob that you can't stand?"

It was Jake's turn to laugh, "Well, how about this - we will have a six week trial period. If either one of us finds that we don't like the situation, we can end it at the end of the six weeks, without explanation. How does that sound?"

Tori smiled as she answered, "It sounds like my roommate is a lawyer! I would love to live here, if you are sure. I love this house and I really hate my apartment. I'm not sure I can get out of the lease, though."

"We'll take care of that," Jake assured her.

There was something in his tone of voice that sent off warning bells inside Tori's head. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "Jake? What does that mean? Is there something that you aren't telling me?"

Tori knew that Jake was blushing behind the mask. Not that she could see his face, but she could practically feel the heat radiating off of him. Looking away from her, he cleared his throat and finally said, "I really wish you couldn't see through me so quickly. Yeah, I'm not telling you the whole story. I own the apartments, so it won't be any problem to get you out of the lease. In fact, I called the manager this morning and told him that I hoped to convince you to move out and that he should tear up the lease."

Tori knew that she ought to be angry at Jake for not telling her the whole truth up front, but she really wasn't. In fact, she was looking forward to moving into his house. But, not wanting to let him off so easily, she made a mean face at him and lightly punched him in the upper arm.

The next second, Tori found herself lying on the floor, with her arm pulled up behind her back, and her face being pushed into the ceramic tile. Although she wasn't hurt, she was extremely shocked. Before she could form any words, though, Jake rolled her over and was talking very fast as his hands roamed over her body, feeling for any injuries.

When Tori finally managed to understand Jake's garbled words, she realized that he was apologizing, over and over. "Jake. Jake! I'm ok," Tori assured him.

Jake's eyes, which were normally a clear green, were almost black now. Tori could see tears forming in the corners. She placed one of her hands on Jake's cheek, through the mask. "Jake, I'm ok," she repeated. Tori thought about sitting up, but Jake was sitting at such an angle that most of his body was lying on top of her. She found that she liked the feeling and wasn't in a hurry to change it.

Laying her head back down on the floor, Tori decided to get comfortable. "Jake? What happened just now?" Tori asked.

Jake hung his head and closed his eyes. Tori kept her hand on his cheek, though. She didn't want him to turn away. Finally, he opened his eyes and whispered, "I am so sorry. I can't believe that I did that."

"It's ok, just tell me why you did it," Tori said.

With a deep sigh, Jake said, "When my father hurt me so badly, I had so many emotions that I couldn't deal with. I went to therapy for over a year. Then my psychiatrist suggested that I begin a bodily therapy, as well as our talk therapy. For one hour a day, I went to my new 'counsellor'. He was a martial arts teacher. Over the next few years, I learned how to protect myself. I also learned to act instinctively. I didn't even think before I threw you on the floor, Tori. I am so sorry."

Tori realized that it was probably time to get up off of the floor now. But before she did, she reached up and pulled Jake's face close to her's. She said, "Listen to me. What you did was not wrong. I shouldn't have touched you without warning. Not with the kind of history that you've told me about. You didn't hurt me. You took great care to make sure I wasn't injured. Don't get upset about this." And with that, she lightly pressed her lips against the mask, outside of where she suspected his mouth would be.

Tori then ducked to the side and quickly pulled herself up, not wanting to embarrass Jake, by lingering over the situation. She told herself that she had needed to do something drastic so he would understand that she wasn't angry at him - and a kiss was the perfect solution. She wasn't sure what had caused her heart to pound so hard when she had done it, but she was positive that it had to do with having just been thrown to the floor. It couldn't possibly have had anything to do with the fact that it was Jake who she was kissing and it certainly wasn't because she really wanted to kiss him again.

Tori sat back down in her chair and watched as Jake stood up and walked over to the sink. With his back to her, he poured himself a glass of water. Then he seemed to realize that he couldn't drink it with his mask on. It seemed to break his fragile control on his emotions. With a loud curse, he slammed the glass onto the counter and strode angrily from the room.

