Punching Bag / JSchlatt

12

And my dick takes over

It was the next day and Alana had never felt more confused in her life. Shed been laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling for at least 3 hours now. Surprisingly, she didn't really feel all that traumatised from the Jerry situation, sure it was a little scary but what was really gnawing at her brain was how normal jay was acting about it. The moment she ran into his apartment played over and over in her head, he didnt even seem all that worried about her. She guessed that's just the kind of guy he is, or maybe he was high?

Alana was getting pretty sick of it by now but just could not turn off her brain, trying to decipher every little word, every little movement. She needed a distraction and she needed it now so she hopped off of her bed and into her kitchen.

It started with a tray of vanilla chocolate-chip cupcakes, easy, simple. Then whilst they were in the oven she decided to whip up a quick, no-bake lemon cheesecake. She often tended to bring things from home into the bakery, take a little stress off the owners shoulders, so she just assumed she could get rid of the cupcakes and cheesecakes that way.

The cupcakes came out a little underbaked, so she made a second batch and threw in a couple mini pies she had made with some left over pastry in the oven with them. But they smelled so good in the oven, She thought maybe baking a proper blackberry pie wouldn't hurt, and then an apple crumble with the left over pastry from that. But you can't have pastry without ice cream, so she whipped up a quick tub of ice cream. Then some Jam tarts to give to her neighbours, a carrot cake, cinnamon rolls and a banana pudding cheesecake.

Alana was in the middle of using some left over bananas for some banana bread when there was a knock on the door.

"It's open." She sang from the kitchen, completely oblivious to any danger and completely enraptured in her craft.

"Hey, one of your parcels got delivered to my.." Jay trailed off before pausing when he got to the kitchen, Alana was too distracted measuring out some sugar to even care Jay was there, and Jay was simply staring over the kitchen island, mesmerised by the ensemble of baked goods, "Door." He finished.

"Just leave it on the side." Alana didn't bother to turn and look at him as she heard a package being placed on the floor.

"I don't think there's any room..." He trailed off again, too puzzled to be a douchebag right now, "Are you doing an event or something?" Alana turned to get some milk from the fridge, sending him a soft smile in doing so.

"What do you mean?" She said happily.

"Well.." He paused, "Not making assumptions or anything, but I wouldn't think all this food is for you?" Alana turned, a perplexed look on her face. Once she saw everything together, completely overflowing her table, it hit her. What the fuck was she doing, she'd used pretty much every ingredient in her house, there was no way that shitty little bakery could sell all of this. She scanned over the table, then at the time. It was eleven O'clock at night, she'd started at twelve.

Had she really just spent the last eleven hours non-stop baking.

"Shit." She uttered to herself, still staring at the platter of goodies in front of her.

"Alana, do you wanna maybe talk about.. you know... Last night." Jay stepped forward, placing both hands on the table, gently leaning against it. He was staring straight at her but couldn't quite meet her eye. Truth is, that 'parcel' he'd come to deliver had been sent to his apartment weeks ago. He wasn't gonna give it to her just to be a dick, but he needed an excuse to see her, to check on her and it looks like he made the right call. Alana let out a deep breath and brushed off her apron, painting on a soft, but very fake, smile.

"No I don't wanna talk about last night, I'm fine." She replied sweetly, clearly feeling a little vulnerable, placing the banana bread in the oven and starting to clearing ingredients away.

"You, uh.." Jay paused to rub his nose, clearly feeling a little uncomfortable dealing with Alana's real human emotions, he was too used to a completely different side of her, "You don't seem fine." Alana gripped the counter, facing away from him. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes but there was absolutely no way this man would see her cry.

"I'm fine." She repeated, sterner this time, refusing to look at him.

"Alana, I really don't-"

"I'm fine, Jay! Please leave." Alana cut him off, turning swiftly to face him. There was a small moment where the two were just staring at each other, uninterrupted eye-contact, almost as if they were telepathically communicating.

Alana was probably saying something along the lines of 'Don't make me look weak, I can deal with this on my own', but she was definitely lying.

Jay was trying to let her know he was there for her, as much as he didnt like her, he would be there for her no matter what. From the moment he laid eyes on her he has felt some strong desire to protect her, look after her. Maybe it was because she knew how to look after herself, he could tell she'd been through hell back home and had come so far since then and he knew she wouldn't take shit from anyone, that she'd built these sky high walls around her to protect herself. he wanted to prove so badly that he could protect her better than she could, that he could look after her, but she wouldn't let him.

Jay took a few steps forwards in complete silence, slowly getting closer and closer until he was just a few inches away. Alanas heart was racing, everything inside of her was trying its hardest to hold her together, everything she'd pushed to the back of her head was oozing forward and if he didn't leave in the next 10 seconds she would fall to the floor in tears.

Jay's embrace was like a fortress of warmth, enfolding Alana in a cocoon of comfort. With a tender gesture, he rested his chin atop her head, his fingers weaving through her hair in a soothing rhythm. Initially tense and apprehensive, Alana's defences softened gradually, allowing herself to be cradled against his chest. The touch of his soft sweater against her skin sent a wave of contentment through her body, mingling with the earthy scent of his cologne that lingered in the air. In that moment, fear dissipated, replaced by a profound sense of security and belonging. Tears welled up uncontrollably as she surrendered to this newfound sanctuary, a feeling both unfamiliar and deeply comforting.

The embrace went on for all of two minutes, but felt like an eternity and was exactly what Alana needed. As much as she hated him and as much of an absolute cunt he was, she felt like Jay really understood her without her even having to explain herself to him, he just knew. That's all that mattered. This was the closure she needed, she always knew whatever weird relationship they had was just going to get stranger but she liked the idea of knowing that although he may not always be there, he's always going to have her back. And she especially likes the idea that that person was Jay.

He slowly loosened his grip on Alana, taking a small step back before slightly lowering his head to hers.

"Hang in there." He said with a smile before turning and walking out, careful to grab a cupcake on the way. That was probably the nicest thing he had said to her in a long while.

After clearing up all the food, placing it in then fridge and getting changed, Alana collapsed into bed. She felt good, she felt happy, She felt refreshed.

Maybe New York wasn't all bad.

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