Yes, Chef (Sizzle & Burn Book 1)

by Linda Verji

  “I know – know you’re in there,” he slurred before shaking the door with more hard knocks.

  Well it didn’t matter whether he knew that she was in the house or not. The only thing that mattered was that he wasn’t getting in. Snow kicked off her shoes and tossed her purse on the couch.

  “Snow, open the door.” Charlie yelled out and knocked again. When that didn’t work, he started a rhythm of knock then ring the doorbell, knock then ring the doorbell, knock then ring the doorbell… over and over again until she was ready to scream bloody murder.

  Kissing her teeth, she left the living room and wandered to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Though she wasn’t in the living room, she could still hear the muffled sounds of her ex pounding on her door and yelling out her name. She was prepared to let him yell himself hoarse for as long as he wanted but unfortunately, the ruckus he was causing was enough to attract the attention of her neighbors.

  “Heh! Shut up!” One of her upstairs neighbors boomed, the ire in their voice drawing Snow to the living room.

  “Scr – Screw you,” Charlie retorted before switching back to his usual programming. “Snow. Snow. Snow, Open up.”

  “What the hell is going on down there?” Someone else shouted.

  “Grown-up business,” Charlie snapped. “S-Snow, open the door.”

  “Charles! Do you know what time it is for you to be knocking like this?” That was definitely Lauren from upstairs. Snow crept closer to the front door in time to catch Miss Lawyer-lady yelling, “Our children are trying to sleep.”

  “Mind your own business, lady,” Charlie rejoined. “Sno-”

  “Who do you think you’re talking to like that?” Lauren cut in shrilly. “I could call the police. I could sue you for noise disturbance.”

  Charlie laughed drunkenly. “Do -do you know who I am? I’m – I’m Charles Dumas the – the – one, two- three. The third. Sue me? I’ll s - sue you.”

  “Oh God! Are you drunk?” Lauren exclaimed. “No wonder! I can’t deal with you. I need someone with more common sense-”

  “C-Common sense?” Charlie shouted. “Are you s-saying I don’t have common sense? I have it. It’s here. Do you w-want me to show you?”

  “Idiot!” Lauren exclaimed before she also started, “Snow. Snow. Snow.”

  Snow was tempted to ignore the woman and let her follow through with her threat to call the police but it was eleven p.m.. She’d called the police on Charlie once when they were younger and it had ended up a mess of epic proportions. Nah! It was better to fix this herself. She tentatively unlocked the door and poked her head through the gap.

  Lauren was standing at the bottom step of the stairs, her cheeks red, her chest heaving with her angry breathing and her hard eyes trained on Charlie. Charlie was leaning - or was it supporting himself - against the wall next to Snow’s door, glaring at Lauren just as hard.

  “Yes, Lauren?” Snow cut softly into their staring match.

  Lauren’s annoyed gaze swung to her. “What is this nonsense?”

  Charlie also noticed her at the same time and his lips lifted in a drunken smile. “I kn-knew you’d open the door, baby.” He tried to straighten from the wall but the alcohol in his system was working overtime and he slumped back against the wall.

  “Do you know what time it is for you two to be doing this?” Lauren ranted.

  Snow ached to snap that this was all Charlie - she wasn’t doing anything. Instead, she chose to keep quiet because Lauren was right to be angry.

  “Can you take control of your man?” Lauren ordered. “I swear if I hear him yelling again, I’m calling the police.”

  With a loud kiss of her teeth, the lady turned on her heels and ascended the stairs, leaving Snow with her ‘burden’. Said ‘burden’ was currently watching her from his position against the wall. His smile was now gone and in its place was an annoyed expression. “So you g-got a new man, huh?”

  Snow was so shocked at the question all she could do was gape. How the hell did Charlie know about Greyson?

  Charlie tried to straighten from the wall again. This time he succeeded. His gaze remained locked on her as he demanded, “What’s his name?”

  Seriously, how did he know? She hadn’t even told her own family that she and Charlie were broken up let alone that she was dating someone new. Instead of answering his question, she said, “Go home, Charlie.”

