To Hire a Cheerleader Pt. 04

Chapter Ten

Tori sat in the kitchen in somewhat of a daze. She had never felt like this before. She thought back over the past two weeks and realized that she had been spending a lot of time trying to convince herself that Jake was nothing more than a friend. Now, it was pretty obvious, even to herself, that she had just been making excuses for the way she was feeling. She had done it because it was a scary thought to care for someone as deeply as she was beginning to feel about Jake. Especially someone she had never even seen face to face.

But now she had seen Jake face to face. And the reality was sending her into a tail spin. The thoughts swirling around in Tori's head hadn't cleared up before Jake walked into the kitchen. He was dressed in jeans with a long sleeved shirt, but the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Tori took a moment to drink in the sight of him without his mask. Once again, she was overwhelmed by how handsome he was.

Sighing deeply, Tori said, "Jake, we've got to get you a mirror. If we don't, you are going to think that I've lost my mind every time you walk into a room and find that I can't quit staring at you! I can't believe that so much has been taken away from you, because of your dad's cruelty. Now, there's so much you must want to do. Where do you want to begin?" She looked at Jake expectantly, waiting for him to tell her all of his hopes and dreams.

Jake frowned at Tori as he poured himself a cup of coffee and joined her at the table. "Tori, I'm not sure I'm ready for anything just yet. Give me a little time, please."

Tori shut her eyes in contrition. "I'm sorry, Jake. It's only that I have had so much fun over the past two weeks, seeing how positively people have responded to me. I guess I'm wanting you to have that experience, too. But you are right. I'm really rushing this."

"Anyway," Jake said with a lazy grin, "I was kinda hoping we could talk about what just happened between us. . . "

Tori could feel the heat climbing into her cheeks at an alarming rate. "Jake, I'm really sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking. It was just that I was there, and you were there and then I was kissing you and then you were kissing me, and . . . Oh, God, I'm babbling!"

When Jake burst into laughter, Tori wasn't sure if she should be happy or mad. She was glad that he wasn't making her uncomfortable by acting all seductive. But she wasn't sure that she liked the fact that he was laughing at her, either. "Jake, what are you laughing at?" Tori asked indignantly.

With a sincerely smile, Jake laid his hand over her's. "Tori, I'm not laughing at you. Well, I guess I sorta am laughing at you. But not because I think you have done anything embarrassing or humiliating. It's just that I really enjoy being around you, especially when you get all tongue tied. I haven't had a lot of cause to laugh in my life. It feels really nice to be able to do it now. It feels like I am using muscles that I have never used before. I really like that."

As Jake's voice trailed off, Tori turned her hand over and held Jake's hand in her palm. Her eyes roamed from their hands to Jake's face, then to his eyes. They sat, smiling at one another for several minutes, enjoying the silence.

After a while, Tori asked, "Jake, where are Beatrice and George?"

Jake smiled, "When I was planning on asking you to move in here, I gave them the afternoon off, so they wouldn't be here to witness my humiliation if you said no. They actually are gone for the whole week-end." Jake took a deep breath, then added, "Have you decided about moving in, yet?"

It was Tori's turn to smile. "Considering what happened between us in the bathroom, is the offer still available?"

The answer was on Jake's face before the words ever reached his mouth. His excitement was evident in both as he said, "Yes! Of course the offer is open. I would love to have you here, especially now. I think I'm going to need a cheerleader to get me motivated to get back out into the world."

At the word 'cheerleader', Tori felt the color leave her face. Jake hadn't meant it to be a potshot at her, but she felt the sting, nonetheless. The last two weeks of affirmative growth were shot to hell in a moment. Tori wasn't a cheerleader. She had never been a cheerleader. In fact, she had often been reminded how un-cheerleader like she was. Cheerleaders were cute, tiny and perky. In that moment, Tori lost all of her carefully won self confidence.

Jake noticed the change in Tori's face. When she wouldn't meet his eyes, Jake pulled his hand from her's and tilted her chin up to face him. "Tori? What's wrong? Did I say something?"

