THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE PREP [ 1 ]

14 - FINALLY TAKING IT SLOW

|| BRAD ||

D-did he just pass out?

I stared at the small boy who had fallen asleep on the sofa next to me. His body leaned on the other side, which disappointed me a little bit. He could have leaned to his left instead which would rest his head on my shoulder. I let a breath out and looked at Noah with soft eyes. He looks so peaceful. A gentle smile forms on my face as I observed his resting body. His smooth skin looked porcelain, his small frame just makes me want to hug him ever so tightly like a teddy bear, he has his hair fallen to the other side of his head, revealing his face. I felt my heart bubbling with emotions the more I looked at him.

I want to kiss him.

I can't, not like this.

What am I talking about? Now is my chance, he's asleep and he won't know.

I shouldn't. It's not consensual.

Isn't this what I wanted? What if I won't get a chance like this ever again?

...

No, this is what Zack has been telling me about. I need to learn how to be patient. This isn't right. As tempting as it seems, the contact of lips is not appropriate in this scenario. I stood up from my seat and took a few steps back away to resist the urge. I huffed then looked at the time and it's about lunchtime now. Maybe after Noah wakes up, I can surprise him with a home-cooked meal. That sounds nice. I am getting hungry myself too. But I have to be honest, I suck at cooking. Mom does all of the kitchen work and prepares the most divine tasting food. Sadly, I did not inherit that trait. I made my way into the kitchen and thought of what I could cook, then again, I really don't know what to make. I opened the upper cabinets and the fridge to look for something I could somewhat prepare.

-

"Shit!" I yelled out. I stared at the pan I forgot I sat on the stove. The burger patties and eggs are now burnt to the extra crisp. I lifted each patty and saw that the bottom has darkened to a very dark color. Smoke was emitting from the eggs that I've burned. I took the pan out of the stove and placed into the sink. "What's going on?..." I turned to see Noah walking in, still looking sleepy. He raised his eyebrow at the sight in front of him. I gulped out of embarrassment and stood stiff. "I uhh... messed up trying to make us some lunch..." I said and rubbed the back of my neck. A smug smile grew on his face and he let out a small giggle. "What's so funny?" I looked at him confused.

"Do you want me to help tutor you in cooking as well?" He laughed at my attempt that is supposed to be called, 'lunch.'

"S-Shut up..." I blushed at his sassiness. I heard a small growl and we both fell quiet. Noah bent down forward a bit and held his stomach, "ahh..." he let out a little moan.

"Sorry, I guess I'm hungry..." he said. My eyebrows furrowed worriedly as I looked at the simmering cookware in the sink. "Sorry, I burnt our food," I said with a weak grin. Noah frowned. I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. "Twelve o' five," I read. Well, it's clear that I can't serve us any food right now, so I thought of going out to eat instead, "Hey Noah, wanna go grab some food outside?" I asked him.

"Y-yes please..." he replied. I smiled and motioned him to follow me. With Noah trailing behind, I grabbed my car keys on top of a shelf and opened the cabinet near the entrance to reveal our footwear. I slipped on a pair of black slide-ons and Noah wore his own shoes. I opened the door as I let him exit first before exiting myself and locking the door behind me. We made our way to my truck and I sat down on the driver's seat with Noah next to me.

"Wanna go somewhere in particular?" I asked him as I glanced over to the front mirror to look at him.

"No, not really. I guess I'm really hungry at the moment that I could eat almost anything," he said with a smile.

I held my grip onto the steering wheel and stared at the road. "Are burgers okay for you?" I asked him.

"Sure! I'm cool with that," said Noah. I mentally sighed; worried that Noah wouldn't be interested in basic sandwiches. I just thought that he would much prefer high-quality food after seeing his lunch box yesterday. Gladly I don't have to spend too much money today.

-

After a few minutes, I parked us over to a nearby burger place. "Hm, I haven't been into this specific restaurant before. Is this run by a personal owner?" Noah looked up to me as we stood in front of its entrance.

"Yeah, sometimes I would come over here with my friends," I grinned at him. We made our ways to the door and I went ahead to hold it open for Noah. He gives me a small smile before entering. I later on followed him from behind.

"Oh wow, this place looks lovely," Noah looked around. This place isn't really a simple diner with colors of red, black, and white. It had a Spanish influenced style to it; almost attaining the feeling of fanciness. "Hello there," a hostess greets both of us.

"Hey there, table for two please?" I asked her. She writes down something on a notebook and gives us a smile, "follow me," she gestured us.