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“I remember your Grandma using it for her pies and cookies,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if she had left any in the cabinet or not.”
“She didn’t, so I’m glad to have it.” I smiled up at him. I had been a little nervous about letting him watch me bake, but he was so interested in every step and not at all judgmental, which made me fairly relaxed.
“I noticed you got me a bottle of wine, too,” I remarked, as I slid the pie into the preheated oven.
Rath shrugged.
“I thought you might like to have some at dinner.”
“Which I would love to invite you to eat with me,” I said. “I wish I had something more than pie to offer you. If you don’t mind waiting, I can whip something up.”
“Nothing fancy—I don’t want to make you work too hard after all that trouble you went to making the pie,” he rumbled.
“How about grilled cheese sandwiches?” It was what I had planned to have for my own dinner. I remembered my Grandma making me the most perfect, buttery grilled cheese and I was craving the creamy, crunchy texture.
“That sounds delicious.” Rath smiled. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Well…I think I remember my Grandma canning her famous vegetable soup and storing it in the basement,” I said, frowning. “But I was kind of afraid to go down there last night and look for it because the light has burned out. I mean, not that I’m afraid of the dark or anything, but…”
I trailed off. For some reason, the memory of the black door with the red X on it had popped into my mind.
“But you were probably worried that if you slipped and fell down the stairs, nobody would come save you,” he finished for me. “I know where your Grandma kept the light bulbs—I’ll change the bulb for you and then we can see if she left any of her vegetable soup. It’s one of my favorites too.”
The bulb was out of my reach, even if I stood on my tiptoes, but Rath had no problem reaching it. He changed it quickly and the two of us descended the basement steps into the cool, dim, subteranean space.
As soon as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I felt like I had hit the jackpot.
The walls were lined with shelves, all filled with clear Mason jars which were neatly labeled in my Grandma’s spidery script. There were vegetables, fruits, soups, pie fillings, and more, all there for the taking.
“Wow…there must be hundreds of jars down here!” I breathed as I looked at the bounty my Grandma she had left me. “And to think I had a can of tomato soup and an apple for supper last night because I thought there was nothing else in the house!”
“There’s enough down here to feed an army—an army of Orcs, even,” Rath remarked. He shook his head. “I think this was how your Grandma kept herself busy, since she never watched TV.”
“She didn’t even own one, I don’t think,” I said, picking up a jar of green beans and examining the seal on the top, which was intact. “At least, I haven’t found one around here.”
“I have one at my place—a whole home theater system. If you like to watch movies or shows or whatever,” Rath offered. “Since you’re cooking for me tonight, maybe I can return the favor and we can have a movie night sometime.”
I gave him a flirtatious look from under my eyelashes.
“We’re not even done with the first date yet and you’re already asking for a second?”
I didn’t know where the words came from—or the sassy, flirty attitude either for that matter. I was usually so shy around men—mostly because I couldn’t talk to them. But with Rath, the conversation flowed so naturally and I felt so attracted to him…I hoped he felt the same way about me.
He gave me a surprised look, which turned into a smile.
“Well, yes—I guess I am,” he rumbled. “If you don’t mind dating Creatures, that is.”
“I don’t have a lot of experience dating at all,” I admitted. “Um, Creatures or otherwise. But I don’t mind. If…if you think we’re compatible.”
I was thinking of how much bigger he was than me and how I had never actually successfully had sex with anyone—let alone someone his size.
Rath smiled.
“We’re compatible. Creatures and humans get together all the time. My own mother was human and my dad was a full-blooded Orc.”
“How did they meet?” I asked, as I chose two large jars of vegetable soup and we headed back up the basement steps.
“Well…actually my dad carried her off during a raid.” He sounded kind of embarrassed.
