Robin laughed. “You’reteaching someone how to cook?”
“Hey!” Jack kicked her under the table, the thump audible from Felix’s seat. “I can cook. I just never have time to make it nice. Remember your birthday cake?”
“Yeah, that was pretty good I guess.” Robin grinned in a way that made Felix wonder just how often Jack got to come home. He was a student, a TA, and he had at least two part-time jobs off campus.
Including teaching a twenty-year-old mess how to cook,Felix reminded himself. He took his first bite of chicken, raising his eyebrows as he chewed.
“Holy shit,” he said, garbled. “This is actually really nice.”
“See?” Jack nudged Robin, none too gently. “I earn my keep. Unlike some people.”
“I’m twelve,” Robin said. “And you said I wasn’t allowed to apply for jobs until I’m fifteen!”
Jack started to reply, but Felix had just realized something about that cake comment. “Wait,” he said. “Are you gonna teach me how to bake?”
Jack grunted around his fork. “We’ll see how it goes. Basic shit first, then fancy stuff like baking. You want to learn, what, one recipe a week until you move out of your dorm over summer?”
“At the end of the semester, yeah.” Felix tore into his roast vegetables next. He’d looked up “what vegetables go in a roast” when he was in the supermarket on the way here, since he blanked after potatoes and carrots. He’d ended up getting parsnip, which he’d never had except mashed and awful at an aunt’s house. It was actually pretty nice roasted and covered in herbs.
“Gotta be a halfway decent roommate,” Felix continued through his mouthful.
Jack made a face. “Roommate? I thought this was about being an adult. You know, one who can cook more than noodles.”
“That too,” Felix said. “But yeah. Figured I should know how to make dinner if it’s my turn, or whatever. You sure you don’t know how to clean? This place looks okay.”
Robin giggled. “He almost made mustard gas last year when he was getting us ready for the property inspection.”
“How was I supposed to know you’re not supposed to mix all that cleaning shit?” Jack demanded, tearing vigorously through a piece of crispy chicken skin. “Shut up and eat your food.”
“I’mtrying, it’s just so dry without the gravy!”
Jack flicked a green bean at her. She flicked one back, still giggling. Not for the first time, Felix wished he had a sibling. Everyone always joked that he and Jacob were as good as brothers, but Felix felt weird about it due to the whole ‘being hopelessly in love with him’ thing.
He ate another mouthful of dinner, confidence growing with each bite. One recipe down. With enough of these, Jacobhadto recognize that Felix was somebody worth living with.
He just needed to find someone who knew how to clean.
Jack walked him outside after.
“Some people get stuck in this hallway,” Jack explained as he held the building’s back door open. “Piece of shit doors. Sure you don’t want to take any more of that chicken? You paid for it.”
“We don’t have a fridge,” Felix reminded him as he tucked the Tupperware container under his arm. “I might not be the smartest pickle in the jar, but even I know enough not to trust room-temperature chicken after a day. Anyway, thanks for the lesson. Bet you get enough of this shit as a TA.”
“Anything for my students,” Jack said flatly. “Where’s my money?”
Felix handed him the cash and glanced into the street self-consciously. “Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?”
Jack gave him a look like he thought Felix was being ridiculous, but he was too tired to care. He had looked decidedly younger around his sister, but it didn’t make the bags under his eyes go away.
“Whatever,” Jack said. “Same time next week?”
“You got it.” Felix gave him a salute and turned, already wondering how he was going to hide this from Jacob.
Jack continued, “Hell, if you up this to sixty bucks, I can do it twice a week.”
Felix banged his elbow on the doorframe in his haste to turn back. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, my mechanic gig is pretty slow lately.”
