—<3—
The day after Jeremiah stands in his kitchen as usual still organizing the bottles he had begun with the day before. It was at least twenty boxes full of bottles of different alcohol sorts and other food-related stuff. Music was blasting from one of the speakers and the air smelt of the soup Jeremiah had on the stove.
His thoughts went from counting bottles to placing them in their right places. Sometimes he let himself even think about the hot detective sneaking around the territory looking hot and sexy, wondering what she was looking into at the moment. A smile spread on his lips as he thought about all the ways she could bother both Zeus and Ice.
But in a way he knew she wasn't her usual self, she always joked around with the two and loved to irritate them to the point they almost snapped at her, but since she came home the day before she had become a silent and distant person. Not what the biker was used to. It wasn't only Jeremiah who notice it but almost everyone who had spent a lot of time around her. Wyatt had even asked Jeremiah about it like he should know everything going on with the detective.
With a long sigh, J tried to go back to sorting things out. Only when a throat was cleared behind him did he understand that someone was in the same room as him. The biker looked behind him to see the one and only look down at him and the three boxes around him.
"Can I help you?" Evelyn asked softly as she saw the hair on Jeremiah's stand all over the place. With a smirk and a huff, Jeremiah stood up and straighten out his back as he felt an aching pain in the lower back.
"You don't need to, I get paid to do this thing" J answered and put a few oil bottles by the counter of the stove. When he looked back at the girl he saw her longing looks at the boxes and in a way he understood that she needed to do this.
"But if you want to you could begin with that box," J said and pointed at a box by a corner. Instantly he could see her shoulders relax and he knew he did the right thing to let her help.
For a few minutes, they sorted things quietly enjoying the work while listening to the music. Jeremiah stole glance after glance at the detective as she sat down with a hoodie that had a police logo together with a pair of practical pants with lots of pockets. Around her waist was a holster holding her service weapon. The thing that catches Js attention the most was the look in her eyes, it was like she had aged lots of years over the last twenty-four hours and it worried him to see her so under the radar.
"Evelyn" he spoke catching her attention. She looked up at the biker with tired eyes as if she was about to fall asleep anytime soon.
"Are you feeling well? You look a bit tired" he said softly and paused what he was doing to watch her reaction. The girl put on a smile but looked away from him.
"I'm fine" she answered, placing away the bottles in her hand. Jeremiah knew she was lying but didn't know what to do about it yet. He decided to stand up from the floor and walk over to the soup he was cooking to see if it was okay.
"You know if you feel sick you should sit down and relax sometimes, I will get you a bowl of this delicious soup," Jeremiah said as he remembered how his mother always did when she wanted to make him feel better. He looked over his shoulder to see Evelyn turn around and watch him.
"I'm fine Jeremiah," she said low as if her energy couldn't master to say it higher. Her whole demeanour was changed from the morning before, J noticed. Dark circles under her eyes showed a lack of sleep and her posture indicated an absence. Something in the biker began to hurt when he saw the look in her eyes like she was a lost kid not finding her parents.
"Sit down, this is my kitchen and I chose that we will have a break," Jeremiah said sharply and closed the box she had bent over to take bottles out from. Evelyn looked up at him surprised by his sudden demands. Jeremiah wasn't the one bossing anyone around so this was something new for both the detective and himself. With a hand gesture, Jeremiah showed her to the counter. At first, she didn't understand what he wanted her to do but as he placed his hands on her hip and lifted her she understood the assignment.
"Jeremiah you do not need to babysit me, I'm fine-" but more than that wasn't able to be said when the biker placed a finger against her pumped lips. She stared at him in shock not knowing what to do with this act of bravery. Even Jeremiah was surprised by his own action as his hands continue to tingle by touching her skin.
"As I said, my kitchen I chose what happens here and now I want a break," J said and moved over to the stove to occupy his hands before doing something he would regret. The closeness he had with her made his body react in ways he didn't want to at the moment. She needed comfort he thought and his now horny thought wasn't helping him in his task to comfort her.
