Be My Juliet [on hold]

Chapter 20

I wake up, squinting my eyes to adjust to the bright morning light.  I flip over expecting Dan to be there, but am met with nothing.  He’s busy.  Be must have had to go somewhere.  I sit up, grabbing the sweatshirt near me and pulling it over my head before standing up.  I walk silently to the lounge, my eyes half closed still.  I hear the sizzle of bacon, and smell the heavenly aromas of cinnamon, herbs, and coffee mixing in the air.  “Good morning sleepy head!” Phil chimes.

“Hi.” I yawn, stretching out.  I go to the kitchen, and see that Dan is making bacon, as I guessed, pancakes, and eggs.  I wrap my arms around him from behind, resting my head gently on his back as I greet him.  “Morning.”

“Good morning.” He grins, spinning around to give me a proper hug.  He fills a big mug with coffee and hands it to me.  “I hope you’re hungry.  I’ve made my specialty: Delia Smith pancakes!”

“I can see that.” I reply, sipping the scolding drink carefully.  “Can’t wait.”

“Phil!  You’re having pancakes, right?” He shouts.

“Yes please!” We hear him call back.  I giggle, sitting on a stool to watch Dan attempt to flip our breakfast.

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I’ve done this before.” He smirks, jerking the pan so the batter flies into the air.  It hits the ceiling, crashing down on the floor.

“Successfully?” I mock, grinning as I stand up and grab something to clean it with.

“I would love to see you try.” He challenges.  I nod, and as soon as the next one is ready to flip, I take the frying pan.  I throw it up, and it lands in the center, folding in half.

“It’s good enough!” I cheer, laughing as I place the pan on the stove.  I try to open up the pancake, which I do so badly. 

“That one can be yours.” Dan smirks.

“Hey, at least mine didn’t end up on the ground.”  Soon it’s ready, and we make a bunch more to feed everyone.  Dan tries flipping them, and actually manages to not drop any more.  I try again, and the pancake breaks mid-air, half hitting the ceiling and half landing on the pan.  Phil even flips one, and it falls perfectly back down.  We each take a few, as well as some bacon and scrambled eggs before sitting on the couch.  I eat slowly, still cutting everything into miniscule pieces.  Out of the corner of my eye I notice Dan watching me, so to please him I stuff an enormous bite in my mouth and grin.  “These are really good.”

“Thank you; you should try them with lemon next time.” He smiles.

“I’ll make sure to do that.” I laugh, eating another bite of pancake and bacon together.  After some time has passed, I see that both Dan and Phil are done with their breakfast, while I still have over half.  I stand up to grab their plates, but Phil shoots me a look. 

“Where are you going?” he asks cautiously.  I look over at Dan, and he’s watching me as well.  They must have talked about this while I was asleep.

“Do you want more coffee?” Dan asks, grabbing my mug.  I nod, sinking back into my comfortable spot as he pours me some in the kitchen.  After I eat more and am actually full, I place my plate on the table, finishing off the last of my second cup of coffee.  The boys look at my plate as if trying to decide if I’ve had enough, and I sigh before standing back up.  I grab their plates along with mine, returning them to the kitchen.  I hear something creak behind me, followed by padded footsteps towards me.  I spin around and see Dan standing in the doorway.  “Thanks.”

“For eating?” I laugh. He rolls his eyes, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

“Your phone has been ringing a lot,” he informs me, handing it to me.  I look through my missed calls, every single one of them from Jess.  I have over 20 text messages, almost all from her as well.  I read through them quickly, all of them asking me to come home as soon as possible.  I exhale, typing out a quick response as I get another message from her.  “Is everything alright?”