"Pass the berries."
Genevieve did as Ray said and watched with no small wonder as he topped the two servings of creme brulee with mixed berries.
Thirty minutes after Ada did her disappearing act, Raymond joined her at the sundeck and mentioned he was craving the desert. When she suggested the chef make it, he refused and instead sent a list of what he needed.
Now that Ray was done baking, Genevieve couldn't believe her eyes. Not only was this man a workaholic, but he could also bake and was insanely efficient as he went about it. He left no mess—the opposite of Lisa's maniacal cooking.
"You think you'd be able to make it on your own?" Ray asked as he washed his hands.
"Umm." Nah. Genevieve had been too awestruck by his oiled kitchen mastery to remember she was supposed to watch and learn. Dude even gave explanations while at it in his deep voice. 'You split the vanilla bean like this... whisk it like this. You get me?' Far gone in swoonland, she still managed to nod here and there.
"Sure, I bet I can."
Ray shot her a dubious look. "Why don't I believe you?" Wiping his hands with a towel, he leaned against the lip of the counter and faced her fully. His black shirt was a tad too form-fitting if you ask her. "We still have some ingredients left. How about you give it a shot and see whose tastes better? I bet I'd win." He added with a chuckle.
Genevieve mentally bit her knuckle. That smile still packed a punch. She was struggling here, splashing about in a useless attempt to stop herself from falling deeper for Ray than she already had. Was it silly that her mind was already painting pictures of evermore, complete with flourishing meadows paved with creme brulees, cakes and every conceivable delectable dessert she could convince him to make?
Genevieve didn't need to taste his creme brulee to know it would be decadent. She had watched him make them, but she'd rather fall into a dead faint than admit that he looked like he knew what he was doing.
Rolling her eyes, Genevieve shook her head. "I'd take the challenge." She looked from the yummy-looking desert to his smug face. "It may taste awful. What if you got a step wrong?"
"Why don't we find out?" Ray asked with a confident smile. "Sit." He nodded at the stool in the kitchen dining area before sliding the desert between them and sitting across her.
"Ready?" He asked as he passed Genevieve a teaspoon.
"Yup."
Genevieve marvelled at how far removed Ray seemed from the stuck-up boss she worked under. And she was way more relaxed in his company even though her attraction to the man was MMA-heavyweight-champion strong now. Sheesh.
Grabbing his spoon, Raymond clinked it twice against the rim of the small ceramic bowl like some ritual before digging in. After taking a spoonful, he shut his eyes and allowed a small smile. "Yep. Craving answered."
More than amused at his reaction, Genevieve dug in, her spoon cracking the delicate caramelised top. One spoon and she was wrapped in heavenly sweetness. The way the flavour melts. Come on! This was unfair on many levels. She took another spoon and another, and another... and her bowl was empty? She stared at the bowl with a confused frown. "Why is it so small?"
Genevieve looked up in time to catch Ray's proud grin.
"Why did you inhale it?" Ray asked, the grin still in place. "We savour desserts, not gobble them up."
"Fine. I'll say it." Genevieve raised both hands and shrugged. "You're a creme brulee god."
"I already knew that," Ray said with a shrug of his own and that smile. "I had to win something. You already had me at the chess game and turned me into your photographer."
"That's hardly a punishment. Don't you like taking shots of me?" Genevieve did a dramatic hair flick and shot him a megawatt smile.
"You're right," Ray's smile turned soft as his gaze danced over Genevieve's face, "It's no punishment at all."
Ray was doing it again, throwing heat to an otherwise ordinary conversation and blasting her crush through the roof. Suddenly tired of skirting around her attraction for the man and wondering what to do with it, Genevieve leaned forward and met his eyes.
Genevieve was so ready to date this man. To hell with him being her former or future boss. The thought of dating Ray was too exciting to let go. All she cared about was now. It wouldn't matter if things between them didn't last; she was no stranger to picking up the pieces of her heart and moving on.
"You said you found me attractive last night, yeah?" Genevieve dropped her attention to her empty bowl.
"Yes, I recall saying that." His voice still had a breezy tone to it. Serious-minded Ray was yet to show up. Good.
"Sooooo..." The words were stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out, which was weird. Out of her six exes, Genevieve had asked out two, and it had been a breeze to do so. Why did it feel crazy hard to do the same now? Just do it, girl.
"I did say that, but don't—"
"Howaboutwedate?" Genevieve said, cutting off Ray's words.
"Huh?"
"Huh?" Genevieve cleared her throat. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. "You were saying something"
"Did you..."
Genevieve glanced at Ray's face. He was watching her with a confused frown. "I'm sure I heard..."
"No." Genevieve shook her head. There's no way he figured out what she said in a rush. She stood to take her bowl and spoon to the sink but paused when she noticed it.
