Must Date The Chef

|| 17.

My teeth sink into my lower lip and I nod. I pick up the pringles, angle my head in his direction and say, "I brought this for you."

"Thank you," he replies but doesn't collect it.

Without being told to, I drop it back to the table. Relief floods my vein when Chi pads into the dining room with a glass of water and a carton of juice. Took her long enough.

"Let's play a game," Chi shouts and I nod.

The corner of my lips twitches as she pushes Paul down to the seat I asked him to occupy and begins to dish out the rules for the never have I ever game. I finish the glass of water and sigh, feeling refreshed. I murmur a thank you to Paul which he nods to without sparing me a glance. Chi and I share a look and I roll my eyes, I will get him to talk to me, one way or the other.

A small frown settles on Chi's lips when Paul tries to stop her from leaving to get a bottle of alcohol for our game. We debate it for a while and in the end, she rushes off to get a bottle of Vodka which she empties some of its contents into the cup of orange juice. Paul scowls and I grimace at the slight discolouration of the juice; unsure I want to taste it. I have to get all the answers right.

"I'm the anchor," Chi says but Paul shakes his head. After much back and forth, we agree to let each one of us ask two questions in a row. Chi rubs her palms and grins.

"I'll go first," she starts, "never have I ever been betrayed by the person I love."

Her eyes dart between me and Paul, from the glint in them, I know she expects him to take a sip of the orange juice and he does.

"Never have I ever been dumped through a text message," Chi continues and I freeze. That's a harsh way to end things with someone you once claimed to love. A phone call might also hurt but it's much better.

My shock at seeing Paul reach for the glass cup again is barely concealed and my heart sinks when he takes another long sip. The urge to hug him hits me hard, I place a hand over his knee but he shrugs it off.

Paul sets the cup on the table, with a face devoid of any emotion says, "My turn." Chills creep up my spine and I shiver in fear of what he will ask. "Never have I ever stalked my ex new partner on social media."

Chi is already reaching for the cup when she stops herself and shakes her head. I fight back a laugh, a bit confused with the game, it's my first time playing it. It's obvious Paul knows the answer to this question already, same with Chi, she knew the answers yet she still asked them, why?

I raise my head in her direction and I see she is already looking my way. I offer her a small smile which she reciprocates and I understand why she asked. She asked for my sake because Paul will never tell me.

My confusion heightens at the revelation and I want to more than tell Paul that he is better off without an ex who chose the coward's way out of breaking up with him.

"Never have I ever," Paul starts again, his gaze set on Chi, "cheated on my partner."

There's a long pause as he and Chi have a silent debate before breaking their stare-off. Her hand reaches for the cup at the same time as mine and the speed with which Paul's head whips in my direction has the guilt of me kissing King while still dating Edwin rising to a point of near suffocation.

"I'll get extra cups," Chi volunteers but Paul is faster, he leaves before the sentence is out of her mouth. I sigh and she turns to look at me, "What are you waiting for?"

"He hates me," I murmur and she hisses.

First, I slept with King and now he's finding out I cheated on my partner, how bad can I get in his book? Bad enough that he can't stand to be in my presence any longer.

"Really, Pauline? After what I just did?" She rolls her eyes and shakes her head with a pitiful expression. "He doesn't want to be alone with you, he has been avoiding it since. Go and meet him in the kitchen, I am going to my room. I have done my best."

Without waiting for my response, she walks out and my shoulders slump. I guess she has played her part; the ball is now in my court. With that in mind, I tiptoe to the kitchen, stopping a few feet from the door.

Chi's words of courage spurred me on up until this point but I am not sure what to do once I step inside. My eyes lower to the floor and I drag my feet till I reach the kitchen. With my head cast down, I don't see Paul and we crash into each other.

The sound of glass connecting with the floor fills my ears and I bend down to pick the pieces of the cup scattered all over Chi's kitchen floor. This is a mess; I am a mess.

"What are you doing?" Paul shouts as his hand wraps around my wrist, shaking my palm until the shards of glass drop back to the floor. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?"

He moves away from me to get a broom and I rise to my feet. "Sorry, I'm sorry," I say, forgetting that I am still barefoot. The sharp pain that shoots up my legs tells me that I stepped on the shards and I let out a small scream which grabs Paul's attention.

"This woman," he says, letting out a string of curses as he sweeps me off my feet and out of the kitchen. "What will I do with you?"

"You can love me."

**********

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