Chapter Forty-Two
John glanced over his shoulder, noticing that the black car was no longer following them. Relief flooded over him as he opened the door to the house, noticing the warm scent of something sweet baking in the oven. "What's going on in here?" He chuckled, placing Amelia's new things on the table on his way into the kitchen. "Holy shit." He took in the sight of flower and sugar dusting the entire kitchen, laughing when he saw Claire with cake batter in her hair. "Did the cake explode?"
She wrinkled her nose at him, licking the left-over batter out of the bowl she was sharing with Jim, Dominic, and Cody. "No. Your cousin wanted to help and spilled the flower and sugar because Jim wanted to start bugging us."
John smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing his lips to hers, tasting the batter on her lips. "Mmm!" He smiled, licking his lips as they separated. "Is that Almond extract?" He asked, swiping his finger over the side of the bowl.
She giggled, lifting Amelia up and letting her taste the mix. "I didn't think you liked almonds." She smirked, remembering how he always ate the Mounds bars and avoided the Almond Joys.
He shrugged, whipping his batter-covered finger on Amelia's nose before sticking it in his mouth again. "I just like dark chocolate better." He swiped his finger around the bowl again, letting Claire suck the liquid cake off of it this time. "Damn Sweets." He chuckled, feeling her scrape the last of the batter off with her teeth. "Don't take my finger off."
She smiled, leaning over to kiss him, licking his lips free of cake before letting him do the same. "I like cake." She whispered, letting Amelia sit on the counter.
Dominic chuckled, ignoring John's glare. "It looks like you like-"
John flung some batter on him, hitting him square in the face. "Shut up."
Dominic wiped the batter from his nose, popping it into his mouth. "I was gonna say she likes John too."
John nodded sarcastically. "Sure, you were." He turned to Claire, rubbing the yellow cake from her hair. "What's the occasion?"
She smiled, jumping as Amelia sneezed. "It's Allison's birthday tomorrow." She handed the child a tissue, holding it as she blew her nose. "Are you getting sick?" She asked, tossing the tissue in the trash.
Dominic jumped back from the kid, holding his hands up as if he was being held at gun point. "I'm out!" He announced, walking out of the room. "I'm not getting sick!"
John rolled his eyes, pressing his hand to Amelia's head to feel her temperature. "Germ-a-phobe!" He shouted, scooping Amelia awkwardly onto his hip to take her upstairs. "You need to rest." He stated, rubbing his thumb over her forehead as he set her on her bed.
She looked up at him, the fact that she didn't feel good clear on her face. "Am I gonna be sick like you were?" She asked, afraid of bouncing around like John sometimes did.
He shook his head, sitting on the bed with her. "No. I was a different kind of sick." He lifted her blanket over her small body, rubbing her back as she groaned from her aches. "Do you want me to sing?" He asked, smiling as she nodded. "What should I sing?"
"Jessie's Girl." She whimpered, letting John pull her shoes off followed by her jacket.
"Alright." He smiled, already thinking of a way to personalize the song. "Johnny is a friend, yeah
I know he's been a good friend of mine But lately something's changed that ain't hard to define Johnny's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine And she's watching him with those eyes And she's loving him with that body, I just know it Yeah 'n' he's holding her in his arms late, late at night you know I wish that I had Johnny's girl I wish that I had Johnny's girl Where can I find a woman like that I play along with the charade There doesn't seem to be a reason to change You know, I feel so dirty when they start talking cute I wanna tell her that I love her But the point is probably moot 'Cause she's watching him with those eyes And she's loving him with that body, I just know it And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night You know I wish that I had Johnny's girl I wish that I had Johnny's girl Where can I find a woman like that Like Johnny's girl I wish that I had Johnny's girl Where can I find a woman Where can I find a woman like that And I'm looking in the mirror all the time Wondering what she don't see in me I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines Ain't that the way love supposed to be Tell me, where can I find a woman like that you know, I wish that I had Johnny's girl I wish that I had Johnny's girl I want Johnny's girl Where can I find a woman like that Like Johnny's girl I wish that I had Johnny's girl I want, I want Johnny's girl."
Amelia smiled, letting John rub her cheek as he sang. "That's the wrong words."
He chuckled, pressing his lips to her warm head. "I changed them." He looked up as he heard the floor creek, smiling as he saw Mary in the doorway. "She doesn't feel good."
Mary nodded, handing him a glass of water and giving Amelia a spoonful of cold medicine. "I heard that."
John downed the water in one go, handing the glass back to Mary as he fussed over the child. "You want me to go get your books?"
Mary looked up at him, smiling as she realized why they'd disappeared. "Did you buy her more books?" She asked.
"Yep." He walked down the stairs, returning a few moment's later with the giant bag of toys and books.
Mary's brows jumped as he started pulling stuff out and handing them to her. "John… this is more than fifty dollars of stuff…" She looked up at the young man, her question clear. "Did you use the money you were saving for Claire's ring?"
He shrugged, smiling as the kid held her millions of stuffed animals close. "I figured I can get a job to pay for Claire's ring, instead of going through the couch cushions."
Mary shook her head, patting his knee as she saw his eyes become an even richer brown with his love for Amelia. "Your eyes are so expressive." She smiled, cupping his jaw in her hand. "They change color with your emotions."
He blinked, his long lashes fanning over his cheeks. "It used to get me in a lot of trouble." He stated, remembering how if his dad saw the yellow fear in his eyes he would use it against him in any way possible. "That's why I've never liked them."
Amelia coughed, catching John's attention from her mother. "I like your eyes." She mumbled, looking up at him. "They're brown like chocolate, and I like chocolate."
John chuckled, handing her a tissue. "Well, thanks kid."
Claire leaned against the doorframe, smiling at her man. "I like them because they're yours." She pushed away from the door, walking over to kiss him. "I can't see you with any other eyes."
John leaned into her kiss, nipping at her lips as she placed her hands on the back of his neck. "Thank you, Sweets." He breathed, wrapping his unbroken fingers around her thigh as he leaned his head against her stomach. "I love you."
She smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "I love you too, you idiot."