~~So, believe it or not the song above is actually kind of romantic despite the melencholy tone. Also, if you haven't already go check out the best (in my opinion) strictly boyxboy library on Wattpad. DrenchedArchive
Drenched
rain_water
She has the easiest to navigate library and I've found so many amazing books on here because of her. So go forth and check her out, follow her, etc.
Also enjoy.~~

{Chapter Twenty}

I wake to the sweet smells of breakfast; pancakes, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and the likes. I open my eyes after I register all the scents permeating the air, and blink a few times to focus my eyes. I first notice the off-white paint on the ceiling, and though confusion seems to run through me for a minute at the unfamiliar color, I remember I'm not in my own room, or rather not my own house.

I stretch and yawn after I remember what happened last night before I turn to see if Jer is still in bed. As I suspected, he's gone, probably in the kitchen where I assume the smells of breakfast are coming from.

So of course, I decide to go ahead and get out of bed, though when my feet hit the soft black carpet, I realize I have to pee. I stand, stretch again while a few of my joints pop, and head to the bathroom across the room. After I relieve my bladder and flush, washing my hands, I run a wet hand through my hair in an attempt to fix it. It doesn't do much to help but my hair doesn't actually look too bad in the first place so I don't bother with it anymore.

I leave the bedroom, vividly recalling where the entrance to the kitchen is despite my memory of last night being a bit fuzzy because of how tired I was. I walk through the familiar hall, walking through the doorway to the kitchen. I stop in the doorway though, watching in amusement as Jer sways his hips in time with the music playing softly through the speakers on the walls while he flips a pancake.

I contemplate interrupting him by calling out to him but instead I silently move across the cold gray laminate tiles of the kitchen until I'm behind Jer. I smile a bit before I place my hands on his hips then I snake them around his naked waist. He jumps in surprise, dropping the metal spatula onto the iron skillet, making a loud clanging noise resound in the kitchen.

He turns in my arms, relaxing slowly as an amused smile graces his lips. He lifts a hand to move a piece of hair out of my face before leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"How long have you been up?" he asks curiously.

"Not long," I say with a shrug. "I only woke up a few minutes ago." He nods in understanding before leaning down to kiss me on the forehead once more. Then he turns back around to flip the pancake onto the plate beside the stove that holds a stack of them. I drop my arms from Jer's waist so he can lead the way into the dinning room where a sleek black and white table is holding the rest of our breakfast. There's two spots set at the table despite there being six seats, with a bowl holding what must be eggs, a plate of bacon, and a pitcher of orange juice.

It's honestly what I would expect a normal family breakfast to look like, not that we don't have breakfast together but Mom and Dad tend not to be home early in the mornings, plus they sleep in on the weekends. Of course, we have dinner together when I'm home, but something about this seems different than a normal family breakfast would be. And when I glance over at Jer who's setting the plate of pancakes on the table, I can tell this is more personal for him.

That makes me smile a bit as I take a seat at the table. Jer leaves the room for a second only to come back with a black mug, probably holding coffee. He sits down across from me and we fill our plates with food before we begin to eat. Or rather I eat while Jer closes his eyes for a moment, confusing me until I realize he's probably praying. My parents pray before their meals also, though apparently the habit didn't rub off on me.

"What are you going to do about Ian?" Jer questions while sipping on his coffee after his eyes open once more. I sigh, resisting the urge to drop my head on the table, mainly because I'm enjoying this food.

"I don't know," I reply honestly, casting my eyes down to my food while I try not to think of Ian. I finish my eggs before I run a hand through my hair, glancing up to look at Jer who seems to be watching me intently.

"I need to talk to him, don't I?" I ask before rolling my eyes, taking a bite of my pancake and swallowing before I huff. "Of course I need to talk to him, but what if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tells me to go away? What if he doesn't listen to me? What if he hates me?" I groan.

"Ugh, I just need to talk to him don't I? I need to man up." I grumble then look back at Jer who has an amused expression on his face. "Any advice?"

"Be careful, love. If he doesn't want to talk to you, don't force him. He'll come around eventually, you just need to be patient. But if he lets you talk don't hold back." He adds seriously before finishing the rest of his food. I glance down at my own plate, realizing I only have one piece of bacon and a few bites of my syrup covered pancake left on the square black plate.

"Will you help me?" I ask, pushing my plate away after eating the last bites.

"I'll help you with the plan, but I doubt talking to him with you would do much good at this time." He replies and I nod.

We're silent for a few minutes before we begin clearing the table and putting the leftovers away in the fridge. When everything is cleaned up Jer leads us to the living room where he pulls me down with him on the couch. I fall beside him and he wraps his arms around my waist from the side, dropping his head to my shoulder.

"You need to be attentive when talking to him, be careful with what you say. And don't get mad at him." Jer adds sternly, moving a bit to stare into my eyes seriously. I attempt not to laugh but I fail miserably as I begin to snicker before I drop my head on his bare shoulder. I shake with the laughter, trying to contain it but I barely do as I regain my composure.

"What?" he demands and I pull back to look up at him.

"Jer, you're making him seem like a girl who's going to break down at any second." I explain, laughing a bit more because of how serious he was. "Look, I get that Ian is hurt, and rightly so, but he's not going to shatter if I'm not attentive. He's stronger than that." I add, my mind wondering to Ian. His beautiful nearly-white gray eyes, his adorable ramblings and the way he felt in my arms. It felt right to hold him, to comfort him, to kiss him.

