APRIL
"Happy Easter, baby."
Jackson and I had been married just shy of two months now, and it's the first holiday that we get to spend together as a married couple. The sound of rain outside didn't surprise me – holiday or not, it was still Seattle, and there was nothing that Seattle loved more than overcast skies and rain.
Of course, even if it's our first celebration of the holiday as a couple, I had known Jackson for years already. I knew that his version of Easter probably just meant indulgence in chocolate and fond memories of Easter egg hunts that he had participated in as a child.
My own existed on the opposite end of the spectrum. Sure, my mom had always put together little Easter egg baskets for me and my sisters as kids, usually filled with chocolate and a new pair of socks or some other necessity. Toothbrushes hadn't been an uncommon item, either. But the most important part of our holiday had always been waking up early to go to a Church service that day, and then prioritize the fun and social gatherings for afterward (with church friends, of course). Some similarities, sure, but I knew this day was nothing more than a commercialized holiday to Jackson. There was nothing about God or rising from the dead.
"Good morning, babe," he greeted me. I bent over to place a quick kiss on his lips but instead, his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me over and on top of his frame. Not a complaint from me, however, eagerly returning the passionate kiss he had to offer.
We don't break until my lungs are burning for air again, and his next comment has me laughing before I get the chance to fill them back up again. "Does Easter mean we have a free excuse to go at it like bunnies?"
"You know that's not what it means." I stick out my tongue at him for only a minute, placing a quick kiss on his bottom lip. "But maybe," I smirked.
"I can work with that," Jackson said as he ran his hands over my sides.
"I have to get up and get ready for church," I reminded him, placing my hands down on his chest and sitting back so that I'm on top of his list. "I'm not going to go to church with your cum inside of me," I said with a pointed raise of my eyebrows, already shaking my head a little bit.
"Then I can pull out," he replied without hesitation.
I rolled my eyes instantly and bent down to place another quick kiss on his lips before rolling off of him and out of bed before he can tempt me to stay for any longer. I like to dress up for church and look nice when I can. Even if I go to chapel in scrubs, when I go properly, I always put on something nice. "You could always come with me, you know," I suggested even though I knew he wouldn't actually take the bait.
"How about… I drop you off and pick you up after, then the two of us go get brunch together?" He countered with a raise of his eyebrows, sitting up in bed and stretching out.
"You're not going to sit in the parking lot on your phone, are you?" I questioned him, digging through my underwear drawer to pull out a seamless pair of panties and nude bra. I changed in front of him, smiling to myself about the way that he shamelessly stared at me. He's good at making me feel wanted.
"No," he chuckled. "I've heard you complain about the parking lot there. I'll find something to do, don't worry about me. But you might want to get dressed before I pull you back into bed again."
I smile at him for a moment before disappearing into the closet to slip into the dress that I'd already picked out for today. It was mostly white, but from the ribcages down, splashes of color in the form of different flowers decorated. It was a modest length and fit and paired well with a pair of nude heels.
"Well, I like your idea." I chimed as I stepped out of the closet, glancing at myself in front of the mirror and smoothing over the fabric of my dress before moving to the bathroom. He got up and joined me after a moment, beginning to brush his teeth. "I'm guessing you want waffles?"
"Mmhm," Jackson muttered.
We danced around the two of each other to get ready, and he ends up waiting for me, of course. I take my time with getting my hair into long and loose curls, spending more time on it than I do with makeup. I'd never bothered to put a lot of effort into makeup. A little foundation and concealer to brighten up my features and take away some of the exhaustion, preferring a mostly nude eyeshadow and mascara.
Checking the time on my phone, it's just about time to head out if I want to get a good seat for the early service. I find Jackson waiting for me on the sofa, scrolling through something on his phone.
"I'm ready to go. Are you?" I asked him.
"Mmhm." He answered without looking up.
I don't bug him about it, letting him drive and drop me off out front of the church. He stayed and watched me go in before driving away, and I find myself a seat near the front with one of the women from the Bible study group that I didn't go to nearly enough. I couldn't quite recall the last time I had been – but they usually met on Thursdays when I had to work, and they knew that I came when I could. They'd always been very accepting of the fact that I didn't have the most steady schedule.
The service goes by rather quickly. I do wish that Jackson was here with me, even if I knew that he didn't believe in God or have the same kind of faith that I did. I wanted him to, but I would never force it upon him.
Real faith meant making the decision for yourself, not because of someone else.
But I don't let the thoughts bring down the attitude throughout the ceremony. I went to a nice Presbyterian church and they always held spectacular ceremonies and choir performances for the different holidays. Easter was no different. They were good at going a bit over the top.
Once it came to its conclusion, I linger among the pews and make simple conversation with some of the other couples around me. Of course, there are questions about where my husband is – they take note of the gorgeous, big ring that I wore on my finger to symbolize my marriage to Jackson. I try to dodge the question as best that I can, even if it does sting a little bit to not have him by my side the way that everyone else did. It was something that I would get used to, though. I had to remind myself not to base myself off of what others thought.
