The Reluctant Assistant - Book One

First Day Part 29

Their first night together was not so different to any other time that they had slept in the same bed. Only this time, Jackson seemed to think that moving in gave him free range over Raymond's body. Raymond did his best to put up a fight, but he had to admit that he wouldn't be averse to letting his hands and mouth roam over Jackson's body. When he got to the kitchen, the housekeeper was already busy with breakfast.

"Sarah? What are you going here?" he asked in surprise. He didn't think that Jackson would bring along his housekeeper.

"Mr. Cook!" she exclaimed in delight, wiping her hands on a towel that was tucked into her apron.

"You've always called me Raymond," he smiled at her, "there's no need for the Mr. part." They had been taking care of Jackson ever since he started working for Dealer's and had a very good relationship.

"Well, I suppose it's different now that you are master of the house." she took out a cup and filled it with coffee for Raymond.

"Master of the house?" he nearly fell over laughing. That was something that Jackson and his mother would say. He never considered himself as a master of anything, least of all Jackson's house. "I'm no master." he assured her. "Let's just continue as normal. Why are you here on a Sunday?"

"New house, new schedule." she busied herself with setting breakfast at the kitchen table. "I didn't think you'd want to eat in the dining room." she raised an eyebrow at Raymond, while moving the dishes to the table.

"You're right there." he took a sip of his coffee. Geez, even Jackson's coffee tasted better. Granted he mainly used instant coffee, the cheapest brand of course, which in itself was gross, but budgets don't balance themselves.

"Good morning," Jackson kissed his neck from behind, sitting opposite him, looking content and relaxed. "I was thinking that we could go and get you a few things after breakfast?" he enquired. When Raymond nodded, he reached over to take his hand. "I'm happy that you're here Cook." his smile was genuine, making his eyes twinkle in the light. Lifting his hand, Raymond kissed his palm with a smile.

"You bought a new car?" Raymond frowned at the cherry red SUV that was parked in the driveway, next to the sedan that Raymond usually drove Jackson around in.

"It's for you." Jackson got in on the passenger side, waiting for Raymond to get in.

"This is an-" he started, but was interrupted by Jackson.

Yes, yes, I know. This is an unnecessary expense." he finished. "You know that I can do with my money what I want?" he asked, putting his hand on Raymond's thigh as they drove to the city.

"Not when you're spending it on things like this." he glanced at Jackson, who leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I'm going to buy you gifts and what is mine is yours now, so deal with it"

"It seems like there is a lot have to deal with, these days," he frowned. Raymond stopped at a mall that he knew had everything he wanted. Taking a frowning Jackson's hand, he led him in.

"What are we doing here?" Jackson asked perturbed. He'd never bought clothes at a mall and couldn't think that they'd have anything for Raymond to wear. At first he tried to convince Raymond to go to his stylist, who would get everything for him, but he wouldn't budge. "I'll pay for this Cook." he tried again to convince Raymond not to spend his own money.

"You should actually pay for ruining all my clothes, but I'm sure I can afford to get a few things today." he squeezed Jackson's hand, taking him into a department store.

Jackson watched as he picked out clothes to try on. While he was doing this, Jackson went over to the racks and grabbed whatever he thought would look good on Raymond. Calling one of the sales persons over, he dumped the clothes into her hands, telling her to find all the shoes would go best with everything and went off to find Raymond. When they got to the register, Jackson grabbed Raymond's wallet out of his hands and handed the cashier his card.

"It's a gift from me to you!" he explained, seeing the frown on Raymond's face. "And you can't return any of this, because it's a gift, remember?" Raymond knew from his set jaw that it was no use arguing with Jackson. He would find a way to get what he wanted anyway. "Whereto next?" Jackson asked excitedly after exiting the store.

"Now, I need to find a suit or three..." he trailed off. "Thanks again for ruining them." he grimaced at Jackson, who just leant in to kiss him. After another hour of looking at suits, Raymond gave in. Jackson had vetoed everything he had chosen. "If you don't like any of these, what do you propose I do? Arrive at work in jeans?"

"Don't worry about the suits, we'll get that sorted." suddenly he pulled Raymond into another store selling kitchenware. "Come on, look at this!" he pulled Raymond behind him to find the crockery. "I think we should have matching cups, don't you think?" he looked down at Raymond in excitement.

"I think we have enough cups at home." he pointed out.

"But these will be special! They'll be only for the two of us!" he looked over at the cups with the most ridiculous sayings and pictures on them. Raymond thought he'd never have such kitsch in his own home. Right at that moment, another salesperson approached them.

"These sets are for newly wed couples." she smiled at them, showing Jackson a set of crockery, that Raymond knew they didn't need.

"We'll take four!" Jackson piped up.

"Thank you, we won't be taking that." Raymond shook his head at her. But she wasn't looking at him, she was helping Jackson pick out boxes and carrying them to the checkout. "Jackson, you're surely not going to buy something that we already have at home, are you?"

Jackson just grinned at Raymond. He loved hearing Raymond say 'their home'. No matter how many times it was said, it will always make him happy. He had the man of his heart near him and he was one step away from claiming Raymond as his own.

"Where did all this come from?" Raymond asked as he opened the boot, to take out his clothes. Jackson had already moved off to unlock the front door.

"Don't worry about that." he came back to the car to help Raymond take the clothes inside. "I have another surprise for you!" he exclaimed like and excited child, pulling Raymond upstairs with him. "Ta-da!" he sang in excitement, showing Raymond a series of suits that were already hanging in the cupboard. "My stylist picked them out for you."

"Jackson, you can't keep spending money like this!" he said in exasperation. "There's no way I can afford to pay for everything."

"No need to. My money is your money." his smile never left his mouth. "Oh, before I forget, here, this is for you." he pulled out a black card from his pocket, handing it to Raymond, who looked at it as if it was a monster that would bite.

"No, you're taking this too far Jackson!" he protested, trying to give the card back to Jackson, without much luck.

"I've told you before Cook, whatever is mine, is yours now." he pulled Raymond closer to him. "So let's not argue about money. You can do with the card whatever you like, except for giving it back or destroying it."

"I'm not happy with you." he grumbled at Jackson, who didn't look in the least concerned. "You're going overboard and we're only dating."

"But I'm very happy with you." Jackson again kissed him. "is it too early to go to bed?" he asked cheekily, winking over at Raymond.