°♡˖꒰Author's꒱˖♡° POV
The Morning Wake-Up Call
The morning sun was just beginning to peek through the curtains, but Jay Jay was still dead to the world. Exhausted from the late-night goodbye with Keifer, she had done what she always did when she needed to feel truly free: she'd taken a long, steaming bath and climbed into bed completely naked. There was something about the cool silk of the sheets against her skin that finally let her brain turn off.
Suddenly, a loud, upbeat ringtone shattered the silence.
Jay Jay groaned, burying her face in the pillow. "Rosee... turn it off..."
But Rosee didn't turn it off. Instead, the six-year-old scrambled onto the bed, her small knees digging into the mattress. She was holding Jay Jay's phone, the screen glowing with a FaceTime connection.
"Wake up, Jay Jay! Look who's on the magic box!" Rosee chirped. Before Jay Jay could process her lack of clothing, Rosee propped the phone up on the nightstand, perfectly angled to capture the entire bed.
Jay Jay bolted upright, her eyes wide with shock. She barely managed to snag the duvet, clutching it desperately to her chest to cover herself. On the screen, Keifer's face appeared. He was in his hotel room, mid-shave, but he froze the second he saw her messy hair, bare shoulders, and the sleep-dazed look in her eyes.
"Jay..." Keifer's voice was a low, rough growl. His eyes darted from her face to the line of the sheet held against her collarbone. "You... you're still in bed."
"Keifer!" Jay Jay squeaked, her face turning a deep shade of crimson. "Rosee, give me the phone!"
"No!" Rosee protested, crawling closer to Jay Jay's side. She squinted at Jay Jay's bare shoulder. "Jay Jay, why don't you wear anything inside? Is it because you're too tight? Do the clothes hurt your tight parts?"
Keifer choked on air, a frantic, restless energy taking over his expression. "Rosee, honey, maybe we should let Jay Jay get dressed—"
"But I have to check!" Rosee insisted. She turned back to Jay Jay. "Mamma Ricee said you were 'well-tasted' and 'tight.' Keifer said you taste good, and I want to know too!"
"Rosee, wait—" Keifer started, his hand reaching toward the camera as if he could stop her. "No, don't—"
But Rosee was faster. She grabbed Jay Jay's cheeks and planted a loud, smacking kiss right on her lips.
"Mmm," Rosee hummed, pulling back. Then she leaned in and did it again. And a third time for good measure. Mwah! Mwah!
"Rosee! Stop!" Keifer yelled at the phone, his face a mix of jealousy and sheer frustration. He was shifting in his chair, his knuckles white as he gripped his own phone. "That's... that's not for you to test!"
Rosee ignored him, looking at Jay Jay with wide, delighted eyes. "She really does taste good! No, very good! Like vanilla and honey. I want one more!"
"No more!" Keifer groaned, running a hand through his hair, looking absolutely restless. "Jay, please, put a shirt on before I catch the next flight back and lose my mind. Rosee, you're killing me, kid."
Jay Jay tucked the sheet tighter, her heart hammering against her ribs as she looked at Keifer's pained, longing expression on the screen. "I think... I think we need to hang up now," she whispered, her voice trembling with embarrassment.
Jay Jay thought she was safe once she'd hung up her own phone, but she underestimated Rosee's determination. Ten minutes later, while Jay Jay was frantically trying to pull on an oversized sweater, she heard a familiar chime from the hallway.
Rosee burst back in, this time brandishing Mamma Ricee's phone. Keifer's face was back on the screen, looking even more disheveled and restless than before.
"Keifer! I found her again!" Rosee squealed, diving onto the bed.
"Rosee, I have a meeting in twenty minutes!" Keifer pleaded, though he was staring intensely at Jay Jay as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Jay, tell her she's had enough 'samples' for one day."
"I'm not done!" Rosee declared. She grabbed Jay Jay's chin, pulling her face down. Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Three more aggressive, sticky kisses landed right on Jay Jay's mouth.
"She's just so sweet, Keifer! Why can't I have her all the time?" Rosee giggled.
Keifer let out a strangled sound, half-groan and half-laugh, covering his eyes with his hand. "Because she's mine, Rosee! You're driving me crazy. Jay, please, go to the kitchen. Escape while you can."
Jay Jay practically fled to the kitchen, Rosee trailing behind her like a tiny, persistent shadow. Mamma Ricee was at the stove, flipping pancakes with a rhythmic thwack.
"Well, look who finally crawled out of the 'tight' quarters," Mamma Ricee teased, winking as Jay Jay slumped into a chair.
"Mamma, Rosee is telling Keifer I taste like vanilla," Jay Jay groaned, hiding her face in her hands.
"Well, do you?" Mamma Ricee asked, leaning over to inspect Jay Jay's flustered face. "You do look a bit 'over-proofed,' honey. Maybe the heat in that room was a bit too high for a 'clumsy ship' without its captain."
"Mamma!"
