ODAAT: Volume 2, Chapter 9

 

Pancakes For Dinner

My eyes slowly flutter open and I look around the room. I'm exhausted, even after sleeping. Two flights in the last day and a pile of contracts to read can do that to a person. I don't know how the Hollywood fuckers can manage. I want to sleep for days. Days. It doesn't help that every ounce of energy I had left was given to the person asleep beside me. I smile, slowly pulling myself out of the bed. There's no sunlight coming in from the window. At first, I think it must be too early. Maybe I didn't sleep as long as I thought. The clock says it's 5:00 though, so the sun should be in the distance. Then I remember I got off the plane at five am, so that means it's five in the afternoon. We slept the entire day away. Oh well. I grab the jeans that are laying on the floor and pull them over my hips. I reach for my shirt, pulling it over my head. But it's not mine. It's the black Cramps t-shirt he was wearing last night. Oh well. I slide my feet into the slippers waiting to greet me and head out into the hallway. I hear noise coming from the kitchen and the house smells like cooked dough. My first thought is Crystal's flight was canceled. But, I think I would have seen her at the airport if that were the case. Then, I think he's home early. His timing would be great. He should have woken me up though. I yawn as I walk into the kitchen, running my hand through my hair. It's a mess, but, that's expected.

“I'm making pancakes.” Madeline announces, turning to face me. I raise my eyebrow, and head towards her. I grab one of the stools, dragging it across the floor. Then I drop down.

“Pancakes for dinner?” I ask. She nods, laughing to herself.

“Yeah. I know. I woke up a few hours ago, but I didn't want to like, leave. I mean, not before saying thank you. So, I thought about dinner. But, there's not much to work with.” She counters, pointing to the fridge. She's right. I haven't bothered grocery shopping in a while because no one is ever home. Crystal spends most of her time with Charlie somewhere or another. They are never home to eat. They only come back when it's time to sleep. Until then, they are usually out of the house. Jared and me spend most of our time at the bar, so we end up eating out. We've actually gone on more dates in the last month than we did our entire relationship. I shake my head and watch her flipping the batter in the pan.

“Thank you.” I offer, trying to strike up more of a conversation. She looks over at me, briefly, and laughs.

“No no. You don't thank me. I'm thanking you.” She corrects.

“Why are you thanking me?” I ask, jumping back off the stool. I walk over to where she's standing and pull the coffee pot out. She's already made coffee, but the pot is tucked behind the box of pancake mix. The only food we have is fucking pancake mix.

“It's your house.” She answers, looking around. I shrug, pouring the coffee into a mug that's laying on the counter. I don't need the sugar today. I just need the blunt force of black coffee. She smiles as I sit back down. I notice she's staring at my shirt.

“Yeah.” I mutter, laughing. She shakes her head, turning to the stove.

“I'm sorry. I know it's none of my business. I can't help my curiosity sometimes. I think it's going to be the death of me some day.” She dismisses. I shrug, leaning my arms against the island.

“It's what it looks like.” I answer. She looks over at me.

“Yeah?” She asks, almost sounding excited. I laugh.

“Okay, now humor my curiosity. Why do you sound excited about my sex life?” I ask. She shakes her head.

“I just, well, he said a few things last night. I asked him what brought him to town. You know he's pretty private. But, he said he was here to right a wrong of the past. I figured there was a girl. I didn't realize it would be you. He didn't say. But, when he told me where he was staying, I sort of guessed. I'm just happy for him.” She explains loosely. I shake my head, aware she isn't looking at me. She's partially right. He's here to fix a relationship of the past. But it's not me, and it's not a woman. I can hear the shuffling sound of his feet as he drags the bare skin across the tiled floor.

“Good morning.” I greet, looking over at him. He fakes a smile, shaking up his hair. He's wearing nothing but his boxers. He stops as he notices Madeline standing in the kitchen.

“I didn't think you'd still be here.” He confesses. Madeline motions towards the frying pan, faking a smile.

“She's making dinner.” I inform him. He looks over his shoulder at my bedroom, then back at her.

“I uh...” He's stuttering out an apology, which is adorable.

“I told her we spent the night together. You don't have to try and cover up your trail Jared.” I dismiss. He nods, walking over to the coffee pot. He puts his hand on her lower back as he makes himself a coffee. She pushes him back as she takes the frying pan off the stove. He laughs, and walks over to where I'm sitting. He puts his coffee on the island, pulling out a stool. He sits down, positioning himself to face me. I adjust, so that we're facing each other. Neither of us say anything, but our eyes lock in a conversation of their own. He looks even better today than he did yesterday. Even with the bags under his eyes. Madeline puts plates down in front of us, startling us out of our silent conversation. She fakes a smile, then laughs nervously. She sits down with her plate across the island from us.

“Pancakes for dinner?” He asks, motioning towards the plate. Me and Madeline both laugh, exchanging a look. I know where her thoughts have gone. She's not going to say it out loud though.

“It's all we have.” I offer, so Madeline doesn't have to explain it again. Jared nods, picking up his fork.

“True.” He agrees, diving into his plate of pancakes. I watch him eat for a few seconds, trying to mostly look out of the corner of my eye. How is it possible that he's cute even when he's eating? The way his teeth bite into whatever he's eating and pull it off the fork. His utensils never actually reach his mouth. I smile and start picking at my pancakes. I have a reserved appetite. I notice that Madeline is looking back and fourth between us, likely noticing how close our stools are. They are closer than they need to be, that's for sure. I laugh, shaking my head. She looks away, realizing she's been caught staring. Jared looks from me to Madeline with a confused expression on his face. She shakes her head.

“I'm just...” She stops, looking over at me. I laugh.

“Happy for you, Jared. For you, and for us.” I finish, looking over at him. He looks down at his food, and we both start laughing again.