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Kim was standing by the stove, stirring sauce for the pasta she was making for dinner when she heard the lock turn and door open.
“Kim! Kim, look what we brought for you!” cried Makayla, yelling excitedly before she’d barely stepped foot into the apartment.
“What’d you bring me?” asked Kim, smiling at her daughter. She couldn’t believe how much Makayla had opened up since the day she’d entered their lives, how much her personality shone through now. She’d come a long way from the terrified, traumatized little girl.
“We brought cookie dough! And ice-cream!” said Makayla, jumping up and down in excitement. Kim had realized earlier they were completely out of eggs and milk, and so Adam had offered to go to the store, taking Mak along after she said she’d wanted to go with.
“Did you now?” she asked, cutting her eyes to Adam in mock annoyance, who merely shrugged.
“What can I say? She knows I can’t say no to her,” Adam said, looking at his daughter with an adoring smile. Kim rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless, inwardly admiring how much he loved Makayla. Ever since meeting Adam some ten odd years ago, she’d envisioned her life play out and Adam had always been a part of it. Even when they weren’t actively in each other’s life and dating other people, they’d somehow always found their way back to each other, and she’d started taking it as a sign—a sign that they were meant to be. But when she’d decided to adopt Makayla last year, she’d thought that maybe things would be different now. She’d started fearing that Adam would leave one day, because Makayla wasn’t his kid. Even now, as they continued to be them—this version of married-but-not-married, together-but-not-“together”-parents, she feared it was just pretend until Adam found someone and fell in love. She knew these fears were irrational and stemming from her own insecurities, but they were realistic enough in her mind that she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Their conversation after the missing kid case last month had reassured her, but that had been more to do with Makayla. There was still a lot left unsaid when it came to them.
Makayla ran up to her, shaking Kim from her thoughts, her hands filled with the goodies she’d no doubt conned Adam into buying.
“Can we make some cookies after dinner? Please?” she pled, her eyes wide and earnest. Kim stared down at her for a beat, then looked up at Adam, shaking her head.
“How does she do it? I cannot say no to that face,” Kim said while laughing.
“Now you know how it feels,” replied Adam while unloading the rest of the groceries. He turned to look at her over his shoulder and gave her his adorable half-smile, and she felt a rush of happiness. Their banter was feeling more and more realistic these days because with each moment they spent more time together as a family, she started picturing this to be forever.
Makayla started chattering about her day at school while Kim finished prepping dinner, and the three of them sat down to eat, listening to Makayla talk about how they’re learning about the planets.
“Oh Kim, I totally forgot. Guess who we saw at the store today?” asked Makayla, interrupting her story.
“Who was it? One of your friends from school?” she answered.
“Yeah! It was Ashley, she was there with her mom. She was trying to convince her mom to get her cookies too, because she saw me and Adam getting some but her mom was saying no because sugar isn’t good for us and Ashley was saying how Adam was letting me have some and then Ashley’s mom started talking to Adam and she touched his bicep and then she saw his badge and asked if he was a police officer and if he had many crazy stories and…” Makayla rambled on but Kim wasn’t listening anymore. Her brain was stuck on she touched his bicep. Had she asked him out? She touched his bicep? Who does that? Just touch a man’s bicep in the middle of the grocery store? Her ears were thundering, and nothing around seemed to register in her brain, which is why when she heard her name being called repeatedly, she was startled.
“Huh? What?” she asked, not having a single clue who had asked what.
“You okay?” asked Adam, in that annoyingly adorable way, his eyes on her, tone concerned.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she said, looking down at her plate, her appetite now lost.
“Ummm. I don’t know. You seemed distracted. Are you sure you’re good?” he asked once more.
“Yes, Adam, I’m great. Let’s just drop it, okay?” she got up from the table and went to the sink to dump her plate in.
“Makayla, it’s time to shower, okay, so finish up quickly, please,” she told her, starting to clean up the kitchen counter.
“But I thought we were gonna bake cookies after dinner!” exclaimed Makayla. Kim sighed, leaning her hands on the counter she’d been cleaning. It wasn’t Makayla’s fault she was having a mental breakdown about some woman touching Adam’s bicep and giving him compliments. She couldn’t take it out on her daughter.
“Sorry, I forgot. Okay finish your dinner so you can help out, okay?” she told her.
