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Chapter 38

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"Morning, my grumpy kitten..." Jake's hoarse, rugged voice stirs me awake.

"Fuck off..."

He chuckles. "Are you going to make me breakfast?"

I snort into the pillow. "Do I look like your domesticated housewife?"

"Rude," he deadpans.

I snuggle deeper beneath the covers. "Last I checked, you owe me pancakes."

"Wow...I see how it is."

The sheets rustle as he gets out of bed and I stretch my legs onto his side, savoring the last moments of slumber. But someone with a death wish yanks the covers off, making me hiss. "How dare you!"

He leans to grab my ankle and slides me down the mattress, smirking. "Get up kitten, I'm hungry."

I glare at his audacity, covering myself up. "You're lucky your arm is broken, you know that?"

He makes a tsk sound. "No, babe, you're lucky my arm is broken."

~

"This was delicious," I mumble through a mouthful of cloudy dough and melted chocolate.

Sunlight flickers through the windblown curtains, grazing our skin in golden specks. I'm perched on the dining chair, barefoot and in his shirt. The aroma of strawberries and coffee permeate the air.

"You're welcome," he grunts, licking the orange juice off his lips.

"Excuse you, I helped."

"You held the bowl."

"Exactly, and this wouldn't be possible without that contribution."

He rolls his eyes and I smirk. We eat in comfortable silence, listening to Al Green on the record player.

When we clear the table, I decide to finally ask him about Naomi. "Jake... is there a reason why Naomi is so protective of you?"

He seems to consider it before heading into the kitchen. "I guess so."

"Am I...allowed to ask for more than 'I guess so'?" I rinse the plates before organizing them in the dishwasher.

He puts the orange juice in the fridge and leans on the counter with a defeated sigh. "My last girlfriend was really close with my family, especially Naomi. She ended up moving to another state for school, so I'd drive out there to see her."

"That's sweet..." I note, reminding myself that this was years ago and there's no need to wish death upon her.

"On her birthday, Naomi and I convinced dad to let us skip work so we could drive out there to surprise her."

"God, this is headed somewhere terrible, isn't it?"

He smiles wryly. "She was fucking some guy when we knocked on the door."

I gape at him in horror. "Shit, I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, we were young."

"But still..."

"I got over it." He pushes off the counter, wrapping his arm around my waist. "But Naomi took it pretty hard. She somehow felt responsible for not being a better judge of character."

"But it's not her fault."

"I know, but she didn't see it that way. I think it's because she's had to look after me from such a young age, she still struggles with boundaries. Kids have to be kids, not caretakers."

"Yeah, I can relate."

He presses his lips on my temple. "Don't take it personally."

"I won't."

He smiles and squeezes my butt before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. A minute later someone knocks on the door, and I dash to his bedroom.

"Someone's knocking."

"There's this metal thing that looks like a handle. If you pull it down, it should open the door."

My face flattens. "Smartass."

"Can I have a moment to myself?"

"Are you pooping?"

He grumbles on the other side. "God, why me..."

The doorbell rings, setting my nerves aflame, and I quickly put pants on before heading back out. When I peek through the peephole to check on the intruder, my heart skips a dreadful beat.

Please, God. I don't want to die today.

I cross myself and open the door, ready for what's to come. Naomi's eyes widen when she sees me, but only for a split second before they switch to ice cold. "Where's Jake?"

Quick, fix the situation. "I killed him."

She's not amused. Her eyes rake over his shirt that I have on. "So you guys are officially back together, huh."

The need to curl into myself creeps up my spine, but I just nod. "Do you want to come in?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "No, I'll come back."

"Don't leave," I blurt as soon as she turns.

Her head cranes over her shoulder, almost in slow motion. "Seriously?"

"I don't want to fight with you, Naomi."

"Then don't tell me what to do."

I exhale the tension from my chest, cross my arms, and lift my chin. She notices my confidence and puts a hand on her hip. "You really have some nerve standing there like you've earned your place."

Her words slap, but I don't flinch. "Your brother seems to think so."

She steps close, her entire posture rigid. "Don't talk about my brother like you know him."

Images of her ripping my hair make me dizzy, but as I look into her round eyes straining with turmoil, I find my own turmoil dissipating. "You're right, you know him better."

Confusion creases her forehead, but I continue. "You've known him for longer, loved him for longer, and probably been there for him more than anyone else. I'm not here to take your place."

I put my hand on the doorframe, looking straight into her eyes. "But you have two choices here, Naomi. Either you punch me in the face and we move on, or you continue to hate me and make Jake unhappy."

She raises an eyebrow, as if not buying my bullshit. I just shrug, because she's wrong. "Either way, I can promise you two things. I'm not going anywhere. And if anyone messes with your brother, I'll rip their heads off."

Silence settles as she processes my words, expression unreadable, body entirely still. I start to wonder if Jake is actually having diarrhea or just hiding at this point.

"Let's go," she snaps me out of my thoughts, turning on her heel.

"You're really going to punch me?" I gasp, eyes bulging.

She continues to walk, so I follow her and cup my face. "Okay, but please don't break my nose. I don't want to fix it, recovering takes forever, then it's swollen for a whole year, and sometimes they fuck it up and then you can't even breathe right. Not to mention, everyone assumes you did it for shallow reasons, so you have to lie and say you did it to breathe better, even though now you're breathing like shit."

