Look After You
Nadine woke up to the sound of a door opening and rustling sheets just when the sun was just starting to peek through her blinds.
“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.” Was huskily murmured on her ear and before she knew it she was being spooned. A smile promptly painted her lips as she reveled on the familiar warmth enveloping her. From the broad chest pressed to her back to the arm draped securely on her waist. She could get used to this.
When Nadine finally turned so she could come face to face with her boyfriend, James immediately placed a kiss on her lips. She frowned in disapproval because hey, morning breath, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“What?” James chuckled. “I love you, morning breath and all.” He said in defiance, after pressing another kiss on her lips, his smile never faltering and his eyes sparkling with mirth.
Nadine smiled, lightly slapping his upper arm to which James’ reaction was to hug her closer and tuck her head under his chin. Yup, she could definitely get used to it. Nadine sighed in contentment, taking in his clean smell of bath soap and aftershave.
Indeed, the best things in life are free.
“Cuddling time is the best!” Nadine mumbled against his neck, feeling him shake in laughter when she snuggled further into his embrace.
“Careful now, or I might think you only love me for my body.” James teased.
She snorted, “Don’t sell yourself short, buddy.” Then she added, “You’re also not so bad to look at.”
“I’m offended.” He clutched his chest in mock hurt. “I’m more than a pretty face and a hot bod. I, happen to be a man of many talents.” He said proudly.
“Oh yeah?” Nadine asked in fake nonchalance.
James made no verbal answer but proceeded to humming to tune of Once Upon A Dream. She yawned and almost purred like a cat. “Is this one of your talents, putting someone to sleep?” She teased.
“Yes. My voice is made for lullabies.” He exclaimed proudly. If Nadine weren’t so sleepy she would have burst out laughing.
“But I thought you were trying to wake me up?” She suppressed a yawn.
“I’m just paving way to display my other talent!”
“JAMES!” Nadine giggled when he ticked her sides. “Stop!! James!! STOP!!! HAHA!!” She protested, filling the room with her boisterous laugh when James’ seemingly innocent tickling became a full-on attack. She tried swatting his hands away but he was relentless.
Her laugh was infectious because he couldn’t help but return it. His laughter forming harmony with hers.
“Oh no. Where do you think you’re going?” James chortled, pinning her to the bed when she tried to slip away. Nadine let out another bout of loud, hearty laughs. He couldn’t help but stare. God, he loved making her laugh. If he could make her laugh like this every day, he’d be a happy, contented man.
“Where did you go?” Nadine asked in between her breaths. So caught on her melodious laughter, he didn’t notice he had stopped tickling her and now staring at her dazedly. Well, can’t blame the man. She was a sight to behold.
“Nowhere.” He said, taking in her flushed cheeks and glassy eyes from too much laughing. And James had gotta admit, the view was nothing short of breath-taking.
“So that is one of your talents? Be a tickling monster?” She wrinkled her nose in disapproval but James knew she wasn’t angry. Not when her eyes were twinkling with delight.
“Tickling wasn’t the talent I was trying to showcase.” James said, as he tuck some loose tendrils of her hair behind her ears.
“What then?”
“Making you smile, making you happy.” He said with conviction. “I’m good at it, di ba?” His eyebrows wiggling playfully.
Nadine smiled so beautifully it had arrested James’ breath, and nodded in agreement. “The best!”
James felt a little smug after hearing those two words that he lowered his lips to Nadine’s, hoping to seal the moment with a kiss, only to be pushed away.
She dashed to her bathroom so fast, before he could form coherent words to protest she was already locking the bathroom door. “Cute” He smirked.
“I told you, I love you, morning breath and all!” James shouted, knowing Nadine could hear him.
“Reid-y, partner?”
“Baduy mo!”
“Cute naman.”
Nadine had always enjoyed their playful banter. She knew he was currently doing this so that their morning jog would fly by as a breeze. And now that they were on their 10th lap around her neighborhood and starting to feel the exhaustion, she’d take all the help she could get.
She had a strict routine to follow in order to rock her photoshoot in a week’s time and James was accompanying her through her ordeal. If there was an award as Best Boyfriend, James could easily bag the trophy. Hands down.
