Signs From The Universe (bxb)

17. confident kisses

I lift my gaze again. "Good friends," I nod.

"Well I'll call you very soon, okay?"

"Yeah," I purse my lips.

"I love you, son."

"I love you too, dad."

"Alright, speak soon."

I pull the phone down from my ear and click off of the call. The timer on the oven begins to beep and I almost jump out of my skin, forgetting I put it on in the first place. It's rare that I make big meals like this but today I felt like it. I needed a distraction from my mind.

Preparing and making food is the best way to stop myself from thinking.

As I pull out the freshly made lasagne with a twist out of my oven, I place it onto the side. Hot steam wafts into the air and my stomach growls at the smell of melted cheese and cooked herbs. I'm ready to have two bowls at this rate, I haven't been eating much lately but today I feel starved.

I plate myself up a serving and stare down at the dish. I'll be eating lasagna for the next week. My phone buzzes on the kitchen counter and I lick part of the tomato sauce off my finger and twist to look at the screen.

A message from River alerts me instantly. I pick up the phone faster than I've ever done anything in my life, swiping my finger across the notification to see what it says.

River: Hey, how are you doing?

I chew on my lip, my fingers hovering above the letters.

Alex: Hey, I'm okay. Getting by. You?

River: Yeah I'm okay. Had a long day at work, literally just got in.

Alex: Do you want to come over? I made enough lasagna to kill an army

River: You sure?

Alex: Positive. You don't want my precious cooking going to waste, do you?

River: I'm running over now.

A laugh passes my lips as I stare back at our conversation. It'll be the first time–bar his birthday–that he would have tried some of my actual cooking. A part of me is nervous, I don't really know how well it's going to taste considering my current state but I'm sure River will love it either way.

Who doesn't love free food?

There is a soft knock at my door a few moments later. He pretty much did run and that has me smiling like a stupid school boy. I walk towards the door and find River standing on the other side. It looks like he didn't even bother getting changed out of his work clothes, not that I'm complaining because he still looks so effortlessly beautiful.

Beautiful. Did I just call him beautiful?

I settle my gaze on his green eyes. They're calm and soft and everything I need right now. Even if he's dressed down in black with a jacket hanging off his arms despite the weather outside. I've always wondered why he always wears long sleeved clothes, covering his body even when it's a thousand degrees. But each to their own.

"Hey," he greets me with a grin. "Wow. It smells incredible in here."

"Hey," I say as I step out of the way. "Been cooking for a while. Should have opened a window."

River shakes his head and moves inside, I shut the door behind him. "Thank you for letting me come over," he tells me.

"I thought we're past thanking each other for this," I watch him with a smile.