Chapter 15
Bella awoke to Jack’s face on the pillow next to hers, smiling over at her.
“Good morning,” she said, returning his smile, reaching her hand out to brush the hair from his forehead, tousled from sleep. “Have you been awake long?”
“Not too long, I was just admiring the view, " he said, leaning over to kiss her - Bella squeaked and pulled the blankets up over her face.
“No, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet, I have morning breath!”
“I’ll kiss your morning breath mouth if I want to,” he replied, and proceeded to do just that.
“Mmm, what time is it now? And what time is checkout?” Bella asked in between the gentle kisses he was pressing to her lips.
“Not for several hours, and I plan to take advantage of all of them.”
A few hours later Jack left, glancing quickly left and right, before rushing down the hall to his room, in case anyone saw him still wearing last night’s uniform. Bella had ordered up room service, and she was enjoying a cup of coffee when her phone pinged. It was Jackie.
Well?
Bella typed out her reply, then hit send: The Eagle Has Landed, followed by a rocket ship and fireworks emojis.
YES!! Get it girl, so happy for you - I want details when you’re home!
Laughing, Bella put her phone down, so she could pack before it was time to check out.
She’d be checking into the hotel near NASA for the rest of the weekend, the one she stayed at when in Houston.
It was too early for sleepovers at Jack's when they didn’t know where this was going to end up, if anywhere, especially not when his daughters were home.
If things continued on as they were, well, then they would address that when the time came.
Bella took an Uber to her hotel, and sent Jack a text to let him know she was there and checked in.
He’d be coming by later to pick her up - they would pick up Sloane and Piper, who had each spent the night at a friend's house - then the plan was to catch a movie, followed by dinner.
She kept herself busy answering emails, and texts from the girls - who both wanted to know how the dance went.
She sent them a picture from last night of her in her dress and shoes, and got back a fire emoji, which made her laugh.
Well? Was the astronaut there? Angela texted.
Madeline replied with the eyes emoji, to indicate she was watching, waiting for Bella’s answer.
Yes, he was there. And I’m seeing him in a bit - going to the movies and having dinner with him and his daughters.
SLAY. Sending 1437!, Madeline texted.
***
It means ‘I love you forever,’ replied Angela.
Oh - same, x
Oh wait - Mom?
Yes?
Can I have those Gucci shoes you were wearing last night? sent Madeline.
Bella texted back: #NO, followed by a crying laughing face emoji.
Bella took a quick shower, did her make up - minimal - lots of mascara and her favorite red lip, put some hot rollers in her hair to give a soft, loose curl, and then got dressed in her favorite low-rise boyfriend jeans, paired with a sapphire cashmere off the shoulder sweater and white Puma Speedcat shoes, along with a black leather jacket for just in case - temperatures were still mild in Houston but that could change in a minute.
She added her Omega Speedmaster watch, her diamond stud earrings, a black YSL crossbody bag, and gave a quick spritz of her all - time favorite perfume - Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium - it had been her go - to scent since she was eighteen.
She headed down to the lobby just as Jack was pulling in and hopped into the front seat - Piper wasn’t there so she automatically got shotgun - and smiled at Jack.
“Well, Captain, fancy meeting you here!” Jack leaned over to give her a kiss, which quickly became considerably longer than either of them had planned.
“Mmm, yes, I found myself in the neighborhood,” he grinned. “Shall we?”
Jack pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the first stop - picking up Sloane.
Pulling into the driveway fifteen minutes later, Jack got out of the car, walked to the front door, and knocked. A few minutes later the door opened to reveal a blonde woman giving Jack a smile that was, to Bella's eye, entirely too warm. Oh, that’s how this is.
Sloane came to the door with her bag, saw Bella in the front seat, and yelled out “Bella” then ran to the car.
Bella stepped out of the car to give Sloane a hug and caught the exact moment the smile on the woman in the doorway died — followed by a long, cool look at Jack.
Jack thanked the woman for having Sloane, then returned to the car to head to the next house to pick up Piper, where the scene was repeated, only this time the woman at the door was a redhead — and the smile was just as warm.
Driving towards the theater, the girls immediately demanded to see pictures of Bella's dress from the night before. They both declared she looked fabulous and needed to know about those shoes.
“Girls, did everything go okay last night? Did you both behave?”
“Of course, Dad, why do you ask?” said Piper.
“Well, neither Heather's nor Katie's mom looked particularly thrilled when I picked you up, so I wasn’t sure.”
Both girls laughed, with Sloane replying, “Dad. They are both so down bad for you and you just hit them with the 'nice to see you’ - RIP their dignity.”
“Huh?”
“Yes, Dad — both those moms have been dying for you to ask them out for, like, ages. Who knew you had so much rizz?”
“Oh. I didn’t know. Well, I’m not interested in either of them” he said.
