-Chapter 17-
- Jerome's POV -
The look of happiness on Mitch's face was honestly all the payback I could ask for.
Sure, the picnic was hard to get together, but seeing him with a huge smile, as his eyes grazed over the endless waves around us, made it all worth it.
"I can't believe this Jerome!" He cried, his smile never leaving, as he pulled his legs tighter together, like an over-excited five year old at snack time in school.
I laughed at his adorableness, sitting down right next to him and taking the small baskets handle gently in my hand. The thing was kinda heavy, considering that I had so much packed into a tiny space, and I grunted while lifting it up.
"I made you something you're going to love," I grinned when it hit the ground right in front of us, the satisfying popping of the kid filling the air as I shuffled around to find the specific item. "I tried it, and it was very good."
I pulled out the squished, crumbled cake from its containment, the blue icing spread all over the plastic that had promised to keep it from getting wrecked. The thing itself had seperates into many different pieces, one in the corner, another in the middle, and the third stuck to the top of the lid.
"My cake!" Despite the appearance of the sweet, Mitch cried out happily, and snatched the box from my arms.
"I thought we dumped these afterwards?"
"I kept yours." I answered with ease, reaching back in and shuffling around for the utensils and others. "I knew we were coming out today, and I thought it would be a nice treat."
Within moments, all of the plates, forks and knives were set out, and Mitch and I ate, talked and relaxed to the feeling of a soft rocking. The waves hit the boat, making a soft splashing noise every once a while, and creating a comfortable silence when there was a lull in conversation.
Once we had finished (and by FINISHED I mean we had gotten in a war where we had flung cake and icing at each other and prayed it hit its target) I wrapped everything up and rose to my feet.
"Jerome," Mitch suddenly whimpered, and I felt him walk closer to me as we were driving home. My hands gripped the wheels tighter, afraid of the spray that the lake provided. Overall, I was a very good driver, and I had confidence, but it was getting a little murky out.
"Yes?" I asked, not looking back and keeping my eyes glued to the road.
"Can I sit on your lap...?"
Before I even answered his question, he had plopped himself down and onto my legs, careful not to disrupt my driving in the slightest. I let out a soft sigh, but allowed him to stay, seeing as it wasn't bringing any extra danger to the control of the boat.
"I'm tired..." He whispered after a few minutes, and I took one hand off the wheel, tucking his head into my stomach so he would be more comfortable.
After I had returned the hand to its original place, I grinned and responded "Then take a nap. I'll see you when you wake up."
"Hmmm..." He murmured, and drifted off...
If only I had kept my promise.
-A/N-
Hope you enjoyed this! <3