I lifted my head to find Jax with her own head resting against the back of the couch and eyes closed. Soft little snores were coming from her nose, telling me that she was asleep. I knew I should wake her up, so we could both go to our beds. I was sure it wouldn’t feel good to sleep on the couch all night, especially in Jax’s position, but she looked so content, I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up. I set my alarm and let myself drift back to sleep.
I didn’t wake back up until my alarm startled me awake. I jumped from the couch and looked for Jax, but she was no longer there.
A laugh from across the room caught my attention and I looked over to find Jax standing behind the kitchen bar drinking her morning coffee. “Sorry to startle you. I didn’t mean to let you sleep on the couch all night, but I actually fell asleep too. I didn’t wake up until about an hour ago. I went to my room and tried to fall back asleep, but it didn’t work so I decided to start my day.”
“All good,” I answered as I tried to regain my bearings.
“I’m off today, because I work both days this weekend. Do you want me to pick something up for dinner again so you don’t have to cook?”
I shook my head. We were already paying a lot for our meal delivery service. I didn’t want to waste money on eating out a bunch of times. “I can do it. Don’t worry.”
Jax tilted her head as if she was studying my face. “Are you sure? You were exhausted last night. I don’t even think you made it past the show's opening credits.”
“I’m positive. I can handle it.”
It turned out, handling work and dinner wasn’t the easiest task. If I thought the first two days were exhausting, it only got worse when Iactuallystarted my job. Work was intense and they had a lot of expectations of me. My job was all about managing and researching trends to make sure the company made the right decisions to flourish. It was a ton of pressure, but I loved it. It was intense and confusing, and honestly, everything I hoped it would be. But, damn, it was tiring.
By Friday night, I could barely function. Jax had a later start at the cafe that day, so I made it home before her and forced myself to make dinner. I finished about a half hour before she was due home, so I kept the food over low heat and sat down on the couch.
I closed my eyes, and what felt like a second later, there was a tap on my shoulder. I blinked open my eyes to find Jax smiling down at me.
“Little tired?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“No. I’m good.” The yawn that escaped my mouth a second later immediately gave away my lie.
“You don’t have to make dinner when you’re this tired, you know. I could have figured something out for myself.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. Seriously. I have all weekend to recover.”
Jax stared at me with squinted eyes as if she was searching my face for an answer. “I realize that, but I’m still worried you’re overdoing it during the week.”
“I’m good.” Another yawn. “I just didn’t plan well for this past week. On Sunday, I’ll prepare all of our meals for the week, so all I have to do after work is reheat them.” I lifted an eyebrow at Jax, who was still staring at me so intensely, it was causing goosebumps to pop up all of my arms. “Does that answer satisfy you?”
Jax’s eyes went wide, and as they did, they shined almost as brightly as her smile, which was now growing in size. “As long as you wait until three to start prepping. I’ll be home from work at that point, so you can give me my first cooking lesson. That way, we can start splitting the meal prep.”
The thought of splitting the meal prep was enough for me to agree with Jax’s plan, but even without that, I wouldn’t have been able to deny her. She looked so excited for her cooking lesson, there was no way I could say no. “That sounds great. It’s a…”Date.Why the hell was that the word my mind settled on? “Plan. It sounds like aplan.”
Jax’s eyes sparkled even more now. “It sure does.”
Chapter 10
I spent Sunday morning writing down my goals for the week, picking out outfits, and doing chores around the apartment. When I was satisfied with what I had achieved, I decided to walk to the cafe to read until Jax was done working. I had been so busy with my own job the past week, I hadn’t been able to go.
I walked in and took my spot at the back of the line, but Jax noticed me almost immediately and motioned for me to take a seat at my usual spot. I had just sat down when Jax was standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. “What can I get you?” she asked.
I pointed to the long line of patrons who were now being helped by one of Jax’s coworkers. “You could make me wait in line and pay like everyone else. That way you don’t end up getting in trouble one of these days.”
Jax waved her hand as if it was no big deal. “I’ve been here for years. They’d never dream of firing me. Plus, I’m the shift manager. Who am I going to get in trouble with?”
This took me by surprise. I had no idea Jax held such a high position because she’d never mentioned it before. Plus, as one of the managers, I was surprised she was stuck taking orders so often. “Are you always the shift manager?”
“There are three of us who are shift managers, and I’m never scheduled at the same time as the others, so yeah. Whenever I’m here, I’m in charge.” She laughed and shook her head. “Kind of. My boss is in the back most of the time I’m here, but she doesn’t intervene unless something crazy goes down.”
“I had no idea. I’m surprised you never mentioned it.”
Jax shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. It’s just a title. It’s not nearly as impressive as working a job like yours.”
Did she really believe that or was she just being modest? Either way, I needed to let her know that I didn’t see it that way. “Well, I’m very impressed. Just for the record.”
