T H E S T O R M
Thomas
"God where is it?" I quietly pace around the kitchen, in a frenzy.
I search high and low through the shelves, cabinets and counters for the paprika which I can't remember where I put it last. With a scuffling of feet, I whip around to where Isabelle is coming into the room with a frown on her face. She slowly takes her bag strap off of her shoulder.
"Woah. What's going on here?" She scans the kitchen. I straighten up and clear my throat out, pretending that everything is fine.
"I'm cooking." I answer nonchalantly.
"I can tell. The kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it." She chuckles. I let out a nervous laugh, taping my fingers on the surface of the counter. She falters and narrows her pretty eyes at me, coming around the side of the island. "What's really going on?"
"Nothing." I shrug, cluelessly.
"Don't you dare lie to me Thomas King." She points her finger out, stalking towards me which causes me to move backwards away from her.
She suddenly halts and tilts her head at the counter. She picks up a fancy bottle of red wine and a glass that I got out. She stares me down and I look at her, my face remaining empty.
"Why are there four glasses?" She asks. Shit.
"Okay. Fine." I sigh, dropping my shoulders. "Your parents are coming over."
"My parents?" She frowns. "Why are my parents coming over?"
"Because I invited them. For an early Christmas meal type thing."
"Oh." She chirps. She seems pleasantly surprised with that.
"But you weren't supposed to know until they got here and now I can't cook what I wanted to." I complain with a defeated huff.
"Okay. Well where's the recipe? I'll give you a hand." She spins around, looking for it.
"That's not the point though. You're not supposed to be helping, you're supposed to be surprised and then eat a lovely meal prepared by yours truly." I gesture to myself.
"So you want to serve my parents food that you, quote on quote, can't cook?" She asks, using quotation marks in the air. I pause.
"Okay. Fair enough. It's over there." I point to the recipe I've been using which is on the counter behind her.
She goes over and reads through it. I anxiously join her, by her side and she scans each line of instruction and list of ingredients. She quickly ties her dark hair up with a scrunchie from her wrist.
"Right, looks good. Let's get started." She says enthusiastically.
"Okay great." I return. She gets a few things out of the drawers that we'll need as I check over the recipe for the hundredth time.
"Here's the paprika by the way." She hands it to me and I roll my eyes as we both start laughing.
**
While things have been cooking, we both took that time to get changed into nicer outfits. It's nothing too formal so I just put on a pair of smart grey pants with a nice white shirt. Isabelle asked me to help pick out something for her.
I found a pair of tight but flared black pants which she put with a lilac crop top. She keeps on the little necklace I bought for her which is nice. Now thinking about it, I don't think there's been a day where she hasn't had it on.
Back in the kitchen, I'm following her orders of stirring the contents of the pots through while she prepares some garnish for the meal. Eventually there's a few knocks at the door. My eyes widen and my neck is instantly inchingly hot.
"Oh no. Is that them?" I panic.
"Oh no?!" She mocks me with a chuckle. "You invited them." I look to her, unsure what to do. I thought I was more prepared for this than I actually am. "Well go on then, get the door."
"No you go." I step back, gesturing out to her. She rolls her eyes with a laugh and agrees.
"Fine." Before she goes, she tugs on my shirt, bringing me closer for a long, slow kiss. She gifts me one last peck and leaves me standing awkwardly in the kitchen on my own.
This is all brand new to me. I'm not used to meeting girls parents. I've never done it before. We've briefly met before but that was hardly enough time. I want to make the best impression because I can't get it out of my head that I'm not the type of guy any set of parents would want their daughter to bring home.
I clear my throat, rolling my tense shoulders out, trying to calm down. I hear the sound of footsteps growing louder and louder so I rub my clammy hands on my pants. Isabelle appears, closely followed behind her Mom, Julia.
She's in a navy blue dress, showing off her tanned legs. Her brown hair is tied back, up and off of her face. Her watery blue eyes light up and she opens her arms out to me. I instantly relax at the sight of her friendly, grinning face.
"Hi! It's great to see you again!" She squeezes me tightly and I hug her back.
"It is." I pull away. "You look lovely." I compliment her and she fondly pats my shoulder before gesturing to our surroundings.
"This is a nice apartment you've got." She says, still looking around us.
"Thank you." I chuckle. Over her shoulder I see Isabelle with her Dad, Andrew, who seems to have had a similar idea to me and gone for a smart beige shirt and brown pants.
"Something smells delicious." He grins before offering his hand out to me. "Hi, my man. How are you doing?" He warmly shakes the hand that I give him.
"Good, thank you. How are you both?" Isabelle joins my side which helps my nerves settle even more.
"Yeah, we're all good. Thanks for inviting us."
"Of course. Do you want anything to drink?" I ask, going into host mode.
"What have you got?" Andrew rubs his hands together, his eyes following Isabelle who moves around the kitchen. She holds up the bottle of wine.
"We've got a Rioja or there's beer in the fridge." She explains.
