"How have you not seen 'Jingle All The Way?'" Jackson teased as he searched the movie on the smart TV. It was the day after Christmas and they decided to relax and recuperate at her mom's cabin after spending the holiday with their families.
"First of all, get off TikTok." She scolded him as she carried snacks into the living room. "I know Miguel is still posting bullshit about Christmas charades. He needs to learn how to take a loss."
Jackson chuckled. "He didn't call you out, but he did mention he had a teammate who had never seen 'Jingle All The Way'. He felt set up to fail."
"Second of all, it was just a friendly game, no one failed!" Wynter said, setting the popcorn, bacon-wrapped dates, and sticky buns on the coffee table.
"If y'all took an L, y'all failed," Jackson claimed, laughing when Wynter nudged him before sitting next to him on the couch.
"And lastly, how old is this movie? Is that Arnold Schwarzenegger?" Wynter asked.
"It came out in the 90s. It's him and Sinbad. Sinbad is hilarious in this movie." Jackson said, placing his arm around her.
"The only movies I watched from the 90's are Disney movies," Wynter confessed, leaning against him.
"You've missed some classics. I'm going to have to educate you like my dad educated me." Jackson said.
"Your dad's a movie buff?" Wynter questioned.
"Yeah, he couldn't wait 'til we were old enough to show us his favorites. A few of them he probably let us watch when we were too young, but they're my favorites now too. If I'm not traveling or I'm on call at work, this is what I'm normally doing." He motioned to the TV as he started the movie.
"Ok, you have 2 days: educate me." Wynter smiled up at him.
"Bet," he said, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss before they focused on the TV.
They cuddled on the couch, laughing at the hilarious hijinks of Schwarzenegger's and Sinbad's characters. Even if the movie wasn't funny, watching Jackson's reaction to the movie entertained her. His laugh still made her laugh too, but it was even better being in his arms, feeling the rumble of his chest, and stealing kisses whenever she wanted. When he tried the sticky buns, she turned to him to ask, "Good huh?"
"It is." He replied, over a mouthful. "I'm not asking for more though."
Wynter laughed at him.
After the movie, Jackson picked 'Trading Places' next as she hadn't seen it either. Wynter's phone rang, and she saw it was Liberty, but she didn't answer. She sent a text in the group chat with her cousins that she was hanging with Jackson for the day. Grace told her to have fun and Valentina sent a GIF of Justin Timberlake's and Andy Samberg's 'Dick In A Box'. Wynter smiled and put her phone away to focus on the movie and Jackson. They spent the next two days together, watching movies, eating leftovers, and exploring each other in bed. They both knew their time was limited and coming to an end, so they took advantage of their time alone by having sex whenever and wherever they could. By the end of the second day, they had sex not only in bed, but on the couch, the back deck, the shower, and even one time in the closet when Wynter tried to change out of the lingerie he gifted her. They enjoyed each other's company immensely and neither one wanted to leave the love nest they created together.
"Another reason I couldn't live in Lucky," Jackson said as he joined her in the kitchen Thursday morning.
"Why's that?" Wynter asked as she checked the refrigerator and pantry to confirm she had all the ingredients for pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast.
"No food delivery." He replied
"Hey, the pizza parlor delivers, as long as the van is still working and Jeremy is not out sick." Wynter grinned.
"My point exactly. Who only wants delivery pizza? And that's not even a guarantee."
Wynter shrugged. "I can't relate. My cousin is a chef. If I have a taste for anything, I go to her place."
"Does that mean you can't cook? We can wait for the pizza place to open and see if the van and Jeremy are working." Jackson teased, eying her skeptically as she measured flour in a bowl.
"Honestly, if you put me in a kitchen and say to make a meal, I probably couldn't. If you give me the recipe and the ingredients, I can do it." Wynter explained.
"So you can't freestyle a meal, but you can read and follow instructions." Jackson nodded.
"Don't play with me." Wynter threatened, pointing a knife at him.
Jackson smirked. "I'm not! That's how I describe my cooking skills too. When I'm home, I do the meal kits-" Jackson stopped when Wynter made a face. "What's wrong with meal kits? You got something against Blue Apron?"
"Oh, no. I thought you were gonna say meal prep. My ex did that; he was ridiculously anal about it. I couldn't stand it."
"Yeah, I couldn't eat the same thing for a week."
"Same." Wynter agreed.
"Can I ask you something about your ex?" Jackson questioned.
"Why not? That's always a good time; talking about my ex." Wynter exhaled, sarcastically. She smiled at him to show she was ok with him asking questions.
"I already know how it ended, I'm curious about what attracted you to him. Besides the height. I know you females want 6ft and taller guys." Jackson added, playfully.
