Breakfast at Sally's

Someone was watching us. I could feel eyes bore into Jason and me, but I didn't care, though. I knew exactly who the culprit was. Jason was starting to wake up too, snuggling deeper into my chest, mumbling something indecipherable. I heard the click of a camera and smirked to myself. Jason, though, reacted mildly different. He froze, before burying his nose in between the pillow and my shoulder, hiding away his gorgeous face. The intruder giggled from the door.

"To what do we owe this rude awakening, Mother?" I asked, and Jason groaned, pulling the covers higher to cover his bare shoulders, which was already red.

"I'm working the morning shift so I can get back in time for lunch with Paul," she answered, smirk clear in her voice. "I'm going to be back around twelve, and then we can all get ready and go to lunch."

"Okay, we'll be waiting." She stepped into the room. At the sound of her footsteps coming closer, Jason burrowed deeper into his nest. She leaned over to give me a kiss on the head.

"See you, boys, later," she walked back to the door. "Behave," she said quite pointedly at me.

"Always." She smirked at me before she left for good. I turned toward my little burrowing mole. "Morning." He poked his nose out from the covers.

"She saw us spooning," he whispered. "And if that wasn't enough, we're both half-naked."

"Oh, come on. Mom thought it was cute." I tried pulling him out into the world, but he wouldn't budge. "I don't get it. Your not this shy in front of Leo."

"Because Leo has heard worse," he hissed. "As far as your mother's concerned, I'd like her to think we're virgins."

"Well, that boat's sailed." He looked at me in horror. "Or at least for me, it has. I mean, my mom knows I'm far from a virgin." I shrugged, and Jason groaned.

"Could you get me my glasses?" he mumbled, and I laughed, jumping over him and out of bed.

"Sure, side pocket, right?

"As always." I ruffled through his bag, quickly finding the purple case. I handed him the case with a peck to his lips.

"Go put your eyes in." I gave him another peck. "I'll make breakfast."

"Thank you!" Jason called as I bound into the kitchen. First thing I did was put on the coffee machine for me, and then I put the kettle on to make Jason's tea. Fuck, I hoped my mom had some tea somewhere in the cupboards. I found a random foil packet with a few tea bags inside.

I didn't know precisely what tea it was, but I suspected it to be Earl Grey, judging by the smell. Of course, I'd need Jason's keen, tea hoarding, bloodhound sense of smell to confirm. I was a little disappointed. Jason's favourite morning tea was Tetley Care, lemon ginger, with honey. He always said earl grey was a little too bland to wake him up in the morning. We didn't have honey either, which meant bitter tea or I would have to substitute the teaspoon of honey with a spoon and a half of sugar.

Of course, Jason would be able to tell you exactly why he preferred natural sugars like honey over processed sugar. The reason often included the phrase 'my dietitian'. The very dietitian that had fed the Grace household for nearly twelve years. As Jason explained, his father insisted they're peak performance depended on what they ate. You are what you eat and all that.

Damn, rich boy. Well, to be fair. Jason would never inconvenience anyone to eat the way he was trained to all his life. Damn, understanding, rich boy! I still tried to accommodate him as best I could, though. It might seem weird, but it's kind of the only way I could spoil him. What else do you get the man with everything?

"Fuck!" I heard Jason cuss from the bathroom. I froze, arm half extended towards the mugs.

"You okay?" I called.

"No," came Jason's groan. "I dropped them!"

"Dropped what?" A frustrated Jason appeared in the archway, clutching at his hair.

"My contacts," he sighed. " I accidentally misplaced the case on the counter and they took an unplanned dive into the toilet." I tried not to laugh. I really did...but I failed. Jason rolled his eyes at me.

"Sure, laugh at my misfortune. See if I'll ever blow you again." I snaked my arms around his waist as he pouted.

"It's not the end of the world, babe. Just wear your glasses." He rolled his eyes at me again like a dramatic teenager.

"Not to lunch. I wanted to make a good impression on your mom and her boyfriend," he whined.

"Why will you wearing your glasses affect the impression you make?"

"Because they make me look like a schoolboy," he answered without hesitation.

"So?" I asked. "That's kind of why I like them." Jason seemed appalled by my wink.

"Behave," he repeated my mother's words.

"Why are you freaking out, babe?" I asked, and he dropped his head on my shoulder with a sigh.

"I wanted to be perfect," he mumbled into my shoulder.

