"I think it's ready," I said, shoving a bowl in between me and Archer. "Where did you even find the berries?" I asked as I poured the truffle butter over the popcorn, tossing it once.
"You can buy anything online," Archer bragged as he held the bowl while I grated the parmesan. "Weirdly enough," he continued thoughtfully, "I found them on this one website that was dedicated to all things raspberry. They had raspberry candy, edible raspberry lingerie, and edible raspberry-flavored body paint."
"That sounds…"Erotic? Sexy? Something I wanted and needed?"Interesting," I said lamely.
Archer smirked like he knew what I had been thinking. "It was all organic."
"I don't understand how edible lingerie works," I said as I sprinkled the finely shaved parsley and some French sea salt on the popcorn. "Like, do you eat the whole thing? Is it like a Fruit by the Foot? Also what about the edible body paint? Isn't it just like a raspberry reduction? I feel like I could make that."
"Anytime you want to cover me in raspberry sauce and lick it off, I am totally game," Archer said, his hand trailing down my waist to rest on my hip. "Hell, maybe you could start a side hustle doing that."
"I don't know if I can make sex toys."
"Sex food," Archer corrected, feeding me a bite of popcorn. "Didn't Ida say you were drawing porn?"
"I'm not drawing porn!" I said, almost choking on the popcorn. I had to take a swig of the raspberry vodka muddle.
"If you were, you could draw little demonstration pictures to go along with your products."
"I'm running a wholesome establishment here."
"You're serving alcohol to the elderly at two in the afternoon," Archer said with a snort. "You're already well on your way down the road of debauchery. Might as well embrace it wholeheartedly!"
"You mean like sleeping with one of my art retreaters?" I asked too casually as I organized my ingredients for the raspberry cheesecake pancakes.
He shrugged and threw a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "You suggested it, not me. I was thinking of something less blatant and more artistic. Perhaps nude models with, like, tastefully displayed little cakes and chocolates and things. You know, like they do with sushi in some clubs?"
"What clubs are you going to?"
"Don't act like you've never eaten a piece of food off a good-looking man, Hazel."
I pursed my lips as I separated the eggs for the pancakes. I was making Japanese-style pancakes, which were more like soufflés.
"I'm not some playboy billionaire running around, buying crates of raspberries and impulse shopping paintings," I said.
"You should try it," Archer said as he unbuttoned his shirt.
I swallowed. "I'm cooking," I croaked.
He smirked. "So you are. And it sure is heating up in here. I guess I'll be the one eating off of you." I was beating the egg whites and sugar into a meringue. I couldn't stop because it wouldn't set right, and I wanted the pancakes to be fluffy. Ideally they should be two inches high and jiggly. I shivered as Archer set a raspberry on the soft spot where my neck and collarbone met. He leaned down and licked it off, his mouth pressing to my skin.
"Tasty," he murmured in my ear as he nibbled the lobe. Now that there was a very real possibility that Archer and I would… you know… I was starting to freak out.
"Well, these look nice and stiff. You want the erect peaks," I said, folding the meringue.
Archer snickered.
"I mean," I said, starting to get tongue-tied. He was right next to me. If I wasn't mistaken, I could feel something stiffer and more erect than the meringue in the bowl against the back of my thigh. "I want really thick pancakes."
"Like a good nine-inch stack?" Archer asked, stepping back to give me some breathing room.
"Something like that," I rasped as I turned on the griddle to get hot and mixed the egg yolks with flour and milk. I stirred the raspberries in then folded the meringue and the pink-streaked batter together. Finally I carefully poured it into the round molds on the griddle.
"These have to cook for a while," I told Archer as I measured out heavy cream for the ganache to pour over the pancakes instead of syrup.
"So that they're really thick and stiff. Got it," he replied.
I slurped some of the drink. The alcohol cooled my throat and loosened me up. I tried to concentrate as I chopped up chocolate.
