Manage Me

Jack had lied when he said he could cook. He was absolutely useless in the kitchen. It would have been funny if I hadn’t been so anxious. Eventually, I just sent him to set the table while I finished up making the lasagna. I knew it was one of my mom’s favorites, and Kade’s, so I figured even if it wasn’t ready right when they got here it would be worth the wait. I had just closed the oven door, setting the time to go off in one hour, when I felt hands on my shoulders. I jumped a little before Jack began applying pressure, rubbing out the tension in my neck. In the short amount of time that we had been in the kitchen I had managed to go from completely at ease to a nervous wreck.

“Relax, Katie. Everything is going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.” My voice was strained, my eyes darting to the clock which was screaming at me that I only had half an hour left. Jack sighed, turning me around to face him.

“Stop with the negativity, okay? Everything is going to be fine; I’ll make sure of it.”

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered, an almost desperate edge in my voice. “Kade isn’t your son. He’s not your responsibility. You’re basically ruining your life by helping me get him back.” Jack sighed again.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I want him here before you’ll believe me? Seriously, Katie, it’s like every time I managed to convince you you’re not ruining my life or forcing me into this, you freak out and think the exact opposite.” I bit my lip and looked down. Jack’s warm fingers captured my chin and he lightly lifted my head, his chocolate eyes meeting mine with an intense expression. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right now, with you here. Please, stop pushing me away.”

“I just don’t understand it and I feel like it’s completely unfair to you.”

“Just stop. Stop thinking all of those things and listen to what I am telling you. I want you in my life, and I want your son in my life too because he is a part of you. So stop with the doubts and the guilt and just accept the fact that you’re stuck with me now. I’m not going to give you up or leave you.”

And then his lips met mine with a fiery passion that had all of my uneasiness melting away. Almost everything that could have gone wrong in my life had. I’d lost my father in a bitter divorce that had him marrying another woman and not once looking back at the daughter he’d left behind. I’d lost Matt to the whirlwind of college life where booze and girls were just a snap of the finger away. I’d lost Kade to my mom, turning to even more drugs and alcohol than before in an effort to run away from my problems which ended up with me almost losing Lily as well. Anything that had ever mattered to me, anything that I had ever loved I’d lost. I’d managed to get Lily back, and I was so, so close to getting Kade as well. It all just felt too good to be true, especially after finding Jack. I was so sure that he’d leave as well, that after he found out about my past he’d want absolutely nothing to do with me. I couldn’t let myself believe that he’d stay. I couldn’t let myself get hurt again. Yet here he was, standing in front of me, his lips glued to mine, promising that he would be here. Promising that he would stay. And in that moment I finally let myself believe him. I finally gave into all of those feelings I had desperately tried to shove under the rug and ignore.

“How did I get lucky enough to find you?” I mumbled against his lips. I felt him smile.

“I ask myself that question about you every single day.”

I leaned my head against his chest, one of my hands moving so that my fingers could trace the outline of the tattoo that I knew lay just under the surface of his shirt. Jack let out a groan and I giggled.

“You should probably stop that.”

“And why is that, Mr. Barakat?” I asked innocently, my finger continuing to trail along his chest. He groaned again.

“Because I’m not going to be able to stop myself from doing this.” He leaned down, pressing a heated kiss to my lips. I moaned, the hand that had previously been on his chest moving to join my other one behind his neck. He lifted me up before placing me back down on the counter top, pressing his body flush to mine as he stood between my legs.

“We don’t have time for this, you know.” He panted.

“I don’t care.” My voice was heavy with lust as I began sucking on his neck, immediately finding the spot I still remembered from that drunken night weeks ago.

“Katie.” He warned, his grip tightening on my hips as my teeth nipped lightly at the delicate flesh. I didn’t respond and a moment later he growled, bringing his lips back to mine in a hungry kiss.

We both pulled away, breathing heavily, when the doorbell sounded. We both glanced at the clock. 6:27. I turned my gaze to Jack, who just grinned down at me before helping me hop off the counter.

“Showtime.” He whispered, pecking my lips quickly and then rushing to open the door.

I took a second to collect myself. The sound of my mother’s voice and Jack’s floated into the kitchen and I immediately made my way into the hallway. I noticed Kade hiding behind my mother’s legs as she examined the house. The moment he spotted me, Kade jumped out, running straight to my arms. I lifted him up. He buried his face into my neck.

“My, who’s that man?” He whispered into my ear. I chuckled.

“That’s Jack. Can you say hi?” He peeked out from behind my hair. Jack smiled at him.

“Hi, Kade. I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you.”

Kade didn’t say anything and I shot Jack and apologetic look. He shrugged, still smiling as if to tell me he understood and wasn’t upset. My mom cleared her throat and I looked over at her, forcing a smile.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hello, Kathrine. I see you’ve been doing your job properly. This house is absolutely spotless.”

“Thank you.” My smile stayed etched onto my face even though I knew that was supposed to be a dig at my job. “Dinner is almost ready, so why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring it out.”

My mom gave a short nod. Jack stepped around me, giving the shoulder Kade wasn’t resting on a reassuring squeeze before showing my mom into the dining room. Kade came out of hiding as I walked back into the kitchen.

“Hey you. How come you didn’t say hi to Jack?” He didn’t say anything, just shook his head at me. “Oh, are you gonna be shy today?” I teased, tickling his stomach. He giggled, trying to pull away. I tightened my hold, a smile stretching across my face at the sound.

“My, stop it!”

“Only if you go into the dining room and be nice.”

“Okay, okay!” He cried, squirming out of my arms. I placed him on the ground, kissing the top of his head before watching him scamper off.

I collected the salad and garlic bread and followed after Kade. He was sitting next to my mom casting weary glances at Jack every few seconds. The atmosphere felt tense, but Jack smiled softly at me when I came in. I set the food down, taking a seat next to Jack. I felt his hand sneak into mine under the table and I felt a warm glow spread throughout my body. I looked up at Jack who was still grinning and suddenly it felt like everything was going to work out. For the first time in over four years, I had confidence that I would get my son back and finally be happy. And it was all thanks to Jack.