"Mom always cooked at home, then in college there was the cafeteria and team meals. As a pro, a lot of food is available at the arena and at practice, and I survive the rest of the time on take out and dino nuggets."
He shrugs and presses a kiss to my shoulder as I rinse out the mixing bows. "Good thing you have a boyfriend who can cook for you now."
"Exactly!" He slides his apron off and tosses it on the counter before opening a drawer excitedly. "I bet you even know what this torture device is for."
Duncan is holding up a can opener and he’s twisting the side while also trying to pump the handle. "You don’t know what that is?"
"I assume it’s something for like deboning a chicken or something, I dunno."
"It’s a can opener."
"Really?" He inspects it more closely.
"Yeah, do you have a can of beans? I’ll show you how it works."
"You’re the cowboy out of the two of us. I don’t eat beans out of the can."
I roll my eyes. "Neither do I. Do you have a can of peaches?"
"I don’t need canned peaches, I have the real thing right here!" He slaps my bum as I open his pantry cabinet. Shaking my head, I look through whathe has. A loaf of bread, nut butters, pretzels. More snack foods, a few boxes of dried pasta.
But no cans.
"I didn’t even realize it was possible to have a kitchen without something canned." I say as I turn back to him.
"What canned goods do you have?" I open my mouth but Duncan stops me with a hand up. "Besides beans."
"Olives."
"Aren’t those beans?"
"No, they’re a vegetable. Or fruit."
"Bullshit." Duncan grabs his phone and lifts himself up on the counter with an athletic bounce. "Hey Siri, are olives beans?"
He holds his phone out as we wait for her to answer. "No, olives are not beans. Botanically, olives are classified as fruit, specifically, they are drupes (or stone fruits) because they grow from a flower and contain a single seed (pit) surrounded by fleshy pulp. They are related to cherries, peaches, and plums, rather than legumes like beans."
"See, they’re a fruit." I say, satisfied.
"You’re a fruit." Duncan grumbles.
My arms cross and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Not my best comeback, sorry."
It takes a lot more for me to actually be offended than being called a fruit but I do appreciate his apology. When I first met him, Duncan was highly energetic, forward as fuck, and unapologetic about who he was.
The man in front of me, my boyfriend, is that same man but I’ve earned the privilege of seeing his softer moments too. I see the way he cares for those he loves.
I can feel the way he cares for me.
It’s easy for me to come to the love conclusion but is he with me? I already pushed the title of boyfriend on him, I can’t push it further.
"So, what are we going to do for breakfast?" He asks. "We have time to go out before I have to leave for conditioning."
"Umm. Yeah, sure." I never told Zara about this. I haven’t had the chance but she’ll be pissed as hell if I am seen out for brunch with a new man. "Actually, I’m not sure that’s a good idea." Duncan’s head tilts to the side. "I need to talk to Zara about it and we need to come up with a plan to announce it. Us."
"Oh, right."
