Cupid Collections

17. Nate - 4: First Impressions (CGD)

Nate POV:

It was just like any other morning.  I had taken Pyro out for morning jog and left him home for the day. Sean and Grace had invited me over for lunch.

The only difference was that today just didn’t seem to be my day. I had tripped and face planted into the dirt while jogging and Pyro ran off without me. After regaining control over him, I limped most of the way home. There was no physical damage but it didn’t put me in the best of moods.

I hailed a cab over to Sean and Grace’s place. The decided time to meet was apparently during one of the worst moments in rush hour history ever. Where did all these people have to be at 11 am? Most of them should’ve already been to work and no one dared to leave for a lunch break. Traffic alone took up most of the thirty minutes the average person got.

But apparently, today was just not my day.

Arriving at Sean’s seemed to be the only soothing point in my day. Spending time with my friends always seemed to calm me down.

“Glad you could come, man,” Sean greeted giving me a pat on the back.

Grace gave me a smile as she peeked her head out of the kitchen. Their house was quite cozy. The front door led into a long hallways that branched off from there. The kitchen was to my right and the square dining room was attached to it. The living room was a bit further down the main hall also on the right. Then the bathroom was immediately to my left after walking through the door and their bedroom was also on the hallway to the left. It was a little place but it was all they needed.

“We’re having spaghetti,” she announced happily. I gave her a grin in return.

Sean motioned to the kitchen and I walked on ahead. The room smelled great and it was warm and inviting from the food. We all served ourselves and then moved into the dining room that was attached to the narrow kitchen.

I immediately added salt and pepper to the top of my sauce.

Grace shook her head at me. “My food is never good enough for you, is it?”

“It’s great,” I argued. “Just needs a little spice. You shouldn’t be afraid of spices.”

“I’m not,” she assured with a bite and then used her fork to motion over at her husband. “This man is though.”

Sean looked up startled with noodles hanging from his mouth. He quickly sucked them into his mouth and shook his head. “I don’t do spicy.”

I rolled my eyes at his excuse and dug into my plate. Cooking was clearly a passion of mine as it was my natural talent. I’ve had countless jobs in the cooking industry and enjoyed every one of them. From food stands to being a dishwasher to even working as a head chef in a three star restaurant. They’ve all been fun and exciting but then it comes time to move and I’m forced to quit.

Recently I realized that if I didn’t work, I wouldn’t have to move as soon as I used to. The less I was seen outside my apartment building by people on a daily basis, the less likely my not aging was noticeable. It was a nice change and I was just enjoying my time off.

Cooking was the one skill I was extremely proud of while my anger issues that came with it proved to be the worst imaginable curse. I looked on to enjoy each day though and tried to focus on the positive… like this spaghetti. The pasta was soft and moist and the sauce, though lacking some spices, was still as tasty as ever.

“Did you make this from scratch?” I asked after one huge bite.

Grace laughed at my question. “Not everyone is as talented as you,” she answered. “This came from a can.”