11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
J ess opens up cabinets and drawers in Landry’s house, trying to find a can opener. It’s the fourth time she’s made dinner at his place, and he seems completely content having her in his kitchen, alone, without knowing where things are kept yet. Or if he even has what she is looking for.
“Landry?” she calls, hoping her annoyance doesn’t come through.
“Yeah, babe?” Landry calls from the living room.
“Where’s your can opener?”
“Should be in the drawer.”
The drawer. He has fifteen drawers, and she’s looked in all of them. “Which drawer?”
He sighs, but the foot of the recliner pops down. Walking into the kitchen, he looks slightly annoyed she’d bother him in the middle of whatever sports game he’s watching. She’s too annoyed to take much interest in it, though.
“In here,” he says and opens the third drawer to the right of the fridge. “Huh.”
“Huh?”
“It’s supposed to be here.”
Rolling her eyes at his back, she leans against the counter while he looks through the drawers. This would be the benefit to having him in the kitchen with her as she’s cooking. Not just in the kitchen but his kitchen.
“How’d it get here?” Landry says as he opens the cabinet above his fridge. “That’s a weird place for it.”
He hands it to her, kisses her cheek, and walks back into the living room. It takes everything in her not to smack him in the head with the metal utensil that looks like it’s never been washed.
Not only did she have to bring over the groceries for the meal to make, she has to cook without him around to keep her company in his galley kitchen while he watches TV in the living room.
Kade never left you alone in his kitchen when you cooked unless he was showering. And he always asked if you needed any help.
Jess sighs and rests her hands on the counter as she tries to get herself together.
This is Landry, not Kade. They are two very different people, and constantly comparing him to an ex won’t do anyone any good. Nothing good can come of it. Stop it, Jess. Stop it right now!
Straightening her back, she uses the can opener and tosses it into the sink filled with soapy water. That thing needs a good cleaning, and she doesn’t have enough elbow grease in her to get it clean without presoaking it first.
Tonight, she’s making him lasagna, and she wishes she’d prepped it at home to just pop into the oven here at his place. It would’ve taken less time, and she would know exactly where everything was.
She also could have had him over at her place for dinner, but she likes having an exit strategy. After dinner, he usually makes a move, and they spend time on the couch making out, their hands feeling various parts of the other’s body, and just as she’s ready to let him strip her naked and ravage her to scratch the itch, she bolts. At her place, she can’t just leave. And she may not have the strength to ask him to leave, either.
Focusing on the various steps needed for the dish, she pushes the thoughts about sex with Landry out of her mind. Even though sex with Kade was always amazing, she knows sex with Landry won’t be terrible. Her body vibrates and is ready to combust with only a few simple touches, but she does worry how it’ll compare. She doesn’t want to think about it, but she can’t help it.
Kade was the best sex she’s ever had. He knew what she liked, and he remembered it. He used it every time they were together, and it never took her long to finish. He also rarely finished before her, and if he did, he made sure to help her find her own release before cuddling up and falling asleep. Or going for round two.
How’d he keep it all straight? How did he remember what I liked versus what Lena liked? Or Molly or Brittany or Melissa? There’s no way every one of us liked it the same.
Placing the lasagna in the oven, she sets the timer and walks into the living room. Baseball plays on the TV, and she knows it’s America’s pastime, but she has never gotten into the game. It’s too slow-paced for her.
“Did you want to go out this weekend?” Jess asks Landry as he stares intently at the screen.
“Mmhmm.”
“Where do you want to go? There’s this new restaurant that just opened up that I could get us into-”
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asks, finally looking away from the screen.
Blinking, she shakes her head. “I asked if you wanted to go out this weekend.”
“Oh, I have tickets to the game. I can probably get another one, and you can come with us.”
His eyes keep glancing to the screen, and she finds herself extremely annoyed. “Uh, no, thanks.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“I’m not a big baseball fan.”
“You’re not?”
Does he pay attention to anything she says? “Nope, not since I last told you I’m more of a football girl.”
“Huh, I don’t remember that.”
Landry turns to face the TV again, and she just resigns to the fact that as long as sports are on, she won’t exist. It’s how it works for many people. She just never imagined herself being one of them.
He can’t be perfect. There are certain things you just have to accept in the grand scheme.
Getting up, Jess walks back into the kitchen to sit at the table and play on her phone until the timer goes off. She scrolls through social media and checks her work emails, getting a few items check off her list before walking into work the next day.
Maybe his obsession with sports will actually be a benefit .
Jess could wash the dishes, but she wants to see if Landry will offer to help clean. He has yet to so far, but maybe he’ll surprise her. She hopes he will.
The timer goes off, and she pulls the dish from the oven to add the top layer of cheese before tossing it back in to melt and brown. The scents from the garlicy tomato sauce make her mouth water, and she can’t wait to dig in.