  “Like hell.” He staggered towards the door. If she wasn’t still trying to figure out how he knew about Greyson maybe she would’ve been faster. Unfortunately, her reaction time was slow and before she could close the door, Charlie had pushed his way into the house.

  “Charlie, get out of my house,” she bit out as she held the door open.

  Ignoring her, he strode to the couch and plopped onto it. Leveling a glare of disbelief on her, he exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re ch-cheating on me.”

  If she wasn’t so angry, she would’ve laughed. Was this man serious? Had he forgotten that they were broken up? And wasn’t he the same man who’d introduced her to his new girlfriend a few days ago? Something was definitely wrong with Charlie. Fortunately, he was no longer her problem.

  She ordered, “Get out of my house.”

  He waggled his finger at her. “You’re – you’re doing this to-to get back at me, are-aren’t you?”

  “Get out.”

  “I’m not – not going anywhere until you es-ex – eshplain yourself.”

  Should she call the police on his ass? She seriously considered it for about a minute then the memory of the hassle it had caused her last time pricked at her. Nah! Not unless she had to. Besides, Charlie wasn’t dangerous. He was just a damn nuisance. She clenched her teeth in frustration. “I don’t need to explain anything to you. Go home.”

  “I miss you so much, Snow,” he mumbled as his head lolled on the couch’s arm.

  “Whatever! Get out!”

  “I can’t. I’m d-drunk,” he cheerfully proclaimed. What did that have to do with anything? He explained, “I can’t drive..”

  “Then call a cab.” She pointed “But call it while you’re out there.”

  But it seemed she was talking to a wall because Charlie slung his feet onto the couch and lay down. “I’m s-so tired. Do you know how lo-long I waited for you outside?”

  Snow glared at him.

  “You ch-changed the locks,” he said as his eyes drifted shut.

  “Don’t you dare go to sleep.” She strode forward to shove his feet off the couch. “Get up.”

  “Ugh!” Charlie stayed put on the couch.

  She yanked on his arm. “Get out.”

  “Okay. Fine, I’m – I’m going.” He started to sit up but then weaved as if struck by a wave of dizziness. He winced. “G-Get me a glass of water first.”

  “I’m not your maid,” she retorted but a second later her conscience pricked at her. The man looked like the alcohol was kicking his ass. Giving him a glass of water wouldn’t kill her. She went to the kitchen to get it but when she came back, she found him back on the couch, asleep. No matter what she did, he wouldn’t wake up. The most she got was a groan as he flipped onto his stomach to get more comfortable.

  After several more attempts at getting him to wake up, Snow gave up. The man was down for the night. There was nothing to do but to lend him her couch. She glared at her sleeping ex for quite long time. Relationship gurus always said that after a break-up it was natural to wonder why you’d dated your ex. Well, Snow was experiencing that phenomena.

  Had Charlie always been this childish? Had he always ignored what she wanted and just done what he felt like? The answer to all those questions was Yes. Now she had to wonder why she’d stuck with him. Was it love, or habit? Instinct told her that it was the latter. She’d grown so used to having him in her life that she’d never considered whether he was good or bad for her.

  Well, here’s to getting rid of bad habits. There was no way she was ever going back to Charlie. Ton
ight, she’d be generous with her couch but it was the last time. In the morning, when he was sober, she’d remind him – for the final time – that it was over between them, then tell the security guards to never let him into the complex again.

  After taking a brief shower, Snow got into bed and faded into sleep.

  She wasn’t sure how long she slept for, but she woke up when a sudden light flooded her room. Opening her sore, scratchy eyes, Snow searched the room for the cause of that light and found Charlie standing at the door with his finger of the switch.

  “Charlie.” She groaned as she half-sat up in her bed. “What do you want?”

  Though his eyes were red, he seemed sober and there was no slur to his voice as he said, “To talk.”

