Rekindled- Jake Kiszka

Chapter 9

The next morning I woke up feeling groggy as ever. My head pounding and my hands still covered in the bandaids that Jake helped me place over them last night. I look beside me to see him sleeping peacefully still, the light shining in through his window bathed over his tan skin as I studied his face silently. He looked as peaceful as ever, his chest rising and falling slowly and the tiniest, softest snores escaping his sleeping self. I lay my head back on his chest, similar to how we had fallen asleep, and gently trace mindless patterns over his smooth skin as my mind wanders.

I think of the night before, how could I have been so clumsy? I felt bad for breaking the glass, making a mental note to pick up a cool mug or something as a replacement. Then I think about how nice Jake has been to me, how he instantly let me back in, allowing me to stay with him, allowing me to sleep in his bed after I made a mess in his house. Then, like clockwork, my mom comes to mind. What she said to me the other day stuck, of course it did. She had no idea that Jake was the guy who I was walking out of the house with, any guy I brought around, she assumed I was sleeping with. I'd bet she didn't even remember the Kiszkas, let alone Jake, even though I spent more time in high school at their house than my own. 

Suddenly I feel Jake's hand in my hair, stroking it carefully and slowly, which showed me he was still tired. 

"You in there?" he asks in a rough, sleepy voice. I nod in response and look up at him, resting my chin on his chest as he pushes my hair behind my ear. "What's on your mind? I know you're thinking about something."

His question makes me internally sigh, he could read me like a book, and I hated it. Instead I just shrug, looking down a bit to think before looking back up at him. 

"I was thinking about breakfast, I was gonna offer to make banana pancakes, just like you always liked." I was lying, of course I was, but this was one of those little lies that wouldn't hurt anyone, so it was okay, right?

"That's not true, but I won't pry so early. I'll help you." He says with a small nod. I sit up so he can move, stretching in attempt to shake the sleepy feeling I still had. When I finally stood up I notice Jake staring and smile. "Like what you see, Kiszka?" I ask with a little chuckle as I offer him a hand and help him to his feet. "No complaints here." he says, putting his hands up as if pleading innocent, and earning an eye roll from me as we head to the kitchen together. 

Soon enough we were dancing around the kitchen to the record he put on, the beautiful sounds of Jimi Hendrix flooding the room as I poured batter into the pan on the stove and Jake got two plates out from the cabinet. It was as though last night didn't happen, it was spotless and there was no mention, which made me feel relieved. 

Just as I was plating the pancakes, the front door opens and the three other boys stroll in, along with Alex, who Josh had his arm around. Me and Jake look at each other before looking back to the group of four. 

"I knew I smelled MJ's cooking, I had the fire department on speed dial." Josh says through a toothy smile as they all sit at the island on barstools.

"How did you even get in? You know what, I don't wanna know. We were about to eat, can you guys just come back later?" Jake asks, it shocked me that he seemed so impatient, like they were interrupting something big. It was just breakfast. 

"It's okay Jake, I can make more food, I made enough batter for everyone to have plenty." I nod, earning an apologetic look from Jake that I simply reply to with a smile. 

After 20 minutes everyone sat around the living room with full stomachs as I stood at the sink, cleaning the dishes and humming to the music that was playing softly through the house. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, but I didn't feel left out, it was still a comfortable atmosphere.