The Way We Were (A Jeffrey Dean Morgan Story)

Chapter 32

Ronnie's POV

I slowly pulled into Jeffrey's driveway after a long day of work. My feet were killing me and my hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. I had changed into something a little more comfortable at work, but I had forgot about everything else. My makeup was worn all day and my hair was a slighly tangled mess.

I got out of my car and shut the door. I took in the quietness around me and smiled softly as I started walking towards the porch. As soon as my foot hit the first step I was instantly greeted by barks. I looked to see the front door was open but the screen door was closed. Honey was barking in greeting.

"Hey Honey," I said which made her bark louder. I chuckled. "Honey! Stop barking, I'm coming. What is it, girl? Are you barking at a squirrel?" he asked which caused me to chuckle again. Jeffrey's towering frame appeared in the doorway. "Oh," he said once he saw me standing there. I smiled shyly.

He had a hand towel draped over his shoulder. It also looked like he had dropped something on his shirt while cooking as well. "Hey," I said softly as he opened the screen door for me. I slid past him and scratched Honey behinds the ears before kicking off my shoes at the front door beside Jeffrey's dirty work boots.

I looked up at him. His thick rimmed glasses were perched on his nose. I always liked it when he wore his glasses. "Let me go...yeah," he said while gesturing towards his shirt. "There's some wine on the kitchen counter!" he called out as I watched him head down the hallway and into an open door.

I watched as he stripped of his shirt while walking through the door. My face instantly went red and I turned my back as I walked towards the kitchen. I could've swore I heard Jeffrey chuckle as I grabbed a wine glass and poured myself a hefty amount. I drank half of it down and leaned against the counter waiting on Jeffrey to come back out.

I pulled the lid off of one of the pots on the stove to see what was bubbling on the inside. I couldn't tell what it was but it smelled delicious. "Dinner will be ready soon, why don't we go sit in the living room?" I jumped and almost dropped the lid to the pot. "You scared me!" I said. Jeffrey smiled brightly.

He grabbed his own wine glass along with the bottle and gestured towards the living room. I followed behind him. He placed his glass and the bottle on the coffee table before walking over to his record player in the corner and turning it on. Aerosmith instantly filled the silent room. Jeffrey came and sat on the arm chair across from me.

He poured himself a large amount before taking a hefty gulp. He sat his glass back on the table and sat back in the chair. I took a small sip of my wine as well before sitting back comfortably in the couch. I wanted to curl my legs up under me but I didn't want to get too comfortable. I was keeping my guard up but I didn't know why.

Say you're leavin' on a seven thirty train
And that you're headin' out to Hollywood
Girl, you been givin' me that line so many times
It kinda gets like feelin' bad looks good, yeah

"I've really been enjoying spending time with Charlie," Jeffrey said as he took his glasses off his nose and rubbed his eyes gently. I smiled. "She's really enjoying time with you too. I'm glad we.....I mean I finally decided to get that out of the way. You not knowing about her has been eating at me for years," I said as I ran a hand through my hair and took another sip of my wine.

Jeffrey quickly finished his off and filled his glass again. "I'd really like to make a consistent schedule with her. Do you think we could do that?" he asked me. I nodded. "I'd like that a lot. I'm sure it would be good for her as well," I said. Jeffrey grabbed a black book sitting on the end of the coffee table.