by Kitty Parker
…
Matty's at school and she's just finished in the kitchen when there's a knock on her door at a few minutes past nine. She smiles and hurries to answer it.
Before Jack can say anything, Daisy doesn't say anything as she holds up a small box. Jack takes it and then opens the lid.
"Banana with cream cheese, your favorite," she smiles. "One for you and one for your brother. I hope he likes it as much as you do."
Jack stares down at the cupcakes for a couple of seconds before looking at her. "How you know your banana cupcakes are my favorite?"
"Whenever I make more than one kind, these are the ones you always eat first," she answers and she wonders if she should feel embarrassed because she's just admitted to him that she's been watching him for a while now but he already knows that. And she knows that he's been watching her, too.
He doesn't say anything to that. He just leans in and kisses her and she happily presses her lips back against his.
"Drive safe," she says in parting.
"I'll come see you when I get back," he then says.
"I'll be here," she smiles and he smiles a little, too, and he hesitates and she thinks that he might kiss her again but he turns and heads down the stairs and Daisy can't help but watch him go until he disappears outside and she can't see him anymore.
…
He comes back right at dinnertime. Matty is setting the table and Daisy is pulling the lasanga out of the oven and as soon as they hear the knock, Matty goes running to answer the door. Daisy really needs to get Jack a key of his own.
"Mama's made lasagna!" Matty immediately informs him and they're still at the door so she can't see them but she can definitely hear the smile in Jack's tone.
"That's makin' my day even better," Jack answers. "Hey," he then greets as he comes into the kitchen and she's setting the heavy lasagna dish on the table.
"Hi," she smiles at him. "I hope you're hungry."
"Starved," he answers and because maybe they're like one of those couples now, Jack leans down and pecks her easily on the lips – casual and in front of Matty.
They both seem to realize it at the same time that the boy's in the room with them and they both immediately turn their heads to look at Matty but Matty's just standing there, looking up at them with a smile on his face. Daisy smiles, too, and Jack's lips are twitching.
…
Matty has finished dinner and has gone to get his practice pads and gear from his room as always. And as always, Jack helps her clean up. She packs a container with some of the lasagna so Jack can take it with him to work tomorrow for lunch and she packs the rest of it away for her and Matty to eat during the week.
She watches Jack as he loads the dishwasher and they work together quietly but they both move as if they've done this a thousand times together. They seem to move perfectly together in the small kitchen space. Daisy can't help but lean against the counter and watch him move – the way his muscles move through his tee-shirt or the way his butt looks in his jeans and she wants to giggle at herself for admiring Jack's butt but really, who can blame her? It's certainly a nice one.
He mentioned briefly during dinner that the visit had gone well and that his brother had liked the cupcake and Daisy admits that even though his brother makes her a bit nervous – Jack and his brother seem to be two complete opposites – that doesn't mean that she can't be nice to the brother of the man who she is in love with. She was happy to hear that Cletus had liked the cupcake and that the prison had let Jack bring it in to him.
"Would you like to spend the night tonight?" Daisy asks suddenly, surprising even herself with how it seems to have come out of nowhere.
Jack turns and blinks at her and doesn't say anything. She feels the back of her neck flush but her stomach is fluttering and between her thighs, it's pulsing, but she keeps looking at him because she wants to know what he will say; what he thinks about the invitation to sleep here in this apartment with her instead of going back across the hall to his own tonight.
"With me?" Daisy then further explains as if that's the part that needs to be clarified. She swallows a dryness in her throat and Jack is still just looking at her and saying nothing. "Would you like to spend the night with me?"
…
Jack doesn't say a word though his jaw clenches as Cletus sits down across from him and Jack immediately sees the new black tattoo his older brother is sporting on his forearm. AN. He knows it's for Aryan Nation and Jack knows he can't say anything about it. Cletus is going to be in here for a while and this is how Cletus is going to survive.
Doesn't mean Jack has to like it though.
The guard has set the cupcake down before Cletus sits down and he stares down at it now as if he has no idea what it is. He then picks up the phone and looks at Jack through the glass. Jack's already holding the phone on his side to his ear and he shifts on the stool, trying his best to get comfortable though he only gets a fifteen minute visit with him and he'll probably get himself finally comfortable just as it's time for him to leave again.
"You bakin' now, baby brother?" Cletus asks, picking the cupcake up and turning it around, looking at it from every angle.
"'s from Daisy. The girl who lives across the hall from me," Jack explains and he's well aware of the fact that Daisy is so much more than that but Jack knows he doesn't want to get into all of that with Cletus. Not right now. He has no idea what he'll say if and when he tells Cletus that he and Daisy are together now and a part of him doesn't want him to know.
"Peanut butter made this?" Cletus grins at that and then swipes his tongue along the top, taking most of the frosting with him.
Jack doesn't say anything to that. He just nods. He hasn't thought of that for a while now. Peanut Butter and sardines. It still sounds disgusting to him. Still sounds like he would never want to eat it. But some people might like it. Hell, maybe it's something that Daisy likes and Jack knows that as long as it's something she likes, that's good enough for him.