My phone buzzed with a text from Jackson to let me know that he was outside and I smiled to myself, giving them all goodbyes before going out to find him. It only took a moment to spot his car and promptly climb into the passenger's seat.
"Hi baby," I greeted him.
"How was the service?" He asked politely.
"It was good," I answered. "Melissa and her husband both asked how you were doing. She loves to hear about you spoiling me, always tries to use it as an excuse to drop hints to Jim about it," I let him know with a small laugh. "They're nice people. I think you'd like them." I added.
He looked at me for a moment, smiling before beginning to drive down the block for our favorite brunch place. "Maybe we can have them over some night. We could use some married friends that we don't actually work with," Jackson suggested.
"Yeah, we do," I chuckled. "I love Callie and Arizona. And Meredith and Derek. But sometimes, I just want to hang out with normal, other people. We hear the same stories every day and all day long." I remarked, shaking my head. "I don't know the last time I heard a story that wasn't about surgery, actually. Which we are equally guilty of, but still."
Our favorite place for brunch was Bacco Cafe down in Pike's Place. Parking there was always a nightmare to try and find, but we like to take the time and find it anyways. We both love the fresh juice that they had and the variety of flavors. When I'm feeling especially bougie, I'll order a Nutella Cafe Mocha. It's a little more expensive than what I probably would have gone to on my own, but it's become a special place for just the two of us.
To no surprise, the place is especially crowded given the holiday and the after church crowd combination. Church was always more crowded on holidays like Easter which meant that the popular bunch places were just as popular. But with the two of us, it's easy to get squeezed into a table. We make small talk and eat quickly, not wanting to linger too long in a crowded and noisy place. There are plenty of things to do today that don't require being out at a restaurant.
But by the time that we're pulling up to the parking spot in our building, I can tell that there's something else going on. He's got his leg jitter going. He only ever did that when he was excited and trying to hide it. I stare at him curiously for a moment before I blurted it out.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked, trying to play innocent.
"You're excited about something and you think that I can't see it." I turned my head to look at him, chewing on my lower lip for a moment. "I can see right through it, Jackson. You might as well just tell me what's going on."
He glanced over at me with a sly expression. "You'll see."
I stare at him for a moment longer before deciding to drop it temporarily, waiting until the car was parked to unbuckle and get out. It's a short walk to get inside the building and take the elevator up to our floor. I'm not expecting him to pause after unlocking the door and just barely pushing it open, but that's exactly what he does, turning toward me.
"Alright, don't overreact, okay?" He said with raised eyebrows.
My eyes widened. "Oh gosh, what did you do…" I muttered, pushing the door to swing open.
When the door's completely open, the apartment was in a different state than what the two of us had left in it. I didn't even have a clue how he had managed to pull all of this off without being late to pick me up from the church. There's an excess of Easter decorations all around, looking more like I had pulled it together than he did. After a long moment of blank staring, a smile finally broke across my features.
"I can't believe you did all of this!" I squealed out, tugging his arm excitedly as I stepped inside. "Jackson, this is amazing."
"Mhm," he hummed out confidently, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. "There may or may not be an Easter egg hunt set up around the house, too. I thought you might enjoy the challenge."
I turned toward him suddenly, my jaw dropped as I started up at him. "You didn't."
"Oh, yes I did."
I cupped his face and pulled him down toward me, sealing my lips on top of his with a firm kiss. "I love you." I reminded him with a broad grin. "You're going to time me and then I'm going to hide them again after and time you. Deal?"
"Deal." He chuckled easily, brushing hair back behind my ear.
"How many eggs are there?" I questioned, already beginning to scan the room.
"Twenty-four," he answered. Jackson then pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the clock app so he could start the timer. "You ready?" He asked, looking at me expectantly.
I nodded my head.
"Go."
Without hesitation, I quickly begin to tear through the living room looking for little colorful plastic eggs. I was making a complete mess, but it didn't matter. Cushions and pillows were moved around, checking behind picture frames and knick-knacks. I count out loud as I find each of them, moving to the kitchen afterward, the dining area. There's even one tucked inside of a wine glass much to my own amusement. It doesn't take long before I've found half of the eggs, then three-quarters. He gave me the courtesy of letting me know that there weren't any in the bathroom. Eventually, I'm down to just one egg left, scrambling through our dresser drawers.
Mumbling to myself, it's his sock drawer that I eventually find a wrapped box. Jackson had been following me from room to room as I hunted and looking all too amused, and his expression doesn't change when I glance back at him with it in hand. He wasn't stopping me, so…
I begin to tear off the wrapping paper and quickly open up the box, finding the last purple plastic egg inside of it. "Hah!" I called out, raising it up victoriously. "Too easy, Jackson. Too easy."
"Aren't you going to open it up and see what's inside?" He questioned with a raise of his brows.
