I'll Be Waiting up Counting the Stars

Janie

"Mama, Mama!" I heard a distressed little voice cry, which immediately woke me up.

"Jack, sweetheart, what's wrong?" I asked as I flicked on the lamp next to my bed.

"I threw up on my b-bed. I'm s-sorry." He hiccuped.

I saw tears in his big blue eyes and drool dripping down his chin.

"It's okay, honey. It's gonna be okay. Go wait for mommy in the bathroom." I told him softly.

He nodded with a distraught look on his face and rolled off my bed to go to the bathroom.

I pushed my covers away and made my way to Jack's bedroom. As a mom, the vomit on the bed hardly grossed me out. I quickly pulled all the blankets off and rinsed the vomit off in the spare bathroom before throwing them in the washer with lots of detergent. Then I rinsed a washcloth in cold water and wrung it out so that it wasn't dripping.

I returned to my bathroom to find Jack sitting indian style next to the toilet.

"Aw, come here baby." I whispered as I sat down and pulled him onto my lap. I pressed the cold wash cloth to his forehead and rubbed his back up and down.

"I don't feel good." He sniffled.

"I know, sweetheart." I murmured before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "It's gonna be okay."

He suddenly jolted forward and threw up into the toilet. I frowned at how miserable he sounded. Once he finally got it all out of his system I helped him rinse his mouth and I carried him into my room before laying him on the bed.

I placed a garbage can next to him and covered him up with a sheet.

I checked my phone and realized it was three in the morning. Jack was definitely not going to daycare, so I was going to have to stay home with him.

Since I was up, I knew I couldn't fall back asleep, especially when he was so sick. So, I took that time to catch up on some shows I missed, work out, and do the dishes. As I was scrubbing out a cake pan, there was a knock on my door.

Austin

I scurried to the door, trying to make myself look better than I did. I opened the front door, hoping I wouldn't wake Jack up.

"Hey, right on time. Just like I promised." He grinned proudly.

"Sorry, Austin I totally forgot but I'm not going to work today." I told him nervously as I stepped onto the front porch.

"Oh. Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just have some stuff to do around the house today." I lied, biting my lip.

"Do you need any help or anything?" He asked hopefully.

"No, but thanks so much Austin. You've been really great." I smiled.

"It's all good. Um, see you around?" He asked.

"Do you want my number?" I asked.

"Yeah!" He grinned.

We quickly exchanged numbers and before I knew it he pulled me into a warm embrace. I reluctantly wrapped my arms around him in return, but once I did, my body melted into his. I forgot how good it felt to have somebody hold me like they really cared about me. And not in a brotherly way, but in a romantic way.

"You're really amazing, Janie." He whispered as he squeezed me tighter.

Tears collected in my eyes, but I blinked them back.

"Thanks, Austin." I smiled.

"Can I take you out tomorrow night?" He asked. I liked this side of him. He wasn't cocky, or trying to be cool. He was genuine and sweet.

"Sure." I answered with a small smile. "Sorry you got up so early."

"Don't worry about it, doll." He grinned before leaning in and giving me a small peck on the cheek.

I watched him walk away and get into his car before I walked back inside. He made me feel like I was back in high school again. I watched tv for a few more hours to pass the time until Jack woke up.

"Mama?" I heard him croak.

"Yeah baby?" I called as I made my way up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"I'm thirsty." He replied.

"Alright, I'm going to get you ginger ale, but only drink a little bit because I don't want you to throw it up, okay?"

"Mhmm." He nodded.

I walked downstairs and poured a bit of ginger ale into a glass with some ice. I brought it up to him and let him drink some before sitting next to him and placing my hand on his forehead.

"Are you feeling better, honey?" I asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Good. Do you wanna come downstairs and watch Sesame Street?"

He nodded eagerly and threw the covers off his body before running downstairs.

We sat on the couch watching Sesame Street for a little while until I walked into the kitchen to make him some dry toast. I was waiting for the toaster to ding when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, where are you?" Alex asked.

"Home. Jack is sick." I told her.

"Aw, I'm sorry. How is he?"

"He's doing well. He hasn't thrown up in a few hours." I answered.

"That's good. So how are you?"

"I'm good. Um, Austin asked me out." I grinned.

"..What did you say?" She asked slowly.

"I said yes. He's been really sweet to me lately and I think if things go well then I'll introduce to him to Jack." I gushed.

"Janie, you can't do that. Austin is not the kind of guy you want around Jack. He'll probably freak out when he finds out you're a mom." She exclaimed.

"I don't know, Alex. He seems like he might be okay with Jack." I shrugged.

"Do what you want, but be smart. If he's an ass, dump him." She told me.

"Fine, but I've got a good feeling about this." I said.

"Okay. Good luck." She sighed.

"I'll be okay, Alex." I assured her.

She said goodbye and hung up just as the toaster dinged. I took the toast into him on a little plate and sat next to him on the couch.

"Thanks mama. I love you." He grinned.

"I love you too, honey. Do you still want to go to grandma's house tomorrow night?" I asked.

"Yep! My batman hat is still in the kitchen, member?"

"I remember. So you still wanna go?"

"Mhmm." He nodded as he focused on elmo's world.

I smiled at him and pulled out my phone as it buzzed.

From: Sir Austin Gibbs

Did you get all your chores done?

I laughed and replied.

To: Sir Austin Gibbs

I sure did :)

From: Sir Austin Gibbs

Good. I'm missing your beautiful face darling