The Pack

Bittersweet Sensation

I'm not a domestic individual it was the one flaw to living alone. My apartment and my refrigerator generally stays bare until I reach the point of desperation. Normally I don't go grocery shopping. Sue being the maternal soul that she is, normally sends me care packages on the regular and whenever she didn't I usually picked up some takeout. However, lately I have been craving a real breakfast. Eggs, bacon, biscuits, and not in the McDonalds variety. I decided that I was going to get a late start tomorrow and actually get some rest and work on some blueprints before going on site to check on the guys.

"Grands … should I get southern style or buttermilk?" I really didn't know the difference. I wanted them to taste like Miss Sue's and I was sure that she made them from scratch. It sucked that I rarely had a Sunday morning off. Mitch and Nance felt that was the best time for our damned meetings. In reality I felt like whatever issues we discussed at that time could be sent to me via email. I put both versions of the canned dough in my cart and went down the aisle for the some soap. I noticed the raven haired woman from my past who was staring intently at the medicine section. I threw my Axe body wash in my cart and moved on a little further to be nosy.

"What are you doing out at this hour young lady?" I asked and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Oh. Hey Jacob, trust me I don't want to be here, but I can't sleep my house keeps making all of these weird noises. I figured I'd come out and see if they have some sleep medicine to help me doze off," she explained as she picked up the extra strength bottle sleeping pills and looked at the directions on the back.

"It's probably just the house settling. You'll get used to it. You shouldn't take this crap though try playing some music or something to distract you from the noise." I took the bottle from her and put it back on the shelf and she narrowed her eyes at me. I knew the action would piss her off a little bit. Leah was never one to like being told what to do. I was just trying to stop her from wasting her money that mess wouldn't work on her anyway.

"You don't think I've tried that! This is the third night I will have gone without sleep. I need to rest. I think the lack of sleep is the reason I have writer's block. I need a clear head so that I can get my article done. It's due by tomorrow at five." She grabbed another bottle and started reading it. "I have all of this … energy at night that I don't know what to do with. I just toss and turn. It's pissing me off." She tossed the bottle in her little basket and then looked back up at me.

"What are you doing here at damned near eleven o'clock? Shouldn't you be hibernating?" She chuckled. I don't know why the woman always said I slept like a bear. I don't snore.

"No, I actually do some of my best work at night. Plus, I'm going in a little later tomorrow. I want to cook myself a little breakfast," I explained. "You wouldn't by chance know how to make biscuits from scratch?" She arched her eyebrow at me and smirked a little.

"Yeah, why?"

"If you could give me your recipe that would be great. I don't think that I'm going to like these things very much." I held up the two cans of biscuits and gave the best helpless look I could muster. She snorted and took one of them for me.

"These actually aren't that bad," she retorted and then something about her disposition shifted. Her brown eyes carried a slight hint of uncertainty and vulnerability. I loved how self-assured Leah was for the most part but this was my favorite look on her. It was the look that told me or at least it used to tell me that she wanted things … naughty things. "I could cook you breakfast," she murmured and my interested was immediately peaked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. In return for a favor of course," she gave me a little smile. A favor I tried not to think dirty. Sex is something that I hadn't really thought about in some time. However with Leah being back love, lust, passion, and sex have all been very distracting thoughts lately. I kept getting caught in memories of the past it was kind of aggravating while I working. I wanted to be angry with her or at the very least indifferent. I didn't want to feel anything for the woman who had abandoned me 7 years ago but when I saw her again … it was like she never left. I didn't want her to know that though. At least not until I knew where her head was at. I didn't want to be rejected by her again so I was waiting for a sign.

"What's the favor?"

"Will you come and listen to these weird sounds my house is making? I don't get freaked out easy but this noise is creeping me out." I chuckled at the look on her face she actually looked scared.

"Leah are you scared there's a monster under you bed making things go bump in the night?" I teased and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure I'm the only monster roaming around in that house," she whispered.

"Monster is an over exaggeration," I stated as I looked at her and she swallowed hard. Her heartbeat had changed and the hue of her eyes had darken. More signs and signals that all seemed to indicate she was still into me but she'd looked at me that way before and still rejected me.

"So will you come over?"

"Yeah, I'll be over around 7 and check things out," I confirmed and she frowned. "What's wrong is that too early?"

"No, it's just I really need some sleep. If it's not too much trouble could you swing by tonight? I know it's really late you could uh, I mean, if you don't want to go home you could spend the night … if you want." I paused for a second to take in what she was fully asking me. "I mean only if you want to. You can come over at seven that's okay too." Leah was rambling now that was something you don't see every day.

"Leah, it's cool I can come over tonight. I don't have any plans or anything." I shrugged and she took a deep breath.

"Oh okay." She seemed almost relieved. She put the pill bottle back on the shelf. "Well let's put these away get some ingredients to make those biscuits!" Leah and I walked through the store and she damned near filled up my cart. She said that she'd pay for everything since she needed some groceries for around her house.

"My fridge is pretty much bare," she chuckled.

"Mine too I live off take out."

Our conversation was so easy it glided from one thing to the next. We are such similar creatures Leah and I. We were even dressed sort of the same in sweatpants and tees and we were doing something … normal. As we walked together I felt this action to be bittersweet. I was happy but being around Leah was awkward I felt all this time had passed and even though we were physically close we'd grown apart. I blamed her for that and I wasn't sure I'd be able to completely get over it.