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“Actually, do you know if you guys have eggs? I was going to make everyone pancakes.”
“Of course you were,” Jaz said, her mouth not closing all the way. She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut for a moment before making her way down the hall past me and into the kitchen.
“I think we have a box mix in the cabinet there. Otherwise, there are…” She paused as she looked inside the refrigerator. “Eight eggs. Hope that’s enough.”
“For a stack of pancakes? Yeah, that’ll do it,” I joked.
“I have no idea. I don’t cook,” Jaz said.
“Ahh, right.”
With that, Jaz scurried off, seemingly highly embarrassed. I went to the front door and made my way out, grabbed my duffel, and came back in, going right to Danica’s room. She was already up, having slipped on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I grinned and opened the bag, pulling out a white T-shirt and a pair of workout pants. They’d do. A new pair of socks completed the ensemble, and I turned to go back out, Danica behind me.
“Hey, just one thing,” she said.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Don’t let it be weird with my pregnant sister here,” she said. “She’s kind of delicate.”
“Nah,” I said. “I think it’s awesome what you’re doing. Amazing, really, to go through so much to help your sister out. Then again, I think you’re amazing in all sorts of ways.”
She beamed, and her face flushed as she pushed me from behind to get me going. I grinned and made my way to the kitchen where I whipped up a colossal stack of pancakes. Jaz poked her head out as they were being plated and the remaining eggs were being scrambled alongside some bacon.
“That smells so good,” she said as she came into the room.
“Come join us, then,” I said. “I made plenty.”
“You weren’t kidding,” Danica said as she glanced into the kitchen and saw the stack of pancakes. “Are you planning on feeding an army?”
“He is feeding a pregnant lady,” Jaz said, suddenly not shy anymore. She had changed into more comfortable clothes but was still wearing makeup from the night before. I made a plate for her and then one for Danica before making one of my own and sitting down at the table with them.
As we ate, I got to know Jaz a bit, more so learning about ballet than her, really. I learned far more about dance than I ever really needed to know, but it was nice. I was enjoying the domesticity of the situation.
I could easily see myself there, Danica in the kitchen with me or both of us sitting at the table, eating breakfast. Jaz would be visiting, and there would be a baby in a highchair between us. We could take turns trying to get the baby to eat soft scrambled eggs. I could see it so vividly that it was almost scary. It was like a vision. Maybe it was a little bit too soon.
No, it was definitely too soon. But it didn’t matter. Life didn’t happen on schedules. I was sure of it. This was what was supposed to be.
“Do you make breakfast like this every morning?” Jaz asked. “Because if you do, then I vote you stay the night whenever the hell you feel like it.”
I laughed.
“I’m not as good a cook as my brother Derek. He’s the chef. I can just make enough basic things to keep myself from starving to death.”
“Seriously?” Jaz asked. “How many are there of you boys?”
“Five,” Danica interrupted. “Including Kane. He has a twin brother too.”
Jaz’s jaw dropped to her chest.
“There’s another one of you?” she asked, her voice monotone with disbelief.
“We’re not exactly identical,” I said. “We just look a lot alike. He’s technically older, so I give him shit over it.”
“Is he a wine guy too?” she asked, her fork trembling as she held it halfway up to her face. It had been there for some time, syrup creating a long, skinny rope to the eggs below them.
“No, Cameron handles all the finances for us. He’s essentially the accountant, but to hear him tell it, he’s the CEO,” I said.
Jaz turned to Danica and motioned for her to get closer to her so she could whisper. She said something I couldn’t completely make out, but I did catch one questioning word. “Single?”
“All but two now,” Danica half-whispered.
“Guh,” Jaz said and straightened up, trying to wipe the expression off her face. “So, a CEO, you said…”
After breakfast and a little more chatting, Jaz decided to go down for a nap. Apparently making a tiny human was a tough, tiring process, and she needed a little bit of rest. I wasn’t going to complain about a little bit more alone time with Danica.
We made our way into the living room and curled up on the couch together. Danica flipped on the TV, and we went through her DVR, finding things that she liked to watch and seeing where the common ground was.