Cletus finishes the cupcake in just three bites. "You sleepin' with her?" He asks as he brushes off his hands, looking at him through the glass.
Wish I was, Jack can't help but instantly think to himself. "Nah," he shakes his head.
Cletus is sucking a stray bit of frosting from his thumb. He pulls it out from his mouth with a pop and grins widely. "Yeah, but you wish you were," he laughs and Jack frowns and doesn't say anything.
He's never been one to lie – even when his brother is being stupid and saying equally stupid shit – and wishing he i sleeping with Daisy is the truth. He doesn't know if they're at that point with one another and he has no idea if they'll ever be. He doesn't want to push her. That's the last thing he ever wants to do with her and hell, he doesn't even know if he'll be ready to take that step with Daisy. What they have together is already so damn different than any other thing he's ever had in his life and maybe sex will just mess it all up.
So, he's going to be fine sitting on her couch with her, watching baking shows and keeping his arm around her and kissing her goodnight and taking care of himself back at his apartment where she has no idea that all he does it take cold showers nowadays.
If Daisy wants something more, she's going to have to come right out and tell him because he can't ever see himself making any kind of move on her unless she makes it first. If he is the one to do it and he's wrong – if she doesn't want him that way – he thinks he'll probably be never able to see her again; too embarrassed and knowing that he would never be able to apologize too much to make it right.
He's well aware of Cletus looking at him through the glass, still with that stupid grin on his face. Jack just sighs though, not saying anything. That's always been their thing.
Cletus always says too damn much while Jack hardly says anything at all.
"I don't blame you," Cletus goes on. "Hot lil' mama and who bakes like this." Jack tightens his jaw and just glares at his brother. Cletus, of course, being Cletus and never knowing when to q
uit, keeps talking. "Know what I tell you 'bout single moms though, Jack. Don't you go forgettin' it neither."
"Daisy ain't like that," Jack shakes his head.
"All single moms are like that, baby brother."
Jack stares at him, hard through the glass. "Daisy ain't like that," he says again in a hard voice and he didn't drive all this way just to have Cletus give him shit – though that seems to be one of the few things in this world Cletus is actually good at doing.
"A'right, a'right," Cletus says, chuckling. "You bring back another one of them cupcakes next week when you visit, I'll believe anythin' 'bout your peanut butter hot mama you want."
…
"Would you like to spend the night with me tonight?"
And then she says that and Jack's plan on self-control is blown to hell.
He's standing in her kitchen, helping her clean up lasagna night, when she seems to just blurt those words out of nowhere and all he can do is stare at her. Matty's in his room, the kid getting his gear together for practice that evening, and all Jack can do is just stare at her. Daisy doesn't say anything either but her cheeks are stained a dark red so he knows he definitely hasn't imagined her asking him that.
"Not to sleep together," Daisy is quick to explain and he's not sure whether he feels relieved or disappointed at that clarification. "Just to… sleep together," she then struggles to explain and he can see her blush growing darker.
She then sighs and shakes her head at herself and she's obviously taking his silence as refusal. Without say anything else, she turns her head and looks at the clock on the microwave, seeing that it's time to get Matty to practice.
And Jack has no idea why he can't say anything. Sleeping in a bed with Daisy – just sleeping – sounds pretty damn perfect and what some people would probably call a no brainer.
"Yeah," he says just as suddenly as she has started this whole conversation. Her eyes whip back to look at him and his voice sounds rough so he clears his voice. "'ll spend the night," he then says with a nod of his head.
And Daisy looks at him and she's still blushing but it's fading and she seems to exhale a breath as if she's been holding it in. And when she gives him a small smile, he smiles, too.
…
He rarely goes with them to practice. Instead, he goes back to his own apartment for a couple of hours. Make sure Morris has food and water, keep the cat company and straighten things up a bit though it feels like he's hardly over here anymore to mess anything up. He wonders if it annoys Daisy that he's over at her place so much. But she still puts post-it notes on his door, inviting him over to dinner though it seems to be just kind of assumed that he's coming over whether or not there's a yellow note on his door. And she cuddles into him each night as they watch television and she just invited him to stay for a sleepover that night. She definitely doesn't act like she wants him to give her space.
Jack just supposes he's used to people not wanting to be around him. Or him not wanting to be around them. But with Daisy and Matty, it's different. It's always been different with both of them – ever since he first met them.
When he comes back into their apartment, he doesn't bring anything with him. He figures he'll get up early enough tomorrow morning to sneak out of here before Matty sees him.
It's a little bit after eight and Jack knows their schedule well enough to know that Matty's taken his bath and has gotten himself into his pajamas and after one glass of warm milk, he's in bed and he and Daisy are in the middle of reading a book together. They read from a book every night and right now, they're in the middle of The Witches. Jack will sit in the living room and listen as Matty reads out loud – Daisy sometimes helping him with words – and it's a pretty fucked up story for being a kid's book in Jack's opinion.
But he likes listening to it, all the same.
