Finding Love Again

Chapter 37

The next morning, Natasha was awoken by giggling in the next room. She slowly opened her eyes and for a minute wondered where she was. The memories of the night before came rushing into her mind. She had slept over at Steve's house. The giggling was Livy's. It was Christmas morning. She checked her phone to see it was ten o'clock. She groaned a little knowing it was much too late for her to still be in bed. She thankfully still had the clothes she had worn yesterday when she got to Steve's house, so she didn't have to worry much. She made the bed before going to take a quick shower. After her shower, she looked through the cabinets to see if there was a toothbrush by any chance, and luckily for her, there was. She even found a little tube of toothpaste. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and applied some light makeup. Making sure the room resembled the way she found it the night before, she exited the room and went downstairs. The smell of gingerbread pancakes filled the air, so she knew Steve was in the kitchen. However, she was not prepared for the sight upon entering the kitchen. There Steve was, standing in front of the stove in his pajamas still. He obviously had his bedhead still. Sitting on the kitchen stool was Livy. She was also still in her pajamas, but she also had pancake batter all over her hands, some on her pajamas, and a little bit in her hair. Natasha was a bit stunned and was trying to not laugh at the sight before her.

Livy spotted her in the entrance and immediately smiled. "Hi, Miss Nat!" she said waving the mixing spoon.

"Good morning, Livy," Steve heard Natasha respond.

He cringed a little because he was aware he was still in his pajamas and had messy hair, but he was also happy that she was already awake. He turned to face her with a smile on his face. "Good morning, Natasha."

"Good morning, Steve," she replied sweetly.

"Sorry for the mess and for my appearance. I honestly thought you'd sleep longer," Steve said with a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

"That's all right. If you want, I can finish up making the pancakes while you get Livy and yourself ready for the day," Natasha offered.

"That's kind of you, but you're the guest," Steve declined politely.

Natasha shook her head and made her way towards him. "It's fine, really," she countered as she grabbed a hold of the spatula. They're hands lightly brushed against each other and a surge of electricity shot through the both of them.

Steve awkwardly moved aside. "Ok, I guess I'll leave that up to you. Livy, let's go clean you up."

Livy jumped down from the kitchen stool and followed Steve upstairs.

Once they were gone, Natasha let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. Having Sharon out of the picture, Natasha's hidden feelings for Steve surged to the surface of her heart. Her feelings started getting out of control ever since she saw Steve fresh out of the shower the day before. Now, add the feeling she felt with she lightly brushed Steve's hand. Natasha took some deep breaths to calm herself down and thought to herself, "Steve just got out of a relationship. There's no way he's looking for another one right now. Besides, if he were, he would never look my way. I basically pushed him away when he was dating Sharon. I'm pretty sure he was just experiencing pure lust. Anyway, I don't think I'm ready for a relationship myself. I don't know if I can ever trust a man with my heart again after Alexi." She was in such deep thought that she didn't realize that the pancake in the pan was burning because she hadn't flipped it. The smell of burnt pancake pulled her from her thoughts. "Oh great!" she exclaimed as she flipped it. She sighed again and decided to just pay attention to the task at hand before she burnt all of the pancakes.

Thirty minutes later, Steve and Livy came down the stairs. As they were entering the kitchen, Steve began, "Is everything ok? I thought I smelled something burning earlier." He looked around the kitchen but didn't see her in there. The plates were all set on the breakfast bar with the pancakes in a covered pot. He furrowed his brow.