18. Sienna #2
His small body reminds me of a baby as I cradle him carefully, holding him just as Janice tried to show.
Oh my goodness, he’s so stinkin’ cute!
Maurice nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck like a baby, and I swoon as the tiny monkey tugs on my ear.
As I hold Maurice, I can feel Jace’s protective gaze on me, watching and recording the moment I spend with the small wild animal.
Janice tells us about the origins of the zoo, explaining how these animals are only in captivity for a small period of time here before being released to a better environment. Many of the animals here were born into captivity or on the verge of death due to animal poachers.
My heart breaks as Janice tells us about Maurice’s origin story. His mom was born in the wild, but was so badly injured trying to escape from poachers that when she arrived in the states to the exotic zoo’s rehab facility, she died shortly after giving birth to him.
He’d likely stay in the zoo’s care for the rest of his life.
I hate humans. We always find a good thing and destroy it. The world is dying because of us, and instead of caring about our ecosystem, we’re more interested in putting highways in the Amazon Rainforest.
I pet Maurice with a bit more care before our time is up and we have to leave for the next exhibit.
My mood bar is in hell by the time we exit the primate exhibit, but Jace is thrumming with energy.
“You were so cute with that little guy!” he exclaims, flicking through pictures on his phone, flashing a photo of me looking down at Maurice.
I try to smile, but it isn’t as bright as before. Those poor animals deserve to be in their homes, not in a shelter.
“Let’s check out one last place before leaving, I promise this will bring your mood up.” Jace grins, grabbing a hold of my hand sending sparks of electricity up my arm as I follow behind.
His happiness and excitement warms my mood a bit, and soon enough I find myself grinning as I realize which exhibit we’re waiting to enter.
The kangaroos.
Now, I don’t know if this is because I had a strange obsession with Australian animals as a child or because I’m a grown adult who knows what flight or fight is, but the idea of being in a semi-enclosed space near kangaroos sends my hackles rising.
When we were kids, I would drone on about my fascinations and obsessions with Jace. Sharks, kangaroos, and monkeys were always a topic of discussion between us, and it looks like he’d remembered.
We’re about to enter the exhibit when a small fur ball skitters past us, running across our feet. Jace lets out the shrillest, most ear-splitting shriek that I’ve ever heard from a man.
My jaw drops as my eyes register the small black cat that ran past, its eyes and paws too big for its body .
“Don’t—” he tries to stop me, but my eyes are already filled with mirthful tears as I fail to conceal my humor.
“Oh my gosh!” I cackle, doubling over in laughter. Did this man just scream over a kitten?! I add in a knee slap for some extra umph .
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Laugh all you want, angel. When that little demon spawn tries to claw your eyes out, I don’t want to hear anything,” he pouts, causing me to laugh harder at his expense.
In all my years of knowing him, never have I ever thought that he’d be afraid of cats , of all things.
“So wait…let me get this straight: you’re scared of cats, of all things, but a kangaroo is nothing?!” I ask in between laughs, still reeling from his pitiful scream. Jace purses his lips, sick of my antics as he ushers me into the exhibit.
“I’m not scared of kangaroos or cats…it was just a fluke,” he mutters unconvincingly, guiding me to where one of the zoo’s workers stands inside of the exhibit.
The woman is tall with deep brown skin. Her hair is in a beautiful array of blonde and brown French braids that are pulled into a bun with a few strands out.
I admire her hair, marking it in my brain for a possible style to try as she smiles at us, inviting us into the exhibit.
“Hi, guys! My name’s Shayla. Did you two want to feed our joey here? He’s Nox, sweet little thing, might I add. His brother and sister are over there sleeping.” Shayla beams as she pets Nox’s shoulder.
Jace doesn’t hesitate to pull me towards the animal, smiling from ear to ear. I grimace, already knowing how this will play out before it starts as Shayla leads us inside the enclosure with Nox and his siblings.
The entire process is going smoothly with Nox letting me feed and pet him—or so I think. About two minutes into feeding Nox, his mother, Reina, wakes up, and surprise surprise… Jace Heart decides that he wants to feed her.
