Imperfect Fit

Chapter 14-Hard To Swallow

"You need to ease back into eating." She opens the microwave and slides a cup of oatmeal over to me and then a spoon.

"Dang JoJo, this potato hash is almost as good as your mom's," Oli says through a mouthful while I stare at my plain food. Picking up my fork, I skewer a few of the potatoes on Joanna's plate and sample what she made.

"Hey!"

"Damn, that's good." I reach for more, but she moves her plate away from me.

"It's too soon, Sage. I'll make some for you another day."

I lean back, smiling like an idiot. "Are you saying you want to spend the night again?"

She laughs, shaking her head. "I hope you don't plan on getting sick again."

"You know that's not what I meant."

Oli clears her throat. "Don't mind me over here." She wiggles her eyebrows. "Everyone noticed you both weren't at the gym today." Joanna peers at me before she continues eating her food, but I don't think too much about it. My staff knows I've been out sick.

I turn to Oli. "You still went?"

"You bet your gorgeous face I did, Coach." She says, with a proud grin. "Got a PR on the bench press too."

"I'm impressed, Oli. Good for you."

"I did it more for bragging rights over JoJo since she never not follows through on anything in her life and I can finally say I beat her at something," Oli says, winking at Joanna as she walks to the sink to rinse her dish.

"Alright, well I'm off. I'm going to take a nap before I head to work." She slips her jacket back on. "Unless you want me to wait for you, JoJo? I can take you to work."

"I'll take her." I stand taking my plate to the sink.

"Yeah, you will." Oli smirks while Joanna mouths at her to stop. "Glad you don't look like the walking dead anymore, Coach. I'll see you tomorrow. Jojo see you later tonight." She takes Maverick and Goose with her this time when she leaves.

Looking across the way into Obie's room, the unusual tidiness and the fact his bed is made catches my attention. Turning back to Joanna, she's busy washing the dishes and cleaning up what she used to make breakfast.

"I'll take care of this, Joanna. Go and get ready. I don't want you to be late for work."

"I don't mind and you should still take it easy," she tells me as she continues washing the dishes. I come up behind her and turn on the water to rinse the soap off her hands and then grab a dish towel to dry them.

I turn her around and keep her in place by resting my hands on either side of the counter. "Thank you for coming over and taking care of me. Although, I'm going to have a talk with Obie about bothering people."

"He didn't bother anyone. We wanted to help." She shrugs. "I met Mei this morning. She's lovely."

I smile and brush some of her hair back not realizing I'm doing it until her eyes follow my movements. "She is. She's been a lifesaver for me over the years. Obie loves her too, but he's getting to that age where he thinks he doesn't need to be watched."

"I can see that. He seems very mature for a twelve year old." She swallows with her eyes focused on my mouth.

I smile. "He's always been a bit of an old soul...maybe we can test out his theory on being ready to be on his own—for a few hours, anyway."

She pushes her glasses back in the adorable way she does. "What do you mean?"

"Let me take you out tonight."