Wynter relaxed. "Not me. I love me a short king."
Jackson shook his head with a smile. "I hate that expression. Why can't I just be a king? Why I gotta be a short king?" He kidded.
"I promise, that was the first time I used it." Wynter laughed. "To answer your question, no, it wasn't his height. He was sitting down when I met him. We met at a Waffle House;" When Jackson made a face, Wynter grinned. "Hush! It was the after-hours spot after celebrating the end of finals week. He was studying with his group and I was tipsy and chatty so I went over to him and started a conversation. He led with being pre-law. Looking back, it was probably daddy issues because my dad's a lawyer too, but I liked that he was dedicated and so focused, that he was still studying at Waffle House before winter break. He was the first guy who kinda courted me-"
"Courted?" Jackson asked, teasingly.
Wynter smiled. "Yes, he planned dates- not just partying together or Netflix and chill. He took me out on dates regularly and even when he was busy, he would set up study and coffee dates to see me. When we were good, he took the time to make me feel special."
"And when you were bad?" Jackson probed.
"Ohh, we argued a lot. Neither one of us was good at compromise and he was the king of needing space when things didn't go his way. After exchanging "I love yous" with each other, I started to acquiesce to what he wanted to keep the peace. I thought that was what love was- putting your partner first and making it work no matter what."
"It can be if your partner does the same," Jackson commented.
"Well, he didn't. Things weren't right between us for a couple of years, but I assumed it was the distance and law school. I figured once we were in the same city it would get better, but it didn't. Then I installed the keylogger and figured out the truth."
Jackson looked at her, wide-eyed. "You busted him with a keylogger? Did you make it yourself?"
"Yeah, it was easier than trying to get his phone away from him." She said, with a half smile.
"Damn, I know it shouldn't be, but that's incredibly sexy." Jackson grinned widely, moving to settle behind her.
Wynter snorted. "There is nothing sexy about having to hack into your partner's account."
"Not the hacking, but the fact you were able to do it without getting caught. It's impressive." He hugged her from behind.
"I'm glad you appreciate it." Wynter teased, pushing back against him with her hips. He turned her away from the batter she was mixing and lifted her on the counter.
"Jackson!" She gasped as he moved between her legs.
"Let me appreciate you some more." He nibbled on her ear.
"Let me cook." She moaned at the feel of him kissing down her neck.
"Let me cook." He murmured, suggestively, before kissing her on the lips.
"Alright king." she smiled against his lips before kissing him back.
After they finished on the kitchen counter, they cooked breakfast together. By the time it was ready, breakfast was more like brunch as they sat down to eat. Afterward, Jackson had to get ready to go. He promised his brother he would assist with updating his software at his shop. Before he left, Wynter asked him if he had plans for New Year's Eve. Jackson revealed his mom made him promise to attend the New Year's Masquerade Ball at the Lodge. Wynter had heard of it, but Liberty complained it was for old folks or people with kids who couldn't go party in the city. Liberty suggested renting a hotel room and having a night out but Wynter wasn't sure if anything was booked for the city yet. When Jackson asked her to accompany him to the ball, Wynter agreed with no hesitation. She told him she didn't think she had anything masquerade-appropriate to wear, and they made plans to go shopping together to coordinate outfits.
Once he left, Wynter cleaned up the kitchen, thinking about what she should do with the cabin. All this time, Amira was in charge of the upkeep of the cabin, but Wynter needed to decide if she wanted to make her move to Lucky official. When she came back to Lucky, she refused to make any permanent decision based on her temporary feelings. The pain and anger were gone, but the confusion of her next move was still there. She loved Lucky and her family, but she never envisioned herself living here. Even now, she viewed the cabin as her mother's, not hers. She stayed in her childhood bedroom and hadn't gone through the master bedroom or the studio. She decided to take things one at a time and started the process of going through her mother's belongings.
She started in the bedroom as she felt it would be easier. She associated the studio with her mom the most and wasn't ready to go through her crafts, supplies, or works. Wynter started with the closet, examining the clothes left. Grace's mom Alexia took the majority of her clothes and shoes, so the only remaining items were special occasion dresses and outfits. Wynter went through them, deciding what to keep and what to donate. Once she was done, she went through the boxes of personal items. It was mostly trinkets from Wynter's childhood- her baby book, school awards and projects, cards and presents she gifted her mom for birthdays and holidays, and a ridiculous amount of photos. Her mom bought her disposable cameras when she was in elementary school until she discovered Wynter's love of photography and bought her first real camera. Her mother encouraged her, even when her pictures were horrible. Her mom would get them all printed and save them with all her photos. She got all the photos together in a basket and pulled them into the living room to start going through them.