My back is turned to Jace and Reina, with Shayla mediating between the two of us. I’m just about to feed Nox another small carrot when my body is jerked back into a strong chest .
Jace wraps both of his arms around me protectively, squeezing tightly.
Is he trying to hug—
“I made her mad,” he whispers calmly in my ear. My blood chills, eyes snapping up to the buff momma-roo in front of me, eyeing down the idiot using me as protection.
“She’s docile…”
“Babe, have you not seen Kangaroo Jack ?! These motherfuckers are psycho. Nope!” he exclaims, grabbing me up like a kid before dragging us out of the enclosure, completely ignoring Shayla’s protest.
The walk back to the bike is silent with Jace stewing and me trying not to laugh at the idiot.
“Don’t—”
The laugh that falls out of my body is immediate and loud as I double over, clutching my stomach. Jace rolls his eyes, handing the purple helmet from earlier back to me, shutting me up instantly.
“What was that?” He smirks, watching as I look down at the heavy chunk of metal in my hands.
“Shut up…”
My phone vibrates in my pocket as he’s about to make another annoying retort, so I ignore him and pull it out to check the message.
Daisy
Where are you?
Did you forget about our practice??
My heart drops, my eyes falling to the time. It’s 12:30…we were supposed to meet at 12:15. Shit. It’s a Friday, so I know I don’t have classes today, but I did have a dance practice with Daisy.
Daisy
Are you with that guy?
Your boyfriend ?
Boyfriend is a strong word…I’d say an acquaintance who is male that I have kissed and hung out with.
Leaving Daisy on read, I look up at Jace who’s already staring at me expectantly. It’s then that I finally take him in.
The sun is at its peak, and though we’re in a forested area, it shines through the trees. Jace’s hair is a mixture of sunlight, gold, and brown sugar cookies. Sweet and light. Jace is like a golden boy, like Herc—
No!
“Want something sweet?” he asks, his words like music to my ears as I grin, trying to shake off my thoughts.
“Have you met me?”
Jace may know me a little too well.
Our drive back to our side of town is seamless, with me cowering into his back and him singing early 2000s pop music over our Bluetooth connection.
When we get to Sweet Tooth, I’m surprised to find it empty with Saree standing behind the counter writing down an order on the phone. When she sees us, her eyes brighten as she waves before gesturing that she’ll be with us in a minute.
Jace and I take that as a sign to look for what we want and make a bit of small talk until his phone rings, likely a call from his mom. He excuses himself in an instant, heading outside to talk.
“Hey, baby doll! What can I get for—” Saree’s warm greeting is interrupted by another phone ringing.
The two of us pause, looking around for the culprit until I feel it. My phone’s vibrating. That’s odd. When I pull out my phone from my pocket, my brows raise and I answer it quickly, hoping she doesn’t hang up before we're connected.
“Hello?! Mom, can you hear me?!” My words are hurried as I shove the phone to my ear. Saree’s eyes widen. She knows a bit of my history with my parents. I watch as Saree starts to fill up plates with snacks for Jace and I as my mother’s voice drones in.
“Sienna, darling. Is your hair still pink? It was so luscious and curly—” Her luxurious, posh voice is like glass shattering as my shoulders deflate.
Seriously? This… again?
When I’d dyed my hair, she’d had a fit over my “perfect curls” being ruined. I think that was just an analogy for her pristine image and daughter, being anything less than perfect.
But I digress.
“Is that what you wanted to talk—”
“No, darling. Your father has a surprise!” she exclaims into the phone.
I wait, chewing on my bottom lip for the ball to drop as Jace comes back into the bakery, frowning slightly.
“Your father and I are coming home for the holidays, Sienna!”
My eyes widen, jaw going slack as her words process. They’re coming home… for me? They’re coming home for my birthday!
I mean my birthday is a holiday, right?
“Are you ser—”
“Anyways, darling. Ta ta! Your father and I have a show tonight.”
And with that, she hangs up. No goodbye , no I love you . Nothing, just her news.
Jace furrows his brows, raising his arms, unsure of if we’re about to celebrate or if he’s going to spend the night keeping me from having a breakdown.
“My parents are coming home for my birthday!”