Feeding the Troops

[jackkelly]

"That looks like heaven on a plate," Jack said with wide eyes. He casually let his hand rest on her waist.

[Stagey]

"Ah-ah-ah," she cautioned, guiding the cake away from him playfully. "It's not even decorated yet." She dipped her fingertip in the frosting, dabbing a smudge on Jack's nose before grabbing a spatula to start on the cake.

[jackkelly]

"You're gonna decorate it?" He asked and then smiled at her. "I shoulda known," He wiped the frosting off his nose and then sucked it off his finger. "You know the boys are gonna ravage that thing."

[Stagey]

"It's about the presentation," she told him, smoothing the frosting over the top of the cake. "Besides, icing makes it taste even better." Stagey may not have been courageous to do a whole lot, but when she did something, she gave it her all, even when baking a cake.

[jackkelly]

"My mouth is watering right now." He said with a smile. "It's killing me being this patient."

[Stagey]

"Me too," she whispered. Stagey, however, was struggling with patience over something bigger than cake.

[jackkelly]

He didn't say anything for awhile, "what's wrong?"

[Stagey]

She'd already begun piping white decorations onto the now-green cake when Jack broke the silence. She didn't want to say nothing was wrong, because that wasn't the truth. She just didn't know what was wrong. Something felt off. Had she made a mistake by admitting her feelings? Was this going to cause a whole new set of anxieties for her?

"If we're going to take things as they come," she finally said, her voice small, "does that mean if you meet another girl...?" Her voice ultimately trailed off, biting her lip to silence herself. Was he just using Stagey as a placeholder until something better came along?

[jackkelly]

"I meant with us...not with anybody else," Jack said softly. "Don't worry about what might happen, worry about now."

[Stagey]

Easy to say, not easy to do. "But I'm always a worrier," she reminded him, offering half a smile as she looked up from her artistry. "You know that. Telling me not to worry is like telling you not to be a dreamer. It just can't happen; it's the way we're designed."

She added a little flower to the center of the cake. "Sorry," she said apologetically, her voice still tentative. "Hope you still think I'm all right in spite of myself."

[jackkelly]

Jack laughed, he couldn't help it. "Listen, tomorrow let's me and you go on a real date...anywhere you want. How's that?"

[Stagey]

"Anywhere I want?" She repeated the words and savored them. Stagey was unaccustomed to anyone doing anything just for her. Jack knew that, she supposed, even from the first day she met him all those years ago. That was what she wanted, perhaps: just to be seen as someone special, someone worthwhile.

"I wouldn't know where to start." It was painfully obvious that Stagey just didn't get out much. "Give me a minute to think..."

[jackkelly]

"Its a big decision, take all the time you need." While she thought on it, Jack swiped his finger in the icing and licked it. "Wow that's delicious."

[Stagey]

She couldn't get too mad at his desecrating her beautiful baked artwork - it was basically created with him in mind, anyway. "Glad you like it."

Gathering a few bowls to dispose into the basin, she crossed past him. Did she deliberately let her skirt graze his knee? "It's too bad we can't go where I'm from," she said, wiping down the counter. "Ireland was a fairyland. Lightning bugs, lush green hills, wind that sang a song..."

She grabbed the bag of flour and, losing herself for a moment in her daydream, let it fall to the floor. A cloud of white poofed deliberately in her direction, coating her face, front, and apron. "It's liable to just take your mind away," she finished, grumbling at her clumsiness.

[jackkelly]

Jack laughed as grabbed a rag and crouched down to wipe off her face. "Sounds beautiful,"