"You are. At least to me." I kissed him on the cheek, and he hummed his appreciation.

"Glasses it is." I poked him on the nose, and he smiled at me. I held the teabag out for him to inspect.

"This is all we have," I said, biting my lip. Jason sniffed it.

"It's fine," he said. One look at my face, and he understood I wanted more clarification. "It's English Breakfast."

"Damnit!" I groaned, and he smirked.

"What did you think it was?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Earl Grey," I mumbled, and Jason kissed my cheek with a chuckle.

"I'm gonna go make the bed and get dressed." He disappeared down the hall, and I continued making his tea, setting the mug on the table. I inspected the fridge to see what I could make for breakfast.

With a smile, I pulled out blueberries and milk. I set a pot on the stove and dug the oats out of the pantry. I measured a cup of milk, a cup of water, and a cup of oats into the pot, leaving the oatmeal to boil on the stove.

Jason sauntered back into the kitchen, wearing tight blue jeans and a grey sweater, holding a shirt out towards me. I thanked him as I dressed, then turned towards the coffee maker to grab myself a mug. I joined Jason at the table with the sugar bowl in hand.

"I haven't added sugar yet." He silently spooned sugar into his mug. He smiled as he took the first sip.

"So what are we doing until noon?" he asked. "Movies?"

"I thought that we could maybe, you know, do something outside?" I shrugged. "Now that your family knows, and we don't really have to hide away anymore."

"But there's snow outside," he mockingly whined, but I didn't miss the slight blush that came with his soft smile.

"I'll keep you warm." I leaned in toward him, waggling my brows at him. "I just wanna show off my gorgeous boyfriend, please?"

"That does sound tempting," he smiled. "Did you have anywhere specific in mind?"

"I don't know. Anywhere you haven't been to?" I got up to check the oatmeal on the stove, giving it a stir."

"Time square?" he asked, and my jaw dropped. "Or the Brooklyn Bridge."

"What? How have you not been to Time square or the Brooklyn Bridge?" I grabbed two bowls, scooping oatmeal into each and finishing it off with the blueberries.

"Well, with my dad's job, we tended to avoid crowds," he shrugged. "So Time square was definitely out. As for the Brooklyn Bridge, we drove it loads, but I've never walked across. My dad never let us walk anywhere." I handed him his bowl of oatmeal as I sat back down.

"I want to walk across it, though. Really appreciate it."

"What about the ferry?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Have you ever been on the ferry?" I asked again, and Jason shook his head.

"A few yachts, but never the ferry." A plan was formulating in my mind.

"Okay, then here's what we're gonna do. We walk to East 90th and get on the ferry to Wall Street, which will give you a very nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the water. Then we walk over the bridge and take the subway back here before lunch. Sound good?"

"Sounds terrific," Jason beamed at me.

"And then tonight, we can go to Time square." I reached for his hand, drawing soothing circles on the back of it. "I want you to get the full experience of all the lights."

"Assuming you survive lunch with your mother's boyfriend." He chuckled when I cringed. "Speaking of. Do you want to talk about finding out your mother's dating someone?"

"I don't know if it's better or worse that he used to be my teacher."

"How so?" Jason asked curiously.

"Well, on the one hand, I know he's a decent man and gods know my mother needs a decent man for once. Scratch that, she deserves a decent man. My mama don't need no man." Jason burst out laughing.

"And on the other hand?" he asked through his fit of giggles.

"He met her at one of my parent-teacher conferences, and he's probably liked her ever since. But it would have been unprofessional for him to date his student's mother. It just kind of feels like he was waiting for me to graduate before he pounced."

"If it makes you feel any better, my father fucked every one of my teachers, provided they were female, fit into at most a six, and were under 30 years old. Tutors weren't safe either." Suddenly, I lost my appetite.

"Please, don't put the image of your father having sex in my mind," I groaned, and Jason laughed.

"Sorry," Jason apologised, not sounding sorry at all.

"If you want my opinion. You said Paul was a decent man. Him, waiting for you to graduate before asking your mom out kind of attests to that." I raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "If he had asked her out back then, it might have disrupted your learning. The fact that he prioritised your learning before his own happiness shows that he truly cared about you as his student."

"Damnit, why do you have to make sense?" I huffed.

"It's what I do, babe," he kissed my cheek.

"Well, I'm gonna have a quick shower and get dressed," I said, dropping my empty bowl in the sink. "And then we can catch that ferry."