In Between Days: Raising Jordan (boyxman)✅

I Will Follow

Jamie

For someone who supposedly struggled with eye contact, Jordan had little trouble with me as he gazed into my eyes. His gaze was so intense, I felt like he could see into my soul. I wondered if he could see the frightened little boy that still lived inside me. He saw some of it last night. I saw through him, too, a combination of fear and uncertainty, and an emotion he had never experienced before. Like me, he wasn't expecting this. He was someone who thrived on regimented, even boring routine who spent most of his time alone in his own little world in this wilderness. He flipped out on me on when I tried to do my laundry on his laundry day, who thought it was the end of the world when his earphones broke. I disrupted his life and almost everything he'd ever known.

"I wanna show you a place," Jordan said as his feet slid down my back and over my ass. "Only me and my mom know about it. Tim doesn't even know."

"I'd love to see your secret place," I said, lying comfortably on top of him.

"Okay. Let's go now," he said.

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now," he said dead seriously. As I eased out of him, evidence of what we just did seeped out. At first I thought he was going to freak out as he just lay there, looking down and between his legs. And then he abruptly burst into a fit of giggles. "That feels so weird." His laughter could be so contagious at times. I'd only heard him laugh a few times, mostly when he splashed me in the water. While he continued to laugh, I got up and removed the sheets with him still lying there.

"It's not laundry day," I teased. "Is it okay if I do my laundry today?"

"Saturday's my laundry day, not yours," he said, his laughter subsiding. I threw his shirt at him, hitting him in the face with it. Before I said anything else, he ran out of the room, putting his shirt back on at the same time.

"Come on, get dressed," he shouted to me, running down the stairs. I really hoped he'd put on some bottoms before going outside. Not only that, I was starving so I hoped he'd give me the chance to eat breakfast first.

After throwing on a pair of shorts, I made my way downstairs. As I entered the kitchen, an unknown woman in the kitchen caught me by surprise. Around middle-aged, possibly Spanish-speaking only, she was dressed in a light blue and white uniform shirt and jeans. She held a bucket of cleaning supplies by her side, leading me to believe she was the maid.

Jordan was at the kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of orange juice, still only wearing the t-shirt. He was right; it did cover everything.

"This is Yesenia," Jordan said matter-of-factly. "She cleans a couple of times a month. This is Jamie, the houseguest." Houseguest? I couldn't help but feel insulted. Jordan said it just to be a little shit.

"Hi," I said to her. I wasn't expecting to find anyone in the kitchen besides Jordan. She nodded at me and went about her business, looking over her shoulder once at me and Jordan. I had a feeling she didn't believe I was merely a houseguest.

"Houseguest?" I said, playfully shoving his shoulder.

"Did you want me to say my boyfriend?" He didn't wait for me to answer, which was a good thing because I wasn't quite sure how to describe us. "You probably want breakfast first, right?"

"Yes, I'm starving."

"I'll make it," he offered.

"No, thanks," I said, ruffling his hair. "Since the only thing you can make is Cocoa Puffs."

"Well, show me how to make something," he said. Jordan was really into learning new things lately.

"Like what?"