Warning:It's so fluffy I'm gonna die.
Pb&J
"What do you want for dinner honey?" Courtney asked Addison who was sitting a their kitchen island.
"Pb&j!" Courtney was a bit skeptical at her choice.
"For dinner?" Addie nodded indignantly.
"I guess it's okay for one night." Addison was going through a picky phase so if she actually wanted to eat something, Courtney wasn't going to fight her on it. You had to pick your battles.
Courtney opened a kitchen cabinet to look for the peanut butter. She raised up on her tip toes and saw a jar hiding all the way in the back of the cabinet. She strained her arm to reach to the back of the cabinet and when her fingertips finally brushed against it and she was able to grasp the jar.
"All that work just for some peanut butter." She muttered to herself.
'Enjoy a peanut butter-less life' suddenly rung in her head. Courtney looked at the jar of peanut butter as if it had said it itself. She hadn't thought about that line that Duncan had taunted her with for years. Enjoy a peanut butter less life, more like, enjoy a life without risks. The line had worked and they had snuck into Chef's kitchen, and it had been worth it. It was a rush, it was exciting, it was the most fun she'd had in a long time.
That was the thing about Duncan, he got her to do things she would never do on her own. Things that she would think about but not want to risk the consequences. She followed the rules her whole life. Her school record was pristine, she hadn't even gotten a detention before. Duncan on the other hand was the complete opposite. With his juvie record and distaste for authority, they couldn't have been more different. In a way she guessed that's what had drawn her to Duncan in the first place. She felt this need to keep him out of trouble and he felt a need to get her to loosen up.
So she took that first risk with him. That risk that lead to her first love and first heartbreak. Had it been worth it? Was peanut butter worth it? Peanut butter was so appetizing. The smell, the taste. She could eat peanut butter by the spoonful. It was addicting. Then again peanut butter was hard to swallow if you had too much at a time. If you weren't careful it got all over the place and made a big mess, but it was so good that wasn't it worth the mess?
Courtney rolled her eyes as she grabbed the bread and started making the sandwich. Here she was comparing Duncan to peanut butter. What did that make her then? Jam? Courtney realized that she had forgotten said jam and went back to the cupboard.
The thing about jam was that it was so different from peanut butter. Some would say jam was more refined than peanut butter. It could taste sweet or tart and came in an array of flavors; some people loved it and some hated jam. Jam could be sticky and it could stain. Some would say that jam was better alone than with peanut butter. Somehow though, peanut butter and jam went so well together, they were better together rather than separately. They balanced each other out and made something great.
By now Courtney had spread the peanut butter and jam on separate pieces of bread and put them together on a plate. She placed her plate in front of Addison.
"Thanks Mommy! Peanut butter and jam is my favorite!" She exclaimed then took a big bite. Courtney couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah... me too."
Waxing
"Are you ready?"
"No."
"Want me to count down from three?"
"Just make it quick." Courtney grabbed the edge of the strip of wax and was about to pull when she was interrupted again. "Does this stuff wash off because I think I changed my-" She cut him off when she ripped the strip off in one movement. She flinched at the scream of pain he made.
"See that wasn't so bad was it?" Duncan glared daggers at her.
"That fucking hurt!" He rubbed the space between his eyebrows
"Seriously? You're covered in tattoos and piercings!"
"That's different! I'm going back to using a razor."
"You're such a baby, you could never be a woman."
"Whatever. You're never coming near my face again."
Cooties
Duncan sat down the two four year olds in front of him after having to break up their argument. Vanessa and Addison had never gotten into a fight before and he wondered what could have caused it.
"All right. Now why are you fighting?"
"Addie took my boyfriend!" Vanessa shouted.
"He was my boyfriend first!" Addison countered.
"Nuh Uh!"
"Yuh huh! Johnny loves me the best!"
"Wait, Wait, Wait. This whole fight is about a boy? You're too young to have boyfriends!"
"We are?" Addison asked.
