AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Margarita is already there, rubbing his chest with a damp cloth. As I watch the whole room watching him, I regret not selling tickets. But then I join them. My eyes lock onto Rocco. Why have I wound up locking myself into a festive friendzone with someone so dreamy? I suppose it’s because, even without a romantic relationship, I like the way he makes me feel. I like the calm vibes he gives off, the unexplained familiarity in his face. It’s the friendly warmth, I think, that makes him feel like an old friend, even though I only met him a couple of days ago.
The alarm on our oven – and Leila and Tobias’s going off at the same time – snaps me out of it.
‘Thank you,’ Rocco tells Margarita. ‘I can take it from here.’
‘Right, yes.’ Margarita comes to her senses too. ‘Oh, the scones. Time to judge. Everyone, scones out, set them to cool, it’s time to taste.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper to Rocco.
‘That’s okay,’ he replies through a cheeky smile. ‘At least I can say I got some action through Matcher this Christmas, hey?’
I should probably laugh but the words stick in my mind. He’s probably just making a joke, right? The whole point of that sentence wasn’t intended to confirm to me that things have been so far so platonic for him. This is just me wishful thinking.
‘I guess I’ll wear my coat?’ he suggests.
‘Yeah, I probably would,’ I reply. ‘I hadn’t realised everyone would be quite so… stare-y.’
‘I’ll clear the floor once we’re out of the woods,’ he whispers.
Eventually, the four of us take our seats around our table, each with our own scones in front of us.
‘Ours look so much better than yours, it has to be said,’ Leila points out.
I wonder if that means ours do genuinely look more appetising than hers (even if they’re spiked with salt and will probably taste disgusting) or if she would have said that regardless.
‘Shall we do this then?’ Rocco suggests. I think he’s keen to get this over with. So am I. We’re both terrified we’re going to be rumbled. Hopefully we’re almost home and dry.
‘We have to wait for Margarita,’ Leila points out. ‘She’s going to tell us how to taste them, and what points to consider.’
‘She’s what?’ I reply, casually as I can.
‘She talks us through how to rate them,’ Leila says again.
‘Do we really need to wait for that?’ Rocco says with a casual snort.
‘Yeah, I’ve been eating scones my entire life,’ I say playfully. ‘I’m sure we know how to do that bit at least.’
‘We’re up now anyway,’ Tobias points out as Margarita approaches us.
‘Oh, wow, look at these ones,’ Margarita gushes. ‘This is going to be a real clash of the titans. Have you swapped scones yet?’
Yes.
‘No,’ Leila tells her, in full-on teacher’s pet mode.
‘Okay, come on, guys, swap your plates,’ Margarita instructs us.
I exchange a glance with Rocco before pushing our plate across to Leila, and pulling her plate closer to us.
‘You guys can go first,’ Margarita tells our opponents. ‘We’ll call you Team One. So. First of all, how do they look?’
‘Good,’ Tobias says simply.
‘Yeah, they look all right,’ Leila adds. ‘Not as visually appealing as ours, and I am a really visual eater so it’s a bit of a stumbling block.’
I can’t help but roll my eyes. If only she knew that she was talking about her own scones.
‘Okay, next, you want to smell them,’ Margarita instructs. ‘Then break a piece off and feel the texture.’
