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The flavor sent chills down my spine.
I had nailed it.
I poured the curry over the chicken and vegetables and turned the stove all the way down, putting a lid on to let it simmer for a while to allow the flavors to intensify. I checked my watch to make sure I was on schedule. Five minutes until six o' clock.
Once I’d double checked my appearance in my bathroom to make sure my hair was acceptable, I took the pan off the stove and headed out into the hallway to go deliver the red curry chicken to Brooke and Leslie.
I knocked on the door and felt a slight sensation of butterflies in my stomach as I waited for someone to answer. I was hoping it would be Brooke.
It was.
I beamed a huge grin at her, but she only smiled politely back and seemed to be avoiding eye contact with me. I was going to kill her with kindness and at least get her to talk to me if it was the last thing I ever did.
“Hey!” I said. “How's it going?”
“Good,” she replied, keeping the door half closed. “Leslie told me that you'd be bringing us dinner. This is it?”
“Yeah. Thai Red Curry Chicken. I hope you like it.”
“It smells great.”
I handed it to her and moved forward, but she stayed in the doorway, blocking me from entering.
“Well, thanks,” she said coolly, still avoiding eye contact. “We'll wash up the pot when we're done and bring it over to your place. I'm sure this will be delicious. Thanks so much! See you later.”
With that, she stepped back into the apartment and closed the door gently in my face.
I stood there for a moment, feeling like I'd just been kicked in t
he gut. What was that? I'd gone through the trouble of making her dinner, and she just took it and didn't even bother to invite me in! What was with her? What was I missing?
I raised my fist to knock on the door, a bit of irritation bubbling up inside me. Part of me wanted to give her a piece of my mind, but I stopped my fist mid-air. She must have had her reasons for doing what she had just done. Even the Ice Queen wouldn’t be that cold without her reasons. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. A genuine misunderstanding. Right?
Or, maybe she was just a cold, impolite bitch. I didn’t know. I shuffled back into my apartment and closed the door behind me. It looked like I'd be eating dinner alone.
That was when my phone buzzed. I looked down to see who was messaging me.
Melissa.
Hey, good-looking, what are you up to for dinner? I'm in your 'hood, mind if I come over and hang out for a bit?
Normally, I would have made up an excuse, but after having just had a door literally closed in my face, I was feeling a bit rejected. I instinctively typed in a response without thinking.
Sure. I'm free.
Ten minutes later, Melissa was at my door with pizza. A lot of pizza. Five minutes after that, Chris and a couple of friends showed up.
***
I'd just stripped down to get into the shower when I heard a knock at the door. Chris had gone bowling with some friends and Melissa and I were going to join them after I grabbed a shower. She was on the balcony having a cigarette and wouldn't have been able to hear the knock at the door.
The knock sounded again so I wrapped a towel around my waist and hurried out to open the door. When I opened it, there stood the Ice Queen herself.
Brooke’s eyes widened at the sight of my half-naked body and a flush of red developed across her cheeks. “Um, er, hi, Emerson,” she stammered.
I couldn't believe it. She was struggling to keep her focus aboveboard. It was almost as if she was, as the cliché goes, undressing me with her eyes. I felt like saying, “Hey, my eyes are up here,” but of course, I didn't. I was kind of enjoying it. Maybe there was more to the Ice Queen than met the eye.
“Hi, Brooke,” I responded, leaning against the doorframe and subtly flexing my muscles just to mess with her.