There was a moment of silence before Tori heard him slam his office door. She counted to ten and then went after him. Knocking on his door, she wasn't surprised when he didn't answer her. She turned the knob anyway and walked into the room. Jake apparently hadn't heard her knock, because he was in the process of taking his shirt off by pulling it over his head. His office was set up with a bathroom in the back and he apparently was headed in to take a shower. But when the shirt came off, Tori realized that Jake didn't have on his mask either. She could only stand and stare at him with her mouth hanging open.

Jake noticed her standing there only moments after he dropped his shirt. There was a split second before he seemed to realize that she was able to see him. All of him. The smile that had been forming on his face froze and his face took on the appearance of stone.

"Well? Is it so easy for you to tell me now that I could go back out in public? You can't even find a way to shut your mouth!" Jake yelled. Then he stormed into the bathroom and slammed that door as well.

Tori stood glued to the spot where she had stopped. There were no mirrors in Jake's house. There wasn't even any surfaces covered with glass that you could catch your reflection in as you walked past. It dawned on Tori that Jake didn't know what he looked like. Almost as though she were pushed, Tori suddenly raced across the room to the bathroom door.

"Jake! Jacob Rhodes! Open this door! Don't you get in that shower or else I'll come in there with you!" Tori yelled as she pounded on the door.

Jake yelled back at her, "Just go away! I don't want you here. Leave me alone!"

Tori wasn't about to give up, though. She decided to go for broke and took the chance that he hadn't locked this door either. She turned the knob and shoved it open before she had time to change her mind. Jake had taken off his pants now, as well, and he was standing in front of her in only his boxer shorts. Jake looked like he was about to burst some sort of blood vessel in his brain, he was so angry.

"Jake! Jake - I have to tell you. Don't push me out! I need to show you - " Tori said, while struggling against his hands that were shoving her out of the bathroom.

Finally, Jake threw his hands in the air and said, "Fine! Say what you need to say and then get out, Tori. I don't want you to come back, either."

Gritting her teeth at Jake's remark, Tori stepped back into the bathroom. "Jake, how long has it been since you have seen yourself?"

Jake grimaced at the thought, then shrugged his shoulders, "Not long enough."

Tori rolled her eyes and said, "God give me patience! Jake, you need to see yourself. The scars - they are barely visible."

Jake looked at her disbelievingly. Then his gaze turned suspicious. When he spoke, his voice was angry and distrustful. "Like I'm supposed to believe you when your first reaction was to stand there, staring at me like some freak."

Tori grabbed him by the arms and shook him. "Look! Look at your arms. The skin is tight where the cuts were, but it isn't ugly." Running her eyes over his chest, Tori's breath caught in her throat. But she forced herself to continue, "And look here. I can barely see these scars and this thick layer of chest hair could hide anything that you wanted to put in it!" When Jake's hand closed over her own, Tori realized that she had actually been running her fingers through the hair on his chest.

Tori thought that she would die right then and there of embarrassment, but she had to go on, "And Jake, I know you can't see your face, but I swear to you, I have never seen a more attractive man. You have an incredibly distinctive face and the pale scars only enhance your natural skin tone. I don't know who told you that your face was ugly, but they lied their butt off. You are a very good looking man. I was only staring because I was shocked by how much I liked what I saw - not because you were hard to look at. The problem was more that you were hard to not look at!"

Jake's narrowed eyes told Tori that he was clearly trying to decide if he believed her or not. Tori racked her brain for a way to make him understand. Finally, she realized what she needed to do. "Stay here!" Tori said as she ran out the door of the bathroom. A few moments later, she returned carrying their digital camera. "Let me take your picture, Jake. Please?"

Tori could tell that there was a war going on inside of Jake. He obviously wanted to believe her, but Tori knew that he had lived his entire adult life believing that he was too hideous to be seen. Now, he had to decide what to do.

When Jake finally nodded his head, Tori threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. "You won't be sorry!" Then she sat him down and turned on every light she could find. Carefully choosing her angle, she took several shots before she handed the camera to Jake.

