Bad Luck with Love

Chapter 34: Merry Christmas

"This is really hard," I grumbled, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.

"You're making a cake. It's not rocket science," Jake commented from his perch on the counter behind me.

"Oh really? So why don't you come here and crack some eggs for me?" I shot him a glare and stepped back, dusting my floury hands on my apron. Mom made me wear one. She knew when I got cooking I also got messy. Though I didn't cook much...and for good reason too.

He slid off the counter and came over, picking up the three eggs. He cracked all of them, one at a time, one-handed to boot.

"Show-off," I muttered as he tossed the eggshells in the trash and washed his hands. I put the metal whisks in the mixer, plugged it in, dumped it in the bowl and turned it on.

"Now that's not very nice. I help you out and you insult me? That's mean," he chastised me, leaning against the counter next to the bowl.

"You get to eat the cake when I'm done, it's totally fair," I swatted his hands away from my bowl of frosting.

"Come on, just a taste," he whined.

I contemplated for a moment. "Get a spoon. Baby."

"Yes!" he got a tea spoon from the drawer and took a spoonful of frosting. I swiped the spoon from his hand and stuck it in my mouth, sucking all the frosting off before I licked the spoon for added measure.

"Ivy!"

"What? It's my frosting," I dragged my tongue across my teeth, making sure to get all the frosting. I stopped the mixer and pulled it out, getting all the excess batter off the whisks before I popped them out and held them out to Jake. "See? I'm not that mean."

He sat on the counter again, licking the wire spinners happily.

"I swear you're just like a kid on Christmas morning; all happy and cheery over a little thing," I remarked, chuckling as I poured batter into a pan.

"That's funny considering you are the one who gets super excited on Christmas," he replied.

"Christmas is awesome," I shrugged, scraping the last of the batter from the bowl into the pan before I set the bowl down, put the pan in the oven and started on dishes.

"This year isn't going to be the greatest," he said, joining me at the sink. He tossed his spinners in my sink and started rinsing drying dishes.

I rested my hand on the edge of the sink, looking up at him with a frown.

"My parents. They're still fighting," he explained. "And I doubt they'll stop just for the holidays."

"Well...why don't I see if I can convince my parents to invite you guys over? I doubt they'll fight in front of a bunch of people." I scrubbed the bowl I was holding hard, making sure to get rid of all traces of egg.

He let out a breath. "Thanks Ivy."

"No problem. Is your sister coming home for the holidays?" Jake had an older sister, but she got engaged and moved away a few years ago. She didn't visit much though, she couldn't afford the plane tickets.

"I have no idea, but I hope she does," he smiled, "It's been a while since we've been a family. It'd be nice for us to all be together for once."

********

"So what are you buying Ben?" I asked Jo, smirking at her as I watched her flit about the store like a crazy, blonde little bird.