Caleb and Felix flashed a sharp stare at Aaron. The meaning was clear. They had figured out Aaron had gone sneaking behind their backs and getting Alfie's time and attention all to himself. And they were undoubtedly going to make him pay by making him go through hell tomorrow morning during their battle practice. Fuck!
Felix said, "Really?" He turned to Alfie. "Why didn't you ask me to teach you?"
Aaron couldn't help himself and said, "As if you're any good at doing such a thing. All you're good at is ordering your soldiers about like a maniac." Which wasn't far off the mark.
Geoffrey, who seemed interested in the food, came toward the table and took a good look at the fare. He said, "May I try some, Alfie?"
Alfie nodded furiously. "Of course, my lord."
Once Geoffrey made himself comfortable on the stone bench, he said, "Unfortunately, I'm no good with chopsticks."
Alfie said in a hurry, "No worries, my lord." She shifted out of Felix's arm, who frowned darkly, and moved to sit beside Geoffrey, who smiled in delight. There, she picked up the chopsticks and asked, "What would you like to try, my lord?"
Geoffrey pointed to the egg roll. "This one."
Alfie expertly and delicately picked up a piece of a perfectly rolled tamagoyaki and brought it up to Geoffrey's awaiting mouth. "Ahh..." She urged Geoffrey's lips to part.
With a wicked smirk on his face, Geoffrey opened his mouth as requested, and Alfie fed him. The lord chewed, tasting the softness and sweetness of the egg roll. "Hmm..." he expressed, a grin playing about his lips. "It's sweet and soft," he said, his voice deep and seductive.
Alfie grinned, looking both embarrassed and pleased at the same time, which annoyed the hell out of not only Aaron, but Felix and Caleb as well. Of course, Aaron was pissed that he hadn't thought about pretending not to know how to use chopsticks, as Geoffrey had done.
Alfie said, "I've put honey in the egg roll, my lord, as I personally like it sweet. But of course, you can have tamagoyaki salty if you like it that way."
Geoffrey shook his blond head in the negative. "No, I like mine sweet, and especially with honey in it. The more the better. Honey is one of my favorite food items."
Geoffrey's words had a double meaning, which none of the other three lords missed. Needless to say, the trio saw red.
Felix was about to interrupt and pull innocent Alfie away from the cunning Geoffrey when Alfie said, "Then I'll remember to do that if I were to make tamagoyaki for you in the future, my lord."
"Tamagoyaki, eh?" Geoffrey asked. "A new word I have not heard before."
Alfie said, "It's egg roll in my father's native language, my lord. This bento box food is from there."
"I see." Geoffrey nodded his head again. "It's delicious, Alfie. I must introduce you to our kitchen staff so that you can teach them a few recipes. But of course, the tamagoyaki you'll have to personally make for me, with a lot of honey."
"Really?" Alfie asked. "But I'm not a chef or anything."
Caleb, who couldn't stand the earnest discussion between the two, said loudly, interrupting them, "That looks nice."
Alfie's attention was duly drawn to the demand of Caleb. "This one?" she asked, pointing to the prawn tempura. At Caleb's nod, she hastily picked up the crispy piece with the chopsticks and said, "Ahh..."
Caleb gladly opened his mouth, and Alfie fed him.
The moment the morsel was in his mouth, the lord widened his eyes in pleasant surprise. It was light, crispy, and juicy, with the meat of the prawn melting in his mouth. It was fucking delicious, and he wanted more.
He was about to ask for another when Felix came up and said, "Alfie, feed me that fried chicken."
Alfie said, "You can eat that with your hand, my lord. No need to use chopsticks with that one."
Geoffrey and Aaron cracked up laughing.
Felix wasn't giving up. He said, "Then pick it up with your hand and feed it to me. I have no desire to dirty my hands."
Alfie sighed. "You're a demanding one, aren't you, my lord?"
Felix knew Alfie was annoyed with him, hence the emphasis on the words my lord. But of course, the demon lord didn't give a damn about that. All he wanted was for Alfie to feed him food, preferably with those delicate hands.
Alfie reluctantly picked up the drumstick and brought it to Felix's eagerly awaiting mouth. Felix proceed to wrap his large hand around her slender wrist and then devoured the morsel with pleasure, his lips touching and sucking on her fingers and thumb in the process.
Alfie gasped at the intimate contact and blushed severely.
Aaron noticed and snapped loudly, "Oi! That's enough. You're wasting Alfie's studying time."
Once Felix finally finished devouring the offered meat like a starving demon, Alfie hastily withdrew, head down, eyes downcast, and cheeks hot with embarrassment.
Grinning from ear to ear and very pleased with himself, Felix said, "Still hungry."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "You all have an army of staff to cook and serve you divine meals fit for a king. Why the hell are you all here stealing Alfie's food?"
Geoffrey chuckled. "You've made a good point there." He turned to Alfie. "Then again, Alfie's food is very appealing. Isn't that why you're making him cook you lunch, Aaron?"
Damn that bastard brother of his! As usual, he was bloody good at flipping the tables. Geoffrey got him right there, and Aaron didn't know how to reply to that statement.
Geoffrey said, "I would love to taste your cooking, Alfie. What would you like in return for making me some lunch?"
Alfie's eyes widened in surprise. "Really, my lord? I can ask for a favor if I cook you lunch?"
"Hmm." The lord nodded.
"Then—"
"How about cooking me lunch, too, Alfie?" Felix interrupted, as if he knew what Alfie was going to ask for.
Caleb said, concerned, "This is too much for one boy. Alfie will have no time to do his own things."
Geoffrey agreed. "Then how about once a week—say, on a Sunday—you can cook us lunch? In return, each of us will do you a favor, whatever that may be."
Alfie was pleased at the idea. "That sounds awesome, my lord. Then I'll cook everyone lunch on Sundays."
Aaron said, before any more time was wasted, "Now that's settled. Why don't you three leave? Alfie and I are about to start the lesson."
But of course, the three lords refused to heed Aaron's words and even went further as to request a picnic lunch from the main kitchen. Hence, lavish food items were brought out and arranged neatly on the round table under the pergola. In the end, four out of the five members enjoyed their meal tremendously that afternoon.
When Geoffrey, Felix, and Caleb finally left an hour and a half later, Aaron sighed in relief, exhausted. Of course, he had spent most of the time protecting Alfie from those overly zealous comrades of his.
"I thought they'd never leave," he said.
Alfie chuckled. "But it was fun, right? With so many of us around and chatting away about everything under the sun. It reminded me of home."
Aaron noted the sudden change in the expression on Alfie's face and asked, "Do you miss it? Your home?"
Alfie nodded. "Hm."
Aaron grabbed Alfie's hands and said, "I'll do my best to make you happy so that you won't miss home."
Alfie chuckled. "Thank you, my Lord Aaron."
Aaron chuckled and said, "No problem."
Hence, their language lesson commenced.