Edible Delectables (14 page)

“Way to go Boy Scout!” Kara teased, impressed, as she looked at the fledgling flames slowly growing stronger. Jason grinned up at her, continuing to add kindling.  She turned back to the pictures above the fireplace, one in particular catching her eye.

“Who’s this?” she asked pointing to a picture of Jaime and Jason together.  The girl in the picture was beautiful and Kara couldn’t help but wonder if she was someone important to him, perhaps even an ex-girlfriend.

Jason stood from his crouch in front of the fireplace and looked at the picture smiling, “That’s Jaime, my sister.”

“Oh yeah, you have a twin right?” Jason nodded.  Kara had forgotten he had a twin sister.  Jason and Jaime had both been seniors and other than knowing Jaime was related to Jason, Kara knew nothing else about her.

“She’s beautiful,” Kara commented.

“She is,” Jason agreed, looking at the picture with affection.  “We have dinner every Thursday.” He reached for Kara’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “I’d like you to meet her, if you want to come to dinner next week?” 

“I’d love to.”  Jason nodded once, as though settling the matter.  He tugged her hand and walked Kara to the couch, settling down he draped his arm around her shoulders.  They were quiet for a while, both enjoying the peace of being in each other’s arms, along with the delicious heat of the fire.

“I want to get to know you better,” Jason blurted out after a while, breaking the silence.

“What would you like to know?” Kara asked.  “I’ll tell you anything.”  Jason smiled at her reply.

“Favorite color?”  He reached his hand up to stroke his fingers through her hair and Kara hummed in appreciation.

“Green.  You?”  Jason paused in thought for a moment, “Same,” he answered, grinning.

“What are you smiling at?” Kara chuckled at his happy expression.

“Just thinking about how great you look in that color.”  His reply caused her to blush.

“My turn,” Kara said “Favorite restaurant?”

“I don’t really have one, but I love Mexican food,” he answered.

“Mmm, me too.”  She shifted toward him and kissed him gently on the lips.

“What else do you want to know?” Kara’s voice was low and husky, her thoughts becoming more amorous as she gazed at him.

“We never really talked about…dating,” Jason hesitated, and Kara looked up at him expectantly.  “I mean,” Jason paused and Kara was surprised to see him blush, as she continued to watch him.  “I’m not seeing anybody … else,” he finished, and Kara’s face broke into a huge smile.

“I’m not either, Jason.”  She couldn’t help but laugh.  “I guess I sort of assumed we were exclusive, which now I feel a little stupid about, but I’m glad you brought it up.”  Jason bowed his head and smiled shyly at her.

“I’d like to be.  Exclusive that is,” he stammered.

“Jason, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”  Kara couldn’t help but tease him.

He turned to her, his face growing serious, “Yes, I am,” he answered, and her breath caught as she looked at him.

“My boyfriend’s a doctor!” she exclaimed, “Mom would have been so proud.” Kara giggled and Jason had to laugh with her for a moment before growing serious.

“What happened to your mom?” he asked quietly.

“Breast cancer.”  Kara frowned, momentarily deep in thought.

“I’m sorry.”  He kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair back, trailing his fingers along her jaw.

“It was a long time ago, but the holidays are still hard,” she admitted.  Kara turned in his arms and started kissing his neck.  “Enough of that depressing topic, let’s talk about something more appealing.”

“Like what?”  Kara shifted into his lap and could feel his arousal as she continued to nibble along his jaw.

“What’s your favorite position?” she asked seductively, pulling back slightly to look at him.  His face flushed at her bluntness and his mouth dropped open.

He stalled for a minute before answering honestly, “I guess maybe from behind, I have the most control that way.” His eyes now burned into hers and Kara dove back in for a searing kiss.  Breaking away she kissed her way up his jaw to his ear and whispered, “Nice, that’s one of mine, too.” Jason’s eyes closed and his breathing became heavy as she shifted her weight over him and ground down. 

Chapter Twelve

The next few days continued on the same way; if Kara and Jason weren’t working, they spent their spare time together.  When Thursday night rolled around Kara cleared the shop early, having agreed to arrive at Jason’s house for dinner with his sister by seven.  She was ridiculously nervous, Jaime was Jason’s twin sister after all; she would hold a great deal of influence over him.

