Beloved

5

Angelica was tossing a salad and laughing at something Dante had said. Dante was taking a sheet pan out of the oven. He was smiling, too. He glanced at Gaia just before setting the pan on a pair of trivets, and his smile immediately dropped.

Angelica looked up as Gaia entered the kitchen, her lovely smile stayed plastered, though her eyes turned cold, "Hi, you must be Geeah. Dante's told me about you."

Gaia approached the island counter slowly, "Hi Angelica. My name is actually pronounced "Guy-ah", with a hard 'g', not whatever it was you said." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Dante flick a stern look toward Angelica.

"Angelica is bad with names, don't mind her," Dante said apologetically.

"Oh." Angelica then turned to Dante and asked if they'd be eating at the counter or if she should set the table.

"Let's sit at the counter tonight. Just us, no need to be formal."

Gaia watched where everything was located. It was a roomy kitchen, with a large window over the sink through which she could see there was a back yard area. She took the utensils and napkin Angelica handed her with a 'thank you', and placed them neatly at her right hand.

She wondered if Angelica was going to be a fixture every evening. Oh, goddess! Did Angelica live here too? Is that why Dante didn't want her near the family wing? Awkward.

Dante plated for everyone, serving Angelica first. Steak, roasted baby potatoes and green beans, and Ceasar salad. It was more food than Gaia was used to seeing in one meal since her grandmother had died, and she marveled at it. Whatever else might happen here, she was going to eat well during her stay.

"Dig in."

Gaia picked up her knife and fork, slicing through the meat first.

"Delicious, Dante. You really are an amazing cook," Angelica purred. "Is there anything an alpha can't do?"

"Hm." Dante seemed pleased for the praise, though he didn't answer the question.

"What do you think Gaia? Isn't this the best food you've ever had?"

Gaia took her time chewing and swallowing the morsel currently in her mouth. He was a decent cook, but this wasn't the best she'd ever had. He'd obviously been aiming for medium, given the thickness of the meat, but her steak was just shy of medium-well, and it ... actually tasted a bit soapy. She hadn't tried to cook since grandma died, but...she at least knew to never wash a caste iron in soap.

She decided to be polite. "It's very good."

"Angelica seasoned everything. I just cooked it, so really, Angelica, you're the amazing cook," Dante smiled at her.

Angelica blushed and batted her eyes at him, then turned to Gaia and smirked. "Can you cook, Gaia?"

"Mm, I don't cook."

Angelica's eyes widened, and she chirped, "Oh, maybe Dante can show you some tips."

Gaia rolled her lips between her teeth and looked down at her plate. Dante cleared his throat and took a long drink of his water.

Angelica wiggled triumphantly in her seat. "Well, I come over to make dinner often, so perhaps I'll show you a few tips."

"Won't that be fun." Gaia could feel Dante's intense gaze flick to her, but kept her attention on her plate.

Gaia offered to clean the kitchen since the other two had made the meal. Dante and Angelica both seemed pleased with that and left the house, presumably on a date.

As soon as her captor and his lover were out the door, Gaia set the caste iron on the stove, poured a couple inches of water into it and topped it with a lid, turning the burner on medium heat. Then she turned to gather all the dishes to the sink, scraping all food remnant into the compost. She filled the dishwasher first, then hand washed the sheet pan, utensils, cutting board and knives. Lastly, she scraped the food particles from the caste iron with a metal spatula, then turned off the burner and poured the murky water down the the sink drain. What didn't rinse away she wiped clean with a clean cloth and another rinse, then set the pan on the stove to dry.