Page 23 of Sweet Tooth
I listened to Zane’s even breathing. He’d always been a sound sleeper and I was envious. I wished I could just close my eyes, shut out the world, and drift off. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t just a different person than the one he’d left seven years ago, I was a mom now. I had more responsibilities now than when we’d been together as teenagers. I couldn’t afford to do stupid shit like lose my heart to someone who had already broken in beyond repair once before.
I thought about waking him up and asking him to leave, but that would mean a conversation that I didn’t want to have right now. So I lay on my side with my back to Zane, and curled up under the covers. I closed my eyes and promised myself that I wouldn’t get caught up in him again. Never again.
13
Zane
I was pretty sure I’d fallen asleep holding Jess, but now she was at the far side of the bed, her back to me. Just like in the old days. She’d been a poor sleeper, had always slept as far away on the bed from me as possible.
She appeared to still be sleeping. The curve of her hip under the cornflower blue covers moved with her rhythmic breaths.
I pulled the covers back a bit and slid over to wrap myself around her. I moved her hair aside to press a kiss into the back of her neck just as her alarm went off.
She jolted upright, jabbing her finger into the off button. She sat up on the edge of the bed, raised her arms above her head and stretched. “Morning,” I said.
She jumped.
“I…”
“Forgot about me.” I made a dismal face, then grinned, kissing her on the cheek again.
“So,” Jess said.
“So,” I said.
She rose. “I better get going. It’s a battle royale getting Parker to daycare as it is, without any other distractions.”
“Yeah, I need to get into the office for a meeting,” I said, rising too.
“Sorry,” she said as she went to her closet and disappeared behind the door. “Normally, I’d offer you breakfast but there’s no time.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I get my coffee and toast at the café at work.”
“Great,” Jess said.
She’d miraculously reappeared, all dressed in her work uniform and ready to go. She went over to the mirror, then smoothed her hair into a ponytail.
“What?” she said when she noticed me watching her in the mirror.
“Just…” I hunted on the bedroom floor for my shirt, paused to get one last look at her. “Seeing you in wake-up mode, it’s nice.”
Like before, I thought but didn’t say.
Jess bit at the side of her cheek for a few seconds, as though about to say something. But she disappeared out of the room with a wan smile and without a word instead.
I managed to find my clothes, lobbed in the far corner of the room, then headed out after her.
I went downstairs and met her in the kitchen where she was pouring Parker a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. I froze in my spot, unsure of what to do. Should I run out of there before her son saw me, or…
“Zane!” he said, jumping off his seat when he spotted me in the doorway.
My decision was made for me.
“Hey Parker,” I said, crouching down so we were eye to eye. “Nice shirt.”
It was Aquaman – the random superhero that had always been my fav when I was a kid too.
“Have you seen the new movie?” he said.
“Heck yeah, I have,” I said. “You?”
“Yup. Mom took me.”
“You got a pretty good mom there,” I said, wiping away the stray milk running down his chin.
His smile quirked on one side, as Jess coaxed him back into his seat. “Ok, enough chitchat. Let’s get eating.”
As Parker chomped down on another spoonful, Jess turned her gaze my way. “Gotta go?”
I nodded, understanding her meaning. “Work calls, and today’s the start of a new project.”
“Ok.”
I paused. Jessica had turned her attention to Parker as he spooned some cereal into his mouth.
“Bye then,” I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you.”
“Bye,” she said, not looking up from Parker.
And then I was in the car, driving to work. Wondering what the hell had just happened.
14
Jessica
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Tamara said.
I sighed. I’d called up my best friend on my lunch break to make myself feel better. Not to underscore how much of an idiot I felt like already. I was insanely busy with Christmas being right around the corner and I’d been making batch after batch of chocolates to fill holiday party orders. I needed a break, not an argument.
“I just mean that it’s been seven years, Tar. And he still didn’t really explain what took so long.”
“Businesses take time.”
“I didn’t ask him to build up a super-successful business. I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted him.”
