Jessica's Fate

Chapter 58

I'd finished working out the details for the churro cheesecake, making a bunch of notes about the feasibility of deep frying churro batter to make a crust for cheesecake before jotting down a few more about using churro crumbs with a good amount of cinnamon sugar to make the crust. I was fairly deep in thought about ginger molasses cookies and how they really did need to be almost as large as your head to be satisfying before it dawned on me that Mom wasn't in the kitchen and there were voices coming from the front door. I got up and went out into the entryway, smiling when I saw she was talking to Tony. "Hey." My smile widened as he looked at me.

"Hey yourself." He laughed softly.

"You were really deep in thought, sweetie." Mom said. "I figured you wouldn't mind if I got the door."

I shook my head. "No, Mom. You live here too, it's your door after all."

The timer went off and she hurriedly excused herself to go pull her lasagna out of the oven. "You look cute." Tony said, hands shoved in his pocket.

"Thanks." I stepped closer and reached up, giving his goatee a tiny little tug. "this is coming along nicely." I said, stretching up on tiptoe to brush a soft kiss across his lips.

"Glad you like it." He murmured against my lips as he kissed me back. His hands slid around my back, pulling me in closer to him.

"Oh, I do. It's very dashing." I said, stepping back slightly as he bent his head slightly to rest his forehead on mine. "Come on. Dinner's pretty much ready. I was thinking inside dining unless you want to eat out on the patio?"

He shrugged. "Inside's fine." He said. "We're hanging outside later, right?"

I nodded, smiling brightly at him as I led him to the kitchen. "Mom's going to work and we'll be outside watching the sunset... in the hammock and waiting for the stars to pop out as it gets dark."

"Just light a couple of the torches." Mom laughed. "I want you to have a bit of light out there."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Okay, Mom. We'll light a couple tiki torches for mood lighting." I teased.

She looked startled at the idea that they'd be mood lighting. "On second thought, just leave the porch light on." She muttered.

"All right." I said in amusement, given our earlier conversation about if I would or wouldn't be sleeping with Tony... because he's hot.

And motioned for Tony to take a seat before I grabbed him one of the ice teas he liked out of the fridge. I grabbed bottles of water for mom and I and went over to join him at the table.

He smirked at me as he opened his ice tea. "I have Jessica's honor first and foremost in my mind. No worries here about things that happen by light of tiki torch."

She beamed at him for the reassurance.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, and North would kick your ass." I muttered under my breath to him.

"There is that." He said softly with a slight incline of his head.

"Gee, what fun that'll be... cuddling together in the hammock and watching the stars come out and knowing that my boyfriend has my honor first and foremost in his mind." I complained and Mom just shook her head at me. "Not a word from you." I told her. "We discussed enough things today. I want to forget we discussed things today."

Tony looked intrigued. "But...?"

I shushed him with a finger on his lips. "Not a question from you now. I might tell you later or I might not." I said, scowling at him.

"But Jess..."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Girl talk." I said hastily, banking that he would be like my brothers and pale at the idea of some girly shit about things they don't want to know about.