“Nope!” I exclaimed before any of them could sit down. “Take this,” I held out the water bucket and pointed out the door, “and go wash up, and do it quickly or the food will be cold.”
Ettore laughed and turned right around, with, funnily enough, the asshole, but Jin Woo and Oskar lingered.
“But it smells so good,naekkeo,and it is so cold outside. Couldn’t I just have a little while I warm up? I promise I won’t touch anything,” tried Jin Woo.
“No,” I said firmly, though I was tempted to cave when faced with his puppy eyes, “out.”
Then it was just Oskar and me in the cabin, and the silence hung heavy in the air. His cheeks were flushed, and he had rolled up his sleeves to reveal his forearms. He looked so alive, so present, that I had to grip his pocket knife hard to stop myself from going over to him and touching him and feeling the strong beat of his heart.
“Did you go mushroom hunting?”
I nodded in response.
“Did you catch a sheep?” I asked.
“No, but we will tomorrow.”
There was another long pause, so thick that I could almost touch it.
“Thank you for gathering lunch. I am quite hungry,” He finally said.
I could feel myself softening to him. When I was little, I loved how he always thanked me when I did something for him and apologized when he felt he had done something wrong. Maybe that was why his disappearance without an explanation had hurt so badly. Everything had been wrong, and he had been so unlike who I knew him to be. Now, it felt like things were falling back into place.
“You are more than welcome. Now,” I gestured to the door with my chin.
***
“Mina, this is delicious,” Jin Woo exclaimed as he ate his mussels and soup. I had them all sit around the clean bucket that held the warm soup-stew. I cooked the second batch of mussels as they ate, eating as I cooked. It was pretty good for having no oil or spices. They did say that hunger is the best spice.
“I’m glad you like it! I was worried with how few ingredients we had. Once we have sheep fat, anything that I cook will taste better.”
“Raise your hand if you vote that Mina is our designated cook!” Ettore said with his hand raised. Four other hands raised too, though Oskar didn’t look at me, busy as he was filling his mouth.
I didn’t mind cooking, but I didn’t want to give in that easily.
“I will consider it, if someone else cleans the cabin and the dishes, really cleans, not just runs some water over them, and someone else brings in firewood, and someone else sweeps the cabin.”
Asshole went to speak, probably to say something idiotic enough that it would force me to choke him out completely, but Oskar slapped a hand across his mouth.
“I’ll bring in the firewood and water,” he said, not removing his hand from the asshole's face, “and Bartosz will clean the dishes.”
So the asshole’s name was Bartosz.
“I’ll help with the kitchen clean-up, and I’ll tag along as you gather things in case you need help carrying stuff,” Jin Woo added.
I doubted I would find enough to need help, but Jin Woo was so earnest that I smiled and nodded at him.
“I guess I’ll keep the cabin clean,” Ettore sighed, but I could see his eyes flicking this way and that as if he had ideas for the arrangement of the space.
“So that’s settled!” I exclaimed happily. I always felt better when I had a plan. In consulting, you would have this big task or problem to solve, and then you’d spend a week breaking it down to the smallest pieces and assigning jobs to everyone. Now that everyone had a job, all seemed right with the world.
It also didn’t hurt that the guys had decided to strip off their shirts to rinse them in the water and hang them by the fire. I was very happily taking in the scene of practically painted perfection, of Ettore’s lean chest, the strong planes of Jin Woo’s with enough muscle under the smooth silk of his skin that I wanted to take a bite out of him. Oskar’s chest was scarred with a light dusting of auburn hair and rippling muscles. I even sneaked a look at the asshole Bartosz’s chest, he wasn’t as muscular as Oskar or Jin Woo, but he had an Adonis's belt that was highlighted by his pants that sat slung low on his hips.
I filled the bucket again with the rest of the mussels, seaweed, and mushrooms, but before I could move back to the fire, an arm was around my waist, pulling me down. When Irealized that I was sitting in Ettore’s lap, I looked up at him, trying not to smile.
“Hey!”
“Come rest,salvatrice, you’ve done more than enough for this afternoon.”
