“Good to know what it takes to impress you. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Jax winked at me, before becoming serious again. “For real, though. What can I get you?”
“I’m going to switch it up this time and do a frozen hot chocolate.”
“Great choice.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “We just got our pumpkin syrup in. I can make you my special fall frozen hot chocolate if you’re interested.”
My stomach rumbled just at the thought of that. “Yes, please. That sounds excellent.”
“It is.” Jax winked at me once again before skipping away.
A strange feeling fluttered through my stomach once again, and I told myself it was from the thought of the drink. That was the onlyreasonableexplanation anyway.
I took out my book and started to read, and was interrupted a few minutes later when one of Jax’s coworkers came over with my drink. He sat it down on the table and gave me a shy grin before walking away.
I was about to take a sip when I realized there was a note written on it.Would have delivered this myself, but I had very important boss duties to fulfill ;)
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling (and blushing) at the cup. Jax would literally use any opportunity she could to flirt. It made me wonder how other girls she spent a lot of time with handled it.I’m sure with much more grace than me.
When I took a sip of the drink, a small moan escaped from the back of my throat. The strong flavors exploded in mymouth, causing an orgasm for my taste buds. It was like drinking all of the best parts of fall.Absolute perfection. Just like the girl who made it.
These thoughts made me blush, so I brought my book back up in front of my face. Each time I took another sip, though, it was impossible to keep these thoughts from creeping back into my head.
My internal battle between trying to read and fight away unwanted feelings continued for another hour until Jax sat down beside me with a thud. “This was such a busy weekend. Thank god I’m off tomorrow.”
She looked so tired, I felt bad about putting her to work as soon as we got home, but that was the only way we would be done at a reasonable hour. “Are you sure you’re feeling up to your cooking lesson tonight? I could make the meals this time, and you can join me for the next prep.”
Jax shook her head forcefully, her tiredness suddenly replaced by a look of determination. “You’re not getting me out of this. I’m doing my cooking lesson tonight, and I’m going to kill it.”
I closed my book and picked up my now empty cup. “In that case, shall we go?”
Jax jumped to her feet and reached her hand out toward me. “Let’s do it.”
I moved my book underneath my arm and accepted her outreached hand, ignoring the way mine tingled when we touched. Luckily, for my sanity, she dropped my hand as soon as I was standing, and we walked home together, our conversation completely normal, as if I wasn’t having an internal battle between my head and my heart.
Once we made it back to our apartment, Jax went into her room to get changed. When she came out, she was wearing gray sweatpants, a red T-Shirt, and a white apron that had “Kissthe chef” written on it and was covered with lipstick prints. I bent over in laughter at the sight in front of me. Jax was over the top about every little thing, and I was quickly learning that it was actually one of the things I really enjoyed about her.
“Why do you have an apron if you don’t cook?” I asked once I had stopped laughing enough to speak.
Jax ran her hands over the front of the apron. “This old thing?” she asked with a wink. “I bought it a day after we made my list. I’ve just been waiting for the perfect moment to reveal it to you.”
My laughter returned. I was finding that it was pretty hardnotto laugh around Jax. She made everything light and fun, which was just about the opposite of what I did. “Well, it looks great on you.” Those words felt a little too honest leaving my mouth, so I chose my next words very carefully. “You look just like a real chef.”
Jax strutted across the room and stood next to me in the small kitchen. “You won’t be saying that after you see what a disaster I am in the kitchen.”
“I firmly believe that no one isactuallyterrible at cooking. There are definitely people who are much better at it, but in the end, if you can follow directions, you can cook,” I explained to her. I wasn’t just saying it to give her added confidence. It was true. I wouldn’t call myself a chef, or even a great cook, by any means. I couldn’t make anything fancy, but Icouldmake myself a dinner that wasn’t heated up in a microwave. The reason for that was simply because I made myself do it.
“See, there’s the problem.” Jax moved even closer to me, leaving only a few inches of space between us. “I’m not very good at following directions.”
Before I could stop myself, I leaned in so our noses were practically touching. “Lucky for you, I am.”
Jax smirked and raised her eyebrows at me, making it impossible to pull away, even though I knew I should. “Are you flirting with me, Carter Miller-Cooper?”
Her teasing brought me back to reality and caused me to shoot backward, leaving as much space between me and Jax as the small kitchen allowed. “No. I…” I picked a spot on the kitchen floor and stared at it so I couldn’t see Jax's face (and so she hopefully couldn’t tell how redmyface was). “I wasn’t. I promise.”
Jax laughed as if she found glee in my fumbling. “I know. I’m just messing with you.” She bent down and tilted her head so she was now looking at me. “It’d be totally okay if you were though. I might even like it a little bit.”
I chuckled and pushed her shoulder, which caused her to tumble away from me. “Let’s just get to cooking, okay?”
Jax stood straight up and saluted me. “Whatever you say, boss.”
