sweatpants and whatever tank I can find that has the least stains on it.”
“I know, but it’s fucking sexy. The way you dance around with your earphones in, forgetting that everyone can see you. It’s you and it’s real. It’s not like the others who wear those ridiculous uniforms. They look so robotic, but if you wanted to get one of those sexy maid outfits and wear it for me, I’m down for that ...”
“Careful,” I tell him, dragging him into the kitchen and trying to ignore his last comment before I allow him to bend me over the kitchen counter and fuck me senseless. “You’re drooling.”
He rolls his eyes. “Is it that hard for you to just accept a compliment when you hear one?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “It really is.”
He shakes his head as I go about the kitchen, grabbing all the things that I’d only just put away an hour ago. “Actually, I think I'll get rid of the uniforms. It’s so formal—too fucking formal. That’s not the vibe I want when walking around my home. That’s one of those bullshit rules Dad brought in after he fucked one of his maids and she claimed sexual harassment in the workplace. It was probably his way of punishing her and enjoyed making everyone else suffer right along with her.”
I stare at him with my mouth hanging wide. “Your dad really was a creep.”
He laughs, coming to stand by me. “Trust me, you haven’t heard the half of it.”
“I can’t wait,” I tell him, reaching across him to grab the large mixing bowl and looking over everything I have before me, trying to figure out what I’ve forgotten. Eggs, butter, milk, baking powder ... “Ahh,” I say, grabbing the eggs and cracking them against the side of the bowl. “Could you grab the flour and vanilla extract?”
He gives me a blank stare as I put the broken eggshells aside. “The what?”
I raise a brow and look back at him. “You don’t know what flour is?”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not fucking stupid. I know what flour is,” he says, darting across to the pantry and quickly scanning the shelves before grabbing the packet. “What’s the other shit you need?”
I roll my eyes and step across to the pantry to join him, realizing it’s going to be a hell of a lot quicker to get it myself than have to explain it to a guy like Colton. He’s so fucking smart and business-minded but shove him in a kitchen and he’s a lost little boy.
I measure up all my ingredients from memory while ignoring the way Colton stares at me dumbfounded. “How do you know how to do this?”
“Make pancakes?” I question, dumping in all the ingredients and grabbing my whisk.
“Cook in general,” he says. “Did your mom teach you?”
I press my lips together and look down at the mixing bowl, making sure to get all the lumps. “She taught me a little but truth be told, she was always out working and I was left at home to figure it out. It wasn't until Nic started hanging around that I really started to learn. He's a bit of a whiz in the kitchen,” I say, feeling the heaviness of all the amazing memories come rushing in. “He didn’t like the idea of me cooking the same three meals over and over again. He taught me that just because you have to eat cheap, doesn't mean you have to eat like shit. Best lesson I ever learned. All the boys kinda taught me a little something when it comes to cooking, except Kai. He can’t cook to save his life which is why he’s fucking around all the time, hoping the girl will feed him before he fucks her off in the morning. That kid has eaten way too much take out for his own good. If the grilled chicken place wasn’t down the road from him, he’d probably starve.”
Colton drops his elbow onto the counter and he brushes my hair back over my shoulder. “You really miss them, don’t you?”
My whole world comes crashing down as the emotions begin to overwhelm me and I find myself unable to meet his eyes, afraid that my truth will hurt him in some sort of way.
Seeing the mess his question put me in, he steps into me and pulls me deep into his arms. “I hate that you’re hurting, Jade,” he whispers, resting his chin above my head. “I’m not going to lie to