Chapter 6:
'Cut through the heart, cold and clear.
Strike for love and strike for fear.
There's beauty and there's danger here
Split the ice apart
Beware the frozen heart'
The next morning, Allie woke up nestled in her cozy king sized bed. She laid there for several moments and groaned at the thought of getting up. Deciding that it was a losing battle, she hauled herself out of bed and headed for the kitchen to get herself kick started with some coffee.
Walking into the kitchen she began to busy herself putting the coffee on. Glancing out the kitchen window, she saw that they had been hit hard by snow. There was still a steady fall of snow coming down, but it looked like the city was attempting to clear the roads.
"Morning."
"Bah!" She yelled in surprise at the voice that sounded behind. She spun quickly and slapped a hand over her rapidly beating heart. She was met with the startled and annoyed look of a still groggy Jon.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked in a snippy tone, scratching tiredly at his bed head.
"Sorry," Allie said, breathing a sigh of relief as her heart rate slowed down. "I forgot you were here."
"You forgot you had a house guest?" He grumbled at her in disbelief as he moved towards the coffee pot. "That's real nice."
"Hey!" She snapped back. Now that the initial shock was gone, she was starting to feel her own annoyance set in. "I said I was sorry. I'm not use to having house guests."
She watched as he merely grumbled and started rooting in the cupboards for a mug. Normally she would have spoken up about the intrusion, but she didn't feel like pushing him any further. His grumpiness amused her, especially when her friends had always told her she was a bear in the morning. "You're awfully grumpy first thing in the morning."
"Only when my host screams in terror at my presence and doesn't have coffee already made," he snipped, finally finding the correct cupboard and pulling a mug out.
Turning back towards Allie they locked eyes and Jon felt his frustration diminish when he saw her smirking at him. "The coffee is decently brewed so you should be able to get a cup out of it. I'll go shower while it finishes."
Jon watched as she left the kitchen and heaved a frustrated sigh at himself. He didn't have to be such a prick, but he just wasn't much of a morning person. After pouring himself some coffee and taking a long pull of it, he walked over to inspect the contents of the refrigerator.
A little while later, Allie emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and cozy in her grey sweatpants, white tshirt, and black cardigan. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and her black fuzzy socks were keeping her feet warm.
As she walked down the hall, the smell of food hit her and she pulled her eyebrows together in confusion. As she got closer to the kitchen, she heard voices coming from inside and rolled her eyes before stepping into the room.
She rolled her eyes when she saw Steph and Sami sitting at the kitchen island. They were talking animatedly with Jon, while he seemed to be busy at the stove.
Steph turned to her and smiled when she walked further into the kitchen and walked up to the island. "We came over to see how you guys were and Jon invited us to stay for breakfast."
"How nice," Allie replied jokingly, rolling her eyes again. She moved around the counter towards Jon, when he turned slightly to face her. She peeked into the pan in front of him and saw that he was currently pushing scrambled eggs around. "Smells good."
"Hope you don't mind," Jon answered with a smile, as he pulled the lid off another pan, revealing fried potatoes. "Thought I'd whip up some breakfast to thank you for your hospitality."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Allie smiled genuinely at him. The smile got bigger when she saw the plate of bacon sitting off to the side and quickly snatched a piece. Jon laughed, as she gobbled the piece up and turned to pick up a cup of coffee that was sitting next to him on the counter.
"I seem to find myself apologizing to you a lot," Jon smirked, as he handed her the cup of coffee. "Sorry for being a bear this morning. I didn't mean to bark at you."
Allie chuckled and accepted the coffee with a smile. "You're forgiven. I'm not always the friendliest person in the morning either."
"That's for damn sure," she heard Sami murmur to himself, earning a glare from her. "What? You aren't."
"Shut up, Sami," Allie shot at him as she moved towards him and gave him a gentle shove. The move earned her a shove back and soon the two pushing, poking, and slapping each other like adolescent siblings.
Jon watched the interaction with great amusement until Steph broke it up with a loud whistle. The other two quickly stopped and separated with playful glares at each other.
Allie moved back over towards Jon, making a beeline for the bacon, but found her hand getting tapped lightly by the spatula in his hand. She gave him a raised eyebrow and went to reach again, only for her hand to be swatted again. "Knock it off."
"You knock it off and wait for breakfast," Jon scolded playfully, shaking the spatula at her. Allie huffed and murmured about it being her bacon, before folding her arms over her chest. "You could help and grab plates and silverware."
Allie huffed again, before spinning on her heel and walking towards a cupboard by the sink. Jon shook his head with a smile, before turning back to the stove and finishing the eggs.
When Allie returned with the plates, she helped Jon to plate all the food. Handing Steph and Sami their plates, the four of them then went into the dining room to enjoy their breakfast.
Halfway through breakfast, Allie turned to Jon with a smile. "Breakfast is delicious Jonathan. Thank you."
