“I just teach Intro to Shakespeare lit. Nothing major.” I laughed, as we both knew how damn tough Shakespeare could be to understand.
“I still don’t get how you don’t encourage the use of cliff notes. They saved my ass.”
I chuckled. “What good of a teacher would I be if I did?”
“A pretty cool one.” Arlo said with a grin before turning back to his potatoes.
One of these days, I’d ignore everything my brain said, like would Annie freak out or does Arlo even like me like that, and I’d just kiss him. See what he tasted like and if it was as good as I imagined.
As the wedding reception got underway, some of Arlo’s staff served the first course of soup, a classic minestrone.
Time flew as dishes went out and new ones plated. At one point, I snuck out and said my rounds of hellos before helping to plate up the main dish.
“I’m going to go changed and then I thought we could eat with our family?” Arlo asked me when the main course was plated and ready to be served. “My staff will handle the cutting of the cake and dessert.”
“Sounds perfect. I just need to freshen up.” I undid the tie on the back of my apron and pulled it off.
“You did a great job today. Thank you.”
I smiled. “I just can’t believe we pulled it off.”
Arlo laughed. “Me either. And Brian just arrived.” He nodded towards the back of the kitchen where Brian walked in, soaked. The trays of food he carried were also soaked and ruined. “Not that we could use any of the food.”
“I know, it’s too bad. The rainstorm fucked everything up.”
“It sure did. But anything with you is possible.” Arlo winked and he walked away.
My heart pounded in my chest. Would Arlo finally make a move? Or should I?
But on Annie’s wedding day…
We shouldn’t take any of the spotlight away from her. She deserved it all. Yet as I walked away in search of the bathroom, I couldn’t stop seeing his smiling, winking face.
“I didn’t realizeyou cook so well, Am,” Annie popped a potato in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Delicious.”
“I’ve had a good teacher over the years.” I locked eyes with Arlo and my stomach flipped.
Annie looked between the two of us. “You two cook together?”
Arlo shrugged. “I mean we have. It’s not a regular thing.”
The way he brushed it off made my stomach sink. We used to spend time together in the kitchen, before he went off to college, when Annie spent nights working at a local clothing store. But we never told Annie that and I doubt we were now, considering it was years ago, so I smiled and changed the subject. “I like cooking. I’ve taught myself a lot over the years, just by watching videos.”
“Oh like Arlo’s videos,” their mother injected. “He gives a lot of great tips.”
“Exactly.” I finished my dinner and kept my eyes off Arlo and focused on Annie instead. Otherwise, I might throw myself at him. He looked so hot in his tuxedo, even better than his chef whites, and so many dirty fantasies ran through my head. With his hair neat and trimmed, his dark thick beard with straight lines, and his handsome features, he looked like a snack. One I had wanted for a long time and still did.
The cake was cut and served, after we watched Annie and her new husband, Jared, feed each other a piece. The cream cheese icing and the chocolate fudge cake with raspberry preserves filling tasted heavenly.
Afterwards, the music grew louder, and the DJ took over the party, starting with a dance for the bride and groom.
I watched as couples filled the dance floor, Arlo doing the same. Would he ask me to dance? What was he thinking?
Finally, he looked at me from across the table, and I felt myself flush. He had that knowing look in his eye that he wanted to ask me to dance.
With one tilt of my head, he leaned across the table. “Dance with me, Amethyst?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
