Secret Affection

Chapter 5

"Ouch! F-ck, Aly!"

I have Grace in my bathroom, sitting on the counter, as I'm wiping an alcohol swab against a cut on her cheek. I chuckle at her outburst, but I continue what I was doing.

"Don't laugh at my pain, Alyson."

"Don't full name me, Grace. I'm still waiting for a thank you."

She pouts at me, bringing another smile to my face. I pull away, to look at her face,

"You're not going to get it."

I throw the swab away, making my way out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. I open the freezer and toss her a bag of frozen peas. She grabs it before it hits the ground, looking from the bag to me, confused.

"Put it on your cheek. It'll take down the swelling."

She mumbles a small thanks as I go hunting through the cabinets for food. I settle on a box of Mac n Cheese, pulling out a pan, I hear a chuckle behind me.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. It's a dinner of high caliber."

I shake my head as I pour water into the pan, setting in on top of the burner. Once I turn the burner on, I turn around to see Grace leaning onto the kitchen counter from a chair at the island.

"I'm going to go change real fast, make sure that doesn't boil over."

She salutes me,

"Yes, sir."

"D-ck."

I make my way down the hallway and into my room. I pull off my clothes and grab a T-shirt from my drawer, slipping it over my head. As I'm deciding on shorts or not, Grace calls out for me.

"Aly! SOS!"

I chuckle, running out of my room and into the kitchen to see her struggling to keep the pan from boiling over. I bump her out of the way as I turn the burner down and remove the pan.

"Thank you."

"I almost died."

"Alright, drama queen, sit down and I'll get this done."

Once Grace walks back to her seat, I put the pan back on the burner, pouring in the noodles. As I'm stirring around the noodles, Grace starts her small talk.

"So, if you're unemployed, how can you afford this place?"

"Just because I'm unemployed doesn't mean I don't have money."

"Usually it does."

I chuckle, going to the sink to strain the noodles,

"Ten years in the service. I never came home during those ten years. I was almost always on base, which they pay for my living. So that's a lot of money I never touched, Grace."

She nods as I finish making the food, pouring in into two bowls and sliding her one. As I take a bite, I talk with my mouth full just to annoy her,