american beauty

“Yeah.” He confirmed easily, a bashful Jade was very rare and very cute and though he didn’t know where this was all coming from, he was lucky to be witness to it if only for the fact that she felt safe enough to show this side of her to him. “You are real useful besides making me nut, which the importance of cannot be understated. I’ve got to do a better job at showing you how much I appreciate you, I see.” Casey could read between the lines, “I mean I can, but we’ll have to make me tasting it quick before Auggie comes down.” They were both so easily distracted when it came to one another but she really wanted to do good with the pot roast, he could tell, so he focused up and tasted it, “Baby, that’s really good.” He looked back over into the slow cooker, “Really good. Sure this was your first time making this?” He asked while he slipped his hand up her neck, “What’s he want to be this year?” He chuckled, “What did you say back? Do you want to invite your sister over. I bet you making dinner would get her over here.” 

"Well, yeah, I do that shit Kegel shit you like. Very important job.” It was evident she wanted to impress him, deep brown eyes watching closely as he tasted the pot roast, looking for any hint that he was just gassing her like he tended to do. “Are you messing with me? You’re fucking with me.” She grinned--no--beamed, her fingers kneading his biceps. “Take a wild guess. He’s torn between his two loves.” She sounded just as dramatic as Auggie had when he explained his great dilemma earlier. “I told her to choke on a limp dick. Imagine me with a kid? That’s why IUDs and planned parenthood exist. I’m fucked up but not that fucked up.” She would never make some poor kid suffer with her as a mother. How could she protect it? Love it? Forget her demon of a dad; Her own mom couldn’t and Jade didn’t believe she was any better. “Are you committed to having family dinners every weekend or something? You’re barking up the wrong tree with that one.” Still, inviting her sister over wasn’t a horrible idea. She’d wanna see the miracle that was her big sister making something other than reservations. “I’ll text her. Uh, it’s your turn. Tell me about your day.”

“Nah, not really. I think I feel pretty-” he stopped mid sentence once his eyes landed on hers. He’d certainly gotten better at hiding things but his attraction to her hadn’t faded in the slightest. The only difference between then and now was the fact that he could form full sentences around her without putting his foot in his mouth. But then there were times where she would look at him exactly the way she was in the moment and he would feel his heart hammer in his chest as he felt himself being reduced to putty in her hands. “Yeah. Sometimes,” he admitted, shrugging one of his shoulders. “I can relax more but you’re still- you. You’re still you and I’m still me so nothing has changed that much.”

Jade knew the answer, knew the affect she had on the opposite sex, but it was fun to flex her feminine prowess as corny as it sounded. “I was just wondering if that was the reason you never tried to fuck me. Too nervous to try.” She spoke as if about the weather but she knew he was probably blushing as she reached into his lap for the popcorn that was there. “You’ve never made a move on me, like, ever...it’s weird.”

Casey walked in confused because Freddie and Erica were both on campus at Rosewood and Auggie would be home Jade…who didn’t cook, except she had. “You cooked dinner?” He asked as he dropped his gym bag and moved further into the house. The fact that his little brother didn’t fly down the stairs meant he was doing his homework. “It smells like you succeeded.” He looked inside the slow cooker and back at the girl, a slow smile creeping on his face, then he picked her up by her waist, “My favorite.” He told her as he put her on the counter, “You’re always useful, shut up.” He leaned in then and kissed Jade softly, the thought not slipping his mind of how domestic this was and how much he liked the feeling, “You did great. Auggie wasn’t too much, was he?” 

"Yeah?” She felt bashful and full of pride like she’d actually done something worth those feelings. Hearing him say it smelled like a success even brought a smile to her face. “I wanna be real useful, not make you nut useful,” she joked, but there was truth in every joke and sometimes she felt like that was all she was good for. “You have to taste it first.” She kissed him again, giving his tongue a flirty suck but she reached over and tore off a piece of pot roast, feeding it to him before it got too steamy in there and they forgot their conversation altogether. While he chewed, she spoke. “You know he never is. We went to the store and then we looked at Halloween shit. Some old bitch even thought he was my kid. Can you believe that shit?” 