"My pleasure. And, it's Jon," he answered, returning the smile. "I love breakfast food and have always enjoyed especially on cold winter mornings."
"You know Jon," Steph spoke up, gaining their attention. "We were going to walk around the city today. The plan was to go look at the store front Christmas windows and go skating in the park. You should come with us."
"Steph," Allie cut in before Jon could answer, giving her a small glare. "I'm sure Jonathan has better things to do, especially seeing as he got stuck here all night."
"Actually," Jon spoke up, rolling his eyes at Allie's reluctance to call him Jon. "I really don't have any plans. If you don't mind the extra company, I'd really like to join you. That sounds like fun."
Allie merely nodded, not really knowing what to say. As much as she wanted to think positively about Jon joining them, she couldn't help but be hesitant. She still didn't really know him and felt as if the outing might be awkward. But she promised to give him a chance and even though she didn't trust him, she wouldn't go back on her word.
After breakfast, Sami and Steph helped clean up before heading back to their apartment to get ready for the outing. Jon had gone to take a shower after breakfast, after Allie and the others insisted on doing dishes since he had done the cooking.
Once Allie had finished putting away the last of the dishes, she headed to laundry room to retrieve Jon's clothes from the dryer. She had sent them through a quick tumbling cycle to remove any wrinkles that may have set in when they forgot to remove them last night.
Gathering them up, she quickly folded them, before walking down the hall towards the bathroom. Seeing the door was shut, she assumed Jon was still in there, even though the water wasn't running.
Knocking lightly on the door, she waited for a response. However the one that greeted her when the door swung open was not what she had been expecting.
Standing before her, clad in nothing but a towel, was Jon. Beads of water ran down his chiseled and muscular form, while his hair was slicked back out of his face. Allie felt her face flush and her eyes widen, before she quickly thrusted his clothes into his arms.
"Here you go," she said, her voice laced with nervousness as she tried her hardest to keep her eyes locked on Jon's and to not let them drift down. "They finished drying, so I got them out and folded them and brought them to you. So, here they are. You'll probably feel more comfortable in your own clothes. Not that Sami clothes aren't comfortable, because I'm sure they are. Not that I would know cuz I've never worn them. Steph probably has, because they're dating and all, but I haven't. So go ahead and get dressed and I'll go do the same and I'll meet you in the living room. When we're both fully clothed..."
Before Jon could respond, Allie turned and made a beeline for her room. Quickly shutting the door behind her, she never saw the amused smile on Jon's face as he watched her walk away.
As she got dressed, Allie couldn't help but berate herself for how awkward and ridiculous she acted in front of Jon. For the love of god, it wasn't the first time she'd seen a half naked man. Although, it had been quite sometime, but that was beside the point. She acted like an idiot and now he probably thought she was a childish little girl.
Not that she should care, because her feelings towards the man were still hesitant and the last thing she needed was to give him any amo to use against her. Shaking her head, she finished getting ready and then moved out of her room to meet Jon.
He greeted her with a pleasant smile. Nothing about it told her that he was being arrogant or smug about their encounter. She internally sighed in relief. "Ready to go?"
"Yep," she nodded, moving to grab her purse, phone and keys. When she turned back towards him, he was standing close to her with the envelope that he had shown up with last night, in his hands.
"You never got the chance to open this," he said handing her the envelope.
Allie looked at him inquisitively for moment before eyeing the envelope. Deciding to humor him, she ripped it envelope open and pulled out two tickets. Turning them so she could read them properly she couldn't help the beaming smile that spread across her face.
"A Christmas Carol?" she asked him excitedly, earning a relieved smile from him. "This is my favorite Christmas show."
"I'm glad," Jon chuckled, admitting silently to himself how pretty her smile was. "I was really worried you were going to hate it."
"No, its great!" She exclaimed, staring back down at the tickets. The smile dropping from her face slightly, turning serious. "But you really didn't need to do this."
"Please, just take them and enjoy it," he smiled kindly. "It's only a minor part of my attempt to get back in your good graces."
Allie's smile returned to her face with full force. "Thank you."
"Thank you for letting me crash here," Jon answered. "And for giving me another chance, even though I don't deserve it."
Allie simply smiled and nodded at him, before the two headed for the door and made their way to meet Steph and Sami.
A little while later, Allie and Jon were following behind a bickering Steph and Sami as they decided where they would head next. The group had just finished looking at the store fronts, and while Sami was ready to hit the skating rink, Steph wanted to stop by the shop to check on things.
"It's our day off together," Sami grumbled, while his fingers were laced with his girlfriend's. "I don't want to go there and then we somehow get roped into working. Can't we just have a shop free day?"
"I don't want to stay long," Steph disagreed. "I just want to make sure AJ's doing ok. This is the first time she's been there without you, me or Nattie."
