“Hey.” I lean against the cabinets near the fridge. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if maybe you could teach me to cook,” I reply, and she stops what she’s doing, dropping the carrots into the sink and turning toward me.
“You want to learn to cook?”
“Yeah, you’re so great at it, and there’s always so much food leftover that we can freeze if we need to and—”
“You coming for my job, Harris?”
I laugh, shaking my head, “Not at all. I just want to be able to cook for—”
I can’t tell her who I want to cook for. I can’t tell her I want to make large enough meals that Avalon has food for the week.
“Oh my god.” She slaps her forehead with the palm of her hand. “You’re mom, Zeke. I didn’t even think about that. I know how quickly she gets sick of hospital food, and I bet she’s starting to get sick of fast food.”
“Yeah, exactly. My mom… no one else.”
“I’m making a stew tonight, nothing too difficult,” she replies. “Actually, I have a proposition for you in exchange for me teaching you to cook.”
“Uh oh.”
“No, it’s nothing bad, I swear. It’s about the banquet.”
“You want me to go with you?” My face scrunches. “I assumed you were bringing your boyfriend.”
“First of all, Alex isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a friend of the opposite sex. Second of all, it’s not me who needs the date.”
“I’m not bringing one of your sorority friends.”
I know how these banquets work… they’re hook-up central, and I used to take full advantage of that, but not this year. Honestly, if we didn’t have to go, I wouldn’t.
“Not a sorority friend. Ember. I need you to bring Ember.”
“You want me to bring your brother’s girlfriend?”
“Since my fuckwad of a brother is bringing Mollie, yes, I do.”
“Mollie Greenwich?” He mentioned going with Mollie in passing, but I’m pretty sure we all thought he was joking.
“Yeah. And Ember was heartbroken when she found out. So, I thought, who better for Ember to go with than you? You guys are friends; it’ll kill my brother, and she doesn’t have to worry about you making a move on her.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I tease.
“Fine, she doesn’t have to worry about you making arealmove on her.”
She’s not wrong about that. I love Ember. I do. But like a sister. Sure, I always flirt with her, but it’s just good fun. I’m never serious about it, and she knows that.
“Sure, why not,” I reply. “Why are you asking me and not Ember?”
“She may not be fully on board with the idea yet,” she continues. “And I’d ask you later, but there are two people in this house that I’m trying to avoid, which is why I chose to make stew. I can throweverything in a pot and leave, and it’ll be ready when everyone gets home.”
“Two people?” I know Jaxon’s probably one of them, but—
“My brother.” She nonchalantly swings a carrot in the air. “If I see him, I might kick him in the nuts for being such an idiot and bringing the worst possible date to this stupid banquet.”
“Got it.” I laugh. “So, I probably shouldn’t mention running into you?”