Jack slowly opened the front door to the now dark and quiet house.
"We're only staying so I can check on Leah and the kids," he whispered to Kayla as the two ascended the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"Sureeeee, Jack," she smiled smugly. She was glad he had decided to stay. A part of her was holding out hope that Jack and Elizabeth would make up in the time they had left.
"I mean it, babe. I'm not speaking to my mother for the rest of our time here," Jack said firmly.
"The silent treatment? What are you 5?" Kayla teased.
"I have nothing to say to her."
"Okay Jack, but she's your mom. You're going to have to talk to her at some point."
"At some point, maybe. But for now... silence is golden."
Their packed bags had been brought back up to their room and were sitting on the bed - most likely Elizabeth's doing.
The two undressed and climbed into bed.
"It's been a long day," Kayla sighed, laying her head on Jack's chest.
"I know. Not what you expected, huh?"
"Not at all."
"We just have to get through tomorrow. Then we'll be back home, just the two of us, in no time," Jack said, kissing the top of her head.
"You know, as much as they might drive you crazy, I actually like your family, Jack. I hope we can come see them more often. Maybe we could do holidays with them?"
Jack sat up to get a better look at her face, checking to see if she was serious. "You would want that?"
"Yes."
"Well, I guess we could make that happen."
"Really?"
"If it would make you happy then of course."
"You're the best," Kayla grinned, sitting up to kiss him.
"Mm, say it again," Jack sighed happily, closing his eyes.
"You're the best," she whispered, kissing his neck while she trailed her hand down his bare chest, grazing it over his boxers.
"One more time."
"You want me to say it one more time or you want to fuck one more time?" Kayla asked quietly, feeling him grow hard in her hand.
"Both. Preferably whispering it in my ear while I fuck the shit out of you," he said, wrapping his arm around her to flip her on her back.
---
The next morning Jack and Kayla woke up early. They took their time showering and getting ready for the day.
Kayla wore an off-the-shoulder sweater and jeans. She slicked her still-damp hair back into a high ponytail, letting it air-dry. Jack put on a pair of jeans and a henley. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Kayla applied mascara in front of the mirror.
"I can't believe that I'm going to be married to the most beautiful woman on earth," he mused.
"Oh stop it," Kayla rolled her eyes. Jack laughed, noticing the smile that twitched on her lips.
"Speaking of which, you told my mother she could plan the wedding?"
"I did, yeah," Kayla said nonchalantly.
"Why would you do that?" Jack asked. "Don't most girls grow up dreaming of the day they get to plan their wedding?"
"Because, Jack. What do I know about wedding planning? And I don't know what type of girls you're talking about, but it's certainly not the poor kind who grew up in the TL," Kayla said, speaking of the area in San Francisco where she grew up. When she and her parents immigrated to the states from Ethiopia, a tiny apartment in the gritty, low-income neighborhood had been all they could afford. Poor might've been the tiniest bit of a stretch. As a child, Kayla had never been starving, she'd never slept on the streets. Her parents had each worked multiple jobs to make sure of that. But while Kayla's family hadn't had it as rough as others, they certainly didn't come from the kind of money that Jack's family did. Far from it. As a little girl she dreamed of going to college and financial stability, not... planning weddings.
"Okay... point taken," Jack nodded. But he still looked concerned. "Are you really sure about this, babe?"
"I'm sure. Your mom seemed really excited about it. I'm happy to let her do it."
"Well have you given any thought to when you want to have the wedding?"
"Maybe in the spring?" Kayla put the wand back into the tube of mascara and turned around to face the tall man lurking in the doorway. "What do you think?"
"Whatever you want, baby," he said, walking towards her, holding out his hands to help her up. "You ready?"
Kayla nodded.
The two made their way downstairs and into the kitchen to see Leah chasing Gunnar, who was running around with a piece of bacon in his hand, refusing to sit at the island counter to eat.
William was sitting at the head of the dining table, drinking coffee out of a red mug and reading the paper. On the side of the table facing the doorway Elizabeth sat next to the blonde man from last night.
"Good morning, sleepyheads," William said, looking up from the paper.
"Morning," Steve said, his eyes glued on Kayla.
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked, instantly annoyed at his presence.
"William invited him," Elizabeth said.
"Will and I had some stuff to talk about... you know, work stuff," Steve added, finally taking his eyes off Kayla to look at Jack.
