by Anna Collins
“For your mother’s sake, I can forgive you, but I can never forget. I wanted nothing but the best for you, and I still do. I would really like to have dinner with you before I leave for the holidays. Come by tomorrow night. We can sit down, and I can make you something I’ve been dabbling with to put on the menu. You know how I like to switch things up from time to time to go with the trend. I sometimes even come up with the trend itself, but I have always believed good portions don’t necessarily have to diminish the way the dish looks. I always like to give my clients a meal that is more than just a good presentation. I go all out, and that’s the reason why I continue to get customers coming back again and again. I believe I have taught you some valuable lessons about how to treat your customers. You should consider them as an extension of your family and nothing less,” my father said while taking my hand, showing me he was willing to let bygones be bygones.
“You have me curious enough to come for dinner. I’m just wondering if you would be opposed to me bringing a date. I know I don’t have to, but I would feel as if I was sending the wrong message if I didn’t. I like him, and I would like you to get to know him. I just hope you can keep your emotions in check. You tend to think every guy is out for one thing and for the most part they actually are. You know this better than anybody as you stepped into their shoes when you were younger. I still see the makings of a Romeo in there ready to spring upon the young and unsuspecting women in this town,” I said feeling like I had found a way to come back to a family that thought I was less than nothing.
“If it’s all the same to you, I would like this dinner to be just for the two of us. I know I’m asking a lot, but we still have quite a few things to make up for. In fact, I would really love it if you joined me in the kitchen like you did when you were still working here. It will be a late supper, though. I close at nine, so you should be here around 10. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. I don’t know how long it has been since you’ve been in the kitchen, but you know my standards are high. I don’t mean to be short with my staff, but you of all people should know I have a short temper,” my father said as we continued talking and found some common ground in our memories of my mother.
“I would like to dust off some of my talents. They have been quite underused lately. I still have a lot to learn, but if things go well, I might be stopping by more often to get some lessons from time to time. That way, we can keep my mother’s memory alive, and I think she would approve of what we are trying to do. We’ve always been close, and five years is a long time to let a grudge stand in the way. You can always treat this as an experiment to see if I’m more amenable to coming back into the fold. I don’t want to give you any false hope though, I certainly love what I do. After all, you were the one who encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. I never did have the courage for this, and I got complacent enough I allowed you to think I was happy,” I said not wanting to hurt him, but also to let him know that what I did had nothing to do with me going against him.
Chapter 5
I was still apprehensive about living with Dr. Rhodes. I knew nothing about him, and the way he looked at me should have made me leery about being in an enclosed environment with him. For some reason, I trusted him, and I couldn’t say this about a lot of people who came into my life. A perfect stranger, a perfect body and a perfect atmosphere for romance was not something lost on me.
I felt as if I was flying and the poison was something of secondary importance; something I was going to conquer one way or the other. My father had given me a new lease on life, and I was not going to listen to any kind of negative thinking. I didn’t tell him about my limited lifespan, but I did feel like things were better already. There had to be a reason for this to happen and maybe it was in some small part to get me to open up to my father about my feelings.
I stood at the door looking at the cottage by the lake. There was a place cleared off down on the lake surface used to ice skate and possibly ice fishing. I knocked on the door, and there was a light in the kitchen with him wearing an apron that read “Kiss the Cook.” There was this insignia of a pair of lips looking almost sensual and kind of cute at the same time. I had done him one better. I brought only one bag. It had only the essentials. If I needed something else, I could always go back to my condo to pick it up later. If I wasn’t around, then maybe I could tempt him into buying me a few things off the rack.
He opened the door, and the one thing I noticed right away was that he had this haggard look with hairs out of place on his head. There was flour on his nose and a bit of red sauce on his sleeve. He looked frazzled, and I could smell something burning which made him rush off in a hurry to make sure the whole place didn’t burn down.
The door was already open, so I decided to enter without waiting for an invitation. I put my single bag down on the floor, and I took off my shoes by the door. It was the pair of very comfortable cowboy boots I had bought during a Texas convention. I took off my red leather coat and draped it over the hook by the door. I could smell the fragrance of spices in the air, and they complemented each other perfectly.
“You can make yourself comfortable. I’ll be out in a few minutes with a couple of glasses of wine. Don’t get the wrong idea, seduction is not what I have in my mind,” he said.
I couldn’t get over the way he had referred to the word “seduction.” If it wasn’t something he was thinking about already, then why had he mentioned it? I felt weightless as if I was not a part of my own body. The headaches had disappeared slightly, but I knew they would come back when I least expected them. They were quite nauseating, and I had prayed a couple of times.
“If you need any help in the kitchen, then I should tell you I used to work in a restaurant for many years with my father and mother. It has been a growing concern for most of my life, and I always found myself working there at all hours of the day and night. I felt it was my duty as their daughter to help keep things running efficiently. I had a real knack for numbers and being able to make sense of the books, enabled them to keep from getting audited,” I said feeling I was doing most of the talking and he was doing most of the listening.