When Daisy steps from Matty's room, turning off the lights but making sure the nightlight's on and closing the door until it's only open a crack, she sees Jack on the couch and she instantly bursts into a smile as if she hadn't been sure whether or not he would be there.
She goes to the front door, making sure it's locked, and then she comes back to him and the couch. Without a word, she takes the remote control from the coffee table and sits down next to him on the couch, leaning instantly into him. Jack wraps his arm around her shoulders and she turns on the television, keeping the volume low, and she rests her head on his chest as they watch some show on the Food Network she likes – Cupcake Wars.
He can't help but lean his nose down and press it to her braid, smelling her hair and scent. Chocolate. Always chocolate. Whether she baked something with chocolate that day or not.
And if this is all they ever have – sitting on the couch together, watching Cupcake Wars and the scent of chocolate tickling his nose - Jack knows that that will more than enough for him. Doesn't mean that he'll object to anything more, of course.
…
He's not too sure how this will go. He's never really had anything like this before and or done something like this. Yeah, Carolina got drunk and crashed at his place a couple of times before but that was nothing like this. For the biggest, obvious reason. Daisy is nothing like Carolina and Jack's pretty sure he's falling for this girl so sleeping with her – sleeping or just sleeping is a pretty damn big deal.
After a couple of episodes of her cupcake show, they get up and she turns off the television and the remaining lights and then makes sure the door was locked again and then she gives him a soft, shy smile before heading into her bedroom and he follows after her.
He's not sure if she wants the door shut or not but he kind of wants it shut because he doesn't want Matty to see him sleeping over here. That will probably lead to so many questions and Jack wouldn't be sure how to go about answering any of them. The kid seems totally fine with them kissing but having him sleep over is something completely different and maybe it's something he and Daisy need to talk about.
She smiles again when he shuts the door and then moving slowly, almost hesitantly, he toes himself out of his boots and then begins taking his clothes off. He wishes he could just sleep in what he's wearing now but he knows Daisy will give him a look and he'll wind up taking them off anyway. Might as well get them out of the way now. And if this is any indication of where their relationship might go, she'll see him like this eventually.
Daisy is standing at the dresser and seems to have no problem stripping down in front of him. He sees that she's wearing plain white cotton underwear and it just fits her perfectly, he can't help but have his lips twitch a little at the sight. She quickly removes her bra and he sees a flash of her small breasts, feeling it right low in his gut, before she tugs on an over-sized tee-shirt she sleeps in that skims across her thighs. Jack leaves himself in his tee-shirt and boxers.
Her sheets are white and her comforter is purple and everything is soft and smells like dryer sheets and is filled with feathers. It's the kind of bed a person sinks into and doesn't get up from. He wonders how the hell she gets up in the morning. This bed is way too damn nice and clean for him to by lying in it but if she wants him here…
He gets in on the side closest to the door because he knows she sleeps on the other side. She sits up and he watches as she first takes the pins from her hair and gently unbraids her hair and then she takes a small bottle and squirts a little white dollop of something onto the tips of her fingers. She then wipes it over her cheek – over her scar. He honestly forgets it's there most of the time.
"Do you want me to set the alarm?" Daisy asks him.
"What time you get up?" He asks and hasn't laid back yet. He will when she does.
"Six."
"Five-thirty so I can get outta here," he says and she nods and seems to be in agreement with him leaving early enough before Matty sees him.
Once the alarm is set, she turns the lamp on the nightstand table off and then, when she slips further under the covers and lays down, Jack does the same. This is the comfiest bed he's eve
r slept in. Makes him feel like nothing more than a plank of wood.
Daisy turns onto her side so she's lying facing him. "Thank you for doing spending the night," she then says in a soft voice and he turns his head on the pillow to look at her.
He's not too sure what to say so he says the first thing that pops into his mind. "Anytime."
And he knows that's not what he wants to say. That makes him sound like such an asshole.
But Daisy just smiles at him as if that's the only thing she wanted to hear. And he wonders about her. He wonders why she thinks he's so great when he knows he's anything but. He wonders why she still wants him even after the past year and him being nothing but an asshole towards her. He wonders what she sees when she looks at him.
Daisy leans in and kisses him on the cheek, right near the corner of his mouth, and her head then rests on his shoulder. He lays there and doubts he'll be getting to sleep anytime soon.
…
But he does sleep and he can't remember ever sleeping that well before. His entire body is relaxed and he doesn't feel tired in the least or full of soreness and aches.
He feels pretty damn good.
He wakes up and the bedroom is still dark but he can tell that dawn is near. Daisy is still sleeping deeply beside him and sometime during the night, she'll rolled onto her other side and Jack has followed after her, lying behind her, curled around her body, his arm over her hip and it's all so natural as if this is a position they find themselves in every morning.
He lifts his head and sees that the red neon numbers of the digital clock say that it's 4:45. It's still early but he needs to get out of here.
Daisy mumbles something in her sleep when she feels him beginning to move away and without thinking about it, he leans over and kisses her softly on the cheek.
"See you in a lil' bit," he murmurs to her and this time, when he slips away from her and gets out of the bed, gathering his clothes, she remains asleep.
