Perfectly Flawed

42. Everything

I yawn as I shuffle into the fragrant kitchen, certain areas feeling oh so sore from last night. "My mom would kill me if she were here."

The shirtless man turns around, seemingly unstartled by my entry. "What?"

"Well, she used to wake me up at the ass-crack of dawn on special occasions and we'd make my dad breakfast, so I could learn how to 'please a man' I dunno." I use air quotes.

"I promise you know how to please a man." He chuckles suggestively.

I roll my eyes. "You're the worst."

"Liar." Blade turns back to the stovetop, flipping a couple pancakes onto the plate beside him before sliding it towards me. "Sit."

"I'm just thinking what she'd say if she saw you serving me." I pull back the chair and sit, unable to hide my excitement as I cut into one and take a bite. "Fuckk." I groan through my full mouth.

"If it means having you make those noises I'll happily cook anything." He chuckles.

"Bladeee." I whine, swallowing my breakfast. "Are you gonna eat too?"

"Of course." He plops his plate down, pouring coffee in a mug. "Coffee?"

I shrug. "Not a huge coffee person in the morning, kinda just need to be in the mood."

"The mood." He repeats, teasing smile.

"Shut up." he makes me so nervous. these stupid butterflies are making me unable to eat.

"You're mean."

I roll my eyes. "No, I just don't like you."

"Liar."

"You say that a lot." I put down my fork.

"You lie a lot." Blade counters, leaning against the cupboard and taking a bite of his pancake.

"Touche." I watch him for a bit, the movement of his jaw, the way his hand flexes around the mug.

"You're staring." He mumbles through a mouth full of pancake.

"I'm aware." okay, slay. Confident dakota coming out.

His eyebrows raise an inch, and I'm happy I surprised him. "Tell me more about you."

"Me? Psh, I...I don't know." okay, back to the bumbling idiot I guess. "What do you wanna know?" I clear my throat.

"You know that song that's like tell me everything til there's nothing I don't know about you?"

"Country music, didn't see that coming." I chuckle. "But yeah."

He shrugs. "Couple of the guys are real southern and listen to it while they work. I'm serious, though. I want to know everything." Blade stares at me with an intensity that makes my knees weak.

"Okay, uh. My name is Dakota, after South. Middle name Adeline, after my aunt who died before my time. I was born and raised in Virgina and I dunno, my Dad is a stupid rich law asshole who my mom will do anything for. I don't really have a great relationship with either of em. I like to paint, read, draw. I will probably get skin cancer because it runs in my family and I never wear SPF or any makeup, really. I wish I was good at it like my mom is but alas." I shrug, fiddling with my rings. "I love candy, tea and I'm convinced steak is overrated." he said tell me everything, but I can't decide which parts of myself are too fragile to share. "Um...I'm an aries, if you believe that sorta thing, I just think they get lucky most times."

"March or april aries?"

His questions never stop surprising me. "April. 5th."

Blade nods as if it makes sense. I don't follow horoscopes, but it brings me back to the days when me and my mom would sneak outside in the middle of the night to stargaze and she'd tell me everything. Talk until I fell asleep after I insisted I wasn't tired. Sometimes I wish I was still small and could do that.