Bella leaned over to look at them in the back seat. “Oh, that’s too bad, so sad for them,” and gave them each a wicked grin and a fist bump.
Jack saw the whole thing from the rearview mirror and grinned. I’ve got rizz. Whatever the hell that is.
After the movie, they went out to eat at Jack’s favorite Chinese restaurant.
After being seated, the waiter came over to take their drink orders, and Bella decided to try their Ginger Pear Martini, while Jack stuck to water since he was driving.
Placing their orders - Kung Pao Chicken for both Jack and Bella - while Piper had Crispy Honey Chicken and Sloane went with Orange Chicken - they settled in to talk more about the dance, and the film they’d just seen.
After a few minutes, a woman approached the table.
Jack prepared for what would come next - it was par for the course being an astronaut in Houston - he was recognized a lot, with people asking for photos and thanking him for his service.
Turning towards the woman, he turned with his most patient smile.
“Excuse me. I’m so sorry to interrupt, are you by any chance the woman behind Bella Pelle? You look just like her.”
Woah - I wasn’t expecting that, he thought.
“Yes, I am, my name is Isabella Genovese, it’s nice to meet you,” said Bella, extending a hand to the woman.
“I thought so, I hate to bother you while you’re at dinner with your family, but I just had to tell you how much I love your products - they've genuinely changed my skin. I tell everyone at my country club they have to try them."
“Oh, that is so sweet, thank you so much. If you have a card or want to give me your address
so I can have some of our upcoming products sent out to you, so you get a sneak peek before anyone else.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you so much. Here is my card, I appreciate that so much. Well, I will let you get back to your family. Thank you again,” the woman said as she left to return to her own table.
The moment the woman was out of earshot both girls dissolved into the laughter they'd been desperately holding in.
“Ha Ha Ha - Dad thought she was coming over to see HIM, you should have seen your face when she recognized Bella and not you,” Piper said.
“It was pretty funny, Jack,” said Bella.
“I’m being ganged up on over here - Sloane, help your dad out.”
“Ha Ha no way, that was hilarious.”
They laughed for a few more minutes, and when the food arrived they all quieted down to eat. Bella felt a gentle squeeze on her knee and looked over to see Jack give her a wink. This has been a great day, she thought.
Sunday morning they went out to breakfast before Bella left to go back to Dallas.
“Jack - are those new shoes?” Bella asked, with raised brows and a hint of a smile.
“Yeah, he made us go shopping with him for shoes. It was nowhere near the fun we had shopping with you, Bella. Men’s shoes are so mid,” Sloane said.
“Well, those are nice shoes - I like them. Are they Adidas Japan shoes?” Bella asked.
“Jeez Bella - is there a pair of shoes you don’t know?” Jack said, laughing.
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving Bella?” asked Piper.
“I’m flying up to Boston, to spend a few days with my oldest daughter, Angela. She attends Smith College, and it isn’t too far from there. My youngest is in school in London, so it’s too long a trip for her but she will be home for Christmas, and we will see her then.”
“Oh wow, London! Does she like it? Does she have a British accent?”
“She is getting one. We moved there when she was eight, so she’s been there long enough to have picked one up.”
“Do you have any pictures of them on your phone? Can we see?” Sloane asked, wanting to be a part of the conversation.
Bella pulled her phone out and scrolled through the many photos of the girls.
“Oh, they are so pretty! Is that Primrose? She is a cute dog too, but not as cute as Daisy.”
“Piper - that’s not nice.”
Bella smiled and said “Well, I think Primrose is the cutest Corgi in the land, so I understand, you always think your own dog is the best.”
“What about Christmas? What are you doing for Christmas? Do you want to come to our house?”
Bella and Jack sat quietly for a moment. Neither of them had actually even thought about Christmas, they were still learning about each other, and neither quite knew where this was going, or where it would end up.
“Piper, Bella just said her daughters were coming home for Christmas, so she will be with them at her house in Dallas.”
“Cool, so we are going to Dallas for Christmas. Are we bringing Daisy? I don’t want to put her in a kennel Dad; it’s her Christmas too.”
Jack actually looked helpless at that, not knowing how to answer.
“I would love to have you all come up for Christmas if you want to - Daisy can come too. I have plenty of room - you can each have your own room too. But if your dad has already made plans for you that’s okay, maybe we can see each other sometime over the holidays while you’re on your school break. ”
“No, we don’t have plans - it would just be us at home. This will be fun,” Sloane replied.
“Well, I guess it’s a done deal. Christmas in Dallas,” said Jack.
“Excellent. Hey Dad, if you’re not going to eat that last piece of bacon can I have it? Piper reached over, grabbed the bacon, shoved it into her mouth, and smiled. Bella and Jack looked at each other and wondered how a 13-year-old girl had managed to play them both. The kid was a chess master.