gold digger » jack gilinsky

twenty four

i open my mouth, speechless. when i don't reply, his shoulders sag in disappointment. i don't want him to think that i'm turning him down because i'm not. i just don't know how to word what i want at the moment.

"never mind." he murmurs. "forget i asked."

"no, jack. i do want to be with you, but-"

"you want to take things slow. don't worry, baby, i won't rush you." he shrugs. "i was just asking if you wanted to be with me first."

i give him a relieved smile, "then yes, we can work something out, i suppose."

"i don't want you to 'suppose'. i want you to be sure, octavia."

my smile grows bigger, "i'm sure we can work something out."

"not that either."

"you're so hard to satisfy!" i exclaim. "we can work something out."

"much better."

he smiles wide in return and sweeps me into his arms, catching me off guard. he plants a chaste kiss on my cheek before resuming the cooking.

"i'm a happy man now."

"oh, shut up." i laugh.

it doesn't take long for jack to finish cooking and then plate our food. i take a seat at the dining table and he sits across from me. i don't know whether or not it was a mistake telling him that we could work something out.

is it too soon to be dating again?

"if you think it's nasty, pretend you like it. for me." jack pleads with a pout on his face.

"i'm sure it will be fine."

"don't dream too high. this is the first time i cooked something in years." he emphasizes. "maybe i should have asked a chef to make this." he stares down at his plate.

"stop being like that. eat the food." i tell him, digging in.

it's surprisingly good for a dish that he made. i could definitely eat this again.

"do you want anything to drink besides water?" he asks me.

i shake my head, "no, thank you."

"so formal." he laughs. "i want you to be comfortable with me and not act like we're business acquaintances."

"i'm trying, jack. believe me."

"you're right. we're taking things slow." he sighs.

by that, i'm thinking that maybe he doesn't want to take things slow. he's not the one that just recently got dumped.

"we should watch movies afterward." jack suggests.

i frown, "i have to shower and then sleep. work tomorrow. i can't just not show up in the office whenever i want to like you do." i clarify.

jack grins, "come work for me then. you'll never have to work."

"tempting proposition, but i can't."