With quick movements, Jeremiah poured some soup into two blue bowls. Evelyn sat quietly watching the biker move around getting some last finishing touches on what they would presumably eat. Evelyn wouldn't tell him but she liked seeing him care for her, it made her heart swell even more than before and it was sweet of him to do this for her.
"Here, eat up," Jeremiah said huskily when he felt like the soup was as good as it could be for the moment. Evelyn thankfully took one of the bowls and began to eat. When the first spoonful thought her tongue she couldn't help but let out a long moan while she closed her eyes enjoying the taste bomb in her mouth.
"God Jeremiah this is amazing" she groan out as she swallowed the food. Without opening her eyes she let another spoon shovel more food into her mouth. Hearing her moan and say his name in the same sentence made blood rush to all the wrong places and the biker had a hard time thinking. The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat for a few seconds as he saw her enjoy herself.
"Um thank you sugar," he said with a deeper voice than usual while watching her eat his food like it was tased of heaven. Evelyn opens her eyes and looked over at the biker embarrassed. The pale cheeks turned a crimson colour and J could only think about how cute she looked.
"You really are a magician in the kitchen as everyone says," Ev said and watched the biker lean back pleased by the compliment. He was used to getting lots of compliments when it came to his food but when it came from her it felt better than any other complement had felt like.
"Thank you sugar," He said and looked her right in the eyes. Evelyn stared back at him enjoying seeing the deep-colored eyes watch her. In a way he made her feel like everything would be okay, whatever happens.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked softly when he had let her eat half of the soup. Evelyn nodded and smiled lightly.
"Yeah, much better" she whispered embarrassedly that she had been captured in a lie. Jeremiah on the other hand was only pleased that he had made a difference.
"Good. My mother used to make my food whenever I felt sick or down" Jeremiah shared as he took a spoon of the delicious soup. Evelyn looked around the kitchen for a few seconds before talking.
"You must be used to being in the kitchen. I guess she influenced you" Ev said with a sweet smile playing on her lips. Her hair lay against her shoulders framing her face and her beautiful green eyes watched the biker carefully but gently.
"Yeah, it has always been me and my mother in the kitchen. She has been the one teaching at least seventy percent of what I can do today" Jeremiah said with a big smile on his lips as he thought about his mother and him. He always missed the times they could stand in the kitchen for hours talking and cooking but ever since she got sick she hasn't had the power to cook that long, nowadays Jeremiah cooked her food for her.
"She must be lucky to have you as her son then, it would be boring if she got a son that wasn't interested in cooking, right?" she said a bit jokingly showing J her usual ways. It pleased him to see her being herself again.
"I'm the best right?" Jeremiah said cooky making her laugh while shaking her head.
"I knew I would regret adding to your ego," Evelyn said making the biker laugh out loud. It was nice to be able to laugh with her, Jeremiah thought as he watched her smiling down her bowl and chuckling for herself.
"I was wondering where you were, almost got used to the silent," A voice said from the doorway making the two turn and look at the president lean against the doorway. A smirk was playing on his lips showing his white teeth.
"You will never get used to that with me around you," Ev said and took another spoon of her soup.
"I guess you are right," Jax said and kicked himself out of the doorway. He walked over to the boxes on the ground with the items.
"Inspecting the bottles again I see," He said deeply before turning to Jeremiah with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I'm helping Jeremiah organize them... Didn't feel like hanging out with you all day" Ev said and jumped down from the counter to place the bowl by the sink.
"You hurt my feelings," Jax said playfully, placing a hand against his chest. Evelyn gave the biker an ironic smile before starting to clean her things.
"Well, I guess I could go away and enjoy the quiet while it last," Jax said chuckling for himself. He didn't miss the burning glare he got from the detective before he turned the corner and disappeared from the kitchen.
"I don't know how he does it. He makes me irritated and laugh at the same time" Evelyn growled out and looked over at Jeremiah who couldn't help but giggle by the stove.
"He has that effect on people," he says and justifies her feelings. Ev smiled at him before placing the clean bowl and spoon in their places.
"Ethier way, we should continue with the task," Evelyn said when she felt ready to carry bottles again. Jeremiah could at least see the old enthusiasm, Ev.