She stops by her car and turns around, completely fed up, but I go on. "Totally fine with my eye or the cheek, you can punch both sides, but just not my nose."

"Oh my God, I'm not going to punch you," she groans, opening her door. "I just need help carrying this stuff."

"Oh." I frown as she takes out some paper bags and sets it on the pavement. "What is it?"

"Food."

"You cooked it?"

She glares. "You have a problem with that?"

I grin. "No, I had your cooking yesterday, it was delicious."

She scoffs, but I swear to God it's softer. I grab half of the bags as we head back inside. "What'd you make anyway?"

"Ashareshtah," she mutters under her breath.

I groan dreadfully at the sky while Naomi turns to me like I've lost my mind.

~ 2 weeks later ~

It's a week after finals. Dr. Dennis begrudgingly asked me to teach for another quarter, except he also gifted Psych 101 on my schedule. To punish me, I bet, considering Psych 101 is mind-numbing, full of undecided students too busy catching up on their shows during lecture.

But they don't know that everything is a challenge in my eyes, and I don't plan to give up until my young turds develop into the focused soldiers I expect them to be.

That's in two weeks though. Right now we're on a much needed break. Which is also why I don't understand why Kayden wanted to meet me in his office, but I'm here anyway, opening his door.

"I got you book cleaning supplies, you dumb fuck—" My voice dies with a squeal when he stares back with three suited elders in the room.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were alone." My face burns as if someone stuck it in the oven.

He puts a palm on his forehead. "Nope, just with the MHA ambassadors of Southern California."

Please ground, open up and swallow me whole. I've had a good life, I don't need to live anymore.

My legs carry me towards them to shake their hands. Names get passed around from one ear out the other. I don't hear nor remember one syllable, even though my mouth moves with words, but they seem to make sense, because nobody asks questions.

Then I notice the little, old woman to the far right and gasp. "Grocery grandma?"

Kayden chokes, "M-Mia, that's the Senior spokesperson of—"

"You're the whore that was yelling at juices!" She smiles ear to ear, realization taking over.

"Yes, I am!" I beam, ignoring the looks around us. "I can't believe it's you!"

"It's nice to see you again." She laughs, crows feet deep around her endearing eyes. "I saw that video of the student confessing his love. I'm guessing he was the same man you were crying about, huh?"

My stomach knots with shame, but she waves me off. "No need to be scared, we didn't drive all the way here for that." She waves a teasing finger at me. "We're here because of your YouTube videos. You're quite a firecracker, aren't you? Our seminar could use a little bit of that spark."

I gape. "Are you offering me...to be a part of...?" She nods as I cover my mouth. "Oh my God...I don't know what to say...you don't know what this means to me."

"Don't thank us." She looks at Kayden. "Your colleague here has been bombarding me with so many emails, I had to block him."

I fight against the lump in my throat and the urge to throw my arms around him. He notices my reaction and shakes his head. "You deserve it, Mia."

"I really look forward to working with you," I choke, then look back at Kayden. "God, now I'm going to have to clean all your books to pay you back!" I laugh tearfully as he chuckles.

~

"Ah, thank God it's done!" I moan tiredly when we get in Jake's car.

"Thanks, I'm glad my family annoys you that much," Jake teases, closing the passenger door.

We just spent the last two hours at a trendy, outdoor restaurant, celebrating his MBA diploma. Being around his parents was awkward at first, but thankfully I wasn't the center of attention. Plus, there was weed in my purse, food on my plate, and Jake on my right, so I got through it in one piece. But God damn, these people talk, and talk, and talk.

"They're just so...social." I shudder.

His gaze lingers, half amused and half lost in his thoughts. "Come here."

I lean in to kiss him, giggling when he deepens it. "I have something for you."

"Do you..." he purrs, gripping the back of my hair hard enough to fog me with craving.

"Mm, it's your graduation gift..." I peel away, ignoring his smirk at my breathless tone. "I didn't want to give it at the party in front of everyone..."

I pull out a small, black box and place it in his hand. He looks at it for a second, confused, making me roll my eyes. "Relax, it's not a proposal."

He flicks his sassy lashes. "Excuse me, you wish you could put a ring on this."

"Okay, Beyonce, open the gift."

"Alright, alright..." he mutters, placing the little box on his thigh. He curves his finger under the lid, revealing a stack of matte black business cards.

I squirm in my seat as he lifts one of the crisp, rectangle papers, inspecting the white font on concrete shading. "CEO?" he reads out loud.

"What you'll be, when you come back from Sacramento," I explain, but he continues to just stare at it, without a word or a movement. I fidget with panic. "Do you not like it?"

The laugh he releases is heavy and thick with emotion. "I love it...I really love it."

I sink back in relief. "Thank God, because I also got you a mug that says 'tears of my staff' and a shirt that says 'my erection pays the bills' with a picture of a crane loader, but they don't arrive until you come back."

He looks at me like I'm Mother Teresa and it makes me scowl. "What?"

His smile is soft, a glow in his eyes like he's savoring this moment. "I just love you."

I bite my lip, returning his expression. "Then buy me expensive things when you get rich."

~~ A/N ~~

This is the last chapter!!! A bit of cheese, a bit of drama, and a bit of growth, ya? ya? ya?

Next up is the epilogue, buckle up <3

(please don't forget to vote!)