I stared at him for only a moment before following what he said and twisting it open. A pair of earrings dropped down onto my lap. I picked them up to examine them further, realizing they're dangling crosses. "Oh, Jackson…" I breathed out quietly. For all the thoughts that I had about his lack of faith, he was encouraging me to show off my own. Accepting me. "Thank you."
Jackson had moved down next to me, his arm slung around my shoulders. "I saw those the other day and thought that you might like them." He explained. I leaned over, kissing him on the cheek.
"I do. I love them, Jackson. Thank you." I set them down on my lap for a moment, reaching up to my ears to pull out the gold studs that I currently had in. "Hold out your hand," I instructed him, waiting till he did so to drop the studs into them. I put in the new earrings immediately, tucking my hair behind my ears so that they were easy to see. "There we go."
"They look perfect," he murmured, cupping my chin affectionately.
"Now I feel bad. I didn't get you anything, I didn't think that you would want…" I trailed off, but he cut me off before I could continue down that line of thinking.
"All of the other eggs are filled with chocolates." He informed me.
"So what you're saying is you got yourself a present?" I raised my eyebrows.
Jackson grinned for a moment, bending his neck and pressing a sweet kiss on my lips. "Well, if we're being honest, I think that you could give me something even sweeter to eat." He pulled back, looking down at me with a smirk.
"You're so dirty," I shook my head.
"And you love it," he retorted without missing a beat. Before I could come up with another response, he leaned into me and began to press a series of kisses across my jaw and down onto the slope of my neck, sucking on the skin lightly and leaving me breathless.
"Oh, baby…" I breathed out quietly, lifting up my chin to give him better access to my neck. "That feels good."
Strong hands moved and grabbed me by the hips, picking me up off of the floor and lifting me just enough to toss me back onto our bed. Jackson was on top of me again in a moment, face tucked into my neck and taking full advantage of the position. He licked and sucked eagerly, not stopping until I was squirming beneath him.
The more that I moved beneath him, the more that he ground his hips down against me. I can begin to feel the outline of his erection weighted against me and it only turned me on further, wanting to feel him moving inside of me. He has a way of making me wet and needy unlike anything else in the world, and he damn well knew it, too. We're still in the honeymoon phase of being newlyweds, and this seemed to be his absolute favorite activity.
But before it can progress much further, there's the sound of our doorbell ringing that gets both of us pausing. Jackson pulled up, looking at me with wide eyes before beginning to pull away entirely. "Shit."
"What? Who's that? We didn't invite anyone over, did we?" I questioned, raising up to my elbows.
"I may have invited my mom over." He explained with a grimace.
"What?" My voice cracked.
Jackson ran his hand over his face and head, scratching the back of it as he spoke. "Yeah, she brought it up and I invited her over without even thinking about it. It just slipped my mind. Crap. She's probably thinking that you just got home from church."
"Jackson!" My eyes flew wide. "Our house– our house is a complete mess. I don't have anything prepared to eat and we already ate actually, and you have a stinkin' boner right now." I'm quickly getting up to my feet and smoothing out the dress, trying to make sure that I don't look like a complete mess in front of Catherine Avery. I'm not sure if I've won her over completely yet. "She can't come in. We have to go out to lunch. She's going to think that we're absolutely crazy if she sees any of this."
"Well, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that she already does…" he said as he got up.
"Not the time. You… take care of that." I gestured with my finger to the glaringly obvious boner. The last thing that either of us needed when his mother was standing outside our door. "I'm going to stall. But you need to hurry because you know how bad I am at stalling."
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, go."
I rush to the front door, not wanting to take any longer than what we already had. The last thing that I wanted to do was draw her suspicion any more than it already would be by stepping outside and not actually letting her in.
Swinging open the front door, I put on a bright smile. "Hi, Catherine! Happy Easter!" I stepped out and pulled the door shut behind me quickly, giving her a hug and quick kiss on the cheek.
"It's good to see you, April," she smiled before glancing at the door and raising her eyebrows. "Where's Jackson?"
"Oh! He's in the bathroom. He's uh, been having some stomach troubles this morning. Nothing big! He's just running a little behind schedule, that's all. He should be out in just a minute." I'm rambling more than I need to and I'm sure that Jackson is going to hate the excuse that I came up with, but I tag a smile on at the end of the words and hope that it sells it at least a little better. "I uh, I didn't get to cook because of it. So we're going out to lunch! I hope that's okay. I'll make it up to you some time."
"That sounds just fine." She said with a smile.
Before it could get any more awkward between the two of us, the front door opened once again and Jackson stepped out. I breathed out a sigh of relief, glancing down at his crotch and relieved to see that there's no evidence of what the two of us had been doing before. I send a silent thank you to God for that.
"Hi, Mom. Happy Easter," Jackson greeted and bent down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, baby." She smiled, patting his cheek affectionately.
"Let's go get some lunch, shall we?"