Just a few minutes past seven, Kara found herself at Jason’s place, pulling into the drive next to a sleek black sedan.  After taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but before she made contact with the hard wood the door flung open and a petite woman with dark hair and green eyes stood before her.

“Kara?”  The woman smiled warmly, opening the door wider.

“That’s me!”  Kara smiled nervously in return and entered the now-familiar townhouse.

“I’m Jaime, Jason’s sister.”  She held out her hand, and Kara shook it in greeting feeling suddenly at ease.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Kara said warmly.

“Oh, what is this?” Jaime’s eyes lit up at the container Kara held in her hand.

“Just something I made for dessert.”

“Do you want anything to drink? We have wine,” Jaime asked as they made their way back to the kitchen.  She reached for the bottle on the counter and held it up showing Kara the label.

“No thanks, I’ll just have water,” Kara answered politely as she placed the dessert on the counter and walked up beside Jason to see what he was cooking.  He was standing at the stove making spaghetti and as she got close enough he snaked his arm around her and pulled her to his side for a hug and a kiss on top of her head.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi,” she replied softly.  They took a moment to gaze at each other before Jaime cleared her throat, reminding them they were not alone.  They both blinked, snapping out of it, and Kara stepped back from Jason slightly as they looked over to see Jaime watching them with a huge grin.

“This is so great!”  She practically bounced, clapping her hands lightly while Kara blushed and turned back to Jason.

“It smells delicious.”  Kara leaned in and closed her eyes breathing in the delicious aroma of the cooking sauce as Jason stirred the pot. He then turned the burner under the noodles off and Jaime slid in beside him grabbing the boiling pot from the stove before emptying the spaghetti into a strainer in the sink. Kara watched this easy dance between them, enjoying how in sync they were.

Dinner was perfect and Kara found she really liked Jaime.  She was a lot like Evalyn and the similarities to her best friend allowed Kara to feel at ease with her immediately. She was enrapt as Jaime wove tales of her and Jason growing up, which were entertaining as well as enlightening. Kara thoroughly enjoyed the evening, even laughing when Jaime went off on a tangent about ‘cutting that bitch’ Kate if she ever crossed her path again.  When she looked over and caught Jason watching her, she winked at him, seeing the same happiness she felt reflected in his eyes at how well she was getting along with his sister.

After dinner Kara presented the dessert, a small cheesecake she had prepared at the bakery, and her ears almost burst from Jaime’s squeal of delight.

“I swear to God, Jason, I’m keeping her.  We’re BFF’s now,” Jaime informed him, diving into her slice of cheesecake.

Kara snickered at Jaime’s enthusiasm.

“Sorry Jaims, she already has a BFF, Evalyn.  Together they buy everything they see on television; it’s a strong, impenetrable bond,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Jaime instantly turned to Kara, “Have you tried the new eye color enhancing mascara?”

Kara nodded that she had, “Totally does nothing as far as I can tell.”

“Damn.”

Jason looked at them incredulously, and shook his head.

“Evalyn’s going to love you.”  Kara smiled and Jaime giggled.

~*~

When they were finished eating they cleared the plates and Jaime began loading the dishwasher.  “So Jason, when do you find out about the fellowship?” she asked conversationally.

Jason glared at his sister with agitation; he still hadn’t mentioned the fellowship opportunity to Kara and he was annoyed she kept bringing it up. 

“What fellowship?” Kara questioned, looking over at Jason.

Jaime glanced from Kara to her brother and muttered, “Unbelievable,” in mutual annoyance.

“Jason?”  It would be impossible to avoid this conversation now, as it was obvious an unspoken conversation was passing between his sister and himself.

Jaime made a show of looking at her watch, “Oh, I had no idea it was getting this late.  I’ve got to get going.”  She walked into the living room and grabbed her purse, tossing it over her shoulder; Kara followed.  “Kara it was so great to meet you, I hope I’ll see you again for the holiday?”  Kara half shrugged, not really knowing how to answer, since she and Jason hadn’t talked about their individual plans for Christmas.  At the door Jaime leaned in and gave her a hug, “I’m sure we will; our parents are going to love you!”  She turned to her brother with a look of apology in her eyes. “Love you, and I’ll see you on Christmas.  Don’t forget to bring something.  Mom’s threatening to withhold pie this year.”

Jason laughed, “I was planning on mashed potatoes.  They’re hard to mess up.”

