Page 43 of Four Letter Feelings

Chapter 17

The next morning, Jeremy woke up before the sun. He’d expected to have a hangover and need to sleep it off, but the night had taken an unexpectedly different course and he woke up feeling energized and refreshed – a good romp in the sheets usually left him feeling that way. Feeling recharged and clear minded, he started the washing machine, got dressed in sweats and a fitted t-shirt and stepped outside to go for a run, leaving Jessica asleep in his bed. He wouldn’t usually leave a woman he just met alone in the house without him around, but as he and AJ had just moved in, there wasn’t anything of value lying around for her to steal if she did happen to be untrustworthy after all. She just looked so beautiful as she slept that Jeremy couldn’t bring himself to wake her, and, weighing the options, he figured if she wanted to steal from him, she’d already had ample opportunity.

He ran for miles, his feet slapping against the pavement with every step and his breathing getting heavier as he ran. When he got back home, he peeked into his room as he mopped his sweat with a towel. Seeing that she was still sleeping, he decided to make his famous cinnamon rolls for her for breakfast. By famous he meant within his immediate family, and by his, he meant his mom’s. She made the best cinnamon rolls and he hadn’t made them since before he went to Europe. Once he’d kneaded the dough, it needed an hour to prove, so, leaving it covered and in the laundry room, he moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer and switched it on. He smiled to himself at his creativity in the face of not having a fancy proving drawer like his mom did and decided to tell her about it right then. Despite the fact that he’d be seeing her later that night, he knew she’d be tickled by it.

Jeremy: Guess what?

Mom: Oh Jer, please don’t tell me you can’t come. I’ve been so looking forward to having you home for the holiday!

Jeremy: Eh, nope. Still coming. Why would I not be coming?

Mom: Oh, ok. Great! What am I guessing, then?

Jeremy: Mom, why would I not be coming?

Mom: I don’t know, Jeremy. You’re flighty these days. Maybe you decided to stay in Alabama, I don’t know. It was just a knee-jerk reaction.

Flighty? I’m not flighty. I think I’ve settled in quite nicely since I got back from Europe. Maybe she’s just scared I’m going to leave again?

Jeremy: Well, keep your pants on, Mom. I’m still coming home for Christmas. I’m making your cinnamon rolls this morning – and doing laundry at the same time. The dryer is on for the added heat.

Mom: Would you look at you! That’s a very inventive solution. And you’re doing laundry? Did you knead the dough like I showed you?

Jeremy: Yes, Mom. I’ve been making them for years, you know? Also, no, no laundry, just a hot tumble dryer.

Mom: Oh lord. Wait… I thought AJ already went home… you’re making cinnamon rolls just for you?

Mom: Jeremy Lewis do you have a girlfriend?

Mom: ARE YOU MAKING MY CINNAMON ROLLS FOR YOUR GIRLFRIEND, JEREMY?

Jeremy groaned aloud.

Great. Shouty capitals. For someone so intent on me getting a good education you sure as hell love the idea of me finding a woman and settling down!

Not even close, Mom.

Jeremy: No, Mom. No girlfriend, no grandbabies, no white picket fence. Not yet, anyway. I’m making a double batch and dropping some off when I call around to Blake’s house with Christmas presents.

Mom: You got them presents! So thoughtful, that’s my boy.

Jeremy: Actually, I just made that up. I was going to eat the entire double batch but don’t want to make myself sick.

Mom: LOL! Death by cinnamon roll, what a way to go. Travel safely, darling, see you soon xx

He smiled and shook his head. Truth be told, he was excited to spend Christmas with his parents. Christmas in Europe the previous year had been cold – for Europe – and wet. So, much, rain. He’d spent Christmas with the North American members of the hockey league he was playing in, but it just wasn’t the same. He was looking forward to his mom’s cooking, his dad dragging his ass out in the cold to grab fire wood and the Christmas Eve carol service at their local church. He loved Christmas. He loved the food, the smells, and the music, but mostly he just loved the season of giving. For as long as he could remember, his mom had volunteered in a soup kitchen for a few hours every week. No matter how busy she got with work, or whether she was in Canada or the United States. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, she made it a point to volunteer more. She’d deliver food to their elderly neighbors, run errands for those who couldn’t do it themselves and her weekly shift in the soup kitchen ramped up to two or three shifts, as well. He’d always been so proud of his parents. Despite the fact they were wealthy, he knew they’d also worked incredibly hard to get there. He also knew they gave a lot of what they earned back to people who were less fortunate than themselves. When Jeremy turned fifteen, he asked if he could go with her during the Christmas week shifts to help out and he’d done it every year since. Every year except last year. He was looking forward to seeing everyone at the shelter again and feeling like he was doing even a small part to help people who were in a much worse position than he was.

“Oh god, you’re a morning person.”

He’d forgotten there was someone else in the house with him, so hearing Jessica’s voice made him jump and drop the bottle of cinnamon he was holding.

“Shit!” He spun around to face her.

“Sorry!” she giggled. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She was wearing one of his shirts and her hair was in one of those top-knot-things he’d seen women do with their hair when they couldn’t be bothered doing anything else with it. His mom did it when she didn’t want to wash her hair, but, standing in front of him, this woman looked anything but casual. The light streamed in through the kitchen window and landed on her pale skin, she looked radiant.

“Wow,” he breathed, struggling to find words as all of his blood seemed to rush to his penis.

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