Is this destiny?

~ Chicago, Jasper's penthouse ~

Ellie left work early. She went to do groceries and headed to Jasper's apartment.

Tomorrow she has a show late in the afternoon and she is not sure how long it will last. After that there is an event she should not miss, so she will probably not be able to see Jasper. As much as she does not like the idea of a Friday evening without Jasper, this is her work. And she knows that Jasper will be super-fussy about it.

Somehow, she is the adult in the relationship while he is guided by his urges and the need to stick close to her. Ellie loves that he is like that, but sometimes she needs to work as well, alright?

In order to make up for tomorrow evening, Ellie decided to cook dinner. It will be a surprise for him and hopefully improves his mood enough not to throw a tantrum.

He knows that she has a show tomorrow, but that morning she confirmed that he thinks it's early in the afternoon when he said that he got his hands on a latest movie and they can watch it on Friday evening.

Since then Ellie is trying to think how to appease her man, and the obvious choice fell on cooking dinner.

Back to present…

Dinner is in the oven, Ellie cleaned up the kitchen mess she left behind and went to work on her laptop. Her assistants sent her latest designs for final approval before tomorrow's show. She needs to make sure everything looks perfect. Usually she will do this in person, but because of this dinner-making-business she instructed her assistants to take detailed photos and she will review them on her laptop. Ah, she never thought that she will neglect her work because of a man.

Ellie checked her phone and saw last text from Jasper: 'On my way', followed with a heart emoji.

Based on this, he should arrive soon if the traffic is not too bad.

Jasper told Ellie to let him know when she arrives, and she guessed that he will hurry home, so she waited until dinner was prepared and in the oven baking before texting him. And she was right. Five minutes after she told him that she is in his apartment, he texted that he is on his way.

Ellie smiled while looking at numerous messages they exchanged during the workday. And Jasper is very attentive when they are together as well. Sometimes she wonders if he is aware of her insecurities about being cheated and betrayed, because he is doing all the right things to make sure he conveys his sincerity and dispels any doubts before they even form.

Ellie is at the state where she believes that his feelings are true and that he has no intention of hurting her. She is not sure if that trust is unconditional (yet), but it's getting there.

Jasper entered the apartment and immediately an appetizing aroma filled his nostrils. He thought that Ellie ordered dinner already, but he never smelled anything like this. Probably something new.

He found Ellie in the dining room, sitting on a chair with her legs up. Her chin rested on her knees while she focused on the laptop in front of her. Jasper leaned on the doorframe and observed her. She is beautiful, amazing and his.

Since she arrived on Saturday, Jasper was not in this apartment without her in it. Ellie is already integral part of his life, and he looks forward to workday to end so that he can be next to her.

Jasper can't imagine how will he survive when she goes to Los Angeles? His guess is that she will leave in a week. Maybe ten days. Because she has LA Fashion week going on, and even though she has that boss, she is obviously doing most of the work. There is no way he will allow her to stay in Chicago and miss that event in Los Angeles. The only good thing is that Ellie does not have events to attend after that. But will she agree to come and spend time with him in Chicago? Or will she go to her home in Seattle? If it's the latter, he will be able to see her only on weekends. Jasper wants to ask Ellie about her future plans, but he is afraid that she will not consider him.

"Hey…", Ellie's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He smiled. "Hey."

"I need few minutes to finish this, and dinner will be served after you freshen up.", Ellie informed him. She noticed that his mood is off but thought that if he showers and has her home-made meal, it should cheer him up.

Jasper sat on the chair next to Ellie and pulled her to sit in his lap. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent. It's the same scent which lingered on his pillows Sunday morning when he thought in his half-asleep state that he had some other girl in his bed. Now he knows how silly he was. There is no way that any other girl can smell this good.

"Bad day at work?", Ellie asked when she realized that he has no intention to go and freshen up.

"You can say that."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "I prefer to keep work things at work. I'm home now, and no matter how bad it was, right now, with your proximity, I'm recharging."

Ellie hugged him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad that I have such an effect on you." She was touched by his words, but part of her sighed internally while thinking how cheesy he is. 

"Hmm… how about… you join me in the shower?"

Ellie buried her face in his neck in order to hide the smile which crept on her face. "I need to turn off the oven in five minutes, and I have few more designs to check."

"Oven? You made dinner?"

Ellie lifted her head to see him. The smile was still there, but if he asks she will say it's because of dinner. "Yeah. I decided to welcome my hard working man with a dinner."

Jasper smiled. "Beautiful, smart, good with words and knows how to cook. I like that."

He looked at her laptop. "What is that for?"

"For the show tomorrow. I'm verifying that everything looks fine before final approval. I need few more minutes."

Jasper tightened his hold around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I can wait."

Ellie realized that he will wait for her to finish work and turn off the oven so that they can go and shower together. "You are shameless."

"Mmm", he confirmed. "Just how you like me."

Ellie exhaled and turned to face him.

It took all the willpower she could muster to withstand his icy-blue eyes which stirred with passion and that irresistible smile in order to say her next words: "Let's be realistic. If we go and shower together, the dinner will get cold. And there is something I want to discuss with you before we… you know." She glanced toward the bedroom.

Jasper pouted. "You are sending me to shower by myself?"

Ellie raised an eyebrow at him and thought how she spoiled him. Can I grown up man be spoiled?

Jasper saw that she is not about to change her mind and he narrowed his eyes. "You will need to make it up to me."

"Just go." Ellie stood up out of his lap and moved onto the chair where she was sitting when he arrived.

"I will take that as a 'yes'.", Jasper's breath tickled her neck and he gave her a quick kiss before heading to the bedroom. He was in a good mood.

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