Tori closed her eyes, trying to block out the answer she knew he could see there. Realizing that she needed to give Jake an honest answer, even if it made her uncomfortable, she bit the bullet. Keeping her eyes tightly closed, she said, "It was just the idea of me being your cheerleader. Jake, I'm not all that much to look at, and I'm not sure that I'm the one that you should be spending your time with. I . . . You . . . We . . . I'm not saying this well. It's just that you can do a lot better than me . . . "

Jake's voice was commanding and angry when he said, "Open your eyes! Look at me, Tori. Look at me. Do I look like the kind of person who would judge you by the standards of an airbrushed media? You are beautiful - and I'm not the only one who thinks so. For two weeks, I have watched you coming out of your shell, blossoming into who you are. Your growth has been obvious to everyone around you. I've heard George, Beatrice, my driver and your dad all tell me how you have changed. You already are my cheerleader. And you are more than qualified for the job. All we are doing now is making the position official!"

The look in Jake's eyes convinced Tori that he wasn't kidding. When he lowered his lips to kiss her, she melted into him. It took several minutes before either one of them was able to pull apart. With a blush staining her cheeks, Tori said, "Well, you do make a convincing argument!"

Settling back into his chair, Jake smiled contentedly, then started making plans for moving Tori's stuff into his house. After a few moments discussion, Jake took her on a tour of the whole house. Beatrice and George lived on the second floor. Tori chose a bedroom on the third floor. When she noticed Jake laughing, she asked what was funny.

"It's just that out of all the rooms in this house, you chose the one that not only is immediately beside mine, but the two bedrooms even have a connecting door!"

Jake hadn't told her which room was his before she had picked out the one she wanted. She had just gone with her heart. Tori wasn't sure what she should say in response to this new information, but she didn't offer to change her mind. Jake seemed to realize her decision was final. He smiled warmly at her, then took her hand and led her back downstairs.

Once they were in the kitchen, Tori heard Jake place a call to a moving company to have her things brought over. Tori thought that she probably ought to protest that she was perfectly capable of handling her own affairs, but, the truth was, she enjoyed not having to worry about anything.

When Jake hung up the phone, he turned back to Tori and said, "That's all taken care of, now. What about some supper?"

Unsure of his intentions, Tori said, "Are you offering to take me out to dinner?"

The look of fear that crossed Jake's face assured her that he hadn't been thinking that they would go out to eat. But she watched his face as he struggled to accept that there was no longer any need to hide. Finally, he let out a strangled sigh and his shoulders slumped. "Tori, I can't do it."

Tori went to him and put her arms around his waist. "Jake, what if we go through the drive through somewhere?"

When Jake breathed out this time, the sigh seemed tentative. "Do you think we could do that? Do you think I could do that?"

Tori smiled up into Jake's face. "I know you could," she whispered.

Brushing his lips over her forehead, Jake squeezed her to him. With growing excitement in his voice, he said, "Let's do it!"

Jake took Tori out to the garage and they settled on taking one of the smaller cars. Tori wasn't much interested in cars, but she was fairly certain that the name plastered on the back of the trunk would cause heads to turn. Jake handed her the keys and, after a moment's hesitation, Tori headed for the driver's seat.

As Tori flexed her driving muscles, the car sped down Santa Clara. Whatever the car was, it was a dream to drive. Tori noticed that many of the drivers that she passed did a double take to rubberneck the automobile.

When Tori saw a fast food restaurant that served something other than just burgers, she pulled into their drive through. Jake requested a baked potato and a double cheeseburger. Tori figured out what she wanted, then placed their order. The board to which she spoke instructed her to pull around to the window to pay for their food.

When Tori handed the woman her money, she noticed that the lady was having trouble looking at her. First, the woman was eyeing the car, then she looked past Tori over to Jake. Almost as though Tori didn't exist, the woman began primping and smiling coyly at Jake. Tori looked back and forth between the two of them, then waved the money in front of the girl's face. Finally the girl took the money and handed Tori the food. Tori rolled her eyes when the woman actually wiggled her fingers and said "Bye - bye!" while staring at Jake.

Pulling away from the window, Tori looked over to Jake and dryly said, "Well, was that enough of an ego boost?"

