Chapter 10
Jackson
I was still reeling a bit as we sliced the vegetables.
Pete had been into me since he was sixteen.
That was over two years ago! Had he never dated during that time?
I didn’t dare ask about his dating life yet, it seemed like a topic that could sour the good mood we shared as we moved around each other in my kitchen.
It felt so domesticated. So utterly perfect.
“Where do you have the tomato sauce?” he asked, looking through my cupboard.
“In the pantry.” I gestured to the door.
He went inside and picked out two cans the sauce.
I wasn’t big on cooking, but it seemed Pete knew what he was doing.
I was just glad I had some fresh vegetables in my fridge.
I’d never been afraid of someone judging the contents of my fridge before, but then again, no one had been Pete.
“Since you don’t have fresh garlic, we can use garlic spice instead.
” I was just nodding along as he moved around.
I doubted I’d ever had fresh garlic. Was that normal to have in a kitchen?
Wasn’t the spice good enough? Also, why did I find it sexy as he cooked for us?
There was just something about him wearing my T-shirt, his legs bare, as he moved around making us food.
Pete’s phone rang from the living room and he gestured for me to get it. “If it’s my mom, we’re out.”
I chuckled at how bossy he was, then left the kitchen to answer it.
It was Dylan so I happily greeted him. “Hi, Dylan. Jackson here.”
There was a beat of silence before he replied. “Um, hi, Jackson. How is he?” I frowned. Hadn’t he just asked Pete this exact question not even an hour ago himself? “I know he said he was okay, but I know you might see it differently.”
“I um, think he’s fine. Still sore around the neck, but he has no trouble eating or drinking other than discomfort. When he ate his burger at lunch, he opted for using a knife and fork to get smaller bites down. But otherwise, nothing seems amiss.”
“Good, that’s good, because Linda is on her way right now.”
Pete’s mom was coming? Fuck!
“And you couldn’t have started with that?” I hissed, looking around at my rather messy apartment.
“Well, I could’ve, but then you answered and I figured I could get your honest opinion about how he was doing.” I sighed. He was truly a good friend.
“Thank you for the heads up,” I groaned, getting ready to hang up and warn Pete.
“You’re welcome! By the way, he loves praise! But don’t you dare use degradation, he hates that! Byeeeee!” Then he hung up and I was left gaping at Pete’s phone.
“Who was it?” Pete called from the kitchen. Right, Linda would be here any minute and Pete was still only wearing my T-shirt. I sighed, because this meant he’d have to change into his own clothes. Such a shame.
“Your mom is on her way,” I replied, handing over his phone. The pot was close to boiling and a bag of pasta was ready next to it. The sauce was simmering away on the stove next to the pot of boiling water. How long had I been in there?
“Damn her and her worries,” he muttered, then handed me the spoon for the sauce. “You stir, and don’t you dare turn the heat up.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied with a grin. I loved having him here.
He rolled his eyes and hurried into my room.
I was both glad and annoyed he was changing.
I figured that since I hadn’t mentioned it, he felt it would be best himself not to look like we were messing around.
Not that we wouldn’t start that soon, or at least I hoped we would, after his mom was done with her visit.
The intercom beeped and I quickly buzzed her in, leaving the apartment door ajar, not really knowing how to act now that I was dating her son.
It had to be the universe’s way of balancing this out, giving me Pete and then having me deal with his mom the same day.
At least Linda liked me. Or she used to…
Pete hurried out of my room, now wearing ripped jeans, but to my immense pleasure, still in my T-shirt. I hummed my approval as he came to stand next to me, then pecked him quickly on the lips and pinched his ass, unable to resist the temptation that was Pete.
“Oh!” Linda exclaimed, and I mentally slapped myself. This was not how I wanted her to find out about us. I hadn’t even talked to Pete about it. Did he even want her to know? Maybe he’d prefer it if we waited until we’d been together longer. I was already failing at this dating thing.
“Hi, Mom,” Pete grinned, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
“Hi, yourself,” she grinned back, then her eyes landed on his neck and she seemed to suck in her breath. “That isn’t just a job gone wrong! That looks like it was meant to kill you, Pete!”
