Chapter 55

The following morning, Tapiwa hesitated in the kitchen doorway. Earlier, the sounds of footsteps outside her bedroom door and dishes clacking together in the kitchen had woken her from her restless sleep.

At first, Tapiwa had thought Jadon was rearranging the dishes in the kitchen. She thought it was entirely possible because after he abruptly left her in the kitchen last night with the ice cream; she had found the books he had started returning to the shelves in an order that only he understood.

Feeling a little frustrated with the man, she'd almost continued to put the books in the order she believed they should be. But after a moment, she decided not to be a bitch and left the books stacked on the floor. She planned to ask Jadon what order he wanted them in before she put them back because she couldn't remember the order they had been in before she brought them down.

Tapiwa felt even a little guilty for messing with Jadon's house and the way he liked his things. She'd planned to apologize this morning. However, when she thought she heard him rearranging the dishes in the kitchen, her need to apologize and play nice had flown out the window and she rushed to the kitchen to tell the man how ridiculous he was being.

Except, she found that Jadon wasn't rearranging the dishes she had pain strikingly tried to put in a way that made sense. No. Instead, she realized that the man, only wearing a pair of low-hanging sweatpants, stood at the stove seemingly cooking breakfast if the smell of eggs and pancakes was anything to go by.

The sight had Tapiwa double blinking. Not because she'd thought the man couldn't cook. The used pots and pans in his messy cabinets had dispelled that assumption pretty quickly. It was the view of his naked, toned back muscles shifting as he moved around the stove.

Jadon hadn't yet realized she was there, so it gave her the perfect amount of time to just watch him. Tapiwa wasn't ashamed to admit it, at least to herself, that she had gone back online and looked at the pictures of the two of them. She had just needed to see them again to remind herself of the mess she was in. The effect hadn't been so black and white.

In as much as Tapiwa was ashamed of how her family and the rest of the world now saw her, she couldn't help being glad that Jadon was the other person in those pictures with her. Nicole had been right. Tapiwa had lost her virginity, but at least she had done it with a man who made most women drool.

That made Tapiwa believe Jadon had to be right about their attraction being instant. Even though she still couldn't remember the night at the party, Tapiwa had to agree that she must have been attracted to him to end up in bed with him. She had certainly been attracted enough to sneak out of her father's house and fuck him in the back of his car, so that said a lot.

Just thinking of that night and the moments before her father had caught them, Tapiwa wondered why she had insisted on rules. What had she been smoking?

Fortunately for her, Jadon chose that moment to turn from the stove and notice her hovering at the threshold. It effectively snapped Tapiwa out of her thoughts as he seemed to be frozen in place and just stared at her.

She wasn't sure what he was seeing, but she now had a view of his chest and it was distracting. Then she remembered that the man was cooking and by the sounds and smell building in the air, Tapiwa guessed the food was about to turn to black ash if Jadon didn't get back to it fast.

"Uhm, Jadon. The eggs"

"Shit!" Jadon immediately turned back to the stove and quickly pulled the pan off the hot plate. He then went on to curse under his breath as he inspected the damage.

Tapiwa pressed her lips together to stop herself from chuckling. After a moment, when he'd stopped fussing and just decided to dump everything in the trash before throwing the pan in the sink, Tapiwa let out a choked snicker that caught his attention.

His eyes narrowed on her. "Are you judging me?" he asked in a tone that told Tapiwa he wasn't really mad but rather just irritated.

So Tapiwa shrugged. "You could have been a little gentler with the pan. It's not its fault the eggs burned after all."

Jadon huffed and then reached out for another pan in the cabinet. "Don't worry. It has no feelings. I, on the other hand, do and I'm upset it ruined my apology breakfast."

Tapiwa was on the verge of laughter, but then Jadon's words sunk into her brain. "Apology breakfast?"

He was no longer looking at her. Jadon busied himself chopping up more spring onions that were apparently going in the eggs he was frying. But at least he answered her question. "Yes. I figured I owed you an apology and wanted to make you breakfast. It's no big deal."

Except Tapiwa thought it was a big deal. "You shouldn't have," she whispered even as her stomach did flips and the lock on the cage of butterflies broke.

Jadon shrugged, turning his back on her so he was back at the stove preparing the pan. "Like I said, it's no big deal. I just thought we could perhaps start on a fresh page after everything."

A long beat passed. Jadon didn't say anything more, and Tapiwa wasn't sure how to respond. In the end, only two words were appropriate: "Thank you."

Several minutes later, Tapiwa sat at the kitchen island, silently watching Jadon prepare her breakfast. He insisted it was no big deal, but Tapiwa saw how much effort he put into what he was doing.

Tapiwa was so distracted it took her a moment to realize the phone in her hand had vibrated. Looking down at the screen when she finally managed to snap her eyes away from the half-dressed man, she saw that she had three messages from Nicole, all sent in quick succession of each other. Frowning and curious, Tapiwa unlocked her phone.

Nicole: Hey. Are you mad at me? You know I couldn't do anything about my parents, right? Please don't be mad.

Nicole: Okay, Kaelo told me you made it safely to Jadon's house and that you're staying with him. That's good, right? I hope it's not awkward after everything that happened.

Nicole: Tapi, you need to respond. I'm here feeling really guilty. I need to know you are okay.

Tapiwa silently chuckled at the last message and shook her head before she typed back her response.

Tapiwa: If you stop texting one message after the other, then maybe I will get the chance to respond.

The response was almost instantaneous, as though Nicole had been waiting with her phone in her hand for Tapiwa to text back.

Nicole: You are still talking to me?

Tapiwa: Why wouldn't I be? What happened wasn't your fault.

Nicole: I feel like it was. I should have stood up to my parents and stopped you from leaving.

Tapiwa sighed. The last thing she'd wanted was to put her friend in a difficult situation.

Tapiwa: You know I would never make you choose. You didn't need to be dragged into my mess.

Nicole: I don't mind your mess. That's what friends are for. But really, tell me. How is life with the handsome hunk of a man?

Tapiwa's eyes shifted from her phone to look at the hunk in question and nearly choked at the sight. Jadon was done cooking and had plated the food in front of him. He was now in the process of squeezing fresh oranges. Tapiwa watched his muscles bulge and flex with every movement. Damn.

Her phone vibrating again had her looking down only to see another message from Nicole. Tapiwa hadn't realized she had taken too long to respond, but apparently she had.

Nicole: That good, huh?

Crossing her legs to suppress some of the sensations zapping through her body and confusing her mind further, Tapiwa darted a glance at Jadon again before typing out her answer.

Tapiwa: I think I messed up.