The silence was unnerving. I stepped very cautiously towards the kitchen thinking something was wrong. He was standing there completely still, staring blindly out the window at the lake as if he saw something I didn’t. I approached carefully, hoping I wasn’t going to startle him and make him jump out of his skin.
“You mentioned you were working in a restaurant when you were going to school. Could it be the one on Main Street? I don’t mean to be forward, but I do know the place. Does your father wear this apron which looks like it went out of date quite a few years ago?” He was asking a couple of questions, and they seemed innocent enough, but there seemed to be a purpose behind them.
“There are several restaurants in town and for you to single that one out gives me the impression you might be stalking me. I hope I’m wrong for my sake, but you seem to know more about my family than I would have thought,” I said with my hand inside my purse holding onto a small blade I had for protection, just in case.
“Ahem…I…I…I don’t know why I said any of this. It is the only place in town which actually makes anything authentic. Anytime I think about going someplace to eat, I always come back to this one. I don’t want you to think anything of it, I certainly don’t want to give you a swelled head. Dinner will be ready shortly. You can always set the table if you don’t think it’s too much of hardship. I know you’re my guest, but if we’re going to be living together, then the workload will have to be shared. I have to tell you I have some interesting news to report,” he said trying to get off topic, turning the attention to my illness.
“You have my undivided attention. I have a lot invested in how we go about finding a cure for whatever this is I have. I don’t mind telling you I’m scared, but that only makes me even much more determined to fight. Some might gave up, but I’m my father’s daughter, and this is one thing th
at is never going to change,” I said with him stirring a pot of what looked like homemade spaghetti sauce. I could see he wasn’t that adept in the kitchen and only strived to be the best at a few dishes.
“I’ve been talking to someone on the internet about your case. He has been quite anxious to get you where he can see you personally. I tried to convince him it would be better for everybody if he came here, but he didn’t want to hear about it. He said that if I wanted his help, I would have to abide by his wishes and go over to his place with you. With that being said the fuel will be loaded into the jet in the morning and we will be taking off at the crack of dawn. I know your head is spinning by all of this, but we need to act quickly and not procrastinate for any reason. This poison is slow acting, but its effect will be felt long before you feel the never ending pain burning through your veins,” he said while dancing from one pot to another to make sure nothing was ruined for what could possibly be my last supper.
He was wearing a pair of Levi’s jeans which looked like something he had in his closet for years. It was threadbare, and the knees had worn out. They still had some charm, though. The shirt he was wearing was one only lots of money could buy. When he took off the apron, his muscles were bulging. I almost swooned like some sort of lovesick teenager. He actually flexed those muscles as if he was proud of his accomplishment. Maybe he had every reason to feel that way. I couldn’t even understand why he lived here.
“I’ve already said I am ready to do just about anything. I’m not going to go against my word, not when my life is on the line. It’s like having a gun to the back of my head and hoping the person holding it isn’t going to pull the trigger. I feel like I live on borrowed time, but I do take solace in the fact that you’re working on my behalf,” I said as I rearranged the plates and made a proper setting lighting a candle in the middle of the table.
“I might have over exaggerated about my prowess in the kitchen. I don’t usually eat anything that’s not in a cardboard box. I have a standing order at a couple of restaurants which deliver for a little price. I’m not inept, though, I surely do know how to boil water and cook some of the all-time favorites like meatloaf and steak. I also do excel in Italian Food. My family was a little boring when it came to food preparation, so I took my direction from the Internet and some television shows. I’ve had some success, but I’ve also fallen on my face one too many times to count,” Doctor Rhodes said as it dawned on me I still didn’t know his first name.
“I think it would be a great idea if we were on a first name basis. You may not have realized this, but you haven’t exactly told me your first name since we met. Even your name tag had only your last name. If you don’t mind me saying, I think it’s a little presumptuous. You don’t always have to be the big brain in the room, and that could be the reason why people feel you’re not really approachable. Loosen up a little and laugh at some weird jokes just for the sake of putting on an appearance. You would be surprised at how easy it is to indulge in idle chitchat,” I said as we sat down and he ladled the sauce onto the spaghetti still steaming from the pot.
I couldn’t help but bite my lip, wanting to push the plates onto the floor and dive headlong into his lap. That was a meal fit for a queen. There was something about this man. The one thing glaringly obvious was he was hung like a bull moose. I wanted to get my hands on it and to see if my talents had been off the table for too long. I had become quite good at satisfying a man in every way. It took a bit of trial and error, but each one was a learning experience.
