Cassandra awoke slowly to the sun shining bright through the window and the sound of birds chirping outside. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this refreshed in the morning. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table. The bright red numbers said that it was almost ten in the morning. No wonder she felt so rested. Cassandra wasn't normally one to sleep so late, but Baird had granted everyone a rare day off and Jacob must have let her sleep in.
Speaking of whom, where was her adorable dork of a boyfriend? Last she remembered, Cassandra had fallen asleep in his arms, feeling more peaceful than she ever had. Though they had been dating for a little while now, this whole spending the night at each other's house thing was still fairly new to them.
Cassandra stretched and crawled out of bed. She had yet to start keeping things at Jake's apartment, so instead of a robe she threw on one of his larger plaid button up's. It was the same shirt he had worn the day before and it still smelled like him, that manly mixture of leather and pine and something else that she couldn't describe as anything other than Jacob. She felt about as surrounded by him as she could get without his arms around her. Smiling at that thought, she padded down the hallway to see if she could find him.
She found him in the kitchen. He had thrown on sweats and a navy blue t-shirt, and had his head bowed over a small mixing bowl as he stirred the contents inside. This was certainly new, she had never seen Jake work his magic in the kitchen before. She smiled at the sight, and leaned against the doorframe to watch.
"How's a guy supposed to make his girlfriend breakfast in bed when she's out of bed and standing in the doorway like that?" Jake asked after a moment, his head still down as he stirred. He set the bowl down and looked up, eyes darkening when he saw her choice of outfit.
"I'm sorry," Cassandra said, making her way into the kitchen. She came up beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He turned towards her and returned the embrace, his arms settling around her waist.
"Darlin', if you're going to be showing up in my kitchen dressed like that then you ain't got nothin' to apologize for."
She smiled smugly at him. "This is a pleasant surprise. I didn't even know you could cook."
"Cookin's a form of art, Cassandra," he leaned closer, resting his forehead on hers. His voice deepened as he finished his thought. "And cooking for someone special is one of my favourite ways of sharing my art."
She smiled and pulled him down for a lingering kiss. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked when they finally broke apart.
"Oh, yeah," Jake reluctantly pulled away from her, though he did keep one arm around her waist. He reached over for the spoon he had been using to stir with when she first approached him. "Try this. Any good?"
He held the spoon up in front of Cassandra's mouth, a chunk of pinkish spread resting on it. She didn't bother to ask him what it was he was, whatever it was smelled amazing. She inched forward just enough to wrap her lips around the spoon and lick its contents off. She pulled away with a small moan of pleasure and her tongue darted out to lick the remains off her lips. She could feel Jake's eyes burning at her, so she drew out her reaction before finally looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
"That's definitely tasty," she grinned, partly because she was starting to realize just how good a cook her boyfriend was, and partly because she was proud of the particularly flustered look she had left on his face.
"Yeah? Not too sweet?" he sounded a little unsure, which Cassandra only found even more adorable. Not only was he an incredible cook, he was also modest.
"Try some, see for yourself," she shrugged.
Jake looked down at her for a brief second and smiled wickedly. Before Cassandra could ask him what he was thinking, he leaned down and captured her lips into another kiss, this one filled with way more passion than the one they shared previously. She let out a startled gasp, and Jake took advantage of the moment to slide his tongue into her mouth, sweeping it softly against hers. Then, as suddenly as the kiss had started, he pulled away. This time it was Cassandra's turn the be left flustered.
"You're right, tastes perfect," he said with a smug smile.
"Oh, you're evil," Cassandra smirked at him, then for the first time since entering the kitchen, turned towards the counter. "What are you making, anyways?"
Jake adjusted his position so that he was now behind her, both his arms around her waist again. "I am making you marionberry pancakes," he said proudly, his chin resting on her shoulder. "And I'm almost done. I just got to layer them with this cream cheese spread in between each one."
"What can I do to help?" Cassandra asked affectionately, angling her head to look at him.
"You," Jake turned her around in his arms and ran a hand through her hair. "can go right back to bed, missy. You're a distraction and if I don't finish soon these pancakes are gonna get cold."
Cassandra stuck out her bottom lip, something that Jacob always found adorable. He chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.
"Nuh uh," he shook his head when he pulled away. "That ain't gonna work on me today. You go get back into bed so that I can properly give you breakfast in bed like I intended to this mornin'."
Cassandra giggled and headed back down the hall. She crawled back under the covers and a couple minutes later Jake appeared in the doorway holding a breakfast tray. On it were two glasses of orange juice and a single plate with what had to be the most glorious stack of pancakes Cassandra had ever seen piled high onto it. Each layer had been frosted with the marionberry cream cheese Jake had had her try, and the top layer was dusted with small chunks of chocolate.
"Oh, Jacob!" she gasped as he set the tray down in front of her and crawled into bed beside her. There was only one plate, but the stack of pancakes he had made was more than enough for two.
Jake smiled proudly as he cut into the stack and offered Cassandra the first forkful. She took it eagerly, this time too hungry to bother teasing him.
"Oh, these really are wonderful," she beamed. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
"My mama taught me. Cooking was her art, it was the one thing we shared together," he said wistfully.
"I wish I could have had the chance to meet her," Cassandra said softly, taking the hand of Jake's that wasn't holding the fork and interlocking their fingers. "She sounds like an amazing woman."
"She was," Jake adverted his eyes for a second, trying to regain his composure during the emotional turn of their conversation. When he looked back at Cassandra his eyes were suddenly very serious and so full of love. "You're pretty amazing yourself, Cassie. You remind me a lot of her," he squeezed their hands together.
Cassandra smiled, her eyes watering with tears of joy. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," she whispered.
Jake set the fork down and gently wiped her tears away. "I have a hard time believing that. You deserve to be told how wonderful and amazing you are, Cassandra. You deserve to be told that every day." The hand that had wiped away her tears still rested on her cheek and he slid it around to cup the back of her head. He paused for a second, his gaze so full of affection that Cassandra's heart skipped a beat, then leaned in to kiss her.
It was another long, lingering kiss. Though still filled with passion, he was kissing her much slower than he had the previous time. They both tasted like berries and orange juice as they abandoned their actual pancakes and instead focused on pancake flavoured kisses. At one point Jake reluctantly pulled away just long enough to set the breakfast tray on the floor before it had the chance to find its way down there on its own. He also took that opportunity to pull off his t-shirt and then returned to Cassandra, desperately working away at the buttons of her (his) shirt while simultaneously leaving a trail of kisses down her neck.
The two took full advantage of their day off, wrapped up in each other's arms and only leaving the bed under absolute dyer circumstances. It wasn't until that evening that they finally left the bed more permanently, walking hand in hand to the kitchen so that Jake could once again show off his skills in the kitchen.