"Absolutely" he answered and put his empty bowl in the sink to fall to the floor again and begin to pick up bottles of alcohol and caring them to a room full of extra stuff.
The two of them continued putting things in their places and without knowing it the two of them had spent almost two hours chatting and listening to music. Jeremiah was happy he had got a pair of extra hands and someone to speak to while doing the task, it made it so much more fun.
"Thank you for your help, it really did a different" J said when he looked into the corridor where the remaining five boxes stood. He would get them sorted out when the alcohol begin to empty. Evelyn looked up at the brown-haired biker with a blended smile as she felt satisfaction.
"No problem really, I needed the job to clear my mind" she answered and looked around the now-cleaned kitchen. While he was out throwing away the boxes Evelyn had begun to scrub the cabinets and stove.
"You didn't have to scrub everything you know. I could have done that" J said and looked down at the detective still looking around the place.
"Nah, I like it," she said with a faraway look. This time it didn't look like it took every ounce of her energy.
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed the time, I did too," He said and scratched the back of his neck a bit nervous. Ev looked up at him with a soft smile. Her eyes were twinkling under the spotlight, making her hair a bit lighter.
"I should be the one thanking you Jeremiah. Before I came here I was in a bad state of mind and you let me help when I needed to" Evelyn said and turned to the biker.
"Thank you" She whispered while looking into his eyes. Jeremiah couldn't help but feel his stomach flip when he saw the vulnerability in her gaze.
"No need to thank me sugar. All this packing would be boring without a detective keeping me on edge" J joked with a grin. Evelyn couldn't believe how he did it, making her laugh at a time she should be worried and angry, but she was thankful for it.
"You are something else Jeremiah" Ev said while taking a step closer to him. She doesn't know why but she felt a need to get closer to him. Seconds later she places her arms around his chest. Jeremiah reacted slowly as he didn't understand where this came from but he placed his big arms around the woman and squeezed her a bit.
"Whatever is bothering you know that everything will end up fine" He whispered into her brown hair as he closed his eyes to savour the moment to the last second.
"Sometimes it isn't that easy" she whispered back and hugged him closer to her. She had no idea that his hugs would be so addictive. His warm and big body held her like she was the only thing keeping him alive and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
"Evelyn-" Jeremiah began to say husky but stopped when his phone went off on the counter. At first, he was going to ignore it but when he saw his mother on the display an uneasy feeling rushed to his stomach. Breaking away from the detective was harder than he thought and he let his eyes look at her as he picked up his phone.
"Hi mom," he said after clearing his throat.
"Oh Jeremiah I needed to talk to you about my last treatment," His mom said cutting right to the case. J knew she hated to talk about her condition and usually rushed to it to get it over with.
"Of course mom, let me just do something first," he said and put a hand against the mic. Jeremiah looked over at Evelyn who stood in the middle of the room observing him.
"Thank you for the help," J said softly with a smile. Evelyn smiled back lightly. She looked like she was deep in thought and Jeremiah didn't know if that was good or bad, either way, she shook herself out of it and waved her hand to him as she stepped into the doorway.
"See you around, I need to go and bother Jax now," Evelyn said and stepped away. With a deep chuckle, Jeremiah turned his focus from the detective to his mother.
"Was that a lady?" His mother said excitedly and Jeremiah almost cursed out loud, he had forgotten how much his mother loved to bother him about girls.
"It was the detective I have told you about," Jeremiah said trying to make her think other thoughts but she only gave off a happy sound.
"Isn't that romantic, to fall for your enemy" she sighed, and Jeremiah couldn't help himself when he rolled his eyes. Yeah, he was reminded that he hated this.
"Well mom you wanted to talk about something" He cleared his throat as if he had other things to do and he could hear his mother's sight in that snarky and untidy way.
"I will have you telling me everything about her sooner or later" she states before talking about her next appointment and what the doctors had told her over the phone. J hated talking about it with his mother but knew she needed him by her side, that is the least he could do for his mother after she cared for him his whole life.