Fifty Recipes For Disaster

by Carla Coxwell

  “But then you’ll just be in the same position I am,” I remind him. “We don’t need Paul pissed at all three of us. Not to mention, he could mess with your standing at the college if he wants. He does grade you, after all.”

  “I forgot that point,” Chase admits. “I’ll play nice for now, but if he crosses any farther over the line, I’m going to say something. I’ll be smart about it and report him to the college first. I know you filed a complaint about him the first time you left Fission. If I do the same, there’s no way they’ll take his word over mine.”

  His every thought is about protecting and taking care of me. Is it really possible that this man is for real? Is this what love is supposed to look like?

  “If he says anything else, I’ll let you know,” I promise. “And I’ll think about your offer to call Madison again, though I’m pretty sure it’s best if I just leave the college thing alone until fall.”

  “Just let me know,” he says as he pulls into our parking lot.

  “Jenny must not be back yet,” I observe, looking at the vacant spot my new used Honda usually occupies. “I hope everything’s going okay at the doctor’s office.”

  “You know how it is, if you’re appointment is scheduled at ten, you can expect to see the doctor around one-thirty,” Chase says as we get out of the car. He takes my hand again and we make our way to our floor.

  “Thank you for breakfast,” I tell him as I unlock my door. Chase follows me in to the apartment and sets my groceries on the kitchen counter.

  “You’re more than welcome.” He smiles. “One of these days, I’m going to make you breakfast in bed.”

  “I like the sound of that,” I tell him.

  He puts his hands on my hips and looks me deep in the eyes. “So, you let me hold your hand today.”

  “I did.”

  “I don’t want to push my luck, but what would happen if I lean down and kiss you right now?”

  “Why don’t you try it and find out?”

  Chase pulls me close, leans down, and plants a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. I lean against his chest as he lifts his head and tightens his arms around me.

  “I hope you know how much I care about you, Chase, and how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for Jenny and me.”

  “I know,” he assures me. “I care about you, too, more than I ever thought was possible. That’s why I’m happy to do things for you and Jenny. I know that you haven’t felt safe or protected since you were a very young girl. But things are different now, you don’t have to handle everything on your own.”

  I squeeze him tightly and pull away. “I know you need to get changed. Stop by when you get home?”

  “Nothing could keep me away.” He kisses me again and reluctantly leaves the apartment. I walk to my bedroom, open the closet door, and climb onto a stepstool.

  I know it’s back here somewhere.

  I grope around on the top shelf. My hands finally fall on a small box; I pull it off of the shelf, climb down from the stool, and settle down on my bed. I pull the last note my parents ever left me out of its hiding place and tear it in to pieces.

  They said that leaving was the best thing they could do for me. They said it was because they love me. But that’s not what love is. Love is never giving up, facing whatever may come together. Love is what I have with Chase and with Jenny. They’re my family now.

  I toss the scraps of worn paper in to the wastebasket. For the first time since I was sixteen years old, I don’t feel like an orphan.

  Chapter Eight

  Chase changes into his Fission uniform quickly and leaves his apartment twenty minutes early. He has a phone call to make, and he needs to eliminate any chance of Kiara overhearing it. Once he reaches his car, he pulls his cell phone from his pocket and dials his sister’s number.

  “Hey, little bro,” she answers on the first ring. “How’s life?”

  “Life is good, Madison, how are you?”

  “I can’t complain. I wish I could see you more often, but I know that you’ve got a busy schedule. I met some new people at a karaoke bar last week, so I’m not as lonely as I was.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make more time for you. Do you have plans on Sunday? We do a great brunch at the restaurant. You and your friends should come in. If we’re lucky, I’ll be able to break out of the kitchen for a few minutes to say hi.”

  “I can probably do that. So why are you really calling? I know it’s not to inquire about my weekend dining plans.”

  “I was hoping that you could put in a good word for Kiara. Weston has kept her pretty busy in the kitchen, and she hasn’t been able to make it to any of the meetings she scheduled with the Admin Board. They’ve refused to reschedule again, but do you think you could change their minds?”

  “I’m not sure it’s my place to ask, Chase,” Madison replies. “I know they’ve already rescheduled for her more than they’ve ever done for any other student. I put my neck out for her the first time I talked to them, and I don’t mind telling you that I caught some shit when she no showed. I think it would be best if she just waits them out. Have her reapply in the fall and maybe I’ll be able to convince them that she’s changed.”

  “Kiara isn’t a bad person, Madison. She’s just overwhelmed.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. But all the board cares about is her attendance. They don’t care about how she’s handling her personal life.”

  “Is that why they revoked her scholarship, her attendance?”

  “I don’t know, I just assumed that was the case,” Madison replies. “Did they not give her a reason for pulling her aid?”

  “No, they told her it would all be discussed at the hearing.”

  “Well, then she should have made it to the hearing. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

  “Madison, there’s a chance that Robbs Martin was the reason they pulled her aid. If that’s the case, then Kiara has every right to know about it. The police do, too, for that matter. Could you dig around and see if you can find out the exact reason she lost the scholarship?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Madison agrees. “You’re going to an awful lot of trouble for this girl. Are you sure that she’s worth it?”

