The Academy In My Head

Dining with Mr. Blackbourne

"Owen..." I called out as I carried the grocery bag into his kitchen. I'd made sure that he was aware his schedule was cleared today and that he was at home. I just didn't know where in his house he was, and I'd insisted to Kota that I didn't need him to look at the video feeds before he left.

"In the study."

I set the groceries down and headed down the hall to his study. "Hi." I smiled.

He blinked at me for a moment before bolting out of his chair and standing as I entered the room. "Good afternoon, darling."

"Check your clocks, my love. It's evening already."

"My apologies, I wasn't aware that we had plans today." He came over to me, offering his hand as he drew me closer, pulling me into a hug.

"We didn't. I mean, not until the past hour or so. It's your turn." I smiled up at him, reaching up to gently caress his cheek. He arched an eyebrow at me, waiting for an explanation. "The past nine weeks I've been having a one on one date with each of the guys, or at least as much of a one on one date as possible since Victor and I took Jessica along."

He tilted his head. "I knew that we were managing to clear schedules, but I hadn't fully realized what you were pulling off. Well done, darling."

"Why thank you, my love. And that means it's your turn for a date. And then we can consider starting it all over again." I said.

"We've been ignoring the need for one on one time, haven't we." It was an observation not a statement and I loved the fact that he'd come up with it. I shrugged. "Well, I will draw my own conclusion then and say that we have been." He kissed my forehead. "We'll discuss a plan at our family meeting over brunch tomorrow."

"I like that idea." I said, wrapping my arms around him and snuggling in.

"So, what are we going to do tonight?" He laid his cheek on the top of my head.

"Oh, we're staying in. I had Kota take me to the grocery store and I've got everything we need to make dinner together."

"You want to cook dinner together?"

"I'd really like to cook dinner together." I said. "I know you won't force a lot more vegetables on the plan, you won't spike anything with chocolate chips unless the dish calls for it and you certainly won't forget and put metal in the microwave."

Owen chuckled. "Those would be very correct observations. I would have to agree with your statements. Okay, let's go make dinner."

"You're not in the middle of anything?" I pushed away slightly to stare up at him. "I don't mean to interrupt your plans. I can make dinner for us."

He framed my face with his hands. "You're not interrupting." He lowered his head to mine and kissed me deeply, leaving me breathless when he pulled back. "I always have time for you and there's nothing on my desk right now that can't be dealt with tomorrow. I want to spend time with you. I need to spend time with you."

A smile spread over my face. It was often very hard for him to admit to me that he needed anything from me. "Good." I said, shifting, letting him drop his arm down so that his hand rested at the base of my spine. "I need to spend time with you too."

"Then let's go see what my delightful girlfriend has planned for dinner."

"Oh, I think you'll like it." I said as he ushered me out of the study and we headed to the kitchen. "I wanted to recreate one of our first dates."

He frowned, trying to figure out what I meant as we entered the kitchen. His brow furrowed in confusion as he watched me get things out of the grocery bag. "One of our first dates?" He questioned.

"Oh... you didn't count it as a date?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him. He still looked puzzled. "I'm not sure that I'm not offended." I teased. "You took me out of school and to a country club. Bought me a dress and everything. I think that's a date, for sure."

His face cleared as the memory returned to him in full force. "So..." He raised an eyebrow at me again. "I went on the first date with you?"

"The first date that involved payment." I said. "I sort of count watching stars on my roof with North as a first date and that was decidedly first."

"I can accept that." He said, joining me at the sink as we washed our hands. "So, we're making a steak dinner?"

"I thought it would be nice." I said.

"Sounds good. Baked potatoes or garlic mashed?" He asked.

"I was thinking baked but if you have the extra things, we'd need to make garlic mashed that would be great. I love garlic mashed potatoes."

"I have what we need. I just roasted some garlic bulbs off this week." He said, pausing at the drawers next to the fridge to pull aprons out for both of us.

He insisted on helping me with mine, dropping a kiss on the top of my head after he'd tied the strings at my back. "Thank you. Can I return the favor?" I asked. He looked pleased as he nodded. I tied the strings for him quickly. "Okay so garlic mashed potatoes should probably get started first. I'll get the roasted broccoli into the oven and work on the salad. The steak needs about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how you like yours."

He nodded. "I know how long mine will take." He tilted his head to look at me. "You want yours to be the 10-minute variety?"

"It needs at least 8, maybe 9 minutes for me." I said, locating cutting boards and knives for both of us to start working on the dishes we needed to make first since they'd take the longest.

"This is fun." He said, softly, after we'd been working steadily, the potatoes were on to boil, and he was watching me finish dressing the broccoli before stepping aside to let me slide the pan into the oven. "For the record, any time you want to make dinner with me, I'm in."

"Good to know." I smirked up at him, stepping to his side and wrapping my arms around him. "I think we could make a habit of this."

"You're the best habit I've ever had." He murmured before lowering his head close to mine, slanting his lips over mine as he kissed me. His lips were teasing, tongue prodding as he begged for entrance into my mouth. I groaned softly and parted my lips, eagerly welcoming the way he deepened the kiss as he shifted me into his arms, one hand cradling the back of my head as his fingers wove their way into the strands of my hair. It practically immobilized me, not that I was complaining or trying to get away from him. "I love you so much." He murmured against my lips before he pulled back, blinking suddenly as if trying to remember why we were in the kitchen.

"I love you too."

~Fade~