"Just be careful, love. I don't want you to get hurt." He replies, pulling me into his arms as he lies back on the couch. I sigh, moving so I'm hovering above him, taking in his beautiful body under mine. His unique golden eyes, his pink lips tipped in a small smile, even his light stubble he's failed to shave off today seems to look perfect on him.

"What are you looking at?" he asks with a knowing smirk, as if he knows how sexy he looks right now.

"You," I reply honestly, moving my hand to rest on his bare chest, covering a black tattoo of an arrow in an infinity symbol.

"Oh yeah?" he muses and I smirk, leaning down to kiss him. I run my hand along his chest and lick his bottom lip for entrance but he pushes me a bit. I pull back to look down at him in confusion and he sighs, lifting a hand to caress my cheek.

"Although I want to continue with this, I think it would be best we don't or else I won't be able to let you leave." Jer explains with a chuckle and I sigh, dropping my head on his chest.

"I get it." I reply honestly and move to get more comfortable. I close my eyes when I'm comfortably in his arms with my head resting comfortably against his chest, allowing me to hear his strong heartbeat. I sigh in content, contemplating the idea of just staying here all day. It is the weekend after all, I should be relaxing.

Of course, the longer I put off talking the Ian, the harder it's going to be. Or the less I'll want to do it. In any case I need to talk to him, not fall asleep on Jer, no matter how comfortable or comforting he is.

"Don't fall asleep, love." Jer calls but I ignore him, keeping my eyes closed as I listen to his relaxing heartbeat.

"But this is so relaxing," I finally mumble my response, moving slightly to kiss his chest.

"I know, but you have to talk to Ian. And I'm sure your parents are expecting an appearance from you at some point today." He reminds but that doesn't seem to stop him from running his fingers through my hair.

"That doesn't help motivate me, you know." He laughs, the sound vibrating through his chest and into my ear.

"I'm sure it doesn't." I expect him to continue running his fingers through my hair but he doesn't, instead he moves, making me move away from him as he sits up. He stands and wipes at his pajama bottoms before extending his hand out to me to help me up. I sigh, grumbling under my breath about how I didn't want to do anything today, but take his hand regardless.

I stand with him and follow him into the bedroom. He moves to his closet to get a change of clothes before moving over to me, kissing me lightly on the lips.

"I'm going to get dressed and you can drive me back to my car. Then you have to talk to Ian." He adds sternly before going to into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. I sigh, my eyes falling to the floor where my shirt that I barely remember taking off last night, and my shoes are lying. I stoop down to pick up my shirt, dropping it on Jer's bed before pulling my shoes on.

I grab my phone from the night stand and unlock it to check my messages. I notice I have two unread messages, one is a reply from Lydia about covering for me, while the other is from Mom asking if I'll be home today. I don't bother replying to either of them and instead stuff my phone in my pocket. Jer comes out of the bathroom just then wearing a white v-neck that actually seems a bit transparent as I can make out his tattoos through the shirt. He's also wearing a pair of black jeans with a pair of boots.

"That shirt is a bit revealing." I state, eyeing his attire once more, stopping to look at his right arm where a thick black cross starts at his forearm and ends a little bit above his wrist, nearly encircling his arm completely.

"Does it bother you?" he asks.

"Not at all," I reply, picking my shirt up off the bed, not bothering to put it back on because it's dirty and I'm going straight home anyway to change. I glance around before my eyes move back to Jer. "Where are my keys?" I question when I remember he was driving so he no doubt has them. He motions for me to follow him and I do, trailing behind him while he grabs his phone, wallet and keys off an end table in the living room before picking my keys off the table. He tosses them to me and I nod, following him out of the house.

He locks the door behind him and follows me to my car. I glance around as I move to my car, taking in the bright green grass, the flowers growing close to the sidewalk, and a hedge separating Jer's yard from his neighbors. I unlock my car, get in and wait for Jer to get in before I drive towards his office.

The drive is silent but Jer keeps his hand resting on my thigh the whole time, making me smile just a bit. Unfortunately the drive isn't too long so we get there in a little less than fifteen minutes. I park next to his 4Runner and turn to say goodbye when he pulls me in to kiss me chastely.

"I'll see you soon, love." He whispers, kissing me again and running his fingers through my hair before opening his door to get out.

"Jer," I blurt, biting my lip a bit when he turns, leaning back into my car. "I love you." I state and he smiles.

"I'll talk to you later, love." He replies before shutting the door and getting into his truck. I put my car in drive and leave his office, heading home. I park behind Dad's black truck and shut off my car. I walk over the yellowing grass to our front door, checking to see if it's unlocked which it is. I push the door open and walk into the warm house, hearing soft music playing in the living room.

I tilt my head a bit in confusion before moving silently to the living room so I can investigate the noise. I stop though, smiling fondly when I realize my parents are slow dancing. I lean against the door frame in the living room, watching as they dance across the room, spinning and twirling; laughing and smiling as if they were two teenagers in love. And they are in love, it's obvious from the look in both their eyes, they love each other so much.

I realize, as I watch Dad twirl Mom, dipping her before pulling her up to him to kiss her while she laughs joyously, I want that. In thirty years I want to be just as in love as they are, I want to dance with my husband for no reason and laugh with them. That's what I want, I want them-Ian and Jer-no matter how hard it'll be. Because I know without a doubt in my mind that I love them both to death and whatever I have to deal with to be with them will be worth it.

With that in mind I start up the stairs and plan how I'm going to talk to Ian today, what I'm going to say. Because I need to get him back, no matter how long or hard it'll be.