And, damn, was I glad about that.
Chapter Twelve
Jackson
It had to be said, I loved waking up and coming out to a full breakfast waiting on the table. My family were fantastic at it when they came to stay, but Ryan and Sam went the extra mile.
Pancakes, bacon on the perfect side of crispy, fluffy eggs, fresh fruit, freshly squeezed juice—because “that bullshit you get in the store’s full of additives and chemicals,” according to Sam—and fresh coffee. Well, fresh coffee for three out of the four of us, that was.
It was a running joke in the Adams-DeWitt family about Sasha and freshly brewed coffee versus coffee from a K-Cup, but no one had filled me in on it yet. Every time the pot was passed around, she’d glare at her dads while they laughed silently and even gave them the finger on the odd occasion.
I was intrigued.
Actually, I was more than intrigued. I wanted to know everything about her, and slowly but surely, I was getting there. I’d offered up more information about myself to her than I’d ever shared with anyone outside of my family, which shocked the shit out of me.
But it felt good. It felt right. Sasha was right.
I wasn’t lying when I’d told her we couldn’t see what would happen in the future, but I wanted her to have faith because that’s what I was doing. I had faith that we’d last. We might have only been together for a short amount of time, but I hoped it lasted because we just fit together so well.
I could justify how perfectly we fit together, too.
Our personalities were opposites, but that just meant we had different perspectives about things—which was healthy.
I was tall, and she was shorter than me. This just meant I could protect her and cuddle her at night comfortably. It also meant I could stand with my chin on the top of her head while we spoke or had a ‘moment,’ and I loved standing like that with her. She also wasn’t short enough that I hurt my neck kissing her, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Then there were our courses. Both sciences weren’t that far apart from each other when you took a step back and looked at them. We had to study some of the same core subjects, but we looked at different aspects of the world forensically.
Think about it. Environmental sciences involves a forensic study and analysis of issues that had an impact on the environment. I studied problems and aspects of human forensics. Both of our conclusions helped to resolve a case or situation using science. Maybe that’d be perceived as me overreaching, but from a scientific brain, it really wasn’t.
There were so many things about us that just fit, and I hadn’t expected to find someone like that. I’d seen it happen with my family, my cousins finding their other halves, my grandparents, my parents, then my brother with Sadie.
Everyone wants to meet the yin to their yang, but it didn’t seem to happen that often. Sure, people fell in love, but that special ‘click’ seemed to be missing.
Our relationship was fragile and new, but the click was there, waiting to pop into place when the time was right. I wasn’t in any hurry to fall in love and settle down, but was there ever a right time?
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I did my belt up and checked on Sasha in the bathroom. She was just putting the final touches on her makeup, so I waited for her on the bed with Milkshake purring beside me.
“I know you like me,” I muttered as I scratched his head.
Glaring up at me when I stopped, he meowed, bathing me in cat breath.
“We need to start brushing your teeth or giving you a mint, man.”
A snort from the doorway got my attention away from him to see Sasha laughing as she watched us. “I said the same thing while you were in the shower. I think it’s that new food you got him.”
“It smells like anchovies,” I gagged.
Walking over to the door, she motioned at me to follow. “I don’t know what the dads are doing, but they said to be ready and waiting at the door at eleven o’clock.”
Following behind her, I spotted her without making it obvious. I don’t know how she managed it, but she’d become a pro at walking on the cast and not slipping on the tiled floor. That didn’t mean I didn’t freak out whenever I saw her walking, though. The thought of her getting hurt again made me feel anxious and sick, and I couldn’t switch it off.
Just as we got to the door, it swung open, and I only just pulled her out of the way in time for it to miss her by about a quarter of an inch.