...
AS SOON AS THE guys talked about the meals they could make, she already knew they were more than useless. Alex was talking about eggs, Will about some complicated French dish they had none of the ingredients for and Levi was staying silent, his gaze as bored as ever. The sight made her shake her head and she looked at the ingredients they had gotten, already wondering what they could make. It was then she spotted the folded paper hidden beneath the vegetables though and she smoothed it out in front of her.
"How to make bhapaa aloo and chor chori?" she read out.
"Bengali dishes," Will said, peeking over her shoulder.
"How do you know?" she said.
"My parents like international cuisine," he shrugged.
"He couldn't have just given us easy things to make?" Alex complained," I was thinking about like, a salad. That goes as far as my cooking abilities will take me."
"Well," Ella said as she read the instructions," I was just about to make some Venezuelan dishes my mother taught me, but I guess he upped the difficulty level for fun."
"Such fun," Alex murmured.
But though he complained, he helped with stalling out all the spices, vegetables and rice. From what she could see, the first dish was one made from potatoes in coconut paste and mustard oil, the second one more of a mix of vegetables. It didn't sound that hard at the moment, though she supposed she would find out soon enough.
"Look!" Will said excitedly, holding up a small, black hot plate," it's portable!"
"Wrong vibes, Will," Alex said," we are not happy. Frown more." He waved at Levi. "Take an example from him!"
"This is my normal expression," Levi scowled.
"That's what I mean," Alex said.
Ella rolled her eyes, her hands on both the boys' shoulders. "Alex, go and cut the vegetables with Will."
"Only because you're the one asking, babe," he said, flashing her a grin over his shoulder as he walked towards Will.
When it was just the two of them Levi glanced at her, his expression as unreadable as always. "What about me?"
"Are you actually prepared to listen to me, Levi?" she said, a teasing smile on her lips," miracles do exist."
She had expected him to glare at her, but instead he shrugged. "We worked well together before."
"We sunk," she said.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"It means we suck at building rafts," she said.
He rolled his eyes, though it was a good-natured move. It had slipped her mind, but his earlier words flashed through her mind again and she wondered if he was flirting right now as well. If so, she couldn't find it in herself to keep her distance, even though she knew getting more caught up with them than she already was could only mean trouble.
Staying under the radar sure as hell wouldn't be a success if she got closer and closer to the leader of St Joseph. One glance up at him, at his bored gaze and confident posture was enough to make something flutter in her stomach though. He reminded her of the night sky; unwavering and yet everchanging, only soft at the break of dawn. She wanted to sit amongst his stars and listen to every moonlight tale he spun, read his thoughts like astrology and drown in the navy blue of his mind.
Oh God, this was not the time for her to develop a crush.
"Why are you staring at me?" he said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
"Just thinking how much you resemble an old man," she said.
He blinked, but before his face could even settle into his usual scowl she had already turned around, heading towards the recipes she had laid out on the grass. Halfway through she turned around to see if he was following, but she almost bumped into his chest instead. When she looked in his eyes, she could almost taste the promise of adventure.
"You shouldn't worry," he said, his low voice dancing across her spine," I may be an old man, but I can keep up just fine."
"Acceptance is the first step," she said, her underlying emotions not showing at all on her amused expression.
He took a position beside her then and they resumed walking. On the other end of the clearing Alex was trying, and failing, to make neat slices of the cauliflower on the small foldable table they had put there. Will was sitting on the grass beside it, a sack of potatoes next to his feet, a puzzled expression on his face as he held the potato peeler up in the air and inspected it. The sight worried her and she turned back, ready to walk over and give them some instructions.
As soon as she set one step though she was pulled back, Levi's hand on her wrist.
"Where are you going?" he said.
"I don't think Will knows how to start," she said.
"No," he said.
She frowned. "What do you mean no?"
In a fluid move he pulled her closer to him, his other hand on her back now. His cologne danced around her again, his face as unreadable as always.
"I mean no, you won't leave," he said," you're all mine for now."
She raised her eyebrows, amused.
"Oh?" she said," I am?"
He let go of her then, stepping back and waving at the bag of rice on the grass.
"You are," he said," so let's make some rice."
"You sure know how to charm a woman, Levi," she said.
"Don't be all sarcastic now," he said," you know it's true."
"Who says I was being sarcastic?" she said with an innocent flutter of her eyelashes.
"I don't think I've ever heard you not being sarcastic."
She chuckled, but walked towards him still. One glance at Will, who was cutting the potatoes in half without peeling them, was enough for her to call out to him though.
"Will, use the thing you were holding before to scrape the skin off!"
He looked up at her voice, his confused eyes lighting up. The peeler was back in his hands again and he held it up in a silent question, before flashing her a bright grin when she nodded.
"Thanks, El," he beamed at her.
"Do you have some advice for me, babe?" Alex said, the large chunks of vegetables all mismatched on the table.
"Try harder," she said.
With a shake of her head she turned back at Levi, who was doing a thumbs up to Will as soon as he had succeeded in peeling the skin off, even though he had somehow broken the potato in four during the process. A smile started playing on her lips and she nudged him playfully with her shoulder, a signal for them to start.
"So," she said," please tell me you can at least cook better than them."
His gaze flicked up at her, before going back to the spices in front of him again. "You can't compare me to them."
"Oh, how could I have forgotten," she said," you're St Joseph's resident gang leader. Cooking must be the last thing on your mind."
He didn't reply, instead taking a knife and laying the cucumber and tomatoes for the salad down. Though she wanted to say more, he was cutting then, fast and precise, and she blinked in surprise.
"You've cooked before?" she said.
"I told you not to compare me to them," he said, pushing the slices in a bowl and handing it to her.
She grabbed some spices to add to it, though her gaze was still on him. The startled question in her eyes was enough for him to talk again, though his eyes were trained on the vegetables before him.
"You know about my parents," he said, a bit stiffly," I had to learn how to cook early on."
A flash of guilt ran through her then for joking with him about it without really thinking his circumstances through. She was careful not to let it show though, knowing all too well from her own experience that pity never was an emotion she wanted to see. Her thoughts trailed off to her father then, a faint memory of him smiling and lifting her on his shoulders, but then it was gone with the breeze.
"You can cook, glare and fight," she said," you're the dream, Levi."
"I'd day the same for you," he said, glancing her way," except for the fighting part though."
"You should be glad," she said," I'd beat you up and you know it."
When she looked back at him she almost inhaled at the sight of his smile, one containing the sun.
"With you, I wouldn't mind."