Sweet Tooth

Chapter-22

Emma's POV

"So how long are you planning to stay there?" Caty asks from the other line.

"As long as it takes Caty. Jon is all alone, he's got no one to take care of him. I can't leave him like this, he needs me." I say as I chop the celery, onions and carrots for the vegetable soup that I'm making. I wanted to make him something heavier, but he just got out of the hospital, so I thought it'll be better if he eats something which is more digestible. Moreover, those medications that he's been taking  is upsetting his stomach a lot, having a heavy meal might just aggravate it.

Jon crashed as soon as we reached his apartment. The painkillers made him drowsy. I thought I'll cook him something in the meantime, and clean too. His apartment looks kinda messy. Maybe he was running late for work the last time he left this place, because Jon isn't the messy type.

"Don't worry Emma, take your time. I'll manage everything here, you've done so much for me, this is the least I could do for you."

"Thank you so much Caty. It means a lot. Oh by the way, did you feed Tony? How is he doing? I wanted to drop by but I've been very busy since I  stepped into this apartment."

"He's alright. He misses his mommy a lot though. He didn't even touch his bowl when I fed him."

"Aww my poor baby. I guess I'll have to ask Jon  about bringing him here. I don't want my Tony to feel lonely there."  I heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat and cook the carrots.

"What is going on exactly between the two of you? Do you still love him as a 'friend'?"  I stop adding the spoonful of ginger paste midway. I place the spoon back into the jar and hold my phone from the between of my ear and shoulder.

"What do you mean? He is just a friend, Caty. A good friend. There's nothing going on between us." I mumble.

"As you say hun. But let me tell you one thing, don't be surprised if an other dove just sweeps him right off of his feet. He is quite the catch, if you know what I mean." She says teasingly.

"Whatever." I mumble.

****

I enter Jon's room holding a tray of hot vegetable soup, a cup of sweet tea, and his medicines. Jon seems to be in a deep slumber. His hair is all disheveled, giving him a boyish look. His beard is starting to grow and his lips are slightly apart. His unharmed hand is resting above his head, he sleeps just like a baby. I giggle at that thought, a big man like Jon, sleeping like a baby. I gently place the tray at the night stand and take a better look at him. I bring my face close to his, our noses almost touching.

He looks even better now.

I continue admiring his face when, he slowly opens his eyes. He stares at me for a second, his eyes go wide and he jerks backwards.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!! AHHHH"

"AHHHHHHH" I scream placing my hands over my ears and jumping out of the bed.

"Why the fuck were you watching me sleep?" He asks placing his hand over his chest, panting softly because of the mini heart attack he just had. Oops.

"You looked so cute sleeping like that, I couldn't stop myself from watching you sleep." I say walking around the bed to grab the tray, humiliated at being caught red handed. But I do not care, I will proudly concede that I was staring at him like a creep when he was sleeping. I mean come on, a beauty like him is worth staring.

"You scared me." He whines sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. I get the tray and walk towards him, placing them on his lap. His hair is still a big mess. I slowly brush down his hair to one side, keeping them away from his eyes. I use my other hand to brush the back of his head, trying to tame them. Once I'm satisfied, I hold his face with my hands and give him a loud kiss on the forehead.

"Mwuaaahh. You look so cute like this." I coo at him while squishing his face.

"Emmy! Stop it I'm not a baby for fucks sake." He grunts. Ugh God, I gotta wash this man's mouth with soap.

"Do you ever say a sentence without using any bad words?" I ask frowning. I take the bowl and start feeding him the soup. I do not forget to blow them before feeding it. Wouldn't wanna burn his tongue now would I?  He eats the soup contently. He must've been very hungry, the awful soup in the hospital had screwed his appetite earlier.

"This is really nice." He says finishing the last spoon of soup. I give him a sweet smile and kiss his cheek, again. I just can't stop kissing him in the face. He's like this big irresistible baby that I've just adopted.

"Emma?"

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking that it would be a good idea to bring Tony here. I don't think it's fair to leave him all alone at your place." He says sipping on his sweet tea. I look at him astounded. How did this man read my mind? Did he hear me talking to Caty? No. That's not possible, he was sleeping like a log at that time.

"What do you say?" He asks me with curious eyes.

"Uhhh yeah, I guess it's a good idea. In fact I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Good." He says getting up. He groans as he stands straight.

"What happened?" I ask apprehensively rushing to his side.

"My back is fucking killing me." He says inhaling sharply.

"Oh dear! I'll get something to massage your back. Just wait for me here." I say rushing out of the room. I take a couple of ice cubes from the freezer and place them in a cold bag that I made Caty buy before coming to Jon's house. I hurry towards his room and see him struggling to take his shirt off.

"Let me help you there." I say softly placing the bag on the bed and heading towards him. I gesture him to sit on the bed so that our heights could match. I take his shirt off, being extra gentle on his injured arm.

Sigh.

How did I forget that Jon's bare torso was a feast to the eyes? His shoulders are so broad, his arms look so strong. I wanna feel them all. I wanna kiss his neck, his chest, his biceps and-

"Ugh fuck." Jon grunts. Right! I came here for his massage! Gosh how can I get so distracted? 

"Don't worry I got a cold bag for you. Why don't you lie on your right side? I'll place this bag on the sprained area. It'll soothe the sore muscles." He does exactly what I tell him to. I spoon him from back, placing the bag on the affected area. Since he is lying sideways, I have to hold the bag in place, to prevent it from falling. I gently stroke his hair with my other hand.

"Hmmmm" he softly hums. I kiss his temple and continue stroking his hair. I take a peek at him from behind and see him staring at the wall. He seems to be in deep thoughts. Maybe he's not used to people caring about him. He had to be his own parent, take care of himself, learn things on his own. The fact that a person like Jon had been alone for the most part of his life, tugs at my heartstrings. Life had been very brutal to him. But he won't be alone anymore, not as long as he's stuck with me. I shift myself so that I am now face to face with him, I still continue holding the cold bag though. He looks at me with doubtful eyes. But I don't give him any answer. Instead, I lie on my back and place his head on my chest. He places his right arm below my back, pulling me closer to him.

"I'll always be there for you Jonny. Always."