“I have never been one to play politics. This was my problem. Getting a funding was like pulling teeth with some of these aristocrats who thought they were better than me. I have been known to knock them down a peg insulting their intelligence on purpose. It’s not a good way to garner any friends, but it does make me feel better,” he said as I twirled the spaghetti on my fork and brought the sauce up to my lips with a satisfied air of acceptance.
This was not a sauce from a required can or bottle, it was an actual homemade recipe. It was so delicious it should have been shared with the rest of the world. I seemed to recall something like this taste in my past, but it was a fading memory I couldn’t grab onto for the life of me.
“I have to say it’s good to cook for somebody for a change. I don’t date that much, and when I do, I rarely bring anybody back home. I feel as if this place is sacred. I blame my father for that. His grandfather built this place from the ground up. It was passed over to my dad, and then he did the same on his deathbed. I don’t know why, but I feel comfortable being around you. I’m not saying it feels like an old shoe, but there’s something making me feel we have known each other all of our lives. Trust me; this is a surprise to me more than anybody. I’m not just saying this to get into your pants. Though, I do have to admit you are quite the dish and being a man, I’m not immune to your looks,” he said as I tried to avert my eager gaze, but still felt the flush of excitement running between my legs.
“It’s funny you would mention that. I feel the same way. I feel you wouldn’t hurt me and I have nothing to fear from you. It's nice to be this close to somebody and not have it go beyond that. I do like the package, and you certainly do give a girl thoughts not pure by any means. It must be the untouched fire inside me which needs to be fed. I don't think I would normally be acting like this with any other man. I hope you don’t take any offense by this, but you certainly don’t have the body of someone who is into research and stuff. You don’t scream nerd, but you do have a high opinion of yourself and the intellect to back it up. This gets you into a lot of trouble with those in your field and women who might feel you are putting yourself on a pedestal,” I said as I finished the plate and was even tempted to go back for seconds. I didn’t want to appear greedy, and I did wonder what might have been for dessert.
I could think of something which would quench my appetite and be a fitting end to what was a desirable meal touching my lips. The thing in between his legs, outlined perfectly in those jeans, calling to me. I had no will of my own, and I desperately wanted to strip him down and see what he was working with.
“You think you have me pegged, but I can say the same thing about you. You are a woman who works way too much and rarely has the chance to have fun. You push people away, especially men and you only bring them into your life because you need something. You have this fire you speak of, and sometimes it gets the best of you. You have already confessed to bedding down with anybody with two legs. I do have less than average qualities, but they have fetched some interesting looks from the opposite sex. I don’t even mind telling you I’m blessed. I never thought I was anything special, but it was different when I got a look at the way other guys were in the shower,” he said with almost an air of superiority which gave him a leg up over the competition.
“We know too much about each other, and this is very dangerous. I have to be very careful around you. It might be best that we turned in. It looks like we’re going to have an early day tomorrow. I’ll help you with the dishes,” I said as if I was trying to find a way to save what was left of my dignity. It wasn’t right to tempt fate.
We stood side by side doing the dishes, and then he put his hands in the soapy water. He moved his fingers along my own. I caught my breath, and I stared down into the bubbles wondering how his hands would translate to the way he was in the bedroom. The sensual movements of his fingers caused me to shake at the knees. I thought it was his animal magnetism, but then I felt a little queasy.
I managed not to ruin the moment doing something distasteful like throwing up. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to take my mind off of the impending rush from my stomach. I didn’t stop him as he nipped the side of my neck and caused my body to gyrate against him.
“I know we’re trying to be good, but don’t you think it would feel a whole lot better to be a little bit bad? We may have an early morning, but it doesn’t mean we have to deny what we feel. It’s almost like it’s kismet we were to meet like this.
My name is Tristan. That is the name I was given. I didn’t use it growing up, but I think I needed a change when I left high school and decided to reinvent myself from the ground up. I learned how to talk to women, even though their interests really didn’t matter to me. It was basically a means to an end. I’m not proud of that, but it certainly did help me get laid,” he said while he twirled me in place and it was a good thing I was wearing jeans. Otherwise, I might have been more on display than I would have liked.
“I must confess you do have some moves. I like the way you look at me with hunger. I can see your eyes are bigger than your belly. This is the kind of six pack which would make most men in any gym jealous. You must have felt it was necessary to bolster your image and become something the ladies would target. I get the feeling you have always been full of yourself. You want to look good because you want the ladies to feel unable to resist you. You put on a show, and you expect us to fall backward into your arms. I can’t speak for any of them, but you definitely have me at a loss for words,” I said as he dipped me and I could see the world upside down. It felt good to get out of my own thoughts.
We danced, drank and had a good time. His hands were getting a little busier than usual, holding onto my ass and squeezing those cheeks to see there was no give. I followed suit, touching him inappropriately and making sure to get a good feel of the merchandise. The way he was pressed up against me gave me a good perception of his manhood. It was quite the handful.