  “It’s-” She glanced at the clock by her bedside. “-two in the morning.” She yawned tiredly. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”

  As usual, Charlie ignored her. He crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed. “Are you really dating someone else?”

  If she wasn’t so tired, the concern that creased his features would’ve been funny. A part of her wanted to prolong the torture, keep him wondering, but she was too sleepy to be petty. She nodded. “Yes.”

  Charlie deflated right before her eyes. His face fell and his shoulders slumped. He opened his mouth as if to say something then shook his head as if he couldn’t quite find the words to express his disappointment. He seemed genuinely hurt by the news, and for a minute – just a minute – Snow felt sorry for him, until he said, “It’s because of that girl, isn’t it? You’re doing this to get back at me, aren’t you?”

  The size of this man’s ego! Thinking everything was about him. Sitting up completely, Snow uttered a small laugh. “No, Charlie, my dating someone new has nothing to do with you.”

  “I know you,” Charlie insisted. “You’re doing this to get back at me.”

  “Clearly you don’t know me as much as you think you do,” she retorted.

  “No, I do.” He scooted closer to her on the bed then tried to grab her hand. She snatched it away before he could. He murmured, “I know you inside and out. I know you wouldn’t go to another man when it’s barely a month since we broke up.”

  “Like I said, you don’t know me as much as you think you do.” Snow smirked. “You went to another woman, so why can’t I do the same?”

  “Because-” He started then paused, likely because there was no way to defend his double standard. After a long silence, he asked, “Who is he?”

  “Who told you I was dating?” she countered.

  But whoever his source was, Charlie was keeping him or her close to his chest. Instead of answering Snow’s question, he asked, “Why don’t we stop?”

  “Hmm?” She raised her eyebrows in question.

  “Let’s stop with all this.” He waved his hand as if to dismiss all the problems hovering over them. “We’re just hurting each other with this back and forth. Let’s stop.”

  “You’re the one doing all the back and forthing,” she reminded him. “I’m just trying to move on with my life.”

  “But you can’t move on without me. We’re a team.” He reached again for her hand and this time he caught it before she could escape. “Let’s forget everything that has happened and go back to who we were. We’ll start afresh.”

  “I don’t-” Snow’s breath hitched as she pulled her hand from Charlie’s grip. His hold was strong but not as strong as her determination to escape him. Annoyance coloring her tone, she said, “I don’t want to start afresh, I don’t want to go back to who we were, and we were never a team. I was the only player on the field doing the hard-work while you lolled on the bleachers, enjoying yourself.”

  “You’re right. You’re right.” He lifted both hands as if in surrender. “And I’m sorry for that. But this time it will be different.”

  “Don’t you get it?” She stared at him incredulously. “There is no this time for us. We were done a long time ago. The faster you accept it the better it will be for both of us.”

  Charlie gave her a hard look. “No.”

  “No, what?”

  “No.” Before she could ask for further explanation he leaned forward as if to kiss her. Thankfully, she saw it coming and put out her hand before he got there. His lips ended up smacking against her palm.

  “Boy, back up!” She exclaimed angrily as she scooted to the far side of the bed.

  “Snow, don’t be like this,” Charlie pleaded. “You still love me.”

  Was he asking her, telling her or trying to convince himself? She lifted her chin. “This conversation is over. Get out of my room.”

  “No. No, wait. Wait.” Desperation coloring his voice, he pleaded, “At least tell me why you’re doing this? Tell me why you broke up with me? I was never unfaithful and I never hit you. Whatever you wanted I gave you… why did you break up with me? Because I messed up your couch?”

  Snow didn’t feel like explaining herself but he seemed genuinely confused. Part of her posited that if he understood why they couldn’t be together any more, he’d finally give up on them and let her move on.

  So she said, “Faithfulness is nice, but it isn’t everything, Charlie. Being in a relationship means actually being in the relationship, not just saying that you are. It means prioritizing each other. But I never felt like I was at the top of your list – your friends and partying always came first.”

  “I don’t even know what that means,” he scoffed.

