The first thing I realize when I take off the sweatshirt Blake had let me burrow, was that his gorgeous house is fairly cold.
I put the sweatshirt back on, causing Blake to smile.
"I'll start the fire in the fireplace, you can lay out all the groceries we got on the island in the kitchen?" He suggests.
I nod in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."
He shows me around the giant kitchen, which is visible from the living room. I love how open his house is.
It's quite big too. It's a house you'd raise a big family in.
He must get paid quite well.
"How long has Bella been here on her own? I mean... you've been with me for a few months now." I say raising a eyebrow.
"When I heard about the mission I drove her down to stay with Ryan, my best friend. But recently Ryan took up a job that requires him to work a lot, so he dropped her off here yesterday and let me know about it. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with her. I miss my baby." He says smiling over at his dog.
"She's welcome to stay with our dogs. The more the merrier." I tell him.
He smiles "That would be amazing. Thank you." He says. I just nod gently before looking down at the groceries.
"So, We are going to get cooking first. I have a recipe on the table over there, it's what we will be following. It's my mom's old pasta dish. I'll help you cook it, but you can set it up while I get some stuff situated if that's okay?" He asks.
I nod "of course! What should I do?" I ask him.
"Just grab a pan and fill it half way with water and boil the noodles until they're soft. We'll cook it together from there." He explains.
"So... boil noodles?" I ask with a giggle.
He chuckles and nods "Yes, that. I just like to make things sound more complicated." He teases.
"Adds to the mystery, right?" I tease back.
He laughs. "Exactly."
"Got it." I nod. "And do you want me to lay out the ingredients?" I ask.
"That would be awesome. I'm just gonna get some wood from the garage and start the fire." He tells me before leaving me in his huge kitchen.
I hear the garage door close behind him and I let out a breath of air I didn't realize I was holding.
Inside I'm somewhat freaking out. He really went to a good amount of effort to make this happen.
I grab the pans and fill them with water. I turn the burners on and place the pans on top to warm the water.
I feel naked... exposed without him beside me. It hasn't even been a minute.
I've been spending so much time with him lately, the only time he's not by my side is in the shower or while I'm taking a shit.
I feel so exposed... like a child in a store whose lost their mom or dad.
I hear him come back in, followed by the clanking of wood. A rush of security runs back through me.
I glance over at him and I'm instantly distracted by the way his muscles look in that sweater.
He had taken off his leather jacket, and the white sweater was clinging to his body in a way that made the cold weather fill with a warm humidity.
Well, that was just me. I feel my cheeks get red when I realize I'm staring... again.
I turn back to the stove and put the pasta in one, and turn the burner off the other. The water is now warm enough for us to start cooking the sauce.
I grab the contents out of the grocery bags and spread them across the table. I glance over a couple spices and sauces. I have a feeling this is going to turn out to be stroganoff.
The ingredients are looking like it's going to be just that.
The only thing that confuses me is the eggs, the brown sugar, and the beef.
I decide not to question it and check on the noodles. So far, they're about half way done. There's a lot in there.
I jump and almost scream when I feel strong hands rest on my shoulders.
"Woah. Didn't mean to frighten you, love." Blake says with a amused look.
I put my hand to my heart and feel it beating rapidly at the little scare.
"You were quiet." I say with a embarrassed laugh. "Plus, I was in my zone"
He smiles "Well, the fire is running properly, so it should heat up in here."
I smile "Good! It was pretty chilly." I admit.
"My fault. I turned the heat off since I wasn't going to be coming here. Or I wasn't planning to, at least." He says.
"Your house is so beautiful. How did you find this?" I ask.
He smiles "My cousins and I built it. I paid them, but they wanted to do it for fun. It counts as their volunteer hours. They did the wiring and plumbing and tubing and everything."
I feel my mouth drop open. "You guys built this?"
He nods. "Pretty cool, huh? How's the pasta doing?" He asks glancing behind me.
"Oh! let me check that!" I say, remembering the noodles I had left on the burner.
"Pretty sure they're done." I say biting into one.
He smiles.
"Time for the fun part. Did you figure out what we are making?" He asks.
"Uh... stroganoff? I don't know what the eggs and stuff are for though." I admit.
He chuckles. "You'll see. But yeah, it's beef stroganoff." He confirms as he pulls out a frying pan and takes the thawed out ground beef and places it on the frying pan.
"The grease will keep it from sticking." He says pulling out a spatula.
I smile at his knowledge of cooking. It's really hot when a guy can cook.
I watch and admire the way he easily cooks the beef until it's nice and brown. He lets it simmer a little longer before adding a few spices and oils.
"Now for the fun part!" He says.
"The sauce?" I question.
"Damn straight." He says in a American accent. I laugh at his attempt and he flicks butter at me.
It lands right on my cheek and some even falls to the ground as I giggle. "I dare you to lick it." I say after watching some butter fall to the floor.
"You don't think I will?" He challenges.
"Judging from your expression when I ate the ketchup off your finger, no. I don't think you'll do it." I taunt.
He smiles and shakes his head.
"Easiest dare I've ever gotten." He says coming up to me.