A knowing smile replaced Ray's initial look of confusion. Propping his jaw on his closed fist, he watched Genevieve with a playful light in his eyes. "Miss Johnson, did you just ask me out?"
Genevieve internally collapsed under the crushing weight of mortification. She should have kept her bloody mouth shut.
***
Teddy was sitting on a park bench when Ada reached the Division. He had reverted to his usual style—leather jacket, jeans, and spikes. And he was wearing those atrocious high rockstar boots Ada disliked.
Releasing a long breath and gathering her arsenal for her defence, Ada strolled over. "Hey."
Teddy glanced her way and waved. "Hey."
Silence settled between them after Ada sat next to Teddy. The bench was new. "When was this installed?"
"Donno." Teddy shrugged. "Met it when I came over."
More silence. Ada stared at the blank wall in front of them. She had yet to begin her latest graffiti project. Maybe after she and Teddy settled things, she'd start with a sketch.
"I—"
"You—"
They both laughed. Teddy knocked his shoulder against hers. "You first."
Leaning against the backrest, Ada wove her fingers behind her head and sighed at the afternoon sky. "I'm sorry about the other day. When I get these ideas, I assume everyone I'm cool with should also be cool with them. Weird?"
"Nah," Teddy shook his head, his frizzy hair shifting with the action. "Sorry I yelled. Sometimes the Miff part of me just... poof."
Ada winced at the memory. Teddy had been crazy pissed at her. Raised voice and rants about how she flies into things without carefully thinking stuff through.
"Have you forgotten what's at stake? This looks like self-sabotage. Why are you doing this? So damn stubborn."
Teddy was correct. Not focusing on her assignment, getting distracted with Haruto's issues and obsessing over getting dropped had taken her focus from her assignment.
"Man, your face was super red. I wish I'd taken a picture." Ada laughed, and Teddy joined in, shaking his head.
"I need your help," Ada muttered.
"What's up?"
"It's Genevive." Ada twiddled her thumbs and sighed. "I realised she's a commitment-phobe."
"Is this a new detail?"
"Nope. It was in her file all along. Didn't occur to me that she could be the main issue 'cause I was focused on Raymond. Oh," Ada perked up, "and I recently found out Raymond's ex died in his arms, and he had a messed up recovery process."
"Did Haruto tell you that?" Teddy frowned. "That's pretty generous of him. Rifters are usually tight-lipped about their assignments."
Ada forced a laugh and scratched a spot on her nose that wasn't even itchy. "Yes... Haruto told—Ah, what's the point of lying? He snuck Raymond's file to me."
Teddy facepalmed. "Are you kidding me? No, this shouldn't even come as a surprise."
"Sorry?" Ada said with a wince.
"It's fine. I didn't hear anything." Teddy waved away her words. "What do you need my help with?"
"I don't know how to make this work. Genevieve wouldn't admit she's a commitment-phobe. I'm worried they may get into a relationship, and she'll treat it like trash. She has six ex-boyfriends."
Teddy whistled as he rubbed his chin. "Show me her file."
"Thank you!" Ada gave Teddy's arm a tight hug before retrieving her logger.
"Let's see..." Teddy's eyes took on a serious glint as he breezed through file after file. "3.09% ability to remain in a relationship is pretty low, but it's not impossible," he mumbled. "Their lifelong probability is high—that'll help offset her lack of commitment. And their attraction seemed to have grown by 20%. Good. Good."
At last, Teddy returned Ada's logger. "I think the reason the One Up High made it so that she can see you is to make room for a therapeutic relationship. Think of a hybrid form of therapy session."
"Huh?" Ada's expression soured. "You're kidding."
Teddy continued speaking as if Ada said nothing. "Yes. If I recall correctly, there's a method like that in cases where the assignment gets to see their cupid."
"Hey!" Ada clapped.
Teddy's attention snapped in her direction. "What?"
"How does that make sense?" Ada pointed at herself. "You expect me to give Genevieve therapy sessions. Are you nuts? It's so cringe, I'd die."
Teddy first gawked at her before bursting into laughter. "'Cringe'? 'I'd die'? Wake up, Ada-soda. If you want to be good at cupiding you can't use words like cringe and die. If we look at things critically, all we do is kinda cringe, but you must give yourself to the flow until it becomes second nature. At least, that's how it is for me."
What nonsense was Teddy sprouting? "I'm no psychologist. I—"
Teddy observed her with a confused frown. "But you are."
"Huh?"
"Ada, I'm curious." Teddy rested his arms on his thighs as he leaned forward. "Do you recall anything in psychology class?"
