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"Are you kidding me?" I exclaim with happiness when I see it's beef brisket tacos. I can tell, just from looking at it, that it's so soft it's going to melt in my mouth. Then I narrow my eyes at Law. "Did you ask Soph what my favorite foods were in case you needed to butter me up?"
He throws his head back and laughs. "I did not. This is all the chef."
"I could kiss this chef."
Law gives a weird chuckle that I don't quite understand as I hurry to eat one. If I weren't sitting across from someone I'm sure will be my future brother-in-law, I would moan at the taste that explodes over my tongue.
"If you don't eat one right now," I say after swallowing, "I cannot guarantee they'll be anything left for you in the next three seconds."
He shakes his head. "You and Sophie are just alike when it comes to food."
But he also smartly grabs a taco. When there's only one left, he gestures for me to go ahead and eat it, and I beam at him.
"I'll even walk Sophie down the aisle and give her away to you now."
"What I really want is for you take Shawn for the night after, hopefully, she accepts my proposal. I wanna take her out to celebrate. Some chocolate cake, champagne."
"Of course, I will. When exactly is this happening?"
His nervous smile is instant. "I think three months from now. I know she definitely isn't ready to leave Shawn for any period of time at the moment."
I nod. "I can't wait. My first official auntie sleepover."
The last people getting up from their table catches my attention and I watch them leave with furrowed brows.
"Are you sure we're gonna be able to get our meals?" I ask.
"I'm sure. But while we're waiting, let me use the bathroom."
I nod, finally eating my taco, as he stands. It's when I stop chewing that I realize how quiet everything has gone. Not just that the people dining have all disappeared, but that there're no waiters, or even any busboys cleaning up. Nothing. Only the very faint sound of pans coming from the back. The kitchen is open, the front of it able to be seen through a large space between the ceiling and a counter there, but I don't even see any chefs cooking.
"This is starting to feel like a horror movie," I murmur to myself, looking down the hallway that a sign says leads to the bathrooms.
Then I can't see anything at all because the lights go out.
"Oh, hell no," I say as I quickly stand from my seat. "Hello? I'm still in here," I call out. "Hello."
I begin to head toward the hallway, but the absolute darkness there makes me pause. I look to the kitchen again, where the only light is still shining. As I walk over there, I can still hearsounds of someone moving stuff around. Hopefully, whoever it is will turn the damn lights back on.
"Excuse me. Me and my brother-in-law are still here," I state as I reach the counter. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
There's no one in the front part of the kitchen, but the sounds of, what I think is, something scrapping on a pan, can be heard from deeper in the kitchen.
"Gotta be freaking kidding me," I whisper.
This is definitely how people die in movies, looking for sounds. But I imagine Law stuck in a dark bathroom, and shit, I'm stuck in a dark restaurant. Even looking behind me right now, I can no longer see our table from here, let alone the front door. Shaking my head at myself and swearing I'll haunt this restaurant if anything happens to me, I walk around the counter to the door. I walk through it, and the smell of food that was only faint before envelops me. Well, there must actually be someone back here, cooking. Why they didn't answer me is something I'll be asking when I find them.
I walk past where the lights are still on, into a darker part of the kitchen. But no, there is some light in here. With furrowed brows, I realize the light here, the shadows it casts on the walls, are flickering, like the light is from...
I stop short, my mouth open, chest still, unable to inhale or exhale, as my eyes and my mind try to take in what I'm seeing.
A small circular table, laden with candles and purple rose petals. Two place settings on it, each with a glass full of something bubbly next to them. There are more rose petals on the floor, leading from where I stand, over to the table. But all of that pales in comparison to the man I see standing at the stove mere feet away from the table. His back is turned to me, but even covered in a black shirt, I would recognize that back anywhere.
What. The. Fuck is going on? What is he doing here? Why is he cooking? Has he been here this whole time? Did Law know he was here? Why the hell is he back here in the dark? So many questions fill my mind, but the one that keeps coming back around is just a resoundingwhat the fuck is happening right now?
But... he's here. The man I have been missing like a piece of my soul has been gone from me is standing right there, with just a table and a couple of footsteps between us. My heart is aching, and yet feels at home at the sight of him all at once. As confused as I am, I want to cry just from being in his presence again.
A shuddering, loud breath leaves me, but he still doesn't turn around. Doesn't stop cooking, doesn't even look over his shoulder at me. And I, feeling utterly unable to move, just watch him, noticing everything about him. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, hair in that damn bun that drives me crazy, with both loving the way it looks and wanting to free his hair so I can run my fingers through it. His body moves with him, stirring something in the pan, and shit if just watching that motion for a few seconds doesn’t have my mind going to very filthy, and now forbidden, places.
