[Ambrosia Bellemore]
I was in trouble.
I don't know what compelled me to step foot into the kitchen with the intention of cooking something for dinner while Freida was out on a date with Jeremy.
But right now, I'm in deep, deep trouble.
The fried chicken which was supposed to be dark brown and crispy looked charred black and not even slightly edible. The pan fried noodles looked like medusa's hair had been cut off and deep fried in alcohol.
"Shit," I mutter as the smoke starts coming out of the oven. The brownies were supposed to be a special treat, but it seemed like even they were beyond saving now.
Sighing with defeat, I walk into the living room, ready to order a pizza and save the day. But my eyes fall on a square peice of paper with a number scrawled hastily on it.
Aha, but I've got a better plan to save the day.
Dialling the number quickly, I wait for him to pick up.
"Hóla!" He greets, his enthusiasm seeping through the phone.
"Emilio? It's Ambrosia." I say nervously.
"Oh, signora. What can I do for you?"
"Uh Emilio, I was wondering if you deliver? It's an emergency."
~•~
[Calum Achorn]
The phone rings for the third time.
Growling in frustration, I pick it up and press it to my ear.
"WHY WEREN'T YOU PICKING UP MY CALL?" The usually excited voice growls at me.
"Calm down, Emy. I'm at the office. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Everything's wrong! Ambrosia has ordered and Danny is out for groceries. How am I supposed to get her her food? It seems to be a food emergency!" He babbles.
"A food emergency, Emilio? It can't be that serious." I say dismissively.
"Yes, it is. A food emergency is always a grave emergency." He argues, almost whining. I sigh.
"What do you want me to do? I can send Charles, he can drop it off at her house." I suggest.
"No, that's not right. I can't send a complete stranger to give my signora her food."
"You're a stranger to her too, Emilio." I remind him.
"No, we're friends. She called me in her time of need. She adores me."
"Fine. So what do you want me to do?" I ask, my patience was waning thin.
"You can take the food to her house. Yes! That's perfect." He gushes, I can even hear him jumping in his roller skates on the other side of the phone.
"Don't be ridiculous, Emilio. I'm her boss. We've a strict work relationship." I argue.
"But you did bring her on a date the other day."
"It wasn't.."
"And you did have lunch with her in your special place."
"Okay, but.."
"No buts. You like her."
"Don't be idiotic, Emilio." I growl, but my cheeks are suddenly warm. Did someone turn up the heater?
"I know it when I see a whipped man, Calum. Don't lie to me."
"Shut up." I mumble, giving up.
"Ha! Come pick up the food."
"You can deliver it at her place too." I attempt a final fight. "She must have given you the address."
"Sí, but where's the fun in that? And besides," He drawls like a know-it-all. "I'm a stranger to her, you just said so yourself."
~•~
[Ambrosia Bellemore]
The bell rings exactly half an hour later. Excited, I jump off the couch to answer it. Not even bothering to look through the peep hole, I throw open the door, almost tempted to hug the daylights out of the delivery man.
And stop short.
"M-Mr A-Achorn?" I stammer, my heart beating so dangerously fast I was sure I was about to collapse.
Mr Calum Achorn stood tall and looming in front of me, his face in his original mask but just as perfect and chiselled as ever. A small pin reading 'Emilio's assistant' was pinned onto his expensive black suit. I resist the urge to snigger.
"You work for Emilio?" I ask in disbelief.
"No, Miss Bellemore. He called me in for a favour. Apparently, it was a food emergency of degree seven and I had to deliver immediately."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"
"It's not your fault." He dismisses me with a suave wave of his hand, and then hands me the huge bag of food.
"Wait a minute. I didn't order--"
"Half of it is for me, obviously." Calum Achorn interjects, and I look up at him in confusion, and then it dawns upon me.
Oh, he wants to have dinner with me. Together.
I look down at the clothes I'm wearing. An old Metallica T-shirt smudged with chocolate and chicken sauce and various weird concoctions, extra stretchy pants and bunny shoes.
Yeah. Dinner, sure.
"Uh," I stammer, moving away to let him in. He walks into the house in confident strides, looking around him like an inspector.
"A nice house you've got here." He comments.
