(Colton Cypraes)
I'm not sure if he knows what he is doing to me. Just a couple of minutes ago, I would have lost control if it were not for the interruption. I hope curses follow him wherever he is, the nerve to interrupt me. God, what am I saying? Why does he have a hold on me? Fuck everything is a mess now. How did I end up like this?
Why is my heart racing so fast? I need to hurry up and finish showering. I can't stay here any longer, my body might betray me again. Just thinking about it sends a flutter to my stomach. The look on Orion's face said it all. Damn, why is he feeding my ego even more?
Walking out of the shower, I walk to my closet for a set of pajamas, and I can't even think about drying my hair anymore. I just want to see him, moving around the kitchen, cooking whatever is on his mind.
As I opened the door, I was immediately hit by the sight of his pale, rosy skin glowing under the warm light, smooth and almost milky. Dressed in an oversized sweater, he looked kinda cute like a fluffy plushy. I watched as he stood on his tiptoes, stretching to reach an ingredient on the upper shelf.
He was too engrossed in retrieving the ingredient to even notice my presence, there was something undeniably cute about his struggle. I couldn't help but stare at him, wondering if he realized the effect he had on me. It felt oddly right to be here, drawn into this simple moment.
"Need any help?" I ask him, but he doesn't turn around and continues retrieving the ingredient with no progress at all.
"No, I don't, as you can see, I'm quite capable of doing it myself." He responds with a little fire.
I can't help but laugh at his little attempt. I can eat him up, I want to eat him, he is like a little pineapple. All prickly on the outside but sweet and addictive on the inside.
I walk up to the counter and wrap my arms around his waist, lifting him to grab his little jar of ingredients. I can't help but notice how quickly he's breathing. His face is all red, and his cheeks are super rosy. I realize my grip on him has tightened, but he doesn't tell me to let go, so I just hold on. I want to enjoy this little moment. His skin feels warm and smooth, and that sweet scent of his is hard to ignore. Seriously, can anyone smell this good?
"Colt? I need to make dinner."
His voice brings me back to earth from whatever place I was in.
"Ummm... are you going to let go now?"
Shit i haven't even removed my hands from his waist, that little contanct alone has made my mind all foggy. I'm in deep trouble.
"Yea...yeah, sorry."
The rest of the evening moves too fast, him cooking and chopping onions without shedding a single tear. Who does that? How can you chop onions without crying? I swear I sometimes even wear protective eyewear, but still get tears in my eyes. It's like he is in cohorts with the onions mocking me. I try teasing him, but he just retorts at me like always. This little whatever is just a little savage pineapple.
One thing I've noticed is that he doesn't like anyone in the kitchen when he is cooking. It smells nice, the scent that wafts carries that nostalgic smell when we were young, coming to our mothers' cooking after playing in the dirt.
When he is done in the kitchen, he emerges with two plates of yellowish brown rice. I know they said people who spend a lot of time in the kitchen tend to come up with weird recipes, but what is this? I look up at him, but my stomach does a little flip. His eyes are mesmerizing, and he looks at me, expecting me to eat. I'm skeptical about eating, so I'm just going to swallow and pretend it's edible, I hope.
"Wait, don't eat just yet, I forgot to bring the beef stew. Wait a moment."
He goes back to the kitchen and comes back with a bowl of beef stew with no beef? Okay, am I being poisoned? I take one spoonful of the rice in my mouth, and it instantly zones everything out. My taste buds are engulfed by a foreign taste. I continue chewing, and I feel the beef in the rice, it's soft like tofu but still chewy. I'm in heaven.
"So? What do you think about it?" Orion asks. His eyes are twinkling, and all I am feeling is peace for the first time. Without realising it, I've tasted hot food and not just any food, it's one he made himself. I want to hide you from everyone else, Orion.
"What's this?" I ask my voice sounding weak, vulnerable. He doesn't notice it.
"Well, it's Pilau, I didn't know if you'd like it. Mr Grumpy. It's beef pilau. You still haven't answered my question yet. How is it?"
Whoever said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach was onto something. Whoever it was knew what they were saying, because right now I think I know what they meant. I blocked out everything he was saying about the ingredients and just focused on him alone.
"It's delicious, more than delicious, it's beautiful, it's... I can't say it because it's hard to describe it," I say while stuffing my mouth," Is there more?" I ask.
He just smiles and stares and me and points at the kitchen.
I smile back at him, more like grinning at this point, my mouth still full of Pilau. I feel like a kid who just discovered presents underneath the Christmas tree.
After dinner, we move to the leather sofa set, he moves to the furthest end of the sofa and takes out his phone, and starts scrolling. Whatever he is doing, he is smiling quite a lot. He is too engrossed in whatever he is reading to notice me standing behind him. He is reading a comic?
"Why are you reading a comic book on your phone?" That was the question I later came to know I shouldn't have asked.
"Comic? THIS IS A MANHWA..."
I tuned out whatever he was saying about Manhua, manhwa, and manga.
So he is a geek too, good to know.