The next morning, the strangest thing occurs. I'm awakened by a blaring alarm clock, and not the usual Jesse, featuring a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Shit, when did I get an alarm clock? I join reality, and I feel around the bed. It seems I'm alone, and Jesse's missing. I take a deep breath, which whisks the sweet smell of pancakes into my sense of smell. First things first, I glance at the alarm clock. It's ten in the morning, so that means Nana's at the gym, and by now, Grandpa's at the golf course, as he does every Tuesday morning. So, that leaves me with the conclusion that Jesse's in the kitchen making pancakes. Great. I'll put the fire department on speed dial. Quickly, I get dressed, and make my way down to the kitchen, to join Jesse. The second my feet hit the kitchen floor, he looks up at me and smiles, the distraction causing a pancake to fall to the floor. Dammit. My ugliness cost us a pancake. I shuffle over to him, so I'm standing across the counter from him. Surprisingly, the food he's making looks like pancakes, so that makes me feel better. It smells like pancakes too, which is also comforting.
"Good morning, kitten." Snake says, putting his work on pause to smile at me. I shake my head. "You pronounced 'monkey' wrong," I smirk, lifting myself onto the antique barstool next to me. He ignores my remark and finishes breakfast, and I watch him carefully place each pancake off the pan onto a paper plate. "Hey, monkeys are cute." He's not wrong. Some monkeys are fucking adorable.
"I didn't know you knew how to make pancakes, or anything edible." I say with a smirk as he hands me a paper plate. Good thinking, to not dirty any of Nana's china with maple syrup. She's already in a never-ending feud with Aunt Jemima on who's pancake recipe is better. "The secret is love." He whispers, nodding over to a box of pancake mix on the counter. "Don't let Nana see that. She'll have a stroke." I joke as I watch him drench his plate of pancakes with syrup. I knew I loved him for some reason, and I think I've just found it. He moves to my side of the counter and kisses my neck as he sets my portion in front of me. "Thanks." I whisper. I feel him smile against my neck, then he nibbles on my ear. "Anything for you."
Jesse and I eat our pancakes in paradise, some of my bites are better than others, those in which that are fed to me I especially enjoy. He finishes before me, naturally, since I eat so damn slow, and while waiting for me, he leaves kisses on my neck, and brushes my hair with his fingers. I'm not sure how he expects me to eat with all these lovely distractions. When I'm finally done, he tells me how proud he is of me for finishing the meal. I don't even realize it until he says it, but this is the most I've eaten in ages. He turns me around in my stool, and plants a kiss on my lips, the best he can do, since he can't stop smiling. Again, he insists that I'm beautiful. With my self-deprecating state of mind, there's no way in hell I'm going to believe him.
"Every time you call me beautiful, I seriously wonder if there is a mirror on my face." I say, sliding off the stool and making my way to the garbage can to toss my plate. Snake sighs heavily, and buries his face in his hands. "Oh, Matty, if only you knew."
I gasp in disbelief. "Wait, are you telling me that you don't think you're..."
"I never have." He replies, shrugging. "I'm just average, maybe even below."
"I don't believe this," I shake my head, "Jesse, you're gorgeous. If I had a face like yours I'd never fucking hide it."
Again, Snake shrugs. "Matty, honestly, I'm hideous."
"No, the fuck you aren't!" I find myself angrily shouting, then I lower my voice again as I make my way back to him. "Jesse, please, you're gorgeous."
He looks at me, his eyes softened into admiration again. I'm not sure what he's looking at, but he's smiling. Something in my heart has sunk and saddened. His eyes look ready to cry, but his lips say happy. "Matty, I don't think you quite understand how much you mean to me." A tear cascades down his cheek, and my heart breaks.
