Morning Surprise
Chapter Eight: Morning Surprise
Gambit awoke just as the sun was coming up. His back ached from sleeping on the tiny sofa, but he looked over and saw that Rogue was sound asleep in the bed that was a few feet away. She looked so content, and most importantly she was safe. He smiled glancing over at her. She was like an angel, and he was determined to protect her no matter how long she needed it.
He walked into the bathroom that was right off the kitchenette and decided to take a hot shower. He figured it would help get the kinks out. It was just what he needed, and he changed into a pair of black shorts and a red T-Shirt that was lying in a laundry basket in the corner of the bathroom by the toilet when he finished getting cleaned up. He didn’t know who they belong to but at least they fit.
After running a comb through his hair he came out of the bathroom and still saw Rogue sleeping. He didn’t have the heart to wake her, so he had the idea of making breakfast. The smell of good food would awaken her naturally, so he looked inside the refrigerator and found some eggs, milk, butter and some sausage links. He scanned the cupboards for some bread and found some in a small cabinet. This would do for now. He quietly searched for a skillet and some cooking utensils to get things started trying to be as quiet as possible so he didn’t wake her.
He had the food cooking in no time and enjoyed making the breakfast and had just finished the French toast and put it on some plates and started in on the sausage. It didn’t take long to finish up the food when he heard faint sounds coming from across the room. After turning off the burner he walked over to the bed to see Rogue beginning to stir.
“Where am ah?” Rogue asked in a sleepy voice and slowly rose to a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and worked hard to focus and looked around and saw Gambit standing near her bed which surprised her. “Somethin’ smells good.”
“Thought you’d be hungry when you woke up,” he said and sat down on the edge of her bed. She put her hand under the blanket, seeing that he had no gloves on.
“You alright?” Gambit asked her.
“Yeah, ah think so. Forgot where ah was for a moment.” He gave a small chuckle which made her give a small laugh as well. After taking a look around the room she thought to herself for a moment and looked over at him, meeting him eye to eye. “Something strange happened.”
“What’s that, Chere?”
“Last night, it’s the first night in a week ah haven’t had a nightmare,” she said with a half-smile.
“Dat’s good.” he said and stroked her hair. She flinched for a moment, but then she realized he wasn’t touching her skin. “Breakfast be ready in a few minutes.” He got up from the edge of the bed and walked back over to the kitchen area.
“Then ah’ll take a shower,” she said and got up from the bed. He smiled at her as she passed him carrying her backpack.
Once inside the bathroom she stripped off her clothes and turned on the water. She laid out the clothes she was going to change into and saw there was a towel hanging on the rack. She then looked over and saw the matching towel in the clothes hamper and figured that her unexpected houseguest had used it.
She only took a short shower seeing as the water turned cold in less than five minutes, but it was enough to wash her hair and get cleaned up. She dried off and wrapped her hair in a towel while putting on her clothes which consisted of a long sleeve light green and white T-Shirt and a pair of jeans. She found a pair of green gloves to match made of thin cotton. Over the last few years she had become an expert in gloves. The thick ones made her hand sweat and those that were too shear ended up ripping, so she worked hard to find a happy medium. There was only one shop in Bayville that sold the kind that she liked for everyday wear but she left that world behind. At least she brought enough gloves to last a while.
She stood in front of the mirror trying to decide what to do with her hair. There was a small hairdryer hanging on a hook and decided she would use that. She didn’t want Gambit to see her with wet straggly hair, although she couldn’t understand why she cared. She combed it out before turning on the hair dryer. The hot air on her face felt nice and soon her hair wasn’t nearly as wet.
“Hey, chere!” She heard Gambit yell from outside the door. He knocked lightly which prompted her to turn off the hairdryer. “Breakfast is gonna get cold.”
“Be right out!” she yelled back. That was the moment she heard her stomach grumble and realized she didn’t have time to put on her makeup, and besides he had already seen her without it. She quickly put on some socks and her running shoes that were neatly placed by the toilet. She took one last look in the mirror and walked towards the door to exit the bathroom.
She found Gambit setting a small round table that was folded up in the corner, and there was a simple tablecloth with two plates set and even a vase in the center with a few fresh flowers in it.
“To your liking?” he asked.
“It’s nice, but ya didn’t have to go do all this,” she said and walked towards the table.
“Sure I did. My chere deserves the best,” he said and walked around the table to pull out her chair. All she could do was smile at the gesture.
“Alright, if ya can play gentleman, I’ll play the lady,” she said and sat down.
“You don’ have t’play it, Chere,” Remy said as he sat down in the chair opposite her. “You are one.”
His words made her blush which put a smile on his face. She noticed there was coffee and orange juice at the table. The coffee was cooled enough to drink so she took a sip. “Mmmmmm, just like ah like it.”
“One cream, three sugars,” Remy said then took a bite of his sausage.
“How did ya know that?” Rogue asked, putting her coffee on the table.
“Know a lot ‘bout you,” he said, taking a large gulp of orange juice. “Gambit is very observant.”
“No surprise there. Ah shouldn’t be shocked by anything ya do.”
“So you ain’t mad?” he asked then finished up the rest of his meal.
“Not sayin’ that, but this breakfast makes up for it a little bit. Didn’t know ya could cook.”
“Got many skills,” he said and looked deeply into her eyes. She turned away feeling a little flustered. “Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“Ya didn’t, not really,” she said, trying to make light of his words. She went back to finishing her food and even though she didn’t want to admit it she was enjoying herself. She had at first decided she was better off staying alone, but she was glad to have his company.
“Would you like more?” he asked and she looked at him surprised.
“No, thank ya, ah’ve had plenty,” she said touching her stomach. “So…, ah… guess you’ll be leavin’ soon,” she said with some sadness in her voice.
“Not unless ya want me to,” he said and looked away. He had just given her an out, and she wanted to take it, but before she could stop herself the words were out of her mouth.
“Well, ah guess ah owe ya for this wonderful breakfast,” she said and got up out of her seat.
“You don’ owe me nothin’, chere,” he said and rose to his feet standing next to her. “Gambit was glad to do it.”
“Still, hospitality rules say I owe ya a kindness, so maybe ah could make a picnic lunch.”
“Are you askin’ me on a picnic, Chere?” he asked with a surprised look on his face.
“Yeah, ah guess ah am,” she said more confidently. “Ya up for it, Cajun?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said and smiled. “How about we go into town, get some supplies and I’ll help yaw wid dat picnic.”
“Ya know, ah can cook,” she said challenging him.
“Got no doubt, Chere, but humor me,” he said and his words made her smile. “So, I guess I’ll be stayin’ a little longer.”
“Ah guess so,” she said and grabbed her hiking shoes that were sitting next to the closet door. Gambit took the opportunity to clear the table and quickly clean the breakfast dishes. She sat on the edge of the bed and put on her outside shoes. She grabbed her purse just as he finished drying the dishes. “Ya comin’, Cajun?”
“Follow you anywhere,” he said and rushed for the door just as she stepped out. This outing would be interesting, he thought to himself as he walked swiftly to catch up with her.