He passed her a bottle of Gatorade as they come to a halt. “Thank you.” Nadine said before taking a large gulp of the drink. James beamed in satisfaction seemingly happy with himself for a job well done.
They settled on the curb of the sidewalk. “Don’t I at least get a kiss?” James asked, wiping his sweat with a small towel.
“I’d kiss you but I’m all sweaty.”
So James was the one to lean in for a kiss. Nadine gasped in surprise and James smiled with no remorse. “Also, I love you, sweat and all.”
Nadine sat on her kitchen counter, her long legs dangling to and from like a kid impatiently waiting for a treat. True that she was waiting for her food but she wasn’t impatient. Not when they were back in her place and her boyfriend beside her was looking so damn hot cooking for her. Nope, not by far.
After returning from the morning run, they had showered and changed clothes that now, Nadine was wearing a light blue cotton shirt and a pink boxers while James was sporting a gray wifebeater and black sweatpants.
Nadine took her time appreciating her boyfriend’s profile. “No wonder you’re often mistaken as a celebrity or a model.”
For all his good looks and oozing appeal, James chose to hide it behind his desk working in a firm as a financial analyst.
“Right.” He said in a tone like, here we go again.
“No, seriously! You’re hot as hell.” Nadine teased, laughing a little. He knew James avoids this conversation.
“Also, shy as fuck.” James said as if putting a period to end the sentence.
“Not true!” She refuted. “You always have presentation for your big bosses. And you totally rock it.”
“Babe, that’s because I know what I’m doing.”
“Modeling is easy. Just pose, walk and be pretty. In your case, you’re already pretty so the other two wouldn’t be too hard.”
James glanced at her, taking his attention from the food he was cooking. A smile was playing on his lips. “And we both know that is a lie.” Before kissing her on the lips. “Besides I think you’re ruling the modeling world just fine.” He winked at her.
“Fine.” Nadine had to concede for now and try some other time because James just turned off the stove and transferred the food to a plate.
It was her 5th day of eating boiled and unseasoned veggies with extremely under-seasoned piece of fish. Yummy. She tried not to grimace at the sight of her food. Not that she wasn’t already used to it. Because as a model she really had to stay fit and healthy. But let’s be honest here, five days straight of eating almost the same tasteless food, it would bound to take its toll.
When James saw Nadine eye the food warily, he chuckled and threaded his fingers through hers, pulling her off the counter. “C’mon.” and dragging her out of her kitchen and into her living room. James placed the plate of food on top of the coffee table before taking out his phone and putting on the earphones. After he had chosen the playlist, he sat next to Nadine on the plush couch, handing her a one of the ear piece. Nadine smiled, accepting it to plug in her ear. James picked her feet up off the floor, which made her yelped in surprise, and carefully placed them on his lap.
“Reid-y?”
Nadine regarded her boyfriend with a smile. Staring at him while he was looking at her always sends her heart to a beating rampage and her stomach knotting itself. And she had to admit, she loved that feeling. “As I’ll ever be.”
James gave her the phone so she could press play and he took the plate from the table ready to feed her. The first bite, without a doubt, tasted like wet cardboard box. Not because James was a terrible cook, because her boyfriend was a great cook. Only that James stayed true to the recipe thus the bland tasting veggies. Definitely not the best she had tasted.
“Not good?” James asked in concern.
Nadine, seeing James worried, smiled in order to placate him. “It’s supposed to taste like that.”
James nodded and after she swallowed her food, he gave her a kiss on the lips. The type that had Nadine’s toes curling and giggling like a pre-teen girl who just had her first kiss.
“I’d get a kiss for every spoonful?” She asked out of sheer giddiness.
“You bet.” James flashed her his sexy smirk.
It was safe to say, it may not the best food she had but it was the best meal she had in a while. With James, he’d turn something boring into something of an adventure.
a/n: it’s a lot sloppier than your usual jadine ff, so sorry about that. but thank you for taking your time to read it.
Borrowed the title from Nadine’s song to James by The Fray.
.