  “It means that I’m not important to you – at least not compared to other things. You say you love me but you love your fun more.” She added, “If one of your friends called right now, while we’re having this conversation, and tells you that he’s found a good club, I bet you’ll drop everything and go right now.”

  “I would never do that,” Charlie protested.

  Snow chuckled, but there was no amusement in her laugh. “But you would and you have.”

  “When?”

  “My birthday. That time when we were supposed to go for dinner at my dad’s. The time-” She stopped speaking because there were just too many times he’d traded in time with her for ‘fun’ things. She inhaled deeply. “Too many times.”

  “Okay, okay, I get you,” he said eagerly. “Those were mistakes and I’ll do better from now on. I’ll change. You know you’re my queen already but I guess I haven’t been showing it to you. I will now. I promise.”

  She gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Charlie. It’s too late.”

  “It’s never too late,” he insisted.

  “It is.” Pining him with her gaze, she explained, “We’re in different places in life and looking for different things in a relationship. I need a mature man in my life – and you’re just not him. You’re not ready to grow up and I’m tired of waiting.”

  She could tell that her words had stung him because hurt glittered in his eyes and he was quiet for a while. When he finally spoke, she thought he’d say something reasonable instead he asked, “Is this because I haven’t proposed?”

  “Oh. My. God!” She threw her hands up. He just didn’t get it, did he? Trying to explain herself to him was like trying to explain String Theory to a toddler; a waste of precious breath and minutes. “I have to work tomorrow, Charlie. Goodnight.”

  “We’re not done talking.”

  “I am.” Her tone was firm as she lay back on the bed. “Turn off the lights on your way out.”

  She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Charlie stayed seated on the bed for quite a while, but thankfully he didn’t saying anything more and eventually he left her room. However, in a final act of pettiness, he left the lights on. Sighing deeply, Snow crossed the room and switched them off herself before coming back to bed. Hopefully, by the time she woke up in the morning, Charlie would be gone.

  No such luck.

  When she finally dragged herself out of bed in the morning, it was to find him sprawled out on the couch in just his boxer-briefs. Sighing, she headed to the bathr
oom. Her plan was to kick him out as soon as she was done with her shower – this time for good. In ten minutes, she was done with her shower. She was in her bedroom moisturizing, when she heard the doorbell.

  Who could it be at this time of the-

  Her thoughts screeched to a halt as they focused on the only person it could be. Panic immediately flared within her. Don’t open the door, Charlie. The doorbell rang again. With speed she didn’t know she was capable of, she threw on her t-shirt and jeans over her half-moisturized body and rushed out of the bedroom.

  But it was too late. By the time she emerged in the living room the door was open and Charlie, who was still in his boxer briefs, was glaring at Greyson. “What do you want?”

  CHAPTER 15

  This was the stuff nightmares were made of.

  Walking into your woman’s house to find another man standing there in his underwear. Shit!

  In the space of microseconds, several emotions lanced through Greyson as he stared at Charlie. First was shock. This wasn’t what he’d signed up for when he’d driven over to pick up Snow. If he’d known that Charlie was around (let alone lolling around half-naked), Greyson would’ve called first – or not come at all. Then came jealousy – that green-eyed monster speared through him with the ferocity of lightning striking him. It was swiftly followed by anger – the red, hot emotion bubbled from his belly and flushed into the rest of his body until it felt like he was actually boiling.

  “Who are you?” Charlie repeated just as Snow walked into the living room. Unlike Charlie, she was dressed, but it looked like she’d just done it because she was still pulling her tank-top down her torso.

  Greyson’s fists curled into a tight ball as fresh anger spurted through him. He was angry at her and Charlie, but mostly he was angry at himself. How could he not have seen this coming? This is what he got for chasing after a woman who was just coming out of a long relationship. This was all his fault.

  Feeling like he was forcing a stone past his throat, Greyson said, “I think I got the wrong apartment.”

  “Greyson!” Snow called out as if to keep him in place but Greyson was already turning on his heels. Within a few strides he was out of the building and heading towards his car.