"I'll have a beer then please." Andrew answers.
"I'm driving home so I'll have a small glass of the wine." Julia smiles almost like she's too shy to ask.
Isabelle sorts out all the drinks and then leads them out to the balcony where we'd previously set up the glass table underneath the sheltered room. It's not too bad of an evening, it's still pretty chilled but not unbearably cold.
I get the plates ready to serve up the food when Isabelle skips back into the kitchen with a grin on her face and twinkle in her pretty brown eyes.
"How are you feeling?" She asks, sidling up beside me. I let out a long, calming breath.
"I'm still nervous." I nod, more to myself than anything. She wraps her arms around my broad shoulders, twisting me around to face her.
"You've got no reason to be nervous. They won't bite." She smiles encouragingly. "You've got this." I fondly tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks for doing this. It's really nice."
I lean down to collect a quick kiss off of her. Afterwards, she takes two of the plates and I take what's left, following her outside to where her parents are sat looking out at the view.
"There you go." I say politely, placing the plate down for Julia and then Andrew. Isabelle sits herself down opposite me at the other end of the table and she gives me a subtle wink as I tuck my chair in. Everyone happily digs into the meal, letting out pleasant hums as a review.
"Wow Thomas this is really nice." Julia compliments, holding her hand up in front of her mouthful.
"Thank you. It wouldn't have been this nice without Isabelle's help, that's for sure." I chuckle, taking a sip from the wine. "Your daughter is a great cook."
"She obviously gets that from me." Julia remarks which causes the other two to burst out laughing. I awkwardly smile along, not sure if there's something that I've missed.
"She's terrible in the kitchen." Andrew explains through his laughter. "She could probably burn ice if she tried." We all laugh, even Julia does despite her cheeks pricking red. We continue to eat, our knives and forks scratching against the plate as we scoop up every delicious mouthful.
"So how did you two meet again? I can't quite remember the whole story." Julia questions.
"It was through a mutual friend of ours, Sam." Isabelle reiterates the story of how she needed a place to stay. "To be honest, I don't think either of us were expecting me to be staying here for longer than a month but erm.. things change, I guess."
"How did you guys meet?" I look between them while pushing food onto my fork.
"We met at... high school?" Andrew begins.
"Yeah that's right." Julia nods. "He used to follow me around like a lost puppy because he liked me. He was going to ask me to prom but I had a boyfriend at the time so nothing ever happened."
"We graduated and then about three or so years later we were both back in our home town at a baseball game. We bumped into each other because of mutual friends. She remembered me instantly... because of my dashing good looks I suppose." He jokes and we all laugh as Julia rolls her eyes.
"I asked him if he wanted to get drinks after the game and he said yes so we did."
"That's when you were made, Isabelle." Andrew jokes and Isabelle's eyes widen.
"Dad!" She cries out embarrassed and cringing.
"Only joking." He clarifies behind his chuckles. "I proposed at a baseball game we went to about two years later." I smile at the sentiment. "The rest was history."
"Yeah what was it you were going to call me if I were a boy?" Isabelle asks her Mom.
"When we had Isabelle, we didn't ask for the gender but we liked the name Isaac, didn't we?"
"Yeah. I really liked the name Billy." Isabelle almost chokes on her drink, laughing.
"You were going to call me Billy?" We crack up at her disgust.
"I liked the name a lot but your Mom did all the hard work so she got the final say."
"Wise choice I'd say." Julia concludes and we all continue to eat until our plates are pretty much spotless.
I bought a dessert because I knew there would be no way I could pull off baking as well as cooking a meal. Isabelle jumps up and offers to do it, despite my argument that I would. Her Dad asks to use the bathroom so she shows him the way after taking all the plates from the table.
A quietness settles between myself and Julia. It's not an awkward silence, it's more peaceful than anything. She briefly smiles and I settle back in my chair.
"She looks really happy." She mutters finally. I look to her, waiting to see if she'll elaborate. "When we got that first initial call from her, we were so worried at what she was going to be like just because we hadn't seen or heard from her in a year. But she looks so happy and we have to thank you." She smiles warmly.
"Really, it's got nothing to do with me." I return, shaking my head.
"If you hadn't been kind enough to let her live here, we would've never received that call and potentially could've never heard from her again. So we do owe you a massive thanks."
"Well..." I trail off with a reciprocated smile. "I'm glad she's happy again."
The pair of us glance through the glass door at the sound of laughter from the kitchen where Isabelle and Andrew both are. I shuffle around in my chair before clearing my throat.
"My Mom has us all over for Christmas and Isabelle is coming too. She usually has a dinner and then a celebration in the evening so if you guys wanted to come for Christmas day then we'd love that." I suggest. "The more the merrier."
"Really?" I nod in answer. "That's very kind. I'll have to check if we've got anything sorted but that would be lovely." I smile and then look up at Isabelle who's bringing in dessert, her Dad close behind her. She hands everyone a slice of cake before taking a seat opposite me again.
