Chapter 13: Meeting Jason Case

Dana POV:

"I still can't believe you actually know your way around the kitchen pretty boy. I could have actually sworn that you had no idea what a pan was much less what it looked like but here you are actually making use of one and making use of it the right way. I'm impressed mi amigo," I tease a shirtless Blake who was surprisingly busying himself in the kitchen and fixing dinner for himself, Jason, the boyfriend I still haven't met and my humble self who still could not believe he actually knew how to cook.

"Can you stop teasing me already? You're being a distraction," he says shyly when he's clearly enjoying my teasing and I nod negative to show him I wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"I would have stopped, but then again, how can I stop teasing you when you're still walking around the house half dressed with your pants barely hanging on your waist? You cannot possibly look like a top shot model in the kitchen and not expect me to keep teasing you, not happening pretty boy with a pretty waistline," he lets out a loud laugh as soon as I tease about him being shirtless and annoyingly pleasing to the eyes and honestly, it felt very good to be having this kind of conversation with him without any kind of awkwardness.

I had actually at one point thought that he might not be the friendliest or the easiest person to converse with since he always sounded very strict and serious and he also did look the part so I couldn't imagine him being friendly and goofy but to my surprise, he actually knew how to take a joke and have a friendly conversation without me feeling like I'm forcing it or being pushy with my words.

"At least you acknowledge my good looks. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about you since you aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing to the eyes," he says with a sly smile tugging on his lips and I immediately wear a mock annoyed frown on my face.

"I know you didn't just call me ugly! Take it back immediately!" I hiss at him, and he sticks his tongue out childishly whilst nodding negative.

"I didn't say ugly dear Dana, I said not aesthetically pleasing which means, you're not all that, at least compared to me," he defends with a light shrug and I immediately pick up the nearest object I could find which was a cooking spoon and I threaten to hit him with it on his head but he's quick to dodge my attack and I grunt in anger.

"For someone who has so much to say about my looks, you really have no balls pretty boy. How about you just repeat everything you just said but right in my face without running off or dodging like a scaredy cat?" I dare him and he unsurprisingly ignores me.

"I need to focus on the pasta now honey so how about you pause with the drama since you won't exactly be of any help to me and about your looks, I'm just joking, okay? If you weren't pretty, I most definitely wouldn't have married you. I may not be sexually attracted to women, but I like looking at the pretty ones, and I love having them around me as friends because who wouldn't?" he says, and I honestly could not help but shake my head.

"You picky motherfucker," I hiss with an eye roll, and he chuckles before paying attention back to the meat in the pan. Apparently, his choice for dinner was home cooked beef ragu and since I have no clue how it's made, I decide against getting involved so he doesn't end up blaming me if it all goes south. But judging by how he’s doing, he seems pretty sure of himself, and I must admit that his culinary skills are pretty impressive.

"Are you by any chance Italian?" I ask randomly and he tilts his head as if surprised by my sudden question.

"Well, my mom is part Italian from her mother's side which makes me a little bit Italian I suppose but how'd guess?" he replies, and I shrug.

"It's just my instinct telling me, and I must admit, your physical features look very much Italian. Hate to compliment you but you look like a really good-looking Italian model," I tell him, and he scoffs.

"I know it's from a good place but please stop with the compliment. It's distracting my ego," he replies in his usual cocky tone, and I mentally roll my eyes at him. I would have never imagined Blake had such a huge ego or was this cocky especially concerning his looks but then again, he has every right in the world to actually be cocky cause if I were in his shoes, I'd probably be much worse.

"You really enjoy making me regret..." I was saying until an unfamiliar voice speaks up out of nowhere and Blake and I quickly divert our attention to the kitchen entrance.

"You two seem to be having enjoying your conversation, I hope I'm not interrupting," the unfamiliar male says with a small smile on his lips and boy oh boy was I immediately mesmerized.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up! What have you been up to all day? Called you like a billion times already," Blake says and his identity immediately clicked. Jason, the one and only Jason that Blake never fails to talk about.

I honestly don't know how to feel at the moment. Something about Jason's presence made me feel hypnotized and uncomfortable at the same time and I still can't wrap my head around the weird feeling that was currently bothering me. Could it be his good looks? Am I simply fascinated by how good looking he is? I mean, I knew Blake's boyfriend probably wouldn't be a regular, average looking hottie but I was not expecting to meet a man straight out of an erotic novel.

The man here just oozes so much sex appeal and that could be the reason I'm actually tongue tied and uncomfortable.

"Stop exaggerating Blake. You only called me three times and the only reason I couldn't pick up was because I was busy at that moment. I did tell you that I would be having a meeting with the curator today to discuss the next exhibition and the meeting took way longer than I expected so I didn't get a chance to call you back," he replies, obviously not in the mood to explain any further.

"If you say so. The only reason I'm so bothered is because you were supposed to meet her earlier but anyways, let's put that aside. Uhm, I have no idea how I'm supposed to do this but here goes, Dana, this is Jason, my boyfriend that I already told you about and Jason, this is Dana, the new lady of the house," Blake blurts out in a rush and I almost laugh at how nervous and awkward he sounded. This honestly had to be the lamest introduction I've ever heard and witnessed.

"Really Blake? Really? Do you always have to overthink the simplest things?" Jason fires at him in a teasing tone before turning his attention away from Blake and staring back at me directly and his intense eyes bore into mine, intimidating my entire being.

"It's great finally meeting you, Dana. I'm Jason, Jason case and I'm the fun one in the house, " he introduces in a deep but cheerful tone that was slightly more welcoming than his facial expressions. He stretches out his right hand, gesturing for a handshake and I nervously take his hand in mine although I doubt that was a good idea since the physical contact only made my nervousness skyrocket.

"It's nice meeting you too Mr. Case. I'm Adriana Gonzalez but you can call me Dana," I reply nervously, and he chuckles. A dark, short chuckle that made me swallow hard, really hard.

This man is most definitely about to cause me a whole lot of problems and I could practically see myself foolishly walking into it.

"You don't have to sound so formal and nervous with me Adriana. Just like I'll stick to calling you Dana, you can also call me by my first name. Sound good?" he asks, and I simply nod my head since once again, I was too busy admiring him and enjoying the fact that he still had his hands in mine to come up with actual words.

"If you two are done with your lovely introduction, dinner is ready." Blake chimes in and a sudden feeling of emptiness and guilt overwhelms me as soon as Jason's hands pull out of mine.

The emptiness, I definitely cannot explain since I only just met the guy and I should not even be the least bit attracted to him since he's in a relationship with a man and that man is also my husband who is putting his trust in me go protect his secret but then, for some weird reason, I can't help but just admire everything about him from his blue eyes to his dark hair and his straight, pointy nose that sat prettily on his perfectly sculpted face to his tall, well-structured body.

Looking at himself and Blake made me realize just how bland and boring my looks actually are.

"Smells great!" Jason replies in an excited tone, moving closer to Blake and planting a quick kiss on his cheeks. Something about that moment between them provoked an unidentified feeling in me and also made me realize how ridiculous I was being for mentally drooling over a gay man who would probably never look at me that way.

I push aside my thoughts and walk up to join them, mentally blaming my moment of weakness on the fact that I've been single for way too long, although deep down, I knew that wasn't actually the case but knowing the kinda person I am, I'll probably get over myself after a few days since I'm not one to hold on to a fruitless attraction, or at least that's what I'd like to believe.