“Okay!” she replied, her wide smile and cheery tone a balm to Kim’s heart, which was hurting right now. She tried to reason with herself as she got all the ingredients for the cookies out. Why was she so mad? It’s not like she had any claim on Adam. She sighed, because technically, she really didn’t. But she did. It was Adam. How could she be okay with Adam potentially being with someone else? Her inner monologue was interrupted by Adam’s phone ringing.
“Ruzek,” he answered the phone, and she listened intently because it was most likely a work-related call.
“Okay, send me the location. I’ll be right there,” he said. He hung up and looked at her, finding Kim’s gaze on him already.
“That was Voight, he got a call from his CI, she has some information about the case. He called me for backup because I took the initial call,” he explained. Kim nodded.
“Okay. Just be careful, okay?” Even if she was… disgruntled with him, she always got worried when he got called in for anything.
“Yeah. Of course. It shouldn’t take long, so I’ll hopefully be home by bedtime,” he reassured her. He went to Makayla to say bye, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Her heart skipped a beat at that, causing her to look down. When he did things like that… love on Makayla, be a good dad so naturally, it made her happy and sad all at once. Happy obviously because he was an amazing dad, something she always knew he’d be. And sad because… well, she wanted to be… She stopped that train of thought. There was no point, especially until Kim and Adam aired this out by talking about it.
Adam called out a goodbye and left, and she and Makayla started on the cookies. Makayla’s favorite part was pouring in the chunks of chocolate, so after she’d chopped some up, she called her over. Once the dough was ready, she popped it in the fridge to chill and reasoned with Makayla that they could finish taking showers and then put the cookies in the oven. Once they were done, Kim allowed Makayla just one before packing up the rest and got Mak ready for bedtime.
“Will Adam be here to tuck me in?” she asked Kim, wide-eyed and innocent. With all that Makayla had been through in her short life so far, Kim sometimes had a hard time realizing that all this little kid needed was the consistency she and Adam worked hard to provide for her.
“I don’t know, bear. He had to step out for work. But he said he should be back by the time you’re ready for bed, so in the meantime, why don’t you go and brush your teeth?” Kim told her, running a hand over her head.
“Okay!” she jumped down from the chair and raced toward the bathroom. Kim smiled and shook her head and started clearing up the mess from their baking. Once she’d put it all away, Makayla called out that she was done so she went toward her room just as she heard the door unlock for the second time that night. Adam walked in, looking exhausted.
“Hey,” he said, spotting her. “Is she asleep?”
“No, I just tucked her in. She’ll be glad to see you,” Kim said.
“Yeah, we’ve been reading this real interesting book. We had to stop at a really pivotal part last night, so we’ll get to finally find out what happens to the princess this chapter,” Adam said. He looked so earnest that her heart melted. These were the moments that really got to her. He genuinely loved spending time with her.
Adam went into Mak’s room. He was so tired, but he would never skip out on reading time with his kid, plus he wanted to talk to Kim about what was bothering her. But he’d deal with that later. He went into Mak’s room, and they read the much-awaited chapter together before he said goodnight
When he went out, Kim was standing at the kitchen sink, doing the dishes. From the looks of it, she’d been scrubbing the pan for a while, so he knew her mind wasn’t really into it.
“Hey,” he said, quietly so he didn’t startle her. She startled anyway, jumping a bit before turning to him.
“Hey,” she said. “Makayla asleep?”
“Yeah, she’s out.” Kim nodded and went back to the dishes.
“Think the pot’s clean, don’t you?” he teased, wanting to ease into what was sure to be a complicated conversation.
“What? Oh. Right,” she said. He couldn’t be sure because the lighting wasn’t great in the kitchen, but he was half sure she was blushing.
“Kim, come on. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s nothing, okay?” she said. Done with the dishes, she started scrubbing the counter, which honestly looked pretty clean to him. As she turned to move away from him to clean the other—already clean—side, he caught her wrist and pulled her toward him, causing her to run into him. Startled by their proximity, Kim, who’s hands were on Adam’s chest, froze up for a second. She could smell his scent, sending her brain into a frenzy.
“Will you please stop trying to clean the kitchen and tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked.
“Why do you care, anyway?” she replied, trying to get away from him.
“Why do I care? What does that even mean. How can I not care?”
“It means… You’re meeting women at grocery stores and getting pawed at, so why would you care if I was upset?” Kim replied.
“Wait, is this what you’re upset about? The lady at the grocery store?” he asked incredulously, letting out a surprised laugh. She’s jealous. Jealous. This is the best day of my life.