"When can we have boyfriends?" Vanessa also inquired. He mulled over the idea of his daughter ever having a boyfriend, then he thought what if she had a boyfriend that was like him as a teenager.
"Never."
"Never ever?"
"No boyfriends allowed, ever, for either of you, and that's final. Don't even play with boys."
"Why?" The asked in unison.
"Because..." The only thing that came to mind was an age old way to get girls to stay away from boys. "Boys have cooties."
"What are cooties, Daddy?"
"Cooties are disgusting little germs that boys have and if you go near a boy they'll infect you...forever!"
The girls stared at each other with shocked faces.
"Ew! Boys are gross!"
"I'm never going near a boy again!"
Duncan felt pretty pleased with himself, they would stay away from boys, at least until they realized cooties weren't real.
Sick
This wasn't the kind of house call Duncan was used to. If a woman texted him at ten o'clock at night it usually meant they were doing so for one reason. Except this was definitely not a booty call. Vanessa was spending the night at his parents' house and he had been at a bar when he had gotten a text from Courtney. Now, he was unlocking her front door using the emergency key she gave him. He was surprised that she trusted him enough but it came in handy in a time like this.
He walked quietly through the first floor of the house trying to seek out Courtney without making too much noise. He knew Addie was asleep and didn't want the risk waking her up.
He found Courtney on the couch, the same couch they had been together on months ago. At his arrival she sluggishly pushed herself into a seated position.
"Your knight in shining armor is here Princess!" Duncan held up the small plastic bag that contained why he was there in the first. Her face lit up as she took it from him and reached for the contents inside.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her voice was nasally from a stuffy nose a bit hoarse. Duncan could tell she was a bit dazed from the glazed over look in her eyes and the lopsided smile on her face. Courtney fumbled with opening the box while Duncan watched with amusement. Finally she gave up and handed it to him.
He tore open the box with ease. Duncan opened the little packet of cold medicine and handed her the pills.
"For the damsel in distress." He handed her a glass of water that was on the coffee table but it nearly fell out of her hands. "Wow, you really are sick." He said as he took the glass from her.
"I'll have you know that my fever is only at 101.3!" She slurred as she waved a finger in the air that ended with tapping him on the nose. Duncan laughed at her silliness, he didn't think he had ever seen her this delirious before. She popped the pills into her mouth and made a sour face at the taste of them.
"Here..." Duncan held the cup up to her mouth so that she could take a sip.
"Sorry for making you come out tonight." Courtney offered.
"It's not a big deal, I was already out."
"Oh, we're you busy?" She looked crestfallen at that, and her red nose and messy hair only caused him to want to reassure her more.
"No, it wasn't important." He blew off some drunk blonde that would have definitely went home with him; but when he got Courtney's text that she was sick and out of cold medicine he couldn't say no. Courtney seemed to accept his response and laid back down on the sofa.
"Don't you want to go to bed?"
"Too far. I'll just sleep here." She whined at him. Without asking her permission he picked her up off the couch bridal style.
"What are you doing mister!" She tried to struggle but in the state she was in, it came off as a few light hits to his chest.
"I'm taking you to bed," underneath his breath he added "not in the way I want to though."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." When they got to her bedroom he laid her gently on the bed but she kept her arms around his neck.
"Don't want me to go Prin-" She was staring at him intensely when he faced her.
"You have the most beautiful eyes." Courtney whispered in a breathy voice. His eyes widened and suddenly Duncan was extremely nervous under her gaze. "You really are my Prince Charming, huh?"
"Uh..." Leave it to Courtney to make him sound like a blubbering idiot.
"I love it when you're flustered, you're so cute." The tips of his ears were starting to burn, he knew it must be the fever talking, but Courtney never talked to him like this. Then she was touching the inflamed part of his ears and he had to pull her arms away.
"Okay, I think it's time that you get some sleep." She laid her head down on her pillow as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "You're not going to remember any of this in the morning are you?"
Courtney had passed out before she could hear his question. Duncan leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
"Goodnight Princess."