I knew it would be best if I just kept my mouth shut, so I did just that, knowing with confidence that Pete knew how to deal with his own mom.
“It was bad, Mom. Not gonna lie, but being in my line of work means danger sometimes. You know this.” He seemed to convey something with his eyes and she nodded knowingly. I guess they’d had a few arguments over his choice of work in the past. Few parents would easily accept that.
“But you’re okay? Mentally?” she tacked on. He nodded. “And Jackson seems to be helping you with other things….”
He blushed, but smiled. “He is. We’re, um, dating.” I preened at that. The fact he was so proud of telling his mom about us, that he was proud he was dating me.
“I’m happy for you both, but, and please don’t hate me for asking, but what about Mike?”
He waved off her concern. “I asked for his blessing before I told Jackson how I felt about him.”
“I’m glad you did. It shows Mike that you considered his feelings before you acted.
I’m proud of you for that.” I hadn’t thought about that myself, but Pete truly had thought this thing between me and him through.
Yeah, it was still extremely new to me, and here I was, having a meet-the-parent moment.
In the open doorway… After I’d just pinched Pete’s ass…
“Let’s move this inside,” I said, stepping away from the door and leading Linda to the living room. “Do you want to eat with us? Pete is making a tomato and spaghetti dish.”
Linda sat down on the couch and smiled at what had to be my clear nervousness.
My life truly wasn’t boring. Just hours ago, I’d been with a random man from the app, and here I was with Pete and his mom.
I still regretted leaving when it had hurt Pete’s feelings, but now I was wondering if Pete and I would’ve ever gotten together if I hadn’t.
It had pushed Pete to admit his feelings for me.
However weird our start at dating was, it was ours, and I found myself ready to face the challenges with him. First challenge being Linda.
“That’s kind of you to offer, dear, but I just needed to see Pete was okay with my own eyes. And now that I have, I won’t be here for long.” She winked at Pete and he blushed again. I doubted that he’d been able to hide his crush from his mom, since she seemed too giddy for it to be news to her.
Pete sat down next to her and I followed and sat beside Pete. I felt so out of place, and considering it was my apartment that said a lot.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Pete asked.
Linda laughed. “Like you could keep secrets from me. I knew you were besotted from the very first time we met Jackson. The first Christmas just cemented my suspicion; you couldn’t stop looking at him with this dreamy expression.
” I smiled, loving learning all of this.
To think Pete was that into me, it was weirdly flattering.
I got this warm feeling inside, something I’d never felt before.
I hoped I could make Pete feel the same.
Being brave, I took his hand and held it.
I wouldn’t have hesitated to do this if Linda weren’t here, so I figured I needed to man up and show Pete it wasn’t one sided anymore.
That I really liked him, too, even if it was new to me.
I had known him for over two years, after all.
It wasn’t like we were strangers, but we hadn’t been close either.
Dylan and I had met a handful of times too, but we’d never really spoken until the phone call today.
“Have you told Ida?” Linda asked, and I realized the question was directed at me.
“Oh, not yet,” I replied, not quite sure if Pete wanted her to know just how new this thing between us was.
“We started dating like two hours ago, Mom.” Oh, so it seemed Pete wasn’t shy about telling her even more details about us. Cool. Cool.
Linda’s expression was priceless. She gaped at us, then seemed to look over at the TV. Now she was the one blushing. “I’m so sorry! I’ll go.”
“No, Mom. We aren’t throwing you out,” Pete assured her with a laugh, also looking over at the shut off TV. I tried to see what they were looking at but nothing seemed amiss.
“I, um. I have work anyway,” she replied, hurrying out to the hallway. “I’ll call in a few days. Daisy already told me you wouldn’t be working these next few days.” Was Daisy his partner?
“Not unless something urgent comes up,” he agreed.
“Jackson, please take good care of him.” She winked and then she was out the door, dashing down the apartment stairs and out of sight.
I closed the door behind her and smiled at Pete. “So, that went well.”