Forbidden Extras

Masculinity

After "Date Night" and before "Challenges"
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"Can you pass the cherry tomatoes?" I asked pointing to where they sat near the croutons.

Without looking away from the Pinterest recipe on her phone, Jade handed them over. I gave my thanks before quietly rinsing them off in the sink.

After months of Jade talking about having a dinner with Jasper and I, we finally found a time that worked in all of our schedules. So this afternoon we drove to Jade's house that wasn't as far away as I thought it would be. My original concern had been what was I going to wear to the dinner, but after we arrived and she asked me to help in the kitchen my fear shifted.

While I pretended to know what I was doing in the kitchen with Jasper's sister, the guys and Paisley went out back for other festivities. I wasn't sure what was going on back there, but the series of grunts followed my cheering coming through the kitchen window was slightly concerning. For the moment I let it slide while prepping the dinner.

I watched as Jade read a few more things on her phone before tackling the fresh dough in front of her like a professional. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly jealous of her skill.

"You know," I sliced the tomatoes in half, "I understand that earlier I said I'm not the best cook, but I can do more than make a tossed salad."

I wasn't going to admit that by "more" I meant maybe one or two other things.

"Jasper said you burnt water one time," Jade informed without looking up.

Well, she wasn't wrong, but there was a lot more to the story than she was probably told. Which reminds me, I thought I told Jasper not to tell anyone? That traitor. I looked around for onion to add to his salad knowing he'd just love the added surprise of his favorite vegetable.

"The pot was . . . dysfunctional. Besides, that was one time."

"Yeah, well there can't be any dysfunctions in my kitchen," she said turning to the fridge to grab a carton of milk. "I take cooking very seriously. My mother taught me to pride myself in making a meal for others. In her eyes, it's the ultimate gift."

I learned awhile back that Jade was much more open about discussing her mother than Jasper. At first I wasn't used to her behavior. I figured at any moment I would have to comfort her like I do with Jasper, but Jade had it down pretty well. She only teared up once when bringing up an old memory, but that's the extent of it. A part of me thinks it's because she is a therapist herself that specializes in grieving. And not only that, but she's phenomenal at it. Anything I could say to try and comfort her would be pointless because she can handle it better than I ever would.

"Urg!" came another sound of a grunt breaking through my thoughts. I really thought I could tune it out, but after ten minutes of the noise it started to get annoying. I must not be the only one because Jade stopping what she was doing.

"What the hell are those two doing out there?" Jade groaned yanking down the blinds to look at her back yard. "And why is my three year old out there cheering them on?"

Curiosity got the best of me and I also paused what I was doing to see what she was talking about.

Right when I looked out in her backyard another loud grunt reverberated through the open windows followed by a thud. And of course, the source of the sound was coming from no other than my boyfriend.

Through the window I saw two men standing by a stump of wood, one with a beer in his hand while the other held an ax. Paisley sat nearby in her Frozen chair watching the scene unfold with a gleam in her eyes.