King Asshole

The smell of onion, tomatoes, and beef made her mouth water. Closing the door, she flicked the locks into place and slowly stepped through the apartment, heading toward the kitchen.

There was no way he was entertaining anyone. He even admitted to her that he didn’t cook because of his loyalty to his mom. She got it. He felt his father had betrayed his mother so he wouldn’t allow the two that hurt her, to remember her cooking through him.

Jax was in the kitchen. He wore an apron and looked very domestic. There was a meatloaf on the center of the table, and really cute serving bowls with potatoes, vegetables, and there was even a gravy pot that he was pouring now.

“You’re home. Excellent. This is my mom’s popular meatloaf. The entire street loved it.” He put the pot down, and she watched as he rubbed his hands down the apron.

“You cooked? Are you expecting a date?”

“Nope, just you. Not that you’re just anyone. But come on, sit.” He held out a chair, and she stared at him then at the food.

“What have you done with Jax? Believe me, he’s not usually this friendly.”

“This Jax wants to make it up to you for being an asshole.”

“You do?”

She took a seat, and he eased it beneath the table. He took her bag, and she watched him leave as she’d forgotten to hang it up like she normally would, the call for food a greater calling then putting her bag into place. She closed her eyes and simply inhaled. It had been a long time since she had a nice, home-cooked meal.

Her mouth watered for a taste of it all.

Jax returned just as her stomach did a grumble.

“This all looks really amazing, Jax.”

“I know. My mom taught me to cook.”

“You told me.”

“I’ve not made this in so long. I’ve not cooked in so long. My mom would be proud of me right now.” He cut a slice of meatloaf, adding some vegetables and mashed potatoes before drizzling on a little gravy. “You don’t want to drown the meal in gravy. Taste every little bit.”

She took her fork and started to eat. The moment the meatloaf hit her mouth, the flavors were so savory that they made her mouth water. She moaned and took another bite. Then she tried the potatoes, which were seasoned to perfection and so creamy. The vegetables still had a bit of a crunch to them, which she loved.

“This is fantastic, Jax. You should have been a chef.”

“That’s what I was going to do before everything happened with Mom. She got sick, and I just cared more about her than my future. When I told her I wanted to be a chef, she’d been so happy. We spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. Most of my early years were spent there. I’d have friends come around and call for me to play. I wasn’t interested. I’d give a lame excuse that I was grounded and couldn’t play. Then I’d go back to the kitchen and help her.”

“You really loved your mom.”

“Yeah. She was an amazing woman. When I think about her, I can’t help but smile. I know for a fact she’d be upset with what I’ve done with my life.”

“I don’t think so.”

“She always told me I had a talent in the kitchen and to not let anyone get in the way of my dreams.”

“You’ve not let anyone get in the way. Your dreams are not yet over, Jax. Far from it.” She wondered if he’d opened up like this to other women but then knew differently. This was him being open and honest. “Why are you sharing this with me?” she asked. “The food. The honesty. I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I do, but I don’t understand why?”

“That kiss.”

“Jax?”

“No, hear me out. I don’t want to just have that kiss with you. Okay. I want to have so much more. I … look, I’ve not been with a girl in a few weeks.”

She chuckled.

“Dani, that is a big deal for me. I don’t want to be with anyone else. It’s—this is hard for me right now. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I like coming home and being with you. I don’t want you to hide away in your room and to have to think that you’ve got to ignore me, or not be near me or around me. I want to give this a try.”

“This a try?”

“You. Me. Dating.”

“Jax, you’ve not known me all that long.”

“But I know myself and I know what I want, and I want to make a go of this if I can. I’m not going to beg. If you don’t want to, I’ll accept that answer. I think we could make a real go of this.”