  “I’m positive. Kiara’s the one, Madison. You’ll understand when you meet her.”

  “Will she be gracing us with her presence on Sunday?”

  “I doubt Paul will let us out of the kitchen together. He and Kiara have a history together so we try not to flaunt our relationship in his face.”

  “Like I said, little bro, sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go through for a woman.”

  “You let me worry about how much trouble I can handle. Just try to find me some answers. And don’t share any of these opinions of yours with Dad. I don’t need both of you lecturing me.”

  “My lips are sealed. And on the subject of keeping things from Dad, I’d rather you didn’t mention my brunch date to him. You know how he feels about tats, and Lewis is covered in them.”

  “Deal,” Chase agrees. “Call me as soon as you find out anything. And Madison? Thank you.”

  “No problem, little bro, talk to you soon.”

  Chase ends the call as he pulls into the Fission parking lot. He knows that Kiara will be pissed when she finds out he brought Madison into things again, but he hopes that knowing the reason behind losing the scholarship will make her fight harder to get it back.

  “I know it was Robbs,” he says to no one. “I just hope that I can prove it.”

  ***

  “That steak smells amazing, Chef Sands,” Chase calls out from across the kitchen.

  “Thank you, Chef,” I call back with a smile. We’re at work and dinner service is busy, but we’re on top of things. Paul is away from Fission for the night and the entire kitchen staff is in a good mood. Jenny’s in the dining room, but she pops in periodically since Paul is gone.

  Chase slides a plate into the service window and joins me at m
y station. “That really does smell amazing. We should go to the diner for steak and eggs in the morning.”

  “I don’t know,” I reply in a teasing voice. “I was thinking that breakfast in bed sounds good for tomorrow.”

  A wide smile spreads across his face. “Well, you won’t hear me argue with that.” His expression changes, and he pulls his phone from his back pocket. “I’ve got to take this, I’ll be right back.”

  Chase leaves through the back door, and I turn my attention back to the grill. I feel refreshed after spending last night at home with Jenny, and I’m actually happy to be back in the kitchen.

  If Paul could just stay away all of the time, everything would be perfect.

  I pull a rare filet off of the grill and set it on a sizzling cast iron plate. I arrange mashed potatoes and roasted carrots on a separate plate and gently place everything onto a wooden serving platter. I carry the platter to the front of the kitchen, slide it into the service window, and turn back to my station just as Chase walks back through the door.

  Oh my God, why does he look like that? This can’t be good.

  Chase walks toward me but can’t seem to look me in the eye. I takes me by the arm and leads me out into the dining room.

  “What are you doing? Service isn’t over yet. Has something else happened? Who was on the phone?”

  “Sit down,” Chase insists softly.

  I slide into a booth but continue badgering him with questions. “Was it the super? Is the apartment okay?”

  He slides in across from me and takes a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to say this, Kiara. I thought that it was important to know why you lost your scholarship. No one’s given you a straight answer so I asked Madison to look in to it. Before you get mad, I want you to remember that I promised not to ask her to talk to the board. I didn’t say anything about detective work.”

  “What did she find out? It was Robbs, wasn’t it?”

  “She emailed me your file. I’ve forwarded it to you, and I think you need to go home to look at it.”

  “I can’t go home. Service isn’t over,” I remind him again.

  “It’s almost over, and the rest of us can handle it.”

  “Why are you telling me now instead of waiting until we get home?”

  He’s silent for a moment, and I realize the answer.

  “You’ve already looked at the file, and it’s bad, right? So bad that you can’t look at me. You couldn’t spend the rest of the night in the kitchen pretending not to know whatever it is you now know.”

  “It’s not that bad,” he assures me. “I just thought you’d want to know as soon as possible. I’ll make sure that Jenny gets home tonight. Promise me that you won’t open the email until you get to the apartment.”

  “I take it none of this is up for discussion?”

  “It’s not. I’ll call Paul if I have to and make up a reason for him to send you home.”

  “I don’t like being told what to do.”

  “No one does, but sometimes you need to listen to reason.”

  “Fine,” I reply, standing up abruptly. “Am I at least allowed to get my purse?”

  “Don’t be snarky, sweetheart, just trust me and go home. I’ll come over when I get off.”

  “Don’t bother.” I don’t want to make a scene in front of the diners so I calmly return to the kitchen and gather my things. Once I’m in my car, I break my promise to Chase and open the email on my phone. There are several files attached and I open the one labeled “Video”.

  Holy shit, no wonder they kicked me out. That only happened once! And it was my first day at The Madden Crowd. How in the hell did Robbs get a camera in that walk in?

  There’s no audio to the video, which makes the scene look worse than it actually was. Instead of hearing me push off James’s advances, anyone watching this would think that we were carrying on a torrid affair. I’ve seen enough. I toss my phone onto the passenger’s seat and drive to my apartment in a daze.

  Chapter Nine

  “Kiara, I know that you’re in there. Jenny just dropped me off. She’s going back to Fission to help with inventory. I’m not going away so you may as well let me in,” Chase tells me from the hallway.

