For All I Know

I woke up with a startle. I rolled over to reach over to the side of the bed where Pat was laying, but felt nothing but sheets. Opening my eyes slowly, I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. Throwing the covers off of me, I got out of bed. I could hear some commotion coming from outside my door. Opening my door, I hear Pat curse quietly to himself. I quickly walk over to the kitchen doorway and smile. He’s leaning over the stove and stirring something in a pot. I leaned against the doorframe for a few seconds before walking over to him. I placed my hand on his wrist. He snapped his head towards me and his jaw dropped. I felt the smile on my face grow.

“You’re cooking?” I asked with a lopsided grin.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’m trying. You weren’t supposed to wake up just yet.”

I smirked. “I’m sorry. I was hoping someone would still be in bed when I got up. It is your day off, isn’t it?”

He shook his head. “Actually, I went to practice, then came back, showered, then started cooking.”

I looked at the microwave and my jaw dropped. “Please tell me there’s some kind of eclipse and I didn’t sleep in until 3:30 in the afternoon.”

He chuckled lightly and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Apparently, you needed the rest.”

I shook my head with wide eyes. “No, Pat, you don’t get it. I was supposed to be at work for noon today. My boss was coming in for my evaluation.”

The smirk wasn’t leaving his face. I could feel anxiety blooming in the pit of my stomach. Pat walked over to me and wrapped me in his arms.

“I called your work and said you weren’t feeling well. Nat was blowing up your phone with texts asking where you were. Finally, I called her and let her know what was going on.”

I pulled away and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell her…..” I could feel my cheeks flush.

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I didn’t tell you that I wore you out from my mad skills.”

I rolled my eyes and lightly slapped his chest, before stepping away from him. I took a peak at what he was making. It smelt delicious. Before I could get a look at everything in each pot, I felt arms wrap around my waist.

“Oh, no you don’t. This is a surprise.”

I turned my head, sticking out my bottom lip. “But I just want a peak. It smells really good.”

He smiled and placed a soft kiss on my temple. “Well, thank you, but you still can’t see what the final result is until I am finished.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “You could start by maybe putting on my pants.”

I looked down and noticed that I indeed, was only clad in a large t-shirt. I looked back up at Pat, who had a smirk on his face that, if I had any on, my panties would be long gone.

“Seriously, Claire, I want to make this dinner for you, but you don’t cover up, I’ll have to do something about it.” He walked closer to me, placing his hands on my hips, his fingers teasing with the hem of my shirt. “Not that I would mind, but the kitchen might explode.”

I shook my head slowly and wiggled my hips out of his hands. “What the hell are you making that would make my kitchen explode?”

He placed a finger on my lips. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll love it.” He tilted his head to the side and the straightened it again. “Well, I don’t know if you’ll like it. But, you’ll at least try it, because I’m cute.”

I smirk and lean in, placing a soft kiss on his lips. He reaches out and pulls me into him. His hand reaches up and tangles into my hair while his other hand grips my hip and pulls me flush against him. I smile into the kiss and just when I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, he pulled away.

“Clothes. You. Now.” He spins me around and taps me butt as I leave the kitchen.

I walk into my bedroom and make my way to my closet. Taking a quick look at my bed, a smile creeps onto my face, remembering the events from the night before. Once in my closet, I dug out a shirt and a pair of comfy yoga pants. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, so I decided against wearing jeans.

Once I was dressed, I went to the bathroom to do my morning routine. This happening at 4:00 in the afternoon was a little awkward for me, but seeing as I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen, I had to pre-occupy myself.

Leaving the bathroom, I tried to peak my head into the kitchen. Pat must’ve heard my footsteps as he stepped into the hall and blocked my view of the kitchen. I stuck out my bottom lip in a fake pout.

“But Patty, I just wanna a little peak.” I try my best to fake whine.

He shakes his head and chuckles. “You’re something else, you know that?” He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and pushed me towards the living room. “It’s almost ready. Go watch tv or something.”

I walk into the living room and began tidying up, moving pillows back into their normal spots and cleaning off the coffee table. I was re-organizing the magazines on my coffee table, when I heard Pat yell from the kitchen.

“Stop cleaning! Call Nat or something!”

I rolled my eyes with a smirk. I don’t know how the hell he knew, but I obeyed his request. Picking up my phone from the end table, which Pat had generously plugged in, and dialed Nat’s number.

“Well hello there, Miss ‘My-Boyfriend’s-Back-and-now-I-can’t-go-to-work.’”

I rolled my eyes. “Hey, sorry I didn’t call you.”

“It’s okay. So, how is the lover-boy?”

I shook my head, chuckling lightly. “He’s fine. He’s cooking me dinner, actually.”

“Are you serious? He can cook?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out soon enough.” I sat down on the couch and propped my feet up on the table. “He won’t even let me in the kitchen to see what he’s making.”

“Yeah, I guess he owes you for last night, huh?”

My eyes widened. “What did he tell you?”

I heard a soft chuckle. “Nothing, but you just confirmed my suspicions.”

I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. “Shit, I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

“Yes, yes you did. So….how was it?”

My jaw dropped and before I had a chance to answer, I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I craned my neck and saw Pat looking down at me with a smile. I grinned back at him and raised a finger in the air, signaling that I would just be on the phone for one more minute. I turned my head away from him and focused my attention back on Nat.

“Umm, I’m gonna disregard that question. I gotta go. Dinner’s ready.”

I had my gaze averted in front of me, in a somewhat solid stare at the blank television screen. My view was blocked when I saw that Pat had stepped in front of me. He held his hand out for me. I swatted it away lightly. Nat mumbled something, but I couldn’t comprehend it.

“Nat, I don’t know what you just said, but I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Pat stretched his arm out again, but this time he rested his hand behind my head. Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead. Lightly, he began a trail of soft kisses all over my face and continued down my neck. I still had the phone pressed against my ear. Once Pat’s kisses had trailed to the other side of my neck, he pulled the phone out of my hand as I bit back a moan, not wanting Nat to hear what was going on. Pat had pulled away and ended the call. I looked at him with wide eyes.

“She really needs a boyfriend.”

I tried to nod after hearing Pat’s words, but I felt my throat go dry. In all the time that I had known Pat, he had never been this attentive. At least, not since Ryan had died. I wasn’t complaining, it was just something new, something that was full of surprises.

Pat pulled me up from the couch, and held my hand in his. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips and pulled away, resting his forehead on mine, and whispered.

“I love you.”