It was completely silent for a few seconds. He was so surprised by what she’d said that when she tried to get away again, his grip was loose enough that she escaped, walking out of the kitchen to go into her room. Just as she’d almost gotten away, he hurried after her and caught her wrist again.
“Adam, let me go—” He grabbed both her shoulders and walked them backwards. Kept going until he’d backed her into the kitchen island before caging her in with his arms.
“You’re not going anywhere. Not until you talk to me,” he said in a low voice.
“There’s nothing left to talk about, especially not when you think this is a joke—”
“You’re jealous. That’s what this is.”
“I am NOT jealous, okay?” Kim replied, her tone defensive. “I just think it’s inappropriate for Ashley’s mom to behave to provocatively in front of children, that’s all.”
“Inappropriate?” Adam laughed. “Kim, it’s not like she tried to take her clothes off, or anything. She was just talking—”
“You know, I really do not want to listen to what you guys talked about. Please, let’s just forget I said anything,” Kim said, her face turning red. Adam was laughing. She didn’t know what to feel except for humiliated. He could tell she was seriously bothered by it, so he stopped laughing and put his hands on each side of her face, lifting it slightly so she was looking at him.
“Kim. Yes, she was flirting with me, and yes, she may have alluded to us getting a drink together, but I refused. I guess you didn’t listen to Makayla’s full story during dinner, or you would’ve heard that I said no,” Adam said, his mind filled with only one thought: Kim was jealous, which meant she cared. Cared enough for this to bother her all night. Obviously, he hated that she was upset, but he couldn’t help but feel giddy that she cared.
“Oh,” Kim said in a small voice. “You said no? Why?”
Adam smiled. She wanted to know if he’d said no because of her? He’d happily tell her.
“I told her Makayla’s mom would probably have something to say if I went out for drinks with someone else,” he said, a smile on his face. But his tone was completely serious. He looked into her eyes, watching as they went from embarrassed to surprised to understanding before turning soft.
“You did not say that to her,” she said, smiling a little bit. His gaze tracked down her face, stopping at her lips.
“I most certainly did,” he replied. He looked up at her eyes again.
“Kim. Listen to me very carefully. There’s only one woman I care about. Only one woman I want to go out for drinks with. One woman I want to do anything with,” he paused. Kim’s heart was racing. She was actually nervous to hear the rest.
“And I’m holding her right now,” he finished.
Her stomach swarmed with butterflies, her body filled with warmth. She smiled slowly, looking down for a second before looking up at him through her lashes.
“Yeah?” she whispered.
“How could I want anyone else?” he replied, before leaning down and pressing a sweet kiss on her lips. She smiled through the kiss, and he ate it up, loving how happy she was now that they’d cleared up the misunderstanding. But he wasn’t done yet. He pulled away, and she chased his lips, not wanting their kiss to end.
“You can get all the kisses you want. I just need to know one thing,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Admit you were jealous.”
Kim pushed him away by his shoulders.
“You’re such an ass! I already said I wasn’t jealous, don’t be ridiculous,” she exclaimed, getting away again.
“Uh-huh, you’re so jealous, don’t even try to get out of this,” he said, catching her around the waist. He knew how to get her to admit to it. Once he had a firm grip on her, he started tickling her. She gasped, fighting his hold, but his grip was tight.
“Adam!” she gasped, laughing despite wanting to strangle him. “Stop it!” But he was relentless, not letting up.
Not until you admit you were jealous,” he replied. She held strong for thirty seconds, her giggles getting progressively louder. He loved the sound of her laugh, and he loved that he was the one causing it.
“Okay! Okay fine, I was jealous. Are you happy now?” she relented. He stopped tickling her and turned her around in his arms so she was facing him, wrapping his arms around her. He looked down at her face before kissing her forehead.
“Yes, very happy. You have no idea,” he said. Kim laughed, shaking her and then started to move when Adam stopped her once more.
“Hey. Kim,” he said in a serious voice. She stopped and turned toward him.
“Yeah,” she replied, looking at him expectantly. He stared at for a few seconds.
“You know it’s the same for me too, right?” he asked, his expression now intense.
“What is?” she asked, now confused.
“I’d be just as jealous—if not more—if I found out some guy was hitting on you. You know that right?” Kim blushed.
“I know. But it’s nice to hear you say it,” she replied shyly.
“You’re the only one I want,” he whispered. Hearing it again gave her a rush of butterflies again. “Plus, seeing you get all jealous is kinda sexy,” he said with a smirk on his face. Kim rolled her eyes, but didn’t protest as he dragged them toward his room, laughing as he tickled her once more.