While it finishes, she puts together the salad, and she sets the table. The timer buzzes, and she almost drools as she pulls the lasagna from the oven. She can’t wait.
“Dinner’s ready,” she calls.
“Be there in a sec,” Landry calls back.
She sets the casserole dish on a trivet on the table, letting it cool a bit before cutting into it. She’s made simple things before, like pizza and burgers, but this is a masterpiece. Before cutting into it, she takes a picture for her feed. This is definitely social media worthy.
“Landry?” Jess calls after fifteen minutes of waiting for him to come into the kitchen.
“Be there in a sec,” he calls again.
Annoyed, she just cuts herself a slice and dishes it up onto her plate. She sits down and starts eating her salad. Each forkful she takes lifts slower and slower to her mouth, but her chewing gets more and more aggressive.
She finishes her salad and leans over to find him on the edge of the recliner, his eyes glued to the screen.
“I’m going to start without you,” she calls.
“Can you bring me a plate in here?”
Leaning back, she chuckles. “If you want to eat by yourself in the living room, you can come and get it yourself.”
“Are you mad?” he asks, finally turning to look at her.
“I’m not mad. I’m just kind of confused why you asked me to come over for dinner when you planned to stay glued to the television all night and not eat with me.”
“I thought we could watch the game together,” he says and walks into the kitchen. “You like baseball, don’t you?”
Staring at him, she just shakes her head and cuts into the food on her plate. She’s not going to reply to that. Not again.
He seems to understand her frustration, so he sits down and takes a slice from the tray. “This looks good.”
“It is. It’s not as warm as it was thirty minutes ago, but you have a microwave.”
“Jess, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
Giving him a forced smile, she just nods and continues eating. The conversation doesn’t go anywhere, and she watches him try and come up with something, anything, to say.
He looks at the kitchen as he chews and tilts his head. “Wait, this isn’t a frozen lasagna?”
“Excuse me?”
“I figured you brought one of those frozen ones from the store.”
“I carried in three bags of groceries. What did you think I had in them if I was making a frozen dinner? And what would I need a can opener for?”
Shrugging, he takes another bite. “I don’t know. You used a lot of dishes.”
“Excuse me, again?”
“I just thought you said you’re the type to clean as you go.”
Leaning back, she can’t finish her meal. She went from annoyed to angry. “I’ll start cleaning up.”
“You haven’t finished your dinner.”
“I lost my appetite.”
“If you’re going to clean up, do you mind if I take mine into the other room to watch the game?”
Whipping around, Jess glares at him. “Sure. Why not?”
“Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”
Her mouth drops open as he stands and walks out with his plate and fork in his hand. Even though he saw how much work went into the meal, he didn’t offer to help clean up. Just like all the other times, he doesn’t say a word.
“I wish I were a different type of woman,” she mutters to herself as she starts scrubbing the dishes. “I’d leave these for him to deal with, but I can’t. It would drive me insane.”
Instead, she spends the next half an hour cleaning up the dishes and the leftovers, frustrated he ruined one of her favorite dishes for her. And if he thinks she’s sticking around to watch him watch TV, he’s got another thing coming.
“I’m going to take off,” Jess calls as she hangs up the dish towel on the oven door.
“What? It’s so early,” Landry says and stands to walk into the kitchen.
“My job is done.”
He narrows his eyes. “What job?”
“Cooking you a meal and cleaning up while you ignore me to watch baseball. A sport that, for the third time now, I don’t like. I feel like your mother, not your date, Landry.”
“You do?”
“I’m going to go,” she says and sighs. “Have a good night.”
His hand presses against the door as she opens it. “Wait.”
“For what?”
Kissing her, he presses her against the door and cups her face. As annoyed as she may be at him, he does kiss well. Really well. She almost forgets how angry she is. Almost.
“I’m sorry,” he says and moves to kiss her neck. “I thought you liked baseball. I shouldn’t have invited you over for dinner and the game. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
“Thank you.”
“Any chance I can convince you to stay? I didn’t get to spend much time with you, and I was kind of looking forward to our make-out session on the couch after dinner. It’s the best dessert.”
His words have a strange effect on her, and she almost says yes. Almost. “You could’ve been making out with me as an appetizer, but you didn’t. I also don’t want to be kissed while you watch the game. It’s either or, Landry, and I think you really, really want to watch the game.”
He pouts. “I would like both.”
“Not gonna happen,” she says and pats his cheek. “Goodnight.”
Walking to her Benz, she sits for a few moments to collect her thoughts. Landry is a good guy. Inconsiderate at times, and sometimes a jerk, but overall, he wants a relationship. One woman to claim as his own, and he can kiss like no one’s business. Maybe they just need a rule about dates on the same night as sporting events he wants to watch.
“And he really needs to start thinking about helping with the dishes, otherwise all he’ll get is frozen meals,” Jess says and drives back to her place.