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You can tell by watching her that she’s never done anything like this before. How she holds the pan and has to fight with the spatula to get it under the egg scream lack of experience. I know because that was us when we were younger, but she doesn’t give up.
After a few more seconds of struggling and a few muttered curse words, she lets out a cheer so full of happiness it pulls a smile to my face. She puts her arms up and jumps around, seemingly more than pleased with herself.
My eyes go to Rick, who stands a few steps away with his back resting on the counter as he watches her. I feel my eyebrows shoot up, shocked by the smile on his face.
It’s not that Rick never smiles, I mean, he’s an ass, but he’s not that bad. It’s just uncommon for him to smile with someone new. Someone who isn’t us, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look at any woman like he’s looking at her now. So we keep our circle tight because it keeps the people around us alive. If we don’t make connections outside of us, we don’t have to worry about people being targeted to get to us.
Jade moves around again as she slides the egg onto a plate, and Rick reaches over and shuts the burner off when it becomes apparent she won't be.
“I did it. I did it!!” Jade’s voice fills the kitchen as she rejoices over something so simple, something we take for granted every day.
Zander steps beside me, making me realize how close I was watching them. Zander is typically quiet, damn near a ninja when he needs to be, but he usually can’t sneak up on us. We know him too well.
He looks at them, and I see his lips tip up in a grin as he watches her. Not that I’m shocked by that. He’s been all but taken with her from the moment he opened that damn hole in the ground and jumped down to save her. I hope for his sake she’s not bad news. Rick and I can handle disappointment better than he can.
I turn my attention to Jade as Zander walks into the room, and I push off the wall to follow. Just as we both enter, Jade launches herself into Rick’s arms. Judging by his wide eyes, he wasn’t expecting it. He turns his head towards us, and I see the worry on his face. For a split second, I think he will shove her away.
Before he can decide, she releases him and steps away. I see his brow crease in confusion, and it’s almost funny to see him like this. She beams up at him, and just like in the hallway, this smile is genuine, and it disarms Rick the same way it did to me.
“Thank you so much!” She all but squeals in excitement.
“Damn, if I had known teaching you how to cook eggs would get that kind of treatment, I would have been the first one in the kitchen this morning.” Zander says as he walks to the coffee pot and pours himself a cup. Taking it back to the breakfast bar, smiling at her when he passes.
I swear both Rick and Jade’s cheeks redden at his comment, but I don’t say anything as I take my own seat next to Zander, clapping him upside the head as I sit.
“That’s a damn lie, and we all know it. Waking you up in the morning is harder than summoning a demon most days.” I tell him, and he shoots me a glare before shrugging as if it’s no big deal, returning his attention to his coffee.
“I’m pretty sure I smelt bacon.” Zander says to nobody in particular, and I huff because, of course.
I go to tell him to make his own food if he’s so damn hungry, but before I can, a plate slides in front of him with two slices of bacon and a single egg. His eyebrows climb damn near to his hairline as he looks down at the plate and then up to meet Jade’s gaze as she stands across the counter from him.
“Don’t worry, Roderick made the bacon, so I didn’t mess it up.” She smiles up at him, and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t look at her like she hung the stars. If he wasn’t in love with her before, he sure as fuck is now. There aren’t many things Zander loves more in life than food, his knife, and his family, and she just served him one of his favorite meals.
“Thanks, Doll, but I can’t eat this. You just busted your ass on this egg. You should get to enjoy it.” He slides the plate back towards her.
My eyes snap up to meet Rick's as he also stares in disbelief; Zander never gives up food. The fact is lost on Jade as she doesn’t know him like we do, and doesn’t know his past.
“Trust me, I’m fine. Rick already made me an egg, and I snagged some bacon when I was burning my second attempt at an egg.” Her face twists up in confusion, and she turns to Rick. “Or was it my third?”
He shrugs at her as if he has no clue, and she turns back to Zander.
“Well, anyways, I already ate. Rick just thought it would be a good idea if I knew how to cook something for myself should I decide to eat more than just cereal, and I would hate for a perfectly good egg to go to waste.” She slides the plate back to Zander, and this time he picks up the fork she had given him the first time and digs in.
The food is gone in seconds, and Jade's smile grows with every bite he takes until I worry it might split her face. As soon as he’s finished, she takes the plate and puts it in the sink before she moves around and cleans up everything else they pulled out.
Zander claps his hands together after he finishes the last of his coffee.
“Alright, boss man, what’s on the schedule for today.” He says to Rick, and I can’t help but roll my eyes at his nickname. He gives most people nicknames, but the ones he has for Rick and me are by far the most annoying, which I’m sure he does on purpose. I don’t even know if he realizes he already has one for Jade. Sometimes I think they just fall out of his mouth without permission from his brain.
He once called one of our teachers in high school Bitchy Betty, and got a detention for it. When we asked what happened, he swore he had no idea. We didn’t know until Clair got the call to explain that he would be late coming home from school that day.
“We’re going to help Jade settle since someone so helpfully decided to volunteer our services.” Rick cuts a glare at Zander, but it lacks the usual heat, and I know he’s just giving him a hard time. We didn’t have anything planned today anyways. Zander just shrugs at him as if to say he’s not sorry.
“Oh, you don’t have to. It’s not a big deal. I’m used to surviving much worse than this, I assure you.” Jade tells us as she hops up on the counter, her legs dangling off like a child. Her words are understanding and honest as far as I can tell, but they rub me wrong thinking about anyone living like that.
“Nah, if the boss says it’s all good, then it's all good, Doll. Trust me. He wouldn’t help if he didn’t want to. But what do we get for helping you out?” He wags his brows at her playfully but judging by the look on her face; his teasing doesn’t land.
“Um, I could fuck you if that would make it even?” She responds in a completely neutral tone, as if they are simply talking about the weather. I thank every god in existence none of us had a drink in our mouth because I know, without a doubt, it would have been sprayed across the counter if we did. There’s no question about it now; the joke definitely didn’t land.