Jake burst into laughter. Tori couldn't hold onto her straight face long and finally broke down and joined him. Every time they would almost stop giggling, one of them would wiggle their fingers and say, "Bye - bye!" That would start them back into fits of laughter.

Tori drove over to her apartment in order to pick up a few clothes for the night, since Jake insisted that she move in immediately. Not that she was putting up too much of an argument, but it was nice that to know that he felt strongly about having her with him. Jake even went inside her apartment with her. Although they didn't pass anyone on the way in, Tori was still proud of him. He had come light-years in only one day.

While Tori gathered up what she needed, Jake prowled around her living room. When she came out of the bedroom, Jake asked her about the photos on her wall. She showed him the pictures of her mom and her grandparents. She also had a few shots of the houses where she had lived. Tori frowned as she looked at them as though seeing them for the first time. No wonder she had spent her life feeling like a wall flower. Both of the houses were non descript and plain. With renewed determination, Tori reminded herself that she didn't have to be the person who had lived in those houses anymore.

When they got back to Jake's house, Tori parked the car in the garage. Jake insisted on carrying her bag, so she carried the dinner trays. They stopped by the kitchen and ate before taking her stuff upstairs.

Outside Tori's bedroom door, Jake paused. "Tori, I can't tell you what today has meant to me. I knew, this morning, that it would be a special day, because I was going to ask you to live here. But I had no idea that everything else would happen. Thank you."

Tori looked up into Jake's face and smiled. "You are quiet welcome."

There was an awkward moment, as Tori was aware of how much she wanted Jake to kiss her good night. Shaking her head slightly, she reached out to take her bag from Jake's hand. When their fingers touched, she wanted to grab him and hold him. Instead, she grabbed the bag and murmured, "Good night."

Even with all that had happened during the day, it still took Tori a while to settle down to go to sleep. The door that separated her room from Jake's kept calling her. Finally, rolling over and turning her back on the door, she punched her pillow down and counted sheep until she fell asleep. But even in her dreams, Jake was never far away.

The rest of the week-end passed far too quickly. On Saturday and on Sunday, Jake ventured outside on small errands. Tori went with him both days and was pleased to note that the few people they encountered never seemed to notice Jake's scars. It seemed to Tori that she could actually see Jake gaining confidence in himself. Several of the women batted their eyes at him, but whenever they did, Tori would loop her arm through Jake's and give the woman the evil eye. Jake laughed at her a lot, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed being out with him and was glad she made him happy.

George and Beatrice came home on Sunday evening. When Tori and Jake heard them coming in the front door, they were sitting in the kitchen having dessert. Beatrice was the first one to turn the corner and see them sitting there. Beatrice smiled in greeting, then her face froze. She stopped cold. George hadn't realized that his wife had stopped moving and managed to bump into her.

"What are you stopping in the middle of the door for?" he questioned, grumpily. When he looked around Beatrice's shoulder, he too stood staring.

Jake was the first to speak. With a smile tickling his lips, he said, "Well, it's good to have you two home. Have an interesting week-end?"

George and Beatrice both started trying to talk at the same time. Jake and Tori both started laughing at them. The resulting commotion had little to do with actual communication, but quiet a bit of happiness was expression in the confusion.

Finally, Jake held up his hands and said, "Ok, ok, let's all take turns."

Beatrice jumped in to take the opportunity afforded by everyone's momentary hesitation. She said, "What are you doing without your mask? What happened here?"

Jake gave the woman a full fledged, dazzling smile before he said, "Tori wrestled me to the ground and yanked it off!"

The look that Beatrice shot Tori reminded Tori of a mother hen protecting her young. Tori threw up her hands and said, defensively, "I did not! I promise I didn't, Beatrice. He took it off then jumped out and tried to scare me!"

Jake responded indignantly, "I did not!" Then the whole room erupted again as everyone tried to get their opinion heard.

This time, it was George that took matters in hand. "Hush! Everybody hush! Jake, tell us what happened and try to make it factual. I know that's hard for you lawyers, but stick to the facts, mister!"

While everyone focused their attention on Jake, he told the story of Friday afternoon. Tori was glad that he left out the more intimate parts, but she had a feeling that George and Beatrice could probably fill in the blanks.

