Aria's POV
After playing a bit with Odette we changed out of the costumes and made our way to get dinner. I sat with Odette on the couch putting a movie on for her while Dom was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"Can we watch Moana?" She asked me sweetly.
"Of course baby. Is that your favorite movie?"
"Mmm. I know ALL the songs." She exclaimed bouncing on the spot she was seated in. I couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I guess you're going to have to teach me so we can sing them together," I told her as I touched her nose lightly with my index finger. She giggled and placed her hands over her nose.
I put on the movie, placed a blanket over her and decided to go check on Dom. I made my way to the kitchen but stopped at the door. He was by the stove mixing a pot with a wooden spoon. He would then put some more spices inside, mix it and bring some to his mouth with the spoon. He proceeded to lick some sauce off his finger that had messed. Good God...
I took a deep breath before entering.
"You're not going to kill us tonight are you?" I questioned with an uncertain look aimed at the pot.
He gave me an amused expression, raised eyebrows and a slight smirk. He didn't say anything, instead, he took some sauce with the spoon and brought it to my lips, with his hand placed underneath to catch any drops of that could fall. I hesitated, pulling my head back a bit. He chuckled and enticed me to taste.
I went slowly and placed my mouth on the edge of the spoon. I let my taste buds analyze the new substance in my mouth. It was actually pretty good. I had a surprised look on my face as a smile crept upon it.
"Where did you learn how to cook?" I asked him.
"My mother taught us when she wasn't dealing with that bastard father of ours."
He said turning back to the pot. I didn't need to see his face to know there was a lot of anger bottled up when it came to his father. I decided it would be wise to change the subject.
"Well, Odette is watching Moana now. How much longer until dinner is ready?" I asked casually.
"She loves that movie. It's all we hear in this house. And dinner is just about done."
He turned and took out 3 plates and began dishing up. I decided to grab the cutlery and placed then on each plate. I then went and poured some juice in a cup for Odette.
"Odette! Dinner is ready." Dom called for her.
"Zio (Uncle), please can I eat here and watch Moana? Please..." We heard her reply from the lounge.
Dom sighed while contemplating this. Clearly it was a habit they were trying to prevent. I decided to try something.
"Is there dessert?" I walked over to him and asked him in a whisper.
He furrowed his brows at me and just stared at me with a blank expression. I narrowed my eyes at him then I saw his lips move into an amused smile.
Wait. What?
"I'm talking about actual food, idiot!"
I looked at him unamused as he chuckled. I crossed my arms and glared at him. This only made him laugh harder.
"There's ice cream." He said in between his laughs.
I huffed and made my way to Odette.
"Odette, sweety. Can we make a deal?" I asked her calmly. She looked up at me.
"How about we quickly eat dinner then there is ice cream, but only if we eat in the kitchen."
Her face lit up and she didn't hesitate in jumping off the couch, turning off the TV and making her way to the kitchen with me right behind her.
We ate an amazing dinner, then Dom took the plates to place in the dishwasher while I dished up ice cream for each of us.
I gave Odette her little bowl and she immediately tucked into it. In her enthusiasm, she made a mess on her cheek. I giggled, grabbing a cloth to clean her.
"You've messed on your cheek sweety," I said as I went to wipe her cheek. I still had my spoon in my hand which smudged some ice cream on the corner of my mouth. Dom was standing next to me and took his finger to it, sliding it across. I got caught off guard and gave him a look unable to process his actions.
"You messed ice cream on yourself. You're just like a child." He teased me.
I stared at him as he held that famous smug smirk of his. Alright then, let's play.
I dipped my finger into the ice cream and picked up a bit, hiding it from his view. I turned to him, tilting my head.
"Well, you've made a mess too," I stated.
"Where?" He asked.
I then took my finger with the ice cream and slid it on the tip of the nose.
"Right there," I replied with a confident smile.
At first, he didn't know how to react. I think he was conflicted with himself on how to behave. Does this man have any fun in his life? Odette broke the silence with her giggles. He turned to her and noticed she was laughing at him.
"Oh, you find it funny do you?" He asked her in a coy manner.
I watched as he dipped his finger in his ice cream and placed it on her cheek. This only made her scream and laugh some more trying to get away from him. He pretended to start chasing her as she squealed from all the hilarity surrounding us.
I noticed he had left the flour out from making the sauce earlier causing me to grin slightly. Well, this should be interesting. I grabbed a bit of flour and made my way to him.
"Hey, you!" I called him.
He turned around to have a fist full of flour thrown at his face. Now he was really shocked. He opened his eyes and blew out flour from his mouth, letting out a puff.
"Oops," I said as I snickered.
He tilted his head as his gaze bore into me. His stare made me slightly nervous while I watched him calculating his next move.
He quickly maneuvered around me and grabbed the whole packet of flour, pouring it over my head before I had time to react. I gasped as I watched the flour fall all around me. I looked at him shocked, unable to truly believe he just did that. I was trying to get him to let go a bit but never expected him to go all the way. The kitchen floor was white as the flour covered the tiles.
He began laughing hard as I stood there. I took my hand and shook my hair. The flour puffed out of it and fell to the ground. I was covered. This made me chuckle as he continued to laugh.
"Ari, you are a mess!" Odette yelled as she laughed at me.
I went to grab my ice cream bowl but Dom was quicker. He caught my wrist before I made it there and pulled me to him. With his finger, he made a side to side movement indicating that my idea was not going to happen. I huffed playfully as I admitted defeat.
That was when I noticed how close I was to him. He had his one arm wrapped around my waist and the other was now moving a strand of hair behind my ear. I felt like my stomach filled with what felt like fluttering butterflies. The nervousness I was feeling from his intense stare made me look down slightly, and away from his eyes.
"Can I have more ice cream, Zio?" Odette broke the moment causing Dom to release me and take a step back.
"I think that is quite enough ice cream for all of us," he said shooting me a side glance and smirk. "You and Aria need to get cleaned up. Off you go while I clean up this mess." He stated, moving around the flour.
I made my way to Odette holding out my hand. She took it and we went upstairs.
I ran a quick bath for her. Once she was clean and dressed in her pj's I went to get myself cleaned up. I took a quick shower getting the flour out while Odette played in her room. I made my way back to her and brushed her hair, plaiting it.
Something brought my thoughts to Alexa. I think watching this gorgeous little girl enjoying herself so much made me wonder how someone could hurt her.
"Odette, honey... Can I ask you a question?"
"Mmm..." She nodded with a smile.
"Remember when I met you and you thought I was with your Zio and was going to hurt you?"
Her face fell a bit as she nodded slowly.
"Why did you think that sweety? Did somebody hurt you?" I asked calmly to not scare her.
She was now shifting and fiddling with her teddy bear.
"It's only between us. And you won't get into any trouble." I promised her with a smile.
She returned my smile slightly and nodded. I waited for her to tell me in her own time. Eventually, she began telling me.
" I think her name is......"
To be continued...
Hey all my lovelies,
Hope you are enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing these chapters. I am excited to write the next one... So I am getting started on that ASAP. ;)
See you all soon. :)
Angie
xxx