Jaime scoffed at her brother, “You say that, but I’ve seen you burn water.”  Jason stuck his tongue out at his sister, and opened the door.

“I didn’t burn water; I boiled it all out and burned the hard boiled eggs that were in it,” Jason clarified.  Jaime just giggled and rolled her eyes.

Jaime took a step then leaned in and whispered, “Sorry.”

“Not your fault, it’s mine,” Jason replied just as quietly.  He wrapped his arms around his sister and gave her a quick, tight, hug.

“It’ll be ok.  It has to be.  I like her.  If she dumps you, I’m keeping her,” Jaime reminded him.

“I’ll call you,” Jason said louder, releasing her and drawing back, resting his hip on the door.  “Drive carefully,” he called out to her retreating form and received a wave of acknowledgment before closing the door.

Jason stood at the closed door, wincing at what was to come, then slowly turned around.  Kara was sitting in his living room waiting patiently for him to return.  He crossed the room and sat down beside her, taking her hand. He was quiet as he played with her fingers and brought them to his mouth, giving each finger a little kiss before intertwining them with his own and dropping their hands to his lap.

“What’s going on?” Kara asked.  Her tone wasn’t accusing, and Jason immediately felt bad about not telling her about the fellowship sooner.

He sighed, “It’s nothing. Well, no, it is something; it’s just not something that is finalized yet so I didn’t think to bring it up, and I’m realizing now that I should have and I don’t want to upset you,” Jason answered softly and honestly.

“What’s a fellowship? I’m assuming it has something to do with your job?”

Jason nodded his head.  “It’s an opportunity to specialize in my field.  I was thinking I wanted to do Emergency Pediatrics.  My rotation in the ER has been interesting and I’ve gotten a pretty wide scope of my field.  I think I might want to go that direction,” he explained.

“That’s great, Jason! When do you find out?”  Kara sounded honestly proud of him.

“Spring.  March, maybe,” Jason shrugged.  “Sometimes you find out sooner, but I don’t expect to.”

Kara smiled at him but he could see the slight confusion in her eyes.  She was smart; she knew there was more.

“It’s in Seattle,” Jason admitted.

Kara’s mouth dropped open in shock.  “Seattle?” she asked as though she wasn’t sure she had heard him right.

Jason nodded and looked at his lap, keeping his focus on how her hand fit in his, and the feel of her warmth next to him.

“I’m not sure what to say,” she admitted to him.  They were both quiet for awhile.

“Can we not worry about it for now?” he asked.  He could see the fears he felt reflected back at him through her eyes.

Kara pulled her hand from his gently and reached up to cup his cheeks.  Leaning in she kissed his lips softly, slowly.  He responded immediately and soon Kara was lying on her back, Jason perched over her, kissing her with all the passion he could muster.  Their tongues fought for dominance as their hands clutched at one another, grasping only to release and roam.  Pulling and pushing.  Jason sat up and yanked his shirt off quickly, pulling Kara up to do the same with hers.  In the blink of an eye they were naked together.  Needful.  He had never wanted any other woman the way he wanted her, so passionately.  His hands claimed her body, followed by his mouth and then he was inside her, staking his ultimate claim.

Spring would come and they would have to face their future then, but for now, they were more than happy to live in the present.

~*~

Lying on the couch, in Jason’s arms, Kara felt completely at peace.  She loved his townhouse, she loved the way she felt surrounded by him when she was here.  She looked around the room, and kissed his chest over his heart.

“You don’t have a Christmas tree,” she announced out of nowhere.

Jason’s eyes were closed and he opened them at her statement.

“Would you like me to get one?” he asked, slipping his fingers through her hair and tickling her neck.

Kara laughed and set her chin on his chest to look up at him.  “You don’t have to, I was just realizing Christmas is almost here and you don't have a tree.  Not that my Charlie Brown special is much to look at.”  Kara giggled.

“I’m usually working too much to bother,” Jason admitted.  “I think we should remedy this,” he announced, pushing Kara up so they could sit up.

“Now?” she asked surprised.

“Well, not only do we need a tree, but we need everything that goes on it,” Jason pointed out as he stood up and grabbed their discarded clothes.  He handed Kara hers and they hurriedly dressed, both giggling the entire time.  Jason grabbed his keys and wallet and took Kara’s hand as they walked to the door; before he opened it he pulled Kara to him for a kiss.  “Let’s go get a tree!”