Page 54 of Until Forever

“Thank you.” He runs off.

“Make sure you brush your teeth.,” I yell. Jasper is standing at the sink when I face him. “What did you do to my kid?” I joke.

He cranes his neck to look at me. “Nothing.” He snickers.

“You’ve done something. Clearing the table, scraping food into the trash before putting the dishes in the sink. Yeah, that is not my kid.”

We laugh.

“I swear, I haven’t done anything.”

“Thank you for this. It was really nice of you.” I step closer, grabbing the drying towel and holding my hand out for the cup he just finished rinsing.

Jasper gives it to me. “It wasn’t a problem at all. We were both up, and I figured since you’d just come off a long stretch, we’d take care of you this morning.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Besides, this is pretty much our routine.” Japer passes me a clean plate. “I’d get up to work out, then I’d make breakfast, he’d help me clean. Afterwards, we’d get dressed for school, then I’d come back here and work until it’s time to pick him up,” he shares.

“I’m impressed.” I dry a plate and put it in the cabinet above my head. “He’s usually with my parents during the week, and I’m certain they aren’t this organized with him. Hell, I’m not this organized.”

Jasper laughs. “He’s an easy kid. I know you said he’s been going through a phase, but for the most part he’s been great.”

“He usually is, but I’ve never seen him this happy. The way he is with you,” I agree.

He smiles and continues the dishes. I watch his profile, now amazed by him. This is not the boy I knew. The person before me is a man—grown and content with himself. I like this look on him, probably more than I should. This is what a healthy person looks like, someone who’s let go of their past traumas and refuses to let it define them. When he told me that his leaving was for the better, I didn’t get it, and now the letter he left me makes sense. If he had to say to my face that he wanted to go on without me, I would have tried to stop him, and because he loved me, he would have stayed.

I get that now, and even though it’s hard, I respect his decision. He’s a better man for it. My heart is full knowing that. Despite the years and distance between us, he’s still one of the people I care about. He went off and changed his narrative, and that’s a good thing.

My mind travels back to last night and the things he said to me. My chest tightens, and suddenly my mouth is dry. “Oh, no. Did JJ see you come out of my room?”

He shakes his head. “No. I made sure he didn’t. I was up well before he was.”

I release a sigh of relief. Things have changed drastically for us since Jasper has been back in town, we don’t need to further confuse JJ with ideas of the two of us together. At least not until we’ve figured it out for ourselves.

“So don’t worry, we haven’t ruined your dignity in the eyes of our seven-year-old.”

“Shut up, that’s not what I meant. Like I said last night, I don’t want to confuse him. Or—”

“If you’re fixing your mouth to say that we need to call things off and that last night was a mistake, you can stop right now. You can get that out of your head, because like I toldyou, I’m not going anywhere. We are in this together. We created this life together, and you’re gonna let me be a part of it. I get this is tough for you, you’ve had to do things alone for a very long time. But I’m here now.” He shuts off the water and takes the cloth from me.

I suck in a breath as he dries his hands and swallow a lump when he cups my face, forcing me to lock eyes with him.

“I respect your concerns when it comes to JJ. So no, our son didn’t see me leaving your room, and he won’t. Okay?”

I nod, the hairs on my arms rising from his assertiveness. My chest heaves, my breath hitching on the way out. I nod again for added measure then wet my lips to hopefully pull myself together.

“Now, what are you craving for lunch?” he asks nonchalantly and returns to his previous task, the sound of the water flowing from the faucet filling my ears.

Meanwhile, I stand here completely floored. There’s something about the way he takes charge, the authority, and dominance in his words. Just like the night of Wes’s party when he kissed me, last night when he took my body, and now. I like it, more than I expect to, and if he keeps this up, I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.

* * *

I peel my eyes away from my e-reader and look up at the clock on the wall, realizing how quiet it is. Too quiet. Swinging my feet off the couch, I stuff my feet into my slippers and go off in search of the boys. We spent the morning lounging in front of the TV, and at one point, the two of them disappeared into JJ’s room to play video games. That was hours ago, and I can’t pinpoint when I heard the loud chants and playful taunting stop.

With a peek down the hall, I see that JJ’s bedroom door is shut. Then I hear his giggle in the distance. I head into the kitchen, catching a glimpse of the top of JJ’s head running in the backyard.

I inch forward and push the screen door open in time to witness Jasper throwing the ball in his direction. JJ holds his arm out, but when the ball hits, it bounces against the mitt and rolls in the grass.

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