Chapter Text
The air conditioner blows cool air, and Janine burrows herself underneath her blankets, freezing cold. She lets out a groan as her alarm clock rings and turns it off almost immediately, then tries to fall back to sleep.
It is seven thirty in the morning, the couple has to keep some sort of structure to their routine although they are off from work for the Summer.
Gregory pulls her closer to him. “Good morning, Janine.” He whispers to her and kisses the sweet spot on her neck, causing her breath to become shallow.
She closes her eyes as Gregory continues placing light feathery kisses on her bare skin, his kisses go from her forehead and past her neck.
His hands leave soft touches on her warm skin, and she forgets that she was ever freezing cold.
“Good morning.” Janine says back to him, admiring him in his black durag as he resumes exploring her body.
There’s not much room for talking right now.
Since the start of Summer vacation, their mornings have started off slow and passionate.
“I was thinking that we could go downtown today.” Gregory says to Janine, going back to kiss her again. She bites her lip as his kisses become rougher and lightly pushes him out of the way, fearful that he’d leave marks on her skin.
Not on her watch.
The last time he left marks on her skin, Ava had a field day. The next day, the principal arrived at school with lingerie for Janine to try for Gregory.
Ava didn’t let her live that moment down, for a while.
There was no way Janine was going through that again. She couldn’t… not in this Summer heat.
“We can go downtown, if we can make it out of here.” Janine says, laughing and tries to move away from Gregory who pulls her closer. She peppers his cheek with kisses, causing him to melt.
“Okay, give me five minutes.” He says to her, right before leaning in to kiss her gently.
“Not with the cat in here.” She teases, kissing his lips and rolling out of bed to let their cat, Jack out of the bedroom.
The two spent their morning caught up in honeymoon bliss before making their excursion around downtown Philadelphia.
Their day of adventure has led them to five different places, and by two in the afternoon, they are ready for lunch and a nap.
Gregory is grateful that he wore shorts today, the weather is beautiful.
His arms manage to drive Janine up a wall, though.
In her tote bag, Janine has cold water, books, shades, and a foldable picnic blanket for the two of them.
The two stop by Goldie and grab Mediterranean food, a cuisine that Gregory surprisingly likes.
They take their food to go and sit at a park in Fairmount on their picnic blanket, enjoying each other’s company.
The sun shines brightly, making Janine’s brown skin glow. She looks radiant, relaxed, and the silk olive green tank top she wears makes her skin glow even more.
Gregory takes his time to admire her as she reads, Janine playfully sneers at him before he kisses her forehead. His admiration for her is something that she’s still getting used to.
Gregory’s head rests in Janine’s lap as she reads her book, gently whispering each word in concentration. His thumb softly strokes her thigh as she continues reading, until she stops and looks down at him.
“What?” He asks her, seeing her gaze change.
“Nothing, this is just peaceful.” She sighs and goes back to reading.
Gregory grabs her free hand in his and kisses her palm, to which she jokingly grabs his chin.
He sticks his tongue out and causes her to snatch her hand back, the both of them laugh loudly as Janine rubs her hand on Gregory’s shirt. He takes a look at her and just smiles in adoration.
“What are we going to do when we go back to school?” Janine asks as Gregory picks her up and places her into his lap, crossing his legs so that she falls in between.
“That’s a good question, but for now, I think we should focus on this moment.” He replies, kissing her forehead.
She plays with their hands, both of their left hands wear a new accessory.
They have recently married three months ago, secretly eloping at Longwood Gardens. The location was perfect since Gregory loves plants, and Janine wanted a small wedding of six guests, nothing more.
Gregory brings her hand up to his lips and kisses her hand, gently rubbing her hand with his thumb.
Janine closes her eyes as Gregory continues to love on her. This moment couldn’t be more perfect.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you are?” Gregory asks, causing Janine to giggle. He presses comforting kisses to her shoulder.
“You told me when we were getting dressed this morning.”
“Well my question and statement haven’t changed.” He replies, making Janine blush.
“Let’s go to the fountain.” Janine suggests.
Gregory takes off running the ten feet it takes to get there, Janine’s hand in his. Her little legs can barely keep up.
They reach the fountain and Gregory picks Janine up, running full force into the fountain.
“No!” She screams as the cold water hits her back, though Gregory makes sure not to let her hair get wet.
Janine laughs loudly, warming Gregory’s heart. He walks them back to their belongings and sits Janine back down on the blanket.
She takes a sip of her ice cold water while Gregory sits next to her and looks at the tall building off to the side of the fountain.
“What’s that building?” He asks Janine, admiring the architecture that he can see.
“That’s the Franklin Institute.” Janine answers.
“Oh.” Gregory painfully replies before he turns to face Janine who smiles at him.
Gregory simply kisses her forehead and resumes cuddling with her, grateful for this moment between them.
—
The lovers end their downtown excursion at a flower shop. Gregory debates on getting zinnias for the new garden that he’s built outside of his and Janine’s apartment.
Janine grabs some indoor plants, including a polka dot plant since she accidentally killed the plant that Gregory gave her.
She had spent weeks not telling him, until he asked one day and she admitted her mistake, to which he had to give her a lesson on proper watering.
She’s never really had a green thumb, but couldn’t be more grateful for her husband teaching her about horticulture.
It’s a fair exchange, since Janine educates Gregory on comedy and poetry.
She loves him, and he loves her.
The sun sets as the couple are in their backyard, listening to a mix of spoken word poetry and jazz while Gregory teaches Janine how to propagate their growing pothos plant.
“You’re doing really well, Janine.” Gregory encourages as he sees Janine cut a stem and place it into her water filled Kombucha bottle.
“Thank you, I have a great teacher.” Janine smiles at him, while he returns the smile.
“Well you’re an easy student.” He responds, gathering her into his arms. She grabs his hand in hers and lays her head on his chest.
“Thank you for expanding my mind and creativity.” She says to him, meaning every word.
The two enjoy the calm Summer night together, wrapped up in each other’s arms.
They honestly couldn’t ask for anything better than this moment together… that is until Jack comes and startles the both of them by jumping into their laps, joining them for cuddles.