"And it's the perfect chance for you and Steve to catch up," Elizabeth insisted excitedly.
Jack ignored her, turning his back to pour Kayla and himself some coffee.
"Oh don't tell me you're still upset with me, sweetie," she said.
"How're you feeling, Leah," Jack said to Leah who had finally got ahold of the rowdy child and was now plopping him down on the stool next to his brother.
"I should be asking you. How's the hand?"
"Seen better days. But really, how are you?"
"I'm fine," she sighed, running her hand through her hair. She came over to where Jack was now fixing two plates of eggs and bacon.
"Leah..."
"I'm fine," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I'm going to get a divorce."
"Wow, Leah that's... good for you."
"Yeah, I just have to find a way to tell the kids."
"They'll be okay," Jack said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
She nodded.
"Come sit," Willam called, waving them over to the table.
Jack glanced over his shoulder at the dining table wearily. Between Steve and Elizabeth, he wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to sit down for small talk.
Kayla and Leah went over to the table and Jack reluctantly joined them.
"You have a mean right hook, son. Take after the old man," William joked as Jack sat down across from him.
"Oh don't encourage him, William. We don't condone violence in this house," Elizabeth chided.
"Right hook? What did I miss?" Steve said, looking back and forth between Jack and William.
"Don't worry about it, Steve. How's your morning going," Jack asked, less out of curiosity and more just to change the subject.
"Fantastic, actually. Will promoted me, like I was telling you last night. You're looking at the new CEO of Electra Security Systems Incorporated," Steve beamed.
"What? Dad you're retiring?" Jack asked, turning to look at the older man inquisitively.
"Well I think I've more than earned the right. I know it's hard to tell because of my perpetual good looks but I'm pushing 70," William smirked.
"You're really making Steve CEO?" Jack was clearly bothered by the news.
"I sure am. He's been practically running the company on his own for the past 5 years. It could've been you but you wanted to-"
"Go to medical school and become a doctor," Jack said, finishing William's sentence. "Yeah, I've heard that one before. Hey, how come you never give Leah shit for not joining the family business."
"Because I'm a woman. And women don't run companies, right Dad?" Leah said bitterly, taking a sip of coffee.
"Of course not. Wherever did you get that idea?"
"You always bitch and moan about how Jack never wanted to take over the company but you never once considered me for the job."
"I didn't know you had an interest in business," William said, his brow furrowed deeply.
"You never asked," she shrugged. "anyways, I'm going to go get the boys ready for the trip."
"What trip?" Jack asked.
"Family bonding. Fun!" Leah called sarcastically as she rounded up the twins and lead them out of the kitchen.
"Dad?" Jack said, turning to William for answers.
"What time are you two leaving today?" he asked.
"Flight's at 7. So we should probably hit the road by 3. Did you have something planned?"
"Your mother was thinking we could all drive out to the lighthouse at Montauk Point, spend the afternoon having some quality family time."
Elizabeth grinned, nodding enthusiastically.
"All of us?" Jack said, glancing at Steve.
"No, I can't stay long. Gotta get back to the city. Company's not going to run itself," he winked. Jack rolled his eyes.
After everyone had finished up their breakfast, people started trickling upstairs to get ready for the day trip. Soon it was just Kayla, Jack, and Steve, finishing up their coffee. They sat around the table in uncomfortable silence. All of a sudden the silence was broken by a beeping sound coming from Jack's hospital pager.
"I gotta take this call, babe," he said, standing up. He gave Kayla a quick peck on the cheek before walking out of the room, leaving her alone at the table with Steve.
Kayla could feel his eyes on her.
"Can I help you?" she asked him.
Steve reached out to stoke her cheek with the back of his hand. "You sure are pretty," he smiled. "Say what you will about Jack, you can't knock his taste in women."
Kayla pushed his hand away. "You know, I'd appreciate it very much if you wouldn't touch me," she said.
"You sure about that? Because if you ever want me to," he shifted in his seat to pull out a business card from his back pocket, "it could be our little secret. When Jack was with Mare she and I used to... well anyways, my number and email are on here. Highly unlikely that I'll ever be over there in Baltimore, but I can certainly fly you out to Manhattan."
Kayla took the card and looked down at it for a second before ripping it up, shaking her head. "You're disgusting," she scoffed, throwing the pieces at him as she got up and walked away.