Page 35 of Forever Fickle

“Thank you… I think,” she said openly, watching Jace as he moved to get his own coffee cup and wouldn’t look at her. “Now, do you want to join our morning chats or are you taking your cup of Joe and leaving us alone?”

Alpo hesitated, picked up his coffee mug, and walked out the door looking a little bothered… right before he hesitated beside Karen and muttered, ‘we’ll talk later’.

The moment he was out the door, she shut the kitchenette door and looked at Jace.

“They really do not think highly of you, do they?”

“I’ve never really given them a reason to think differently about me,” Jace admitted. “All they’ve seen is me stumbling drunk out of bars, talking to different girls, and I’ve never kept a serious relationship… and with a call sign like mine? It’s hard to think differently, isn’t it?”

“Why not change it?”

“My call sign?” he started, looking shocked.

“Yeah.”

“Because it’s me…” Jace said explained simply, as if that said it all. He then shrugged, as if he was trying to play it off like the discussion didn’t matter – but she knew better.

She’d seen his embarrassment and the way he turned away to hide in front of her. A part of her knew that if she hadn’t been there, he would have just chalked it off like it was nothing.

“I don’t care what other people think about me.”

“I think you do,” she whispered, walking up to him. “I think you care a lot and keep it hidden behind that mask you wear. It’s easier to let people assume the worst, than to show them the best and be disappointed.”

“As long as you don’t assume the worst, then I just don’t care… and I should probably get out there,” Jace hedged, looking away from her.

“Are you running from me?” she asked – and saw him freeze, like she’d hit a nerve. That surprised her, and so did her next move.

She reached out and touched his cheek, causing him to look at her.

“I like the person I’m getting to know as my friend – and would be honored to have you as one, but don’t expect me to sit back and let the world think the worst of you.”

“I don’t need you to be my champion.”

“Maybe you do…” she breathed, looking up at him. “Maybe you need to have someone on your side more than you could ever know.”

His throat worked as he stood there silently, looking at her, just before she stepped back, realizing how close she was to crossing a line she’d sworn she wouldn’t cross.

“That better be some carbonara…” she taunted, picking up her coffee cup and glancing at him. “I’ve never had a guy cook for me and I don’t expect to have another one doing so again for a very long time.”

“I’m the only guy that willeverbe cooking in your kitchen, Karen Marks,” Jace said gruffly, his voice awfully possessive, and it gave her a thrill down to her toes that left her stunned at the joy it caused.

“Oh, and don’t worry about our outing Saturday,” Karen said glibly, taking a sip of her coffee and opening the door to the kitchenette. “Turns out you’ll be meeting my family after all.”

Jace smiled widely and nodded.

“I’m game.”

“Good.”

* * *

That evening,Jace and Karen drove to the grocery store on the north side of town and picked up a few items. She bought an apple pie with a caramel topping on it, got a birthday card for her nephew, along with a few action figures that were on one of the pegs in the toy aisle.

She was planning on slipping a twenty-dollar bill in the bag that would make the seven-year-old boy thrilled beyond belief… and there was something so weirdly satisfying about shopping for groceries with Jace.

Jace was picky when it came to purchases – and seeing it made her smile. He was perusing the meat section looking for something called pancetta and ended up buying bacon instead. He was taking this completely serious, wanting to make sure and ‘wow’ her, and it was incredibly flattering.

Garlic cloves, pasta, a bottle of wine, a wedge of cheese, and eggs had her marveling at the simplicity of the dish… and laughing at him as he held up two loaves of bread, one large and one smaller, raising an eyebrow at her suggestively, asking which loaf she preferred.

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