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Delicately, she perches on a leather stool at the end of the counter, folding her fingers underneath her chin. I pull a couple of fat, juicy tomatoes from the bowl and hold them up .
“You’re not allergic to anything, are you ?”
She opens her eyes wide. “Wait a second, you’re going to cook ?”
“Well, not these if you’re allergic to them. That’s why I’m asking .”
“No, I’m not allergic… but, what I mean is, are you actually planning on cooking those? Yourself? You don’t have a personal chef or something ?”
“Of course I have a personal chef,” I sigh. I pull a knife from the block and start dicing the tomato, followed by a zucchini and Japanese eggplant. “But I like to cook. It’s nice. Are you impressed? You should totally be impressed .”
“Oh, I really am!” she coos. “I’m just a little surprised. But the impressed kind of surprised, I promise !”
“Good,” I sniff. “I didn’t want to waste my dazzling culinary skills on you if you would rather get a frozen pizza in the oven or something .”
She shrugs. “Yeah well, frozen pizza has its good sides too, you know .”
“That’s true,” I admit, setting two pots of water on the big burners. They’ll be boiling shortly and I season them generously with handfuls of sea salt. “I think one of my startups is in the pizza business, as a matter of fact. They’ve got some kind of flash freezing technology that improves storage and flavor. They make a pretty good pizza .”
“I’d like to try that too !”
I take the plastic bag of mussels from the fridge and set them on the counter. Smashing the head of garlic in my hand, I season the water with bay and garlic to steam the mussels and then retrieve some fresh pasta from the fridge. Normally, I would make my own pasta from scratch, but she doesn’t need to know that. I’ll save a few tricks for later .
In just minutes, I ladle a ruby-red sauce with tomatoes over the pasta, then top it with the mussels and torn shreds of basil. The fragrant bowls drift steam between our faces. Opening a bottle of local Chardonnay, I sit next to her, ready to hear her sweet voice again .
She breathes deeply, closing her eyes and flaring her nostrils as the scents of herbs and garlic dance through her sinuses .
“This is amazing,” she sighs. “Really amazing! It’s so sweet of you to do this for me .”
“My pleasure,” I smile. The first bite is perfectly al dente, the farm-fresh vegetables still crisp and earthy. Not a bad effort, if I do say so myself .
“So, the pizza guys? Is that where I’ll be working?” she asks carefully, keeping her eyes down .
It takes me second to remember what she’s talking about. “Oh, right. Your, um, internship. Well, I guess I’ll let you pick? Or I’ll give you a tour? Figure out where you fit best ?”
She glances up at me, her eyes suddenly innocent again. I love how she goes back and forth from determined fighter to uneasy ingenue over and over again .
“So that’s a real thing? You meant it? About the job ?”
“Of course I meant it. You can see it all around me… I rely on people I can trust. Are you someone I can trust ?”
“Because I sort of thought that maybe you just brought me here so we could have sex,” she says matter-of-factly, daring me with her eyes .
I pause for a beat, measuring her expression. She’s a little defiant, but a little frightened too .
“I mean, I think I could be a good fit,” she mutters stubbornly, pushing her jaw forward. “In anything. Any kind of job, I mean .”
I reach out and take her hand, forcing her to drop her fork, nudging her until she faces me .
“I asked you if you trusted me, do you remember?” I ask her in a low voice .
She nods uncertainly .
“I didn’t just abduct you to have my way with you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I smirk. I can’t help it. Any other girl, she would be right. But somehow, I mean it. Having my way with her is something definitely on my list, but it’s a very long list with a lot more stuff on it .
“You don’t have to say these things to me,” she insists. “I’m not a little girl anymore. We’re both adults. Whatever happens, happens .”
I lean in, kissing her gently, stroking my thumb along the line of her downy jaw. She tastes like wine and garlic, punctuated by the savory tang of the mussels .