There was silence in the room as Tori watched Jake take the camera and turn it back to review the pictures. She couldn't read his expression as he clicked through the various shots, but his body language was stiff and controlled. Tori was about to give up hope of him telling her what he was thinking when he finally said, "Tori, I don't know what to say. I'm still a very scarred man. I have to admit that I am surprised about how much the scars have faded, but I'm far from normal looking. However, you are right, there isn't any need to hide from the world now, if this is what I look like. I'm not sure I was ready just yet for that revelation, though. It wasn't what I had planned ten minutes ago."

Tori waited a moment before she answered, "Jake, it's all right to need some time to think about this. I didn't mean to shock you so, but, when I saw you, I was so surprised by how little the scars affect how you look. I wasn't expecting to suddenly be in the room with a barely dressed, incredibly desirable man!" Then she reached out to touch his face. At first, he flinched from the contact, but Tori refused to move her hand. After a short pause, he relaxed against her palm.

For the first time, Tori had an opportunity to take in the total picture of Jake. He stood about 5'10", and his body reflected his years of self defense training - he wasn't a muscle bound gym hound, but he was well formed, with thick arms and strong legs. Tori could see evidence on his arms and chest of the injuries that had almost claimed his life. His legs, though, appeared to have escaped his father's knife.

But it was Jake's face that caused Tori to stop and stare. Even though she had seen Jake's eyes above his mask, she was unprepared for how beautiful they were without the mask in place. Their green color was unusual and, combined with the fringe of dark lashes, they drew attention to themselves, first and foremost. Beyond his eyes, however, the rest of Jake's face was equally striking. His lips formed a perfect bow shape, with only a small scar marring the corner of his mouth. Tori could tell that Jake's nose had been broken at least once in his life, but far from detracting from his looks, it only enhanced them. Although most of the scars were faded, around his eyes was particularly scarred, as was his left cheek. The scars looked like jagged slashes, meant to destroy the beauty of Jake's face. But they had failed. Now they only served to draw attention to the strength of his features.

Tori leaned forward and pressed her lips against the scar at the base of his neck. It was thick and reached around his neck on both sides. Tori realized that his father had slit Jake's throat as well. Even though Jake had told Tori what the man had done, she really hadn't perceived what that would look like. Far from being the repulsive sight that Jake had prepared her for, it was, nevertheless, a very moving sight.

When Jake didn't move away from Tori's touch, she found herself stepping closer to him and pressing her body against his. Tori wasn't real sure what she was doing, but she knew that it felt more right than anything ever had in her life. She kept pressing her lips into Jake's skin, along his shoulder and up the side of his neck. She was several inches shorter than him, which put her at a perfect height for reaching several places on Jake's skin that she suddenly wanted to taste. Jake's arms slipped around her waist. When Tori heard Jake moan, deep in his throat, she felt her body respond in passion. She wanted Jake - now!

Tori had never made love to a man before. She and Jake hadn't discussed his sexual experiences, but given that he had been so young when his dad had attacked him, Tori doubted that he was very experienced either. Not knowing what to do, Tori leaned back in his arms and looked up into his face. She was surprised when he dropped his mouth to her's and kissed her.

Although Tori had just told herself that Jake was probably as inexperienced as she was, when he started kissing her, she wasn't so sure. Jake was an expert kisser. Within seconds, he had far surpassed every kiss she had ever had the pleasure of participating in before. With his tongue tracing over her lips, Tori opened herself up to a whole new world of enjoyment.

After a few minutes of pretty heavy kissing, Tori once more pulled back. Grimacing, she said, "Jake, I am really out of my realm of experience here, but I don't think my first time should be on the floor of your bathroom. Is there somewhere else we could go?"

Jake's husky laugh helped them both settle back to reality. He said, "Tori, I can promise you that I didn't mean for that to happen. Let me grab a quick shower and I'll meet you in the kitchen. Considering how badly I want you right now, I think anywhere else would be potentially dangerous!" Then he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Tori before scooting her out the bathroom door.