“Thanks, Doll. We’ve been working on it ever since my mema passed a few years ago, and left me the place.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. It never does get any easier. I lost my nana when I was real young.” I say, placing my hand over his.
Jasper spreads his legs and pulls me in between them. He wraps his arms around my waist. “No, it doesn’t. She was ready to be with my pops again, it was her time to go.”
I lean in and kiss him on the lips. I want him to know that I care, that he’s important. It quickly turns from something sweet into something more. I pull back, out of breath and needing a second to regain my composure.
“I couldn’t help it, baby. Plus, you promised to kiss me better this morning.”
“I promised nothing of the sort. I didn’t agree to that!” I smack him in the chest laughing. He’s too much sometimes. I look over at Jasper who’s watching us with a huge grin on his face.
“Well, I was promised dinner. What are we having?”
“Tacos good with you Precious?”
“Tacos are perfect. Are you making french fries?”
Both the guys look at each other when I ask, and it cracks me up. “Do you have potatoes? There are these fries I used to make when I lived at the girl’s home.” It just slips right out as quickly as the thought came into my head. I’m not ashamed of how I grew up, but sometimes it makes people uncomfortable.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed about Holly.”
“I’m not ashamed. It’s part of who I am. I claim it. My past usually makes others feel awkward, so I usually steer away from that conversation.”
“We want every conversation. Good, bad, indifferent, we want it all. We’re the two people in the world that you can be yourself with and not worry how we’re going to take it. Don’t worry about our feelings Precious. I joined the Army in the middle of my senior year of high school because my dad kicked me out since I was eighteen. Not everyone’s story is sunshine and rainbows, but we overcome and move on. Those pains will always be there, but we can stack a bunch of good memories on top, so they don’t hurt as bad.”
For a quiet man, his words are heard loud and clear. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around is middle, squeezing him tight. He’s right. Not everyone’s story is going to be pretty. I love that he gets it. He’s not trying to change me or hold me back from being who I am.
We spend the rest of the night cooking tacos and fries and drinking beer. When we’re finished we play a game of Phase Ten and Jasper spanks our ass, but we have fun playing and tossing stories around about what life was like when we were kids.
They drive me home eventually and walk me to my room, yet again leaving me at the door with a kiss. This time though, their kisses are long and filled with promises.
