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“I don’t like being late, it shows your lack of respect when you disregard other’s time,”
She rolls her eyes before saying, “damn Gideons.”
Five
Itake another look around my house to double-check that everything is where it is supposed to be. The few people that have been to my house tell me I should haveprofessional cleaners clean my house because of its size but I do not feel comfortable with strangers in my space invading my privacy, even if they are there to perform a service. So I clean my own house, no one is in my space, and it is cleaned to my specifications. I have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak and have more than a little OCD in me, but I am okay with that.
I check out my outfit for the millionth time, still internally arguing with myself not to go back in my closet and change my outfit…again. I have no idea why I am this nervous. This is the third time I have been in Jaasiel’s presence, but I am acting like it is a first date. I am not this simpering woman, and I haven’t been her in over ten years, so my black mesh long sleeve wrap skirt jumpsuit will have to do. The middle part shoulder-length bob, minimal makeup, silver jewelry, and black peep toe boots complete the ensemble of the night.
Just as I go to fluff the stuffing out of the same pillow I have been re-fluffing for the past ten minutes, the doorbell rings. Taking a deep breath, I go to open the door for Jaasiel, as he is the only person who should be at my door. As soon as the door opens and I get my first look at him, I lose all the breath I had just taken in. The man is finer than any man has a right to be, the all-black against his tan skin and the hair that my fingers are itching to run through, hanging down his back conjures thoughts of another type of cooking he and I can be doing in my kitchen.
“You look beautiful as always, Parker,” he says as he hands me the vase of blue orchids and a gift bag.
“Are these, are these blue orchids?” I stutter out. “Real blue orchids?”
“Real?”
“I mean, they aren’t artificially dyed blue?”
The chuckle he lets out goes straight to my clit. “I wouldn’t dare. They are real blue orchids.”
My mouth flaps open and closed like a fish out of water, trying to form a coherent sentence. “How did you get your hands on blue orchids?”
“A thank you would be sufficient, not an inquisition,” he says, a frown forming on his forehead.
“Oh, I am sorry. Where are my manners? Thank you so much, and please come in,” I say, stepping back and realize he is still standing outside. “These are probably the rarest orchids in the world, and I was not expecting such a rare and beautiful gift,” I tell him without once taking my eyes off the flowers.
“Please, welcome to my home, Parker Manor. Make yourself at home.”
“Make myself at home? You sure?”
“Umm, okay. How about make yourself comfortable?” I say, and we both laugh. “Let me show you to the kitchen, and you can get set up while I set this beautiful gift on the dining table. I have everything you asked for in the kitchen and you didn’t have to have it delivered. I told you I would buy the supplies. After all, I was the one who forced you into cooking for me tonight.”
“First of all, I don’t get forced into anything. Anything I do, I do because I want to. Secondly, I do not care if you ask me out for me to cook or out to a restaurant; I will always pay. My father raised me right. Don’t insult me, Parker.”
My eyebrows inch up on my forehead at his words, and all I can think to say in reply is, “Yes, sir.”
“Go put the flowers on the table and come back so you can open your other gift,” he says as he begins assessing the delivery that came earlier today.
I take a few extra minutes to breathe because the sight of Jaasiel in my kitchen is more than I can deal with right now. I may need to schedule an extra day with my therapist since I am currently on my phone trying to see how long of a sentence I could get for sexual assault. I need to pull myself together before I make a fool of myself.
“What else could you have gotten me that would surpass those orchids?” I ask as I reach inside the bag to pull out one of the two boxes inside. The first package is heavy, so, of course, I open that first, “Oh my gosh, this is beautiful!” the custom-made live edge epoxy-covered charcuterie board with Parker on it is stunning. It is white, gold and silver and it perfectly matches my house. I feel so bad that I didn’t think to get him anything after I bullied him into cooking for me. “Jaasiel, this is too much, and I didn’t get you anything,” I say.
“I didn’t ask you for anything, Parker, and I gave you what I wanted you to have because I wanted you to have it. You really are not a gracious receiver. Why can’t you simply say you like the gift and thank you?” he says, turning away from the sink where he was washing the meat.
I am fighting like hell not to let the smile/smirk that is threatening to bloom across my lips have its way in his face since he looks so serious.
“Go ahead and smile, Parker. You are doing a piss poor job of hiding the fact that you want to smile at my words.”
“I, uh, no, I am just listening to what you are saying.”
“And you are a horrible liar,” he says, and I have to blink because my lie game is on point and has been for years, so I have no idea how he can see right through me. “No worries, taku e te paruhi (my favorite), I’ll teach you how to be grateful when you are receiving what I am giving to you.”Oh my,I think.
“Is that a fact? I am a slow learner sometimes, and what did you just call me?”
“Ask me what I called you later. Trust me. I am more than equipped to teach you everything you need to know. And I have the ability to teach you well into the morning as many times as it takes. Now, can you just say thank you and open your other package?”
At this point I need to go change my clothes, especially my underwear. I just stand there looking at him and thinking for the umpteenth time that I wanna scrap this dinner, but I pull myself together and pull the other package out. I let out another deep breath when I see the custom-made white leather monogrammed apron that he has given me. “I do not want to know how much this cost to have made…eek!” I scream out as Jaasiel unceremoniously picks me up, sets me on the counter, and stands between my legs.