"Thank you." I say to her as she hands me a slice of cake before taking a seat opposite me again.
"Andrew, Thomas just invited us to spend Christmas Day with them." Julia starts.
"If that means I won't have to cook anything then count me in!" Andrew chortles and I chuckle.
Glancing forwards, I'm met with Isabelle's gentle smile. She has one of her hands cupping her chin and her head slightly tilted while gazing at me with softened eyes that are filled with adoration.
**
"We better get going before the storm hits." Andrew says. I stand back as her parents get their coats on ready to leave. "Thanks for having us." He grins up at me and takes me in for an embrace.
"No worries. Thanks for coming." I return, giving Julia a quick hug before they both turn to Isabelle. Her Mom cups the side of Isabelle's face, brushing her thumb across her cheek for a fleeting moment before stepping away.
"Text me when you get home." Isabelle instructs while being squeezed by Andrew.
"We will. Thanks again. We'll hopefully see you soon!" They wave over their shoulders as they file out of the doorway.
"Bye!" The both of us call before the door shuts and it's just the two of us left. She instantly turns to smile up at me and I fiddle with both of her hands that are dropped down at her sides.
"Thanks for inviting them. It's exactly what I needed." She whispers, staring at me through her long eyelashes. I plant a kiss on her forehead and then she steps away. "We should probably clean up and then get ready for bed."
"Yeah that sounds good." I loop my arm around her shoulders and we head back into the kitchen together.
**
Isabelle
A thundering noise bellows through the apartment, so loud it feels like the room is shaking. I bolt upright with a loud gasp for air as if all the oxygen has been sucked out. While catching my breath, Thomas' warm hand rubs circles on my back as he sits up with a soft huffs.
"Hey." He whispers. "It's just thunder." I let out a long, steady breath to calm my racing heartbeat down.
"Sorry." I pant. "It made me jump. I didn't mean to wake you."
He winds him arm around my waist, pulling me back into his naked chest. He lays a soft, lazy line of kisses up my arm and along my shoulder before I lift my head to meet his lips. Suddenly, there's a white flash of light that escapes through the blinds, casting jagged shadows over everything.
"Do you want to go and watch it?" He suggests. I wait a moment before nodding in answer. I know that it'll take me a while to get off to sleep anyways so may as well. "Come on."
I crawl out of his arms and catch the hoodie that he throws to me. After shoving it on, I follow him out to where he's drawing the curtains on the balcony doors back. I fall into the couch, adjusting my position for the best view.
"Hang on. I'll be two minutes." He says, quickly disappearing before he even gets a chance to see the frown on my face.
Meanwhile, I pick up a fluffy blanket and snuggle up underneath it. The sky rumbles once again, the heavy clouds hanging in clumps of dark grey masses. It's raining but only lightly so the noise of it hitting the glass is almost soothing compared to the striking lightning and booming thunder. There's a second echo and then another flash of white light.
Eventually, Thomas comes back in his sweatpants with two mugs in his hands. He passes one down to me and I peer into it to see two marsh mellows bobbing on the surface of hot chocolate. I can't help but grin as he carefully clinks his mug against mine.
"Move forward." He commands quietly and I do.
He fits himself behind me, tightening an arm around my middle to pull me up in between his legs so my back is against his bare chest. I adjust the blanket over the both of us, snuggling up into his heat. He kisses the skin of my neck and shoulder as we watch.
The lightning cracks down, splitting through the sky until it meets the ground. Even though I'm watching it, the sudden noises still manage to make me jump. I continue to sip on the sweet hot chocolate that easily passes my lips.
We stay wrapped up in each other for another fifteen minutes before deciding to get back into bed. I lay on my side so I can look at him as he looks at me. The rough tip of his thumb brushes against the cold skin on my cheek.
"I think I'm obsessed with you." He mumbles almost posing it as a question.
"I know." I return with a satisfied grin. We both start giggling as if we're supposed to be being quiet even though no one else is around. I calm down and stare at him through the darkness of the room.
"Thomas. Do you think we would've always met?" I question after a few minutes of silence.
"I don't know." He answers. "I'd like to think so." His lips curl up into a slight smile and the conversation wanders for a little longer before we return back to silence.
He picks up my hand and starts gently pulling on and playing with my fingers. I keep it limp so he has full control on all and any motion.
"I love your hands." He murmurs as we both stare at where our touch meets. "I love when they're wrapped arou-." I quickly cover his lips to stop him from whatever he's about to say.
"Your mouth." I finish the sentence for him before slowly taking my hand away.
"Was obviously what I was going to say." He smirks and I bite down on my lips as we both lightly chuckle. He lets out a long yawn and his eyes sleepily droop.
"Goodnight." I whisper, kissing him one final time.
"Night." He smiles against my lips and then falls onto his back. He reels me in closer so my head rests on his chest. I wrap my hand around his body and close my eyes, falling back into the depths of sleep.
**
-Frankie Kate