Something Sweet

Ch. 17

"I'm not bad per se, but I'm not good either. I mean, I can survive, but it's not the tastiest and prettiest meals."

"Well at least you can cook and survive. That's all that matters."

"So I think you said you've been cooking for Luke and his mom?"

"Yeah. Just until she's back on her feet and her arms heal."

"Luke can't do the cooking for the two of them?"

"He might be able to now. At first he was pretty hopeless, but he's really improved a lot since I started cooking there."

"Maybe you won't have to cook for them as long as you think then."

"Yeah, maybe."

I didn't really want to think about that. Going to Luke's to cook dinner every weeknight had become second nature. I'd been doing it for so many weeks now that the idea of suddenly not going anymore felt weird and made me start to panic, frankly.

"But, I think his mom would appreciate a variety of foods and some healthy ones rather than all the pasta he can make."

"That's probably true," he chuckled and then shrugged. "Just trying to get you out of there sooner. I'm sure you can't wait to have more free time."

"It really hasn't been an issue yet. Plus, it's not forever. Eventually she'll be back up and able to do things."

"That's before you met me. Just think, once you're free from your weeknight cooking, you'll have more time for dates."

"That's a little presumptuous of you isn't it?" I said in a flirty manner. "What if I have a terrible time tonight?"

"Hmm well, the fact that you haven't decided what you want to eat and the waitress has been hovering around us for the past few minutes to see if we're ready to order yet, tells me that you're enjoying our conversation so much that you - the future chef - haven't even looked at the menu yet."

Damn, he's right. Am I that predictable?

"You're a distraction," I smirked and made a point to dramatically open the menu and look at it, refusing to look up.

We finally placed our orders - we got a nachos to share and I ordered the pulled pork tacos. I really wanted the blooming onion, but I thought if I want to leave the possibility for a goodnight kiss open then I probably shouldn't smell like onions. As we waited for our food, Luke started telling me what student life at Chapman was like. He showed me a photo on his phone of what his uniform looked like - forest green polos and khaki pants. He told me about the classes he's taking this year and we compared schedules. He was right in the middle of telling me about his lacrosse team when my phone started vibrating in my lap. I tried to look down discreetly at my phone that I placed under my napkin.

Jack: Everything good? He hasn't tried to drug you, kidnap you, and dismember you? Yet?

Me: All good so far (thumbs up emoji)

"Sorry, my friend texted me."

"To see if you needed an excuse to leave?" He teased.

"Just making sure you haven't murdered me," I said with a wink.

"On a first date? That'd be rude."

I laughed. His sense of humor was really helping to make me feel at ease and not so nervous about this date. I appreciated it more than he could know because he couldn't possibly understand just how painfully awkward I am in social situations.

We talked, laughed, and ate some more and with each passing minute the more comfortable I became. I was just laughing at a comment Brennan made about Paris' high strung demeanor at the bonfire when I caught Jack out of the corner of my eye. To someone who didn't know him he looked like he was just perusing the shelves for a board game to play, but I knew he was spying. No one stares at Monopoly for that long and I knew for a fact that the friends he was with had no interest in board games.