Page 44 of Jake and Conner
Now there was nothing I could do, or was there?
I couldn't think of anything.
That was the worst part. I hated feeling helpless.
The rest of my working day, I spent in a haze, barely listening to people when they talked to me. It got so bad that, around four PM, one of my co-workers, Lorene, entered my office, tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention and told me to go home in a motherly tone of voice that left no room for argument.
It was only when I started my car that I remembered that I couldn't go home.
Jake and I had made plans to spend the evening--and probably the night--together. Jake had promised me a date-night, and I’d promised to make time. I couldn’t back out now. I didn’twantto back out. I’d been looking forward to tonight.
Until I'd seen that newspaper article anyway.
It wasn't that I'dforgottenabout Mark over the past week, but he hadn't been on the forefront of my mind as much as he was now. I wondered where he was, what he was doing.
My hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Bad things happened to omegas out on the streets.
None of this was Jake's fault, though, and I wasn't just going to blow him off because my mind was stuck on a case.
When I arrived at his house, I spent a minute just sitting in the car after I'd parked in his driveway, inhaling and exhaling and trying to refocus my thoughts. My boyfriend deserved my full attention, didn't he?
After a moment, I got out of the car and knocked on Jake's door. Almost immediately, two dogs barked enthusiastically on the other side. Bailey and Kitty, who'd spent the night, just the way I had. It was the sound of the dogs more than anything that reminded me that tonight was supposed to be a joyous occasion.
When Jake opened the door, I greeted him with a smile, hoping that he couldn't tell that it was fake. He gave me a grin and kissed me, and then he took my hand and led me into the dining room, stepping around the dogs who were just as excited to see me as he was.
I let my hand run through Kitty's soft fur as I followed Jake.
He'd really put a lot of effort into his plans for tonight, I could tell. The smell of cooked potatoes, meat and gravy wafted into my nose from the direction of the kitchen and made me smile. Jake didn't love cooking--he preferred baking--but it seemed he wanted to wine and dine me tonight. In fact, there were two glasses with red wine set up on the table, illuminated by two flickering equally red candles that had been placed in the center. The overhead light was dimmed.
"Sit for a moment," Jake said. "Dinner's almost ready."
"Okay." I let go of his hand and sat. "It smells good."
"I hope it tastes as good as it smells," Jake said with a laugh as he walked into the kitchen. "Took me all day!"
"We can order out next time," I suggested. "Or I can cook for you."
"You? Do you even know how to cook?" Jake called back in a teasing tone of voice. "Remember that roast you tried to make when--"
"I remember," I cut him off because the memory was a bit embarrassing. I'd spent a good part of my life fiercely refusing to hone my kitchen skills simply due to how disgusted I was by the omega-in-the-kitchen stereotype, and then I'd paid for it the one time I'd tried to do something nice for Jake and cook for him. "How hard could it be?" I'd thought. I'd received my answer in the form of a charred black mess that couldn't be eaten by anyone.
"Maybe we should go to a restaurant next time," Jake said. "But for tonight, I hope you'll enjoy the meal I've made for you." He came back from the kitchen with a steaming plate in his hand that he set down in front of me.
Mashed potatoes with gravy and meatloaf. It looked fantastic and smelled even better. "Thank you," I said. "I'm sure I will."
Jake smiled and returned to the kitchen for only a few seconds to get his own plate.
"I'm really happy to have you with me tonight," he said as he sat down. "After everything that happened and all the time we've spent apart... this feels right."
"It does," I said, because I felt the same way too, as long as I kept all thoughts of omegas in danger shoved into a tiny little box in a far corner of my mind. "I'm glad to be here tonight." I forced the corners of my lips up and hoped that it looked genuine. Then I cut into the meat and tried a piece. "This is really good," I said, although, truth be told, I wasn't tasting much.
"Yeah?" Jake eyed me critically. He hadn't even touched his own food yet. "So, how was your day at work?" he asked, trying so hard to make the question sound casual that he failed miserably. He knew something was up. Of course he did. How had I thought that I could fool him?
There wasn't anyone who knew me and all my mannerisms and quirks as well as Jake did.
I exhaled, hoping this evening wasn't going to be ruined by another argument. "I'm trying not to think about work."