"I'm just saying!" Mamma laughed, sliding a plate of pancakes onto the table. "If you're too tight, the dough won't rise. It's good Rosee gave you a little 'kneading.' Though I suspect Keifer would prefer to do the kneading himself. He looked like he was about to jump through the phone screen and tackle the child."
After breakfast, once Rosee had been distracted by a cartoon and Mamma was busy in the garden, Jay Jay's father walked into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across from her. The playful atmosphere shifted into something quieter, more grounded.
"You're wearing that sweater inside out, Jay," he said gently, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Jay Jay looked down, realized he was right, and sighed. "I'm a mess, Dad. They won't stop teasing me.
Her father reached across the table, covering her hand with his. "It's a big change, isn't it? Going from being a solo act to having someone who fits your rhythm so well."
"It feels like I'm missing a limb," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "Is that normal? Or am I just being the 'clumsy ship' everyone says I am?"
"It's not clumsiness, Jay Jay. It's love," he said firmly. "Your mother and Percy, they tease because they're happy for you. They remember when you were closed off, keeping everything inside. Seeing you this open—even if it's a bit messy—is a relief to them."
He squeezed her hand. "Don't be afraid of the 'anything' or the missing pieces. It just means the anchor is set deep. You're not drifting, honey. You're just waiting for the wind to pick back up. And seven days? That's just a blink of an eye for a love that's built to last."
Jay Jay felt the lump in her throat dissolve, replaced by a warm, steady glow. "Thanks, Dad."
"Anytime," he said, standing up. "Now, go fix your sweater before Percy sees it. He's already got enough ammunition for the week."
The house was finally silent. Jay Jay sat by the window, the moon casting long, silver shadows across the room. Her phone buzzed against the glass—a FaceTime request from Keifer.
When his face appeared, the playful bravado from the morning was gone. He looked exhausted, leaning his head against the headboard of his hotel bed.
"Hey," he whispered, his voice deep and raspy. "I couldn't sleep. My arms feel too light without you in them."
"I'm still 'tight,' Keifer," Jay Jay admitted, her voice trembling. "Just... the bad kind of tight. Like a guitar string about to snap."
"I saw what Rosee did," he said, a ghost of a smirk appearing. "I was so jealous of a five-year-old it was embarrassing. I can still see the strawberry gloss on your lips. I want to be the one tasting you, Jay. Not through a screen."
"I will Come home soon," she breathed.
"Six more days," he promised. "Go to sleep, my beautiful, clumsy ship. I'll be the wind when you get back."
The moment the call ended, something shifted in Jay Jay. The softness she allowed herself with Keifer vanished. If she couldn't have his warmth, she would become absolute zero.
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The next morning, Jay Jay arrived at the Mariano Company headquarters at 5:00 AM. She wasn't wearing her usual soft knits; she was draped in a sharp, charcoal-grey power suit, her hair slicked back into a bun so tight it looked painful.
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By Tuesday, the staff began to whisper. The "clumsy" Jay Jay—the one who tripped over rugs and laughed at her own mistakes—was gone. In her place was the Cold CEO.
"Mr. Henderson," she snapped during the morning briefing, her voice like a cracking whip. "This proposal is mediocre. If I wanted mediocrity, I would have hired a pigeon. Redo it by noon or don't bother coming back."
She stopped eating. Trays of gourmet sandwiches were sent to her office and returned untouched. She survived on black espresso and pure, caffeinated spite.
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By Thursday, the shadows under her eyes were bruised purple. She was running the Mariano empire with terrifying efficiency, closing three international deals in forty-eight hours. She moved through the marble halls like a ghost made of ice, her gaze so chilling that even the senior directors lowered their eyes when she passed.
Percy tried to visit her office to stir up trouble, but he didn't even make it past the door.
"I don't have time for your theatrics, Percy," she said, not even looking up from her three monitors. Her voice was monotone, devoid of any feeling. "Leave. Now."
Percy stepped back, actually stunned. "Jay? You look like you're made of stone. You need to eat something."
"I need results," she replied coldly. "Go home."
She was a machine. Without Keifer to anchor her, she had decided to build a fortress of work so high that she couldn't feel the loneliness. She didn't sleep; she stared at spreadsheets until the numbers blurred into stars. She was the Ice Queen, and her kingdom was thriving, even as she was slowly crumbling inside.
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On Friday night, Jay Jay was still at her desk. The cleaning crew had already left. The silence of the skyscraper was oppressive. Her hands, usually so expressive, were folded perfectly on her desk—stiff and unmoving.
Her phone chimed.
A text from Keifer: "I love you my queen. I hope you're resting, my love."
A single tear hit the glass of her desk, but she didn't sob. She simply stared at it. She had pushed everyone away—Mamma's jokes, Percy's prodding, her father's wisdom—all to prove she could survive the "tightness" on her own.
She was the CEO of a billion-dollar company, but as she sat in her ivory tower, she realized she was just a girl who was starving for a single touch.