Chapter Three

By the time she left the two women Jill was exhausted. She was going to have to spend hours reserved for sleeping working on the 'minor' corrections. But she pushed that out of her head for the time being. She and Eddie had an actual date tonight.

Since Eddie was held with a higher respect than many of the guardians at Court when Jill needed to leave the grounds he was usually the one to accompany her. Thankfully no one ever seemed to notice her errands usually needed to be run around dinner (date) time.

She quickly showered and changed. She was just finishing up her hair and makeup when Eddie arrived. "Let me just get my bag," she said. She also grabbed her portfolio. Tonight they were going out under the guise of needing beading for the dresses she was working on. As if Ellen would ever agree to something so flashy.

Once they were safely outside the confines of Court Jill unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted closer to Eddie.

"Hey," Eddie said. "Just because we're not actually out on official business doesn't mean I'm not supposed to return you in one piece."

"You drive slower than someone's grandpa. I'm sure I'll be fine," Jill reasoned.

"Pocket," he warned her and she begrudgingly got back into her seat and buckled up. Eddie released one hand from the steering wheel and slid it into hers.

She squeezed his hand and smiled. "So where are we going?" she asked him.

"Where are we supposed to be going?" he replied.

"That funky little bead store downtown. I already called in my order so all we have to do is pick it up," Jill explained.

"Okay, well…there's that sub shop near there," Eddie replied. Jill crinkled up her nose and shook her head. "Italian?" he tried again.

"That sounds good," she agreed. Avantis gave off a much more romantic vibe than Jimmy Johns.

They talked about this and that along the short (too short) drive. Eddie dropped Jill off in front of the shop while he went to find a parking spot. She ducked inside, picked up her order, and met him in front of the restaurant.

"How is Sydney feeling?" he asked once they were settled in their booth.

"Tired…crazy," Jill said. "She wants me to take yoga with her."

"Is that safe for her to do?" he asked as he brought up his water glass to his lips and sipped.

"It's a class designed for pregnant women," she explained as she looked over the menu.

A steady stream of water flew out of Eddie's mouth and hit Jill between the eyes. "Pregnant women?" he gasped.

"Ew, Eddie…were you raised in a barn?" Jill exclaimed and dabbed her face with her napkin.

"Jill!" he said, clearly exasperated.

"I'm not pregnant," she hissed. "I'm going for moral support." She set down her napkin.

"Oh, thank god…" he said as he let out a sigh of relief.

Jill rolled her eyes. "Thank you for letting me know where you stand on the topic," she huffed.

"I didn't mean…" Eddie stammered.

"Don't worry about it," Jill replied. "Let's just enjoy our precious time together. God only knows when you'll allow me to see you again."

xxx

"And then I told him God only knows when you'll allow me to see you again," Jill said to Adrian. "Then I left," she added.

"Did you throw a glass of water in his face too?" Adrian teased her. "Because I'm trying to picture this in my head and the water makes it all the more dramatic."

"This isn't a movie…it's my life!" she huffed.

"Calm down, Jailbait," Adrian said with a chuckle. "You guys fight all the time and you always make up."

Jill bit on the skin around her thumb. "Maybe I'm tired of fighting," she said.

"But then how would I get my weekly fix of live entertainment?" he asked. "Come on…I want you to see the nursery. I'm almost done with the mural," Adrian said. He got up to his feet and Jill followed him down the hall.

She tilted her head to better examine the tiger bearing his teeth that Adrian had painted onto the wall near the window. "Isn't he kind of scary?"

"He's smiling!" Adrian insisted.

"Yeah, he's smiling because he's going to eat you," Jill snickered.

"You have no vision," he huffed.

"Vision," she said with a snort as she looked around at the brightly painted jungle theme. "If I have to hear Ellen Conta say vision one more time I'm going to scream."

"I'm guessing the job isn't going well?" he mused.

"The parts where I'm working on the dresses by myself are fine," Jill said. "But when I'm actually with her…not so great."

"I thought Camille was the bride," Adrian said.

"In name only," Jill said. "Ellen is making all the important decisions. Wait, that's not true. She wouldn't even let Camille pick out the napkins. Ellen is making all the decisions." She flinched when her cell phone buzzed. She looked down at the screen. "Eddie," she reported with a huff. "Hello?" she said crisply into the phone.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked her.

"I'm not happy with you," she replied. She stepped out of the nursery and into the hallway.

"Can I make it up to you?" he asked.

"Want to meet me at Lissa's office?" she replied.

"I was thinking more along the lines of dinner at my place," he clarified. "I can cook. Please, Pocket."

Jill felt her resolve weakening. Yeah, this was exactly why she was stuck. She couldn't put all the blame on Eddie. This was half her own fault. "I have a meeting with Ellen and Camille," she said just to stall the inevitable giving in she was about to do. "But yeah…I'll come over after that."

"Great," Eddie replied. "I love you."

"Love you too," Jill said and ended the call.

Adrian stood in the doorway and shook his head. "You're your own worst enemy, Jailbait," he said.

"Don't I know it," she said with a groan.