So Be It // o. maatta

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Beau's POV

"Ah, fuck." I cursed, under my breath, after burning my hand on the skillet. Robert and I were cooking Olli and his girlfriend Alex dinner, for her birthday. I didn't quite understand why, but Robert wanted to, so I just went with the flow.

"Say something?" Robert asked, while flipping through a cookbook he had obviously never used before.

"Nothing." I replied, on my third attempt to make grilled cheese.

Yes, we were making two nineteen year olds grilled cheese. It was the only thing I knew how to cook, and the only reason I knew it, was because we learned it in seventh grade home-ec.

"What if we tried...."

"Stop." I stated firmly, cutting Robert off. "We can barely make grilled cheese. We aren't experimenting with any of your fancy-smancy recipes you found it the book you've never even opened before."

He placed his hands on his hips, like a sixteen year old girl would. "Fine." He huffed.

Due to Robert, I had taken my eyes of the skillet, and had burned yet another sandwich.

"Fuck." I hissed.

Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"Go get that." I spat.

Tensions were high, since I was frustrated with the fact that I couldn't make anything, and Robert was frustrated with my shitty attitude. Robert was making a big deal out of the dinner. I couldn't understand why, since him and Olli weren't all that close. I mean, they only knew each other for month-plus.

Robert went bounding through the foyer, to the front door, and I could hear him greeting them, painfully over-excited. I tried to block out Waiter Robert, and attempted to make a grilled cheese sandwich, properly. I was starting to realize why I bombed home-ec. Just then, Robert came back into the kitchen, smile affixed to his face.

"This is going to be fun!"

I wondered if Olli had pictures of Robert.

"You want to take over being the frycook?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't.

He laughed a 'Fuck no' laugh, and headed back to the living room. We had cleared out most of the furniture, so we had room to set up a card table, with some cheap, half-ass tablecloth on it. There were flowers, in a water bottle, in the center of the table, and some odd-smelling candle we found in the back of the hall closet, sitting next to it.

It was safe to say we weren't going to ever become restaurant owners.

Finally, on my fourth try, I successfully made a grilled cheese sandwich. I plopped it onto the plate, and began making the second one. After a few minutes, that one was done, too. Robert came back in, just moments after I got finished with the second sandwich.

"You did it!" He exclaimed, brightly.

"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled, passing him the two plates. "Just give these to them."

Robert took both plates from my hands, and left the room. For the first time the entire day, I felt at ease...

Alex's POV

Did I find it slightly weird that we were going to his teammates' apartment for my birthday dinner? Kinda. Was I still excited to spend time with Olli? Fuck yeah. I had no idea what to wear, but I figured it wasn't too fancy, so I just wore a pair of dark, skinny jeans, and a Roots Athletics sweatshirt. Roots was the Canadian equivalent to Gap, or Old Navy. Olli picked me up, at six o'clock, on Sunday night. My birthday was Saturday, but he was in Florida for a game versus the Lightning. We were walking to his teammates Robert, and Beau's apartment, when he turned to me and mumbled, "I'm sorry I couldn't be here for your actual birthday."

"It's fine, sweetie. It really is." I squeezed his hand, gently.

We walked in comfortable silence, until we got to the apartment building.

"Robert is the freakishly tall one, that looks like he's never shaved." Olli informed me.

"I know, babe. I was around the team last season, when we came to visit James."

"Oh. That's why you hugged Jussi in the grocery store."

I nodded. "Yeah, Jussi is a real sweetheart."

Olli grinned. "Us Finns usually are."

I lightly shoved him, but giggled through it.

"I love you." He whispered, pulling me into him. We were standing in the middle of the elevator, by ourselves.

"Eh. You're ok." I teased, pecking his cheek.

"Bitch." He muttered, trying hard not to smile.

I bit my lip, trying to hide a smile, when the elevator doors opened.

"What room number?" I asked.

"4R." He replied.

We walked down the hallway, until finding 4R. Olli knocked on the door, and a few moments later, Robert greeted us.

"Hey, guys!" He held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Robert."

I was slightly confused, since I had met Robert only a few months ago. Hell, I spent an entire week with the team. I would've figured he'd remember me, but I supposed that he'd met lots of people in the last seven months.

"Good to meet you too, Robert." I replied, smiling.

He directed us inside, and escorted us to a table they had set up in what I assumed was their living room. After he had scurried back into the kitchen, Olli whispered to me, "I thought you said you two met?"

I nodded. "We did. He must not remember me."

He reached across the table, and twisted his fingers through mine. "His loss."

Just then, Robert came back in, with two glasses of water, and set them back on the table. He disappeared again, heading back towards the kitchen.

Within moments, he appeared again, setting two plates, each with a grilled cheese sandwich, on it, onto the table.

"Thank you so much." I smiled up at Robert.

He nodded, smiling. "Of course."

Just then, Beau came walking out of the kitchen, and when he saw me, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was clear he remembered me.

"Beau, come meet Alex!"

Beau stood there, mouth opened slightly, like he was going to say something, but he quickly turned his lips into a smile.

"Hey, I'm Beau. Nice to meet you." He said, while walking over, and resting a hand on Robert's shoulder. He whispered something that I couldn't make out, to Robert. Robert then smiled at Olli, and I, and said they'd be in the kitchen if we needed them. They then left the room.

I pushed what had just happened with Beau to the back of my mind and began chewing on the grilled cheese sandwich they had made. Olli and I made eye-contact, and I knew then that that was one of the best birthday gifts I had ever received...