  It’s been three hours since I got home. The moment I arrived, I collapsed on the couch to pour over my file, and I’ve been here ever since. Aside from the video, it contained several statements from Paul, James, and an assortment of male chefs I’ve had classes with. All of the statements are basically the same, accusing me of making inappropriate sexual advances and making my peers uncomfortable. Not a damn thing in the file is true, but I’m humiliated that Chase and Madison have read the lies. I reluctantly swing open the front door and let Chase into the apartment.

  “I know that the video looks bad, but if you could just hear what happened, you’d know that I didn’t do anything wrong. James came on to me in that cooler, and I shoved him off. And none of those statements are true. Aside from James and Paul, I don’t even know those men.”

  “I believe you,” Chase answers simply.

  “You do? Why?”

  He shrugs. “I just do. I know that Robbs is behind all of this. I had Madison look in to it because I was hoping to find definitive proof. I think that we should ask Paul if he really made that statement.”

  “I’ve already called and left him a message. I called James, too. He answered, but he didn’t give me a chance to say anything. He just called me a slut and hung up the phone, so that statement from him might be authentic,” I say with tears in my eyes.

  “It’s okay, Kiara.” Chase wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. “You’re not a slut. I told Madison that none of those statements are true and that you’re not the type of girl who sleeps her way to the top. You may have made some mistakes with Paul, but I knew you’d never go for a slime bag like O’Toole.”

  My heart fills with guilt. But I did go for that slime bag. I’m lucky I never had sex with him in my apartment. My student file would be filled with porn.

  “You’ve put too much faith in me,” I tell him sadly.

  His shoulders sag as he realizes what I’m saying. “You mean…”

  “I got involved with James while I was in the city. I could say that he manipulated me or that I got caught up in the excitement of my new life, but the truth is that I knew better and I did it anyway.”

  “You made a mistake. It doesn’t change the way I feel about you,” he insists.

  “How can you say that?”

  “Kiara, if it weren’t for Robbs, I’d never have known this and that would have been fine. We didn’t make any commitments to each other before you moved to New York. You were completely free to do whatever you wanted. I’ve made plenty of mistakes of my own. I was a college football player, remember? I’d hate for you to hold my past against me, I’m not going to do that to you. All that matters to me is our future.”

  “You really don’t think any differently of me?”

  “Kiara, I love you. All of you, the good and the bad. No statement or video is going to change that.”

  “I love you, too, Chase.”

  “I’m going to kiss you now.” He smiles. “And then I’m going to carry you into the bedroom and have my way with you.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck as he lowers his face to mine. He kisses me softly, sweetly, and I melt into his body. He lifts me from the ground, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks toward the bedroom, moving his lips down my face and neck. I lean away from him and lift my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor.

  “You are so beautiful.” He lowers us on to the bed. “I’m going to lick every inch of you.”

  He plants soft kisses on my belly as he unbuttons my jeans. He slides them down my legs as I kick off my shoes. Chase throws my pants aside and takes my left foot into his hands. He kisses my arch and runs his tongue up the side of my leg and behind my knee. I want him to continue higher, but instead he moves to my right leg and bl
azes the same path.

  “Your skin is so soft… you taste so good.” He groans and raises his lips back to mine. I squirm beneath him, reaching for his waistband.

  “Be patient,” he tells me as he pulls my hands away. “I’ve waited so long for this. I want to enjoy every last moment.”

  I relax my hands and rest them on the mattress. Chase rolls me gently onto my side, unhooks my bra, and lays me back. He dives his face into my breasts, licking and sucking wildly.

  “Chase, I need you now,” I beg. “I’ve wanted this for so long, too… please don’t make me wait any longer.”

  He jumps off of the bed, quickly strips out of his clothes, and climbs back on top of me. His firm, chiseled body feels amazing against my bare skin. I part my legs and reach down to guide him into my aching hole.

  His thick, hard cock is dripping in anticipation, and l long to feel it inside of me. Chase pushes in the first inch and stops for a moment.

  “You’re so tight, Kiara. You feel so amazing.”

  “I need you,” I beg again. I wrap my arms around his waist and grab his rock hard ass cheeks, pushing him farther inside of me.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to crush you.” He breathes heavily.

  “Well, I know how to fix that.” I put one hand on his shoulder and push him onto his back, moving with him so we remain connected. He pulls himself up and rests his back against the headboard as I lower myself down into his lap. I plant my feet on the mattress and slowly start bouncing up and down. Chase’s throbbing cock strokes every inch of me, and I know I won’t be able to hold myself back very long. I lose my balance mid-bounce and come down at an odd angle. I feel the tip of Chase’s cock grind against my G-spot and lose all control, letting my most basic instincts take over. I grab Chase by the shoulders and repeat the movement over and over, harder each time, until I feel my body explode in release.

  Chase wraps his arms around me and rolls me onto my back while I’m still in the throes of my orgasm. He thrusts into me urgently and cries out in his own satisfaction. We roll onto our sides, still connected, to regain our breath.