If that wasn’t good enough, he’d go to the store and he bought every single item in a can. Open it up, heat it up, and there was dinner.
Even to this day, he’d never cooked his mother’s favorite meatloaf or her meatballs, let alone her favorite chicken salad with all the trimmings, or even her Sunday menu.
Rubbing at his eyes, he hated the memories so damn much. He could cook. Cooking always reminded him of her.
He’d not done it in so long.
You’re being a fucking asshole, sitting here waiting for her to arrive.
Jax got to his feet and was about to throw out the food when Dani entered the apartment. She was in fact alone, which gave him a sigh of relief.
“How was work, honey?” she asked, giggling to herself.
“Good. You?”
“It was pretty damn great. I’ve got to head back out in two hours though. I’m working the late shift tonight.” She sniffed the air. “Did someone bring Chinese food?”
“I was passing on my way home.” Lie. He’d gone twenty minutes out of his way to get this.
“Awesome. I’m starving.” She rubbed her stomach as she removed her jacket and put her bag next to his. She didn’t throw it on the floor for someone else to pick up.
Why the fuck was he noticing shit like this?
“You’re feeling much better then?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“You’re not feeling ill?”
“Unlike you, I don’t get ill.”
They sat at their dining room table, and he unloaded the boxes of food. He’d placed them in the oven to keep warm so they weren’t cold. Not that he minded cold Chinese food but he didn’t recall her eating anything cold.
“I must have been a pain in the ass when I was sick.”
“It wasn’t the best experience, but it wasn’t the worst either.” She grabbed them both plates and sat back down.
He watched as she loaded up the plates without a care in the world. Once she was done, she handed him a plate, and then they were eating. He watched as she used her chopsticks, picking up a dumpling and dipping it into a sauce before putting it into her mouth. “Heaven.”
They ate for a few minutes in silence before Dani spoke first.
“What are your plans for this evening then?”
“I don’t know. Watch a bit of television, I guess.”
“You’ve not got a hot date or anything?”
“I don’t date.”
“Then how do you pick up women?”
“Anywhere. Everywhere. You’d be surprised.”
“Why aren’t you on a date right now?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to say thank you to my roommate for taking care of my ass.”
“You did this for me?” Her eyes went wide.
“Why wouldn’t I do it for you?”
“I don’t know. We’re not sleeping together. You don’t owe me a thing.”
“Well, I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“This is really nice, Jax. Thank you.”
“So, Arnold’s tonight?”
“That’s right.”
“Will it be busy?”
“I don’t know. I think it depends on how crazy people’s lives get.” She shrugged.
“Would you have a problem if I stopped by?”
“Not at all. You can come by. We’ve got a lot of willing women around, if that’s what you’re hoping for. A new hunting ground.”
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
She giggled. “What would you call it?”
“I don’t even know what I’d call it.”
They finished their food.
Even though he tried to do the dishes, she wouldn’t let him.
“I’ve got to get changed. Thank you for the food.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.
He watched her go, his gaze drawn to her curvy ass.
Okay, he needed to get a fucking grip.
Just because she’d taken care of him didn’t mean anything. She was doing them both a favor. Getting to his feet, he sat down in front of his television and put on some action movie. He didn’t even know what it was called, just that he was going to watch it and not go to Dani’s workplace because he wasn’t curious about her at all.
Not even a little bit.
A knock at the door drew his attention away. Ryan was on the other side. “Where’s Lily?”
“Another girly night. You okay if I crash here for a few hours?”
“You could have called,” he said, closing the door.
“I didn’t want you to tell me no.”
“I wouldn’t have done that.”
“You so would have.”
“Bite me.” Grabbing a couple of beers, he threw one toward Ryan, who caught it.
Seconds later, Dani came out of her bedroom, dressed in a killer pair of jeans and a white shirt that was tight against her body.
She wore a white bra. He saw the straps of it peeking through.
“Hey, Ryan.”
“Hey, Dani. You got a date?”
“Nope. More like work. Have fun, you two.”
She left without another look or a backward glance.
Jax stared at the door.
“Holy shit, you’ve got some serious look on your face,” Ryan said.
“Fuck off.”
“No, for real. Have you got a hard-on for your roomie? Because according to your shitty little questions that is against the rules.”