After Jake finished, there were lots of hugs and slaps on the back. Beatrice whispered in Tori's ear, "I told you he needed you!" The older couple were so happy that they decided to join Tori and Jake for a slice of cake. Jake poured the coffee and Tori added a scoop of ice cream to everyone's plate. Then they all sat down and enjoyed the dessert and the company. It was obvious that George and Beatrice were extraordinarily happy about the changes in Jake.

Chapter Eleven

On Monday morning, it was business as usual. And as usual, Tori had loads of information that Jake needed. But, this week, instead of gathering it all from the computer, Jake suggested that they actually go out and do a little surveillance of a few of his cases. They took the 35 mm camera with them and went to gather some evidence.

That night, Jake showed Tori how to use his dark room to develop the pictures. Jake's grandmother had built the darkroom into the back corner of the garage. Jake told Tori that his grandmother had been an amateur photographer and had spent hours working with her camera and film. And she had taught him the details of the art form.

As Tori saw the pictures developing, she realized that Jake's grandmother wasn't the only one with a talent for picture taking. The pictures that Jake took easily rivaled ones that she saw hanging for sale around town. And these were just pictures that he was taking to make his cases work. She wondered what he could do if he actually went out and took pictures with his sole goal being ascetic quality.

The work week flew by with each day including trips around town, collecting the proof that Jake believed could influence a judge's decision. Tori came to understand his passion for his work. It was like putting together a puzzle and Jake was a master at the game. He could think through issues that Tori thought were just emotional jumbles. Jake would find an angle to work from, then he would sort through the details. It amazed her to watch him in action.

On Friday afternoon, shortly before quitting time, Jake and Tori walked into Paul's downtown office . Tori had talked to her dad on the phone during the week, so he was aware that Jake was making progress. She had told him about moving in with Jake and about Jake's new willingness to get out and about. But from the look on his face, Tori could tell that it was still a shock for Paul to actually see Jake outside of his dark office.

When Tori and Jake handed Paul the files they had finished working on, Paul's mouth fell open. "What have the two of you been doing?" he asked in astonishment.

Jake laughed and said, "Just what you pay us to do!"

When the three of them finished going over the information, Paul looked extremely satisfied. "This is the best work you have ever done, Jake. Obviously getting out to gather the photos has added an edge we didn't have before. I don't think there is anyway our clients can lose with this sort of proof backing up our claims. I daresay that our practice will become even more in demand after the courts catch wind of this. I think this calls for a celebration."

Jake gave Tori a cocky grin and a quick wink. Tori smiled back and, without thinking, reached across the small distance separating them and took Jake's hand. When she looked back at her dad, she realized that the action hadn't gone unnoticed by her father's trained eye. When Paul cocked his eyebrow at her, Tori lowered her gaze and refused to give him the satisfaction of a response.

After clearing his throat, Paul said, "Well, why don't we get together tomorrow? How about my place, about suppertime. We could have a picnic."

It was Tori's turn to give her father a suggestive look. "Will Stella be there?"

The blush that stole up Paul's cheeks assured Tori that their relationship was still on going. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Her dad deserved someone like Stella who was strong enough to challenge him yet still sweet enough to need him.

Paul interrupted Tori's thoughts when he said, "Well, she could be. How about if I invite Samuelson and his wife as well. He has wanted to meet you forever, Jake. Would that be alright?" Tori was thrilled when Jake agreed without even hesitating. Then the three of them said good-bye.

Tori had spent some time during the week looking for quiet restaurants that would give Jake an opportunity to ease back into social settings. She had found an Italian diner close to Jake's house that was both small and quaint. The romantic atmosphere also meant that the lights were lowered. Tori thought that might make Jake more secure. When she suggested stopping there on their way back home, she was pleased that he agreed.

When they entered the restaurant, Tori was glad that it was exactly what she had expected. The lights were low, the music was soft and the crowd was minimal. The hostess showed them over to a table in the corner. Jake held the chair for Tori, then sat down beside her. The waitress approached the table and offered them a glass of the house wine. Tori was surprised when Jake refused, instead ordering champagne.