"I—" Ada bit the inside of her cheek. Shame, frustration and that awful feeling of being out of place rushed in. Of course, she couldn't remember a staggering amount of what she was taught. Her mind functioned like a sieve throughout those two years. She had crammed, poured in the necessary answers during the evaluation and promptly forgot what she had crammed after. "I don't know."
"That is not—"
Ada shot to her feet. "I don't know. Okay?" She began pacing, her heart thundering and her face hot with embarrassment. "I do try, Teddy. I do. I've taught Genevieve some stuff. Things I remember."
Ada paused and faced Teddy with a dejected slump. "I'm doomed, right? I know there's a chunk of things I ought to know, but I—I feel like a dolt 'cause I can't remember. It's like knowing the basics of how a car runs when I should know every car component, too."
"Ada—"
"How do you do it?" Ada resumed her pacing, too ashamed to meet Teddy's eyes. "How do you remember everything and neatly apply it to your assignments? How?" She gripped her head. "Whenever I get my assignments, I try to read up and prepare, but... basket brain. I think I'm destined to fail."
"Stop." Teddy held Ada's wrist, forcing her to stop pacing. "Come sit. Your pacing is stressing me out."
"But—"
"You have me. I'm the best in the division, remember? You have me. Come sit."
Teddy tugged at her arm until Ada did as he asked. She still couldn't look at his face. This was the first time Ada was speaking her ugly truth out loud. She wondered if the Helmets knew of this shortcoming as well.
"We'll figure this out together, yeah?"
"Yeah. Sure." Ada sighed and nodded. "You were saying I'm a psychologist." Even as she spoke the word, the urge to laugh at herself and the current situation came, but she beat it down, smiling bitterly instead.
"The fact that you can see your assignment will make things infinitely better for you."
"You think so?" Ada met Teddy's eyes. He appeared certain of what he was saying. At least one of them was confident.
"Yes. From what I read in Genevieve's file, she probably has fearful-avoidant attachment issues."
"What's that now?"
"Don't worry about that yet; I'll give you an easy-to-understand breakdown of how to cure commitment-phobes. Your part is to think of how to approach this uniquely. You're a Rollick. Think of how to help Genevieve in a non-cringe way."
"Umm." Ada thought for a while, but her mind remained blank. No novel idea came. It was happening again. This wasn't the first time Teddy had attempted to put her through her assignments and was unsuccessful. "Teddy, I don't think I can do it."
Ignoring her words, Teddy said, "Do you know one of your strongest abilities?"
"What?" Ada was genuinely curious because she was beginning to doubt she had any except vanishing wings. How can vanishing wings help her situation?
"Persuasion."
"Really?" That was not a reply Ada expected.
"It even works on the Helmets. Something no other cupid in the entire Division can manage."
"If you put it like that," Ada replied with a frown.
"Think of how to use that skill with your assignment."
"But Genevieve is hella stubborn." Ada recalled all those times she had tried to change her mind when it came to Raymond.
When it came to Raymond...
It clicked. "I got it!" Springing to her feet, Ada pumped her fist and laughed. "I GOT IT."
Ada grinned at Teddy. "I've been trying to change her mind about Raymond instead of making her look inward and solve her issues."
"That's a good way to put it," Teddy said.
Ada pounded her fist against her palm, determination rising at the same time an idea formed. "I'll not make it seem like a cringe therapy session. I'll casually talk to her about..." She turned questioning eyes to Teddy. "What should I ask her about?"
"I'll share a folder with you. From what I read in her file, it'll be impossible to get her to admit she's a commitment-phobe. So do not bring it up; if you do, she'll likely be defensive. All the while you talk with her, be conscious of your persuasive skills, and make her feel like she figured out her issues on her own."
"Woah. You're so smart." Ada snatched Teddy's hand and pulled him to his feet, laughing. "Thank you."
Teddy laughed and ruffled her hair. "You are smart, too. Remembering everything I learn and having Rollick-type abilities cannot be compared."
Chuckling, Ada slapped Teddy's hand away. "Stop already." She glanced at his boots when she noticed he was a few inches taller than her. "Did you wear those to spite me?"
"Yes," Teddy said with a big grin. "I totally did."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't." Teddy swung an arm over Ada's shoulders and nodded at the bare wall where her former art had been. "When will you start?"
"Was gonna start today, but I changed my mind. I'm thinking I'd have a go at it after wrapping my assignment."
"Loving the optimism, Ada-soda," Teddy said with a nod. "You'll make this work."
"Yeah," Ada mumbled as she eyed the blank wall, already thinking up a piece. "I'll make this work."
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Thoughts on the story so far?
I think I'm pretty much halfway done at this point... maybe a wee bit more than halfway done. 🤔
Onward and upwards.
Gimme your votes and comments. Muah!