The only thing I hadn’t considered as I made my way upstairs was that in the process, I was absolutely going to mess up the kitchen I’d spent the better part of an hour putting it back in exact order after my ordeal with the cheeseboard.
Ugh.
It was only fun to fuck up Marcus’ kitchen when I wanted to annoy him, and tonight… I didn’t want the alpha annoyed.
I wanted him to relax.
And, if it wasn’t too much to ask for, being grateful wouldn’t hurt either.
Finding the pot I needed was a little trickier than I’d originally thought. Even though I’d been living with the pack fora couple months now, I was hardly ever in the kitchen. And I certainly couldn’t remember the last time I needed to actuallycooksomething.
If Marcus didn’t make dinner, that was usually Indi and Cameo’s cue to order pizza. Or Indian. Or Chinese.
The point was, usually there wasn’t anyone but Marcus in this house cooking anything, except for today.
I looked over the instructions on the packet.
Okay, well… I skimmed them. Really, it was making popcorn! You put the oil in the pot, add the kernels, andBAM! Done!
The burner clicked a couple times before the flame ignited, warming the bottom of the stainless steel pot while I cut the top off the packet, dumped the contents into the bottom, and put the lid on.
Just like the instructions!I thought to myself, feeling like I was totally nailing this house husband thing.
Then, I waited. Which was harder than I thought it would be, but the instructionsreallystressed that you weren’t supposed to lift the lid of the pot. So, even though it was making me crazy that I couldn’t see my progress, I left it on. Once the telltale pops and pings started up, I gave it a bit more time until the popping was more frequent, lifting the pot off the heat to shake it.
I was pretty sure it was going well, even if I’d thought the instructions were stupid, I was following them basically to the letter and—fuck.
The unmistakable smell of burned popcorn hit my nose. I opened the lid, and sure enough, there was a bunch of greyish popcorn-adjacent charcoal clinging to the sides.
It was annoying, but not a big deal; I had plenty of time and an entire box of packets.
I would not be defeated so easily!
At least, that's how I felt, until I burned another batch. Andanother.
The kitchen was quickly turning into a graveyard of packets. It shouldn't have been so hard to make some damn popcorn, but I just couldn't figure it out. What I could do though, was feel myself getting frustrated and making dumb mistakes, which was only making it worse.
"Stupid fucking thing is broken…" I grumbled as I threw yetanotherbatch away, turned to the sink to wash out the pot.
"You doing okay?" A deep voice called from behind.
"Fine," I snapped, turning to face Marcus, who was on the other side of the island sporting an infuriatingly cocky smirk. “Why are you home so early?”
“Inventory ended up being fast,” he said, not remotely fazed by my bad mood. “You sure you don’t need help? ‘Cause it smells like burnt popcorn in here."
I could feel my face growing hot, a mix of frustration and embarrassment making my voice tight. "I'm working out the kinks."
"It's popcorn," the alpha deadpanned, loosening his tie.
"Well, if you think it's so easy, you do it, Mr. Smart Alpha Guy!”
“Mr. Smart Alpha Guy,” Marcus repeated with a laugh, taking off his jacket and hanging it by the back door before coming towards me in a fitted black T-shirt. “Okay, take a seat, sweetheart.”
He took the freshly dried pot from my hands, and I stepped aside, switching places with him to sit at the island.
It almost looked like he was floating through the kitchen. Obviously, I knew he was a chef, but there was something so graceful about the way he turned the burner down before placing the pot that it looked more like dancing than cooking. Even something as simple as making popcorn looked like a complicated solo.
Marcus started the same way I did, by emptying a packet into the pot, and I felt smug victory settling in. I’d seen this film several times before, and I knewexactlyhow this was going to go.