"Yeah, it's all my friend though." I say, placing the food on the dining table and taking it all out. The smell is so good, I almost rip open the lid and devour it. And I most probably would have, if not for the magnanimous presence in the room with me.
"What hit the kitchen?" He exclaims, looking around the destruction in disbelief.
"I did, apparently." I admit sheepishly.
"Miss Bellemore, I don't want you around my kitchen, ever." He laughs and I stare at him in disbelief. Did he just joke?
Wow, since when did he change so much?
His laughter dies out quickly, leaving us in an awkward silence. But the food comes to rescue.
"Food's served." I announce, sitting down in my usual seat at the table. Calum Achorn takes the seat opposite to mine and we eat in silence for a minute.
"Emilio is gifted." I comment, smiling down at my pan fried noddles. I bet mine wouldn't have tasted half as good as his did.
"That he certainly is. And annoying, and bossy." Calum Achorn jokes, and I chuckle lightly.
The rest of the dinner passes in small talk here and there and a whole load of comfortable silence. Since when did we become so compatible with each other? When did that happen?
"Thank you for the dinner." I say after we're done eating and Calum Achorn helps in carrying the dishes into the kitchen.
"You're going to clean the kitchen all by yourself?" He asks, unsure.
"Sure. Do I look like I have a choice?" I sigh, looking at the disaster all around me.
"I could help." He offers and my head whips up to meet his. Did he really just say what he did?
"Don't look so surprised. I do it all the time at home." He says, nonchalant.
What a liar.
"Um, s-sure." I stammer, turning on the dishwasher and teaching him how to clear the plates and operate the machine. Surprisingly, he knows what he's doing so he's not entirely gone.
Soon enough, we're done with the cleaning. The kitchen counter looks almost normal, and the food I'd tried to cook was in the garbage. We did a good job, for people who'd never done house chores before.
"Good job." Calum Achorn says, stretching a hand in my direction the same moment that I raise mine for a high five.
Holy crap, did I just initiate a high five with my boss? Stupid! Foolish!
"Uh, um." I stammer, trying to bring my hand down to shake his outstretched hand. He looks confused and I'm flustered.
I furtively shake his hand twice and let it go before he could notice how clammy and sweaty my palm is. He gives me a heart rending smile, and after some difficulty, I manage to give him a shy smile back.
It happens in an instant. One minute, we were smiling at each other and the next moment, something crosses Calum's eyes in a flash. If I hadn't been looking into them, I'd have probably missed it. With two confident strides, he's standing really, really close to me. His cologne, probably imported from Heaven, smells like beaches and cotton candy and every comfort food I've ever had and I inhale it deeply, letting it calm my raging nerves.
Too close!
Panic sets in. What am I supposed to do?
Nervously, I look up to meet his eyes. His eyes seem to be smiling into mine, searing hot and blinding. And yet again, the flash crosses his inhumanly clear eyes.
"Ambrosia," he murmurs, his voice like rich, deep earth. Layers and layers of calm, peace and beauty. I wanted to dig deeper, find, unravel every single thing he tried so hard to hide.
Who are you, really?
And in the same instant, his lips descend on mine. It happens so fast, I couldn't wrap my mind around it, or feel the utter joy that hit me. His stony chest crushes against mine, yet his soft, yielding lips move against mine in soft, rhythmic waves.
White, blinding light behind my closed eyes. My arms rise up on their own accord, wrapping around his frame, and resting when they find him flawless. His lips feel as light as feather on mine, tentative, testing, nervous. In that moment, I had enough of him, but I wanted even more of him.
A little too fast, he pulls away. We keep our eyes closed for another second, revelling. Kissing Calum Achorn didn't evoke sparks or lightning, it rumbled the earth, stirred the core. It was life altering, a permanent shift in my soul.
Opening our eyes, we look into each other, and I'm surprised by what I saw. Calum Achorn wasn't a cold, hard man, he was surprisingly soft, and kind and he had a beautiful, beautiful soul.
"I-I," he stammers and the moment is broken. "There was...there was some chocolate on your lip." He mumbles, and hurriedly, he walks away and out of my front door. I laugh softly, and the sound is elated, happy.
"This calls for some chocolate."
~•~
This chapter just....happened.
Wooo, it was hard.
See you guys soon, I need some hershey bars. Pronto.