Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 21

Kate woke up the next morning, naked and wrapped in Andrew's big strong arms, and she immediately felt tingly all over. They'd finally had sex, and it was amazing. They'd said they loved each other, and that was even more amazing. Kate wasn't sure if there was any way she could be happier, and she had such a strong feeling that Andrew was her person. She knew it was fast, as they hadn't even known each other that long, but Kate was mature beyond her years, having been forced to grow up early, and she knew what kind of guy she was looking for. She looked up and saw her handsome red-head fast asleep next to her, breathing deeply as he held her protectively against his chest, messy red bedhead making her grin. Kate knew, she just knew that he was the one, and the fact that he'd told her that he loved her made her feel a crazy mixture of happiness and relief.

She shifted a little, trying hard not to wake him up, but she wanted to go to the bathroom and wash her face, so she wiggled out of his grasp, pulling on underwear and one of Andrew's hoodies, and she was happy when he didn't wake up. She went to his bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and soap and cleaning up, and when she came back to bed, he was gone. She tilted her head a little, wondering what he was up to, and she wandered down the stairs, smelling coffee. She smiled to herself when she saw Andrew standing in his kitchen, wearing nothing but gray sweats, making pancakes.

"Well, if you can cook, you're gonna officially be the perfect man," Kate said with a grin, and Andrew turned around, seeing his girl standing there and flashing her his patented grin. "Man, it's not even fair how good you look in just an old Adidas hoodie," he said to her as she walked up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her quickly, pulling her in for the sweetest kiss. "Good morning, baby, did you sleep OK?" he asked, and she nodded. "When I woke up and didn't see you, I thought you'd decided to bolt out," he joked, and Kate rolled her eyes playfully. "Never," she said with a smile. "I wanted to brush my teeth so I wouldn't have morning breath when I inevitably wanted to kiss your face off," she said, and Andrew wiggled his eyebrows. "I love how you think," he told her with a chuckle.

"I love how sweet you are," she countered, kissing him on both cheeks. "I love you," he said to her softly, and she beamed. "I love you too," she whispered back to him, smiling to herself as he blushed.

"Here you go, princess, plain coffee," he said, handing her the coffee in a huge white mug with a gold "A" monogrammed on it. "Aw thank you babe," she gushed. "What a cute 'Andrew' mug," she added, and he laughed, shaking his head. "Ryland got that for me. He gets those for everyone, and we also have monogrammed glasses at his house that correspond with our favorite drinks. Like I have a lowball with a gold 'A' on it at their house." Kate giggled a little at how cute that was. "You guys really are a dysfunctional family, aren't you?" Kate asked, and Andrew nodded. "Don't worry, it's only a matter of time before he buys you a wine glass with a 'K' on it," he said, and she grinned. "Do you think I'll be given glass status?" she asked, teasing a bit, but he looked at her with a serious face. "You are absolutely glass status," he told, leaning in to kiss her deeply. "I've never had a girl who was glass worthy before," he whispered in her ear and she giggled. "I'm honored," she whispered back and Andrew shook his head. "No, I'm honored," he said with the cutest grin she'd ever seen.

Andrew told her to sit down and he served her up the pancakes. Kate was shocked at how yummy they were, and she laughed a little at how domestic he looked, given that he was a 27 year old bachelor who seemingly Postmated every meal. She grinned at him, and he kissed her forehead as he set her plate in front of her, pouring his coffee into a mug and sitting across from her. "This was really sweet, Andrew," she said softly, and he grinned. "I'd do pretty much anything to get you to like staying over here so I can get you to do it more often," he said, and she laughed.

"Oh, I like staying over here," she told him, and he laughed. "Well, I like you staying over here," he countered, and she blushed, looking at her hands. "I wish I could do it more, baby," she said quietly, and he bit his lip, tilting his head. "Hey, I don't want you to feel bad or sad about that, Kate. I mostly tell you that all the time so you'll know how much I miss you when I'm not with you. I'll quit it, though, I'm not trying to make you feel bad at all," he said to her with concern, and she smiled.