“I told you we will be eating a healthy diet in this house. This is really good and easy to make. Don’t be such a food snob, try it.”
Sue wound up a small amount of the slightly brown pasta and speared a piece of zucchini with her fork. Sliding it into her mouth she immediately closed her eyes and sighed as she savored the flavor...
“It is delicious,” she smiled, sprinkling on the cheese. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“I’ve lived alone for a long time. Basically, it was either learn to do it myself or exist on packaged meals loaded with preservatives and lord knows what else. Can you cook?”
“Nope.”
“Not at all?”
“Nope,” she replied chewing slowly and smiling.
“What did you live on? I know you were struggling financially so I assume you couldn’t afford to eat out every day.”
“You assume right. I lived on Ramon noodles, chips, crackers, candy, that kind of stuff.”
“No vegetables, no fruit?”
“Once in a while I would buy a banana or an apple, but mostly cheap stuff that wouldn’t spoil. Every now and then I would have a date and I always insisted they take me out to dinner,” she laughed. “After the first date they would learn and try to steer me to the less expensive places.”
“Well you’re going to learn to cook here, Red,” he told her firmly. “Everyone should know how to properly feed themselves.”
“Does that mean I get to do the grocery shopping too?” she asked innocently.
“No it does not,” Marcus laughed. “Do I look like an idiot?”
“No, but then I really don’t want to learn.”
“Tough, you’re going to learn. You can start with the easy meals first, like breakfast. I will prepare lunch and dinner until you progress.”
“Oh all right, but if you get sick, don’t blame me,” she snorted, already planning on how to get out of it.
“If I get sick, as soon as I’m well I will tan your hide, Red. Just keep that in mind.”
Sue blushed, stuck out her tongue and resumed eating her pasta. They talked about her childhood, the book he was working on and the places he’d visited. Before she knew it they were finished and she hopped down and started carrying their plates to the sink.
“I’ll do that baby,” he told her, taking the things from her hands. “I carried your luggage upstairs, why don’t you go up and get settled and we’ll watch a movie in a little while?”
“Ok, if you’re sure you don’t mind. I mean you did cook and everything.”
“I don’t mind; go on now and I’ll see you in a bit”
Sue nodded and left the kitchen, he certainly was thoughtful.
They spent the evening cuddled up on the couch watching movies until Marcus determined it was time to go to bed. Susan didn’t much care for the idea, after having slept away a good portion of the afternoon, but when Marcus gave her the ‘look’, she decided it might be a good idea. He carried her upstairsin his arms and made slow, passionate love to her until all she wanted to do was sleep.
Chapter Five
The rest of the week settled into a pattern. Marcus rose early, made coffee and went for a run encouraging Sue to join him which resulted in her pulling the covers over her head and going back to sleep. When he returned he would head to his office and work until his stomach rumbled at which point he would go upstairs, yank her covers off, usually providing a hearty slap to her naked ass, and bellow for her to get up and feed him.
This didn’t go over well with Susan and for the first two mornings she stumbled out of bed, went downstairs and made him whole wheat toast with orange juice. After feeding him she crawled back into bed until around noon, when it would soon be his turn to cook.
Marcus allowed this until the third morning when he informed her that there better be a hot breakfast on the table in short order or he would cook an egg on her ass. Sue got the message. After looking through his cookbooks she decided an omelet couldn’t be too hard and gave it a shot. He ended up with scrambled eggs that had hidden chunks of burnt mushrooms under the cheese, but he ate it and even complimented her on her first culinary attempt.
Sue sat at the counter sipping her Pepsi and watching him pick out the egg shells, hiding her grin. Maybe now that he saw what a terrible cook she was he would start making breakfast.
Carrying his plate to the sink, he scraped the remains down the disposal and looked through the drawers for a moment. When he approached her he had a large wooden spoon in his hand which he set on the counter in front of her. Bending he tipped her chin up and fixed her with his stern gaze.
