How We Found Love!

Ch.5-Wake Up Time and A Second Meeting (Edited)

*Joe's house above*

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Kat walk away with Scotty. I see Sara smirking at me from the corner of my eye, so I roll my eyes. "What, Sara?" I ask as I face her. She just keeps smirking at me. "I haven't seen you smile like that in five years. It's good to see you smile again" she says after a couple more minutes of silence. "I know, sis. I'm happy to have a reason to smile again. I'm going to the kitchen; would you like to join me?" I ask her as I turn towards the kitchen and look at her over my shoulder. "Sure. That way you can tell me the story of how you met the pretty lady that's playing with my son," she says with a smile. "Might as well. Where's your husband?" I say as I roll my eyes yet again. "Upstairs why?" Sara asks as she raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "Is he asleep?" I ask with a mischievous smirk. She nods slowly as I smirk wider and quickly make my way upstairs before she can stop me. I open the door to their bedroom to see him in the center of the bed, fast asleep with the sheet over his stomach, so I slowly creep into their room and stop at the foot of their bed. I take a deep breath and jump on their bed, yelling, "WAKE UP KYLE THERE'S MONSTERS COMING!!!" Kyle jolts upright with his gun raised, so I roll off the bed laughing. "WHAT THE FUCK JOSEPH!!" the now fully awake Kyle yells as he narrows his eyes at me and lowers his gun. "Wakey, wakey princess. It's one pm sunshine," I say with a laugh. "I should've shot you asshat," Kyle mumbles with an eye roll as he plops back down on the bed. "Yeah, yeah drama queen. Now get up I have a story to tell and someone for you to meet, so get your ass up," I say with a smile. "Alright, I'm up. Now get the hell out unless you want to see my junk asshole," he says with a smirk, grabbing a shirt to put on. "No thanks; I'll pass on that sight," I reply, chuckling as I scrunch my face up in disgust. "Hurry up though; I've got a surprise waiting for you downstairs," I call back before leaving the room. Kyle nods as I leave the room. "You're such a jerk Joe," Sara says as I walk back into the kitchen. "Yeah, I know but you both still love me," I say with a wide smile. "Yes we do," Sara says with a smile. "Hey speak for yourself babe," Kyle says as he walks in with a smirk. "Shut it drama queen. You know you love me," I reply with an eye roll and a smile. "Duh, smart ass," Kyle says with an overly dramatic eye roll. Just as I was about to reply, Scotty came running in holding Kat's finger and dragging her. "Look daddy Ucle Joe bought a pwetty lady home. And she nice," Scotty says with a wide, toothy smile. "I can see she's pretty buddy, but who is she?" Kyle asks Scotty with a smile as he looks down at him. "Mama say she Ucle Joe's date," Scotty says before I can reply myself. Kyle looks at me with shock in his eyes, so I roll my eyes at him yet again. "Kyle, this is Kat, and yes she is my date. Kat, this is Kyle," I say as I introduce them. "Hi Kyle. It's nice to meet you," Kat says with a warm smile. As she says, JoJo comes strolling into the kitchen and barks. "And who's this?" Kyle asks with a smile as he squats down to pet her. "This is JoJo. She's my baby," Kat says with a wide, proud smile. Once he stands up again he sticks out a hand for her to shake as he says, "Nice to meet you too Kat." Kat shakes his hand and smiles as I smile at the scene in front of me.

***
As I stand and watch Scotty interact with his dad I feel eyes on me, so I look over and see Joe staring at me with a smile on his face, so I smile back. Joe pushes himself off the island he was leaning against and walks over to me. "Are you hungry?" he asks once he's in front of me. "Can I have some water?" I ask with a shake of my head. "Of course," he answers with a nod as he makes me a glass of water. Once he hands me the glass, I smile and drink the water as I look around and realize Sara, Scotty, and Kyle left the kitchen. I look over at JoJo, who's sitting in the corner, just looking at me and Joe. "Can I have a bowl of water for JoJo?" I ask as I put my glass down. He nods as he goes and gets a bowl, fills it with cold water, and places it on the floor in front of JoJo. "Do you have a place where I can check my sugar?" I ask as I feel my phone vibrate with my glucose timer. "Diabetic?" Joe asks as he looks at me confused and concerned. "Yeah, I'm type 2, so I have to keep track of my sugar levels. I check them every four hours," I say with a half smile as I take my phone out and turn off the alarm. "Yeah. Follow me" he tells me with a smile as he leads me up the stairs, and I follow. As we make it to the top of the stairs, Joe pushes open a door, and I smile as I look around me at the room. "Nice room. Is it yours?" I ask with a small smile. "Yeah. I like black, obviously," he replies with a smile of his own. "I can see that. I like black too as you can tell by my outfit," I say with a little laugh as I overdramatically gesture to myself. "But you still look beautiful," he tells me with a chuckle at my antics. I blush as I take my glucose pouch out of my pocket, put my needle in my lancer, and put a strip in my meter. I see Joe watching intently as I prep everything. Once everything's prepped, I stick my finger with the lancer to draw blood, then I take my meter and put the strip in the blood. Once done with that, I take a bandage out of my pouch and wrap my finger. I look down at my meter and see it reads 93, so I'm good for now. "When do you go to the doctor to get your insulin refilled?" he asks with a smile as I clean up my mess. "Every six months. I have to go back in a week," I reply with a smile of my own. "How do you afford your insulin, all your bills, and school? If you don't mind me asking," he asks. I look up and see genuine curiosity in his eyes, so I smile as I answer, "I don't mind. Financial aid and grants pay for my schooling. My savings and the money my Aunt Karol left me when she passed away pay for my insulin and emergencies. And I have a night job as a waitress that pays for my three bills. I got my house in my aunt Karol's will, so all I pay for is the electric, internet, and my phone, as well as whatever extra stuff, like Hulu, Netflix, etc., that I want. I have a car that's fully paid for and legal, but I don't use it a lot because I love to walk, and I can walk to school, work, and home." "Independent woman, I see. How long have you been on your own?" Joe asks with a hint of pride in his eyes. "Since I was eighteen, my aunt Karol passed away, and all my cousins started their own lives," I say with a small smile and a sense of pride. "It's good to be independent; just know you have someone to help you now if and when you need it" he says as he smiles at me. "Thank you Joe. I really appreciate it" I say with a blush. "You're welcome, beautiful. Like I said before, I'd like you to be a part of my life." I blush at Joe's words. I like him a lot. I think to myself. After a moment of silence, I yawn, and Joe laughs. "You can take a nap if you want. I can wake you up later," he tells me with a smile of his own. "Thank you Joe. Sorry, I woke up early, and I had to check my sugar every four hours," I say with a blush. "Don't be sorry. Just get some rest; you need it" he tells me. "I will. Thank you Joe," I say with a laugh. "I'll be downstairs while you sleep, and I'll wake you up in a couple hours if you want," he says with a smile. "Thank you. If you don't, my alarm will sound in four hours," I say with a chuckle. Joe smiles with a nod, and a few seconds later I hear the door open and close, so I take my shoes off, get under the blankets, and fall asleep surrounded by the scent of Joe.