I look at him confused, not knowing what he's going to do, but then I realize he's not going to eat it off his floor, he's going to lick it off of me.
I'm sure he can sense my confusion but he carefully steps up to me and gently tilts my head to the side with his hand.
What I'm not expecting is what I probably should be expecting. The classic Blake Waters charm.
He can make anything intimate. It's ridiculous.
His strong, soft hands, push past my hair and rest on my neck.
He looks into my eyes and there is no way he can possibly miss the physical effect he has on me.
He knows exactly what he's doing.
My breath catches, being little miss innocent, I expected he would fake lick it off the ground, and if it were my face that he licked the butter off of, he'd just lick it off, but instead, it's like he's teasing me.
His blue eyes are shining with mischievousness as he just looks into my eyes.
I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm not a puddle right now, is because its winter.
His hands are gentle on my neck, his smirk is making me go mad. What is he waiting for?
He just smiles and shakes his head.
"You don't wear face makeup do you?" he asks.
I giggle and shake my head "You'll have to find out." I say wiggling my eyebrows. "Do it, no balls" I mock him.
I don't know why I have to ruin intimacy with my humor...
He chuckles and I continue "You won't, you pussy" I say laughing at my own words.
He just laughs before lowering his face to mine, I feel the wet warmth of his tongue and I scrunch up my face at the sensation.
He laughs at my facial expression and I laugh as well when he lets go of me.
"Yup. No face makeup. We should probably make the sauce before the whole thing gets cold." He points out.
I nod and gather the necessary spices as he mixes the milk and butter with a few spices.
"Just shake each one until I say stop. You'll add the ingredients while I stir, so it can thicken." I nod and grab the first container.
It is oddly fun just to make a sauce. He makes it interesting by saying 'stop' in a bunch of funny ways that make me giggle uncontrollably.
Once the sauce is mixed he heats it up, along with the beef and noodles.
Once everything is ready, we mix them all together into one large bowl.
It looks, and smells, delicious.
"We did it!" I exclaim as he high fives me.
"Damn straight! Now let's clean up, then we can eat by the fire." He says.
"Ohhhh! By the fire?" I ask raising a suggestive eyebrow jokingly.
He winks at me in response. "I'll whip out the wine glasses so we can drink our cider like fancy motherfuckers." He teases.
"Can we actually have wine glasses?" I ask with a laugh, although I'm serious.
"Heck yeah we can." He laughs.
"Awesome! Now all we need is a bear skinned rug" I joke putting away the spices.
"Now that would make me too cool." He jokes.
I giggle and pick up the eggs and brown sugar.
"So what were these for?" I question holding them up for him to see.
"Those are for our dessert later. I thought maybe we could make a midnight snack." He says putting away the last pan.
"Midnight? We have school tomorrow." I remind him.
He smirks. "Come on, love. You need to get your mind off of things. I can tell you're stressed from today. You deserve a break."
"But I didn't bring anything for staying over." I point out.
"Have you ever stayed at another mans house?" He questions grabbing bowls and forks.
I shake my head no.
"Well then this will be special. Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes." He jokes.
He must see my petrified expression because he quickly says; "I'm messing with you. I brought some of your stuff along. It's in the car."
I giggle and put the eggs in the fridge and grab the cider out of the fridge.
"Sounds like a date." I say setting the cider down.
"Where are the wine glasses?" I question leaning against the now-clean island.
He points toward a shelf and I spot them quickly.
I grab two as he fills our bowls to the top. It smells incredible.
He then puts the leftovers in the fridge.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Ready." I confirm picking up the cider and glasses as he carries the food over to the fireplace.
We both sit side by side facing the warm fire. It's really peaceful and calming. Romantic, even.
I can see why people have dates by the fire in movies.
"So the picture part of the night isn't what I made it out to be." He tells me as he pours cider in the wine glasses for us.
"We are simply going to take a bunch of pictures on snapchat and your Instagram of us so we can really sell it. Because what couple doesn't post things together?" He points out.
I smile and raise my glass to that. It's actually true and I didn't even think of it until now.
"I'll toast to that." I say clinking my glass against his.
"To us." He says with a smirk.
"To us." I reply with a giggle.
I'm surprised his dog isn't attacking us for food. Instead, she's sitting curled in a cute little ball by the fire in front of us.
The stroganoff is absolutely delicious. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this incredible.
I've had the same quality stroganoff at the super expensive restaurant mom and dad used to take Jason and I.
"That... was... amazing." I say sitting back after I've finished.
He finished before me, and now he just smiles at me as he finds my love for his stroganoff entertaining.
"I'm glad you liked it, because you helped make it." He reminds me.
He takes the dishes into the kitchen, and then takes a seat on his big couch. He pats the spot next to him, gesturing for me to come too.
I get up and plop down next to him. I sit criss-cross-apple-sauce and instantly regret leaving the warmth of the fireplace.
"I'm excited to see how the midnight cookies turn out now." I tease.
"Oh. You will not be disappointed, love." He says confidently.
I just smile at the man who continues to surprise me. I know I won't be disappointed. I know for once, something is a constant in my life. Something makes sense within all of this nonsense.
Although something is wrong; which is why he's here... something is also right. Very, very right.