Big set all of the necessary ingredients on the counter as he started on the breakfast he'd promised her while they were tangled in his sheets. He could still hear the shower running and smiled winningly at the thought of her washing away the "present" he'd given her earlier. Opening one of the lower cabinets, he pulled out his waffle maker and plugged it in. He knew when she asked for breakfast that she'd been expecting him to pour her a bowl of cereal and he was looking forward to surprising her with homemade waffles and bacon. It was the first time he'd cooked for a woman he wasn't related to and he kinda liked that the first was the gorgeous brunette currently in his shower.
He was mixing up the waffle batter when the bathroom door opened, and Alisha walked out with a towel wrapped around her tiny frame, hair wet and skin dewy. "You're cooking?" she asked, in this surprised voice and with an utterly adorable look on her face.
"Yup," he answered, smirking at her across the apartment. "Makin' you some waffles." Her answering smile as she walked backwards into his room made him feel pretty damn good.
After she was dressed, Alisha walked into the kitchen and her mouth watered and her stomach growled from all of the wonderful scents filling the space. "Bacon, too," she commented, curling her fingers into the soft fabric of his worn Zeppelin t-shirt and slipping between his body and the counter. He nodded and she Rosemary on her toes to lay her lips over his. "You've been holding out on me, Biggerman," she teased, smiling up at him, resting her hand over his bicep. "You can cook."
"S'right. I'm good, too," he told her, sliding a hand down into the back pocket of her jeans. "Had to be sure you could handle Bigzilla's waffles before I made them."
She let out a breathy laugh and pressed a noisy kiss on his cheek before dropping down on flat feet. "Your nicknames are ridiculous."
"Whatever," he scoffed. "They're awesome. Just like this breakfast is gonna be." He pulled his hand out of her pocket and smacked her playfully on the ass. "Go sit. This'll be ready soon."
Alisha smiled brightly and ducked under his arm, scooting past him to take a seat at the table. Folding her legs underneath herself, she watched him move easily about the kitchen as he finished their breakfast. "Where did you learn how to cook?" she asked him casually, sipping her orange juice.
He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "Rosemary," he answered simply.
Alisha smiled over the top of her glass. "Did she force you to learn?"
Big snorted. "What do you think? She also worked a lot of nights at the hospital, so I had to make sure the brat didn't starve." He plated up a waffle and some bacon and set it down in front of her.
"This looks delicious," Alisha said sincerely, reaching for the butter and syrup on the table. After her first bite, she groaned appreciatively. "Oh, my God," she said behind her hand, her mouth still full. "S'amazing."
He lifted a brow and a knowing smirk broke out over his face. She sounded way too much like him just then and he found it hilarious. "Told ya."
She couldn't even roll her eyes at his arrogance, because it was completely warranted. The waffle on her plate was, without a doubt, the best one she'd had in her entire life. She barely spoke until she'd polished off every bit of food on her plate and even then she nearly picked it up to lick it clean. Instead, she reached for another waffle from the plate in the middle of the table. "How did you ever get girls to leave after a breakfast like this?" she teased, before tucking into waffle number two.
Big shrugged and took a bite of his own waffle. "Never made anyone else breakfast before other than my family. And the guys at the station. No homo." Alisha's eyes briefly widened in surprise before turning warm and sparkly as she looked at him from across the table. He didn't know what that look meant exactly, but he was sure it was a good thing. (What? He was learning, okay?)
She opened her mouth to tease him again, but her phone ringing stopped her. Seeing Maggie's name on the display, she smiled apologetically to Big and said, "It's Maggie; I should take this."
"S'no sweat, Shorty."
"Hi, Fabs," Alisha greeted.
"Alisha," Maggie sniffled.
Alisha's brows furrowed together. "Maggie, what's wrong?"
"Can—you—come—over?" she asked between hiccupping sobs.
"Of course. Just tell me why you're so upset." She mouthed "I don't know" at Jake's inquisitive look.
"James—"
"What happened?" she asked, concern flooding her voice.
More sobs poured through the line and Alisha managed to decipher "fight" and "broke up" over her friend's cries.
She pushed back her chair and stood, raking a hand through her hair. "I'll be right there. Do you need anything?"
Maggie went quiet for a moment before she began sniffling again. "Can you stop and get me a pregnancy test?"
Alisha's eyes rounded and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Give me half an hour," she replied before the line went dead. She blew out a breath and could feel the weight of Big's gaze on her.
"Everything okay?" he asked, even though he knew it wasn't.
"No," Alisha shook her head. "Maggie and James got into a fight and though I'm not entirely sure because she was crying so hard, I think they broke up."
Both of Big's eyebrows shot up. "What? No way."
"I'm going to go over there and check on her. She's really upset. I'll see