“You probably shouldn’t hurt her, Tyson. Between you and me, the relationship isn’t what you would call…real.” He chuckled, knowing Casey being involved with anyone for more than the time it took for him to get off made her jealous, hell sometimes, even just sleeping with someone else did, and that was a two way street if he was being honest, but monogamy didn’t fit either of them just yet. They knew they belonged to one another but they also needed to hear it sometimes, a little re-assurance that they were still on the same page there. He covered his palm over her face affectionately after she’d bit his knuckle, “I am.” He assured her matter of factly, “And you’re mine. You can keep me tonight, I’m all yours. Come over here, you’re too far away.” He told her as he pulled his chair back enough to make room for the girl to sit on his lap. “What do you want to get into tonight?” 

"Well you’re fucking her and people think it’s real so guess what?” Jade presented her counterfactual argument. Surely he was use to how petulant she got when she was jealous. “Is it weird as fuck that we spend majority of our time together and somehow I still miss you?” The brunette straddled his lap, not once breaking eye contact as she rattled off plans, “I was thinking we hit up a club,” she kissed his lips. “Go to our diner,” another kiss but this time to his neck. “And then I ride your face but it doesn’t have to be in that order,” a playful bite. “Or we can stay in and order out, you can finish up with your pictures...and then I can ride your face,” she grinned, proud of her itinerary and coming up for air and ideas after passionately kissing his throat. “What do you wanna get into tonight? Besides me.”

“And you’d no doubt entertain the idea if your track record of bad taste in men is any indication.” Jessie replied in jest. They sisters still had very differing opinions in most areas of their lives but thankfully they were at the point in their relationship where they could at least tease each other from time to time. “It’s not the fact that he wants to throw a party that bothers me, it’s what the party is supposed to represent. This dude is slowly trying to take over the South Side, whether it’s by force or not, and throwing some big event is like making a statement. He feels confident enough with us under his thumb that he’s making a power move, you know?” She huffed, pursing her lips in distaste as the gears in her head were turning. “Right now the plan is to just let it happen. Luckily we’ve got that alliance with Claymore’s guys so we’ve got some people in our corner in case shit hits the fan. I hate just doing nothing but he’s got too much on us right now for us to make any surprise moves.”

"Says the girl who fucked Troy.” Not too long ago Jessie’s surly ass would’ve gotten under her skin but her sister wasn’t just the judgmental bitch she once painted her as. She was also funny sometimes. And she appreciated whatever sisterly bond they’d developed. “Does that alliance come with Polo Moretti at my side as well or are you just special?” Jade couldn’t help but tease her. “You’re not just doing nothing. You’re surviving and figuring it out. Every move doesn’t have to be a fucking spectacle. Trust me, Jess. If he’s anything like our dad going along with him is our best move right now. We don’t know what we’re dealing with. I know you’re a litigator and a problem solver and all that great shit but let it simmer and let’s start planning a fucking party.”

“Yeah, I am.” Casey responded to Jade, in an obviously playful mood with a smirk, “It’s lucky for both of us that I only have a girlfriend in a very specific circumstance, and this isn’t it.” He told her and snapped her photo for good measure then held his hand out for her to put her own in, “Even if I did have one… I bet I could get you in my bed regardless. You like what you see.” 

Jade took his hand instantaneously but she was still rolling her eyes at the implication that he could get her into bed anyway. Or, and more likely, it was him actually agreeing to the girlfriend bit that had her eyes rolling back into her head. “You know i’m hitting that girlfriend or not,” bringing his hand to her mouth, she punctuated her words with a playful bite to his knuckle. “You could get fake married and i’m still swallowing your children. Face it, you’re mine forever,” she joked. Well, half-joked. It was problematic as hell but he kinda belonged to her and she to him. “So you got plans or can I keep you?”