Take Out Chef

Chapter Forty

Seth was in luck. I lost my appetite and left him a Danish and a half before we started to wash what seemed to be a never-ending pile of dishes. We finished by noon, and the air cleared up when I almost drop one of my grandma's precious plates. Bryan had good reflexes and caught it on time.

I told him about the plan to meet Seth's mysterious girlfriend and he was on board. By the time my little brother woke up, we had planned the menu and were ready to go to the grocery store to get everything.

"Seth, you need to call your invisible girlfriend. We're making paella."

My brother's eyes widened. His hair was all-over the place and he rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"We'll meet back in an hour. You still need to clean the house a bit, okay?" Seth groaned as I shook my head chuckling.

Before we left the house, I had to repeat the same thing three times to Seth. He wasn't a morning person. Or an afternoon one. The last thing I heard as I closed the front door, was a fourth "What?" Seth wasn't definitely a morning person.

The ride to the supermarket was quiet. Too quiet. Tired of this awkwardness, I decided to start with small talk. "So, what have you been doing lately?" The words left my mouth and I cringed. Way to break the ice!

Bryan's gaze was glued to the front, but his lips quirked. "I haven't done much other than work." I let out the breath I was holding. I didn't want to hear that he was having a great time after work, to be honest. "Nadia asked me to join her for dinner twice, though."

My stomach rolled as I turned to the window. My jaw clenched. I thought about Tom and how long had they've been dating. She looked like she had a crush on Bryan. Little fact that made me see red.

"Nice." My answer was curt and my tone was colder. I bit my lip. Freaking hell.

He chuckled. "Too bad I couldn't make it."

My eyes narrowed. He was testing me, wasn't he? He wanted to make me jealous and I caved in like the complete goof that I am. I crossed my arms and glared at the passing houses. I'm such an idiot.

"That is disappointing. Maybe she'll invite you next week."

"Tom will be back, so she won't be feeling alone anymore," he said. I clenched my jaw and stayed silent until we stepped inside the supermarket. Bryan grabbed a shopping cart and started to hum, like everything was just great. The nerve of him.

"We'll need rice, chopped tomatoes, peppers and─"

"I'll get the rice; you get the seafood." I didn't wait for an answer, I just walked away from him. My blood boiled as I made my way through the supermarket. I couldn't even concentrate, I missed the grains aisle twice. I had to ask a clerk to find it.

Taking a deep breath, I stared at the aisle. There were like ten types of rice and I didn't know which one to get. I rolled my eyes to myself. Calm the effing down Jessie.

When my pulse started to calm, I read the tags until I found one pre-cooked and perfect for paella. I grabbed it and made my way to the seafood, but Bryan was nowhere in sight. With a frown on my face, I started to look for him through the supermarket, to no avail.

He wouldn't ditch me. I think.

I left the rice back in its place before stepping outside. I didn't know if I should be angry or desperate. Especially because my cellphone signal was null. I was scrolling through my contacts when I heard his voice. "I really hope you like chocolate."

My pulse quickened as I pressed my lips together. When I gazed at him, he was suppressing a smile and holding two ice-cream cones in his hands. His eyes glinted like a mischievous little boy. Darn. He was too cute to be mad at. I put away my phone and reached out for my ice cream. "Chocolate will not save you," I said.

His lips tugged up on a beautiful smile. "But chocolate does make everything sweeter." I rolled my eyes before tasting the ice cream.

He bobbed his head to the side. "Do you feel like talking a walk?"

I followed the line of his eyes. There was a small park next to the grocery store. It had a little pond with ducks swimming by. An old man with a vintage ice cream cart rang his bell as he strolled on the sidewalk. We couldn't eat inside the supermarket, and my ice cream was too good to throw it away. Plus, it felt like some sort of peaceful offer.

We crossed the street and found a bench to sit at to eat our ice cream. The ducks quacked in the background as the sun rays felt warm against my skin.

"I'm sorry if I made you jealous."

My cheeks flushed while my stomach tightened. "I'm not." I heard him chuckle before grabbing my hand. My heart started to race at the gesture. I stared at his hand on top of mine before looking up.

His smile faded as our eyes met. My chest tightened while his thumb made a circle on the back of my palm, leaving a tingling sensation behind. "I'm really sorry for─"

My phone started to ring. My breath caught in chest as the thing kept ringing. For real?

*SIGHS*

Why did you have to call Seth?! *Shakes head*

On other news, this is the first time I post a chapter and Grammarly doesn't correct me anything. I'm feeling proud of myself :)

PS: If you like to cook, check out a new profile I'm part of: CookingGALs where we'll be posting recipes in January!

Love you guys. Don't hate me too much!