"She has our numbers," Sami argued back. "If she needs us, she'll call. I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Is this a regular thing with them?" Jon asked Allie with a chuckle as they continued to listen to the couple bicker.
"This is what happens when two head strong people are in a relationship and one of them owns a business," Allie shared his amusement. "Utter chaos."
Jon chuckled again as he and Allie began to fall back from the other two. "So what would you like to do?"
"I really want to go skating," Allie shrugged. "But I just go with the flow."
"Then let's go skating," Jon answered, motioning with his head in the direction of the rink. "I'll go with you. They can catch up if they want to join."
Allie bit her lip and gave some thought to it. The last time she was out in public alone with Jon, it hadn't ended well for her. She didn't know how comfortable she was with going with him alone. However, she also didn't want to spend forever at the shop if Steph managed to get her way.
"Hey," Steph called to them, getting both of their attention. "We're gonna swing by the shop real quick before the rink."
Allie glanced at Jon, before turning back to Steph. "You know, I think we're just gonna head to the rink. We'll meet you guys there."
"Oh," Steph said slightly surprised, glancing between the two for a moment. "Ok. We'll see you in a little while."
With that, the group separated and Allie and Jon made their way towards the skating rink.
"So are you much of a skater?" Allie asked as they walked into the park.
"No," Jon responded with a shake of his head. "I thought I'd just watch and be the designated holder of the hot chocolate."
"Oh, no," Allie smirked, stopping and spinning towards him. "If you're coming with me, you're skating."
"I haven't skated since I was a kid," Jon groaned, as he nudged her with his elbow to keep walking. "I really have no idea how."
"You'll be a pro by the time we're done," she said, earning an playful eye roll from Jon.
"Come on," she said tugging him along as they reached the rink. "Let's get you some skates."
"This is payback isn't it?" Jon asked asked later, sitting in the middle of the rink after landing on his ass for the 7th time in 15 minutes. "I feel like this is your way of getting back at me. Public humiliation and not being able to sit for a week after this is just your way of torturing me."
Allie laughed as she sat down next to him. "I think you're getting better." She laughed again at the raised eyebrow and mock snarl he shot at her. "Oh stop it. Your butt numbed after the first 5 times you fell."
"I look stupid," Jon pouted.
"Everyone looks stupid when they're learning how to skate," Allie said, then shot him a devilish smile. "Of course everyone's usually a kid when they learn."
"I told you I didn't know how," Jon scoffed at her, then groaned as he slowly and clumsily got to his feet. Turning back to Allie, he held a hand out to her and pulled her up to her feet, almost wiping out in the process. "You are so buying the hot chocolate after this."
Allie giggled, before taking his hands and guiding him slowly along the center of the rink. They hadn't made it far when a little boy, no more than five, sped over and ducked under their joined hands with a grin. When he came back around a second time, he accidentally bumped into Jon. Though it was a light bump, it was enough for Jon to lose his footing and fell back to ice, taking Allie with him.
Allie was in a fit of laughter, while laying on top of Jon. Rolling off him, she looked over at him and he groaned yet again in frustration. "Have you tortured me enough now? Can we please take a break?"
"Alright, Scrooge," Allie said standing up, helping Jon when she was upright. "Come on. I'll buy you a hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll."
"Thank god," he answered with relief as they made their way to the end of the rink.
Later that night, Jon was waking down the hallway of his apartment building with a smile on his face. He had thoroughly enjoyed his time with Allie and couldn't believe how much fun she was.
As he reached his apartment, he saw Renee standing in front of his door and the smile dropped from his face.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as he stepped in front of her.
"I just wanted to stop by and see how your end of the bet was going," she said with a bright smile.
He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Look, I'm canceling the bet. I decided not to go through with it."
"What? Why?" She asked with a disappointed look of surprise on her face.
"Because, Allie doesn't deserve this," he said feeling defensive. "She's a really cool girl and she busts her ass. She doesn't need assholes like us giving her a hard time just because we have nothing better to do than torture an innocent person who's never done anything to us."
"Oh please Jon," Renee scoffed in annoyance. "I'm sick of her holier than thou attitude around the office. She thinks just because she's favored by the bosses that she's better than us."
"She doesn't think that at all," Jon defended. His anger was getting the better of him. "And she sure as hell doesn't act like that."
"You like her," Renee stated disgusted, giving him angry glare.
"She's my friend and I'm not going to do anything more to hurt her," Jon roared, before lowering his voice into a menacing tone. "Leave her alone, Renee. If you don't you'll have Joe, Colby, and me to deal with." He stepped up into her face. "So, back off."
Renee took a step back and moved around him. "You're gonna regret this Jon. You and your little 'girlfriend' are going to pay for this."
"Go home, Renee," Jon barked as he opened the door to his apartment. "And take your empty threats with you." With that he stepped inside and slammed the door.