Page 49 of Speechless

“Come in!”

“Hey Luce, are you busy?” Preston’s hanging on the threshold like he’s afraid to enter. I realize he’s never actually been inside this room before, at least not with me. He’s so polite. Jayce and Graham never even knock.

“Hey. You can come in, you know.” I motion for him to sit but he only moves a few steps.

“I, umm, I had a favor to ask you, if that’s okay?”

“Of course. What’s up?”

“Well, I want to do something special for Adamma.” Of course he does. This is a favor I know I’ll be happy to help with. “I don’t exactly know how to cook, but you’re so good at it. I thought maybe you could teach me a few things? I want to make her a big Italian dinner this weekend, something to remind her of our first date in Chicago.”

“That’s so sweet. Of course I’ll help! Do you just want me to cook for you two? I’m sure I can get the rest of the guys out of the house for a bit so it’s more romantic.”

“No, I want to do it myself, at her place. But I thought maybe we could do a practice run together? You could show me how to do everything and I’ll just take lots of notes. I’m a quick learner. At least I am with music . . .” He has his hands in his pockets and he looks down like he’s not actually confident at all. It’s adorable.

“This is gonna be great. Wanna do it tonight?” God knows I could use the distraction. “If you want we can go to the store now and get everything.”

We menu-plan on the way to Whole Foods. Preston tells me all about their first date, right before they graduated high school. The restaurant wasn’t fancy but he said they both loved it so much that they always get Italian for their anniversary, even if it’s pizza. He’s hoping to take it up a notch for this meal, he wants it to be extra special. I asked him what the occasion is but apparently there isn’t any, he just loves her that much. I don’t want my mind to go to Jack, but of course it does. Did he ever go through the effort to do something like this for me, just because? I can’t think of anything. And then my mind whirls to Henry, because even something as simple as his butter cake surprise was sweeter than anything I can remember from Jack. It wasn’t lavish but it was personal, it meant something to me.

After a lengthy discussion, we finalize the menu: prosciutto and melon with basil oil to start, then eggplant caponata with burrata and for the star of the show, meatball lasagna (because I know he won’t be able to mess it up). Since he has zero experience with baking, I convince him to pick up Tiramisu from a bakery for dessert. I don’t trust him to make it and it’s truly the only way to end a delicious Italian dinner. There’s no way Adamma won’t be impressed by this romantic feast. Honestly, my mouth is watering just thinking about it and I’m very glad I’ll get to eat the practice round.

I’m pleasantly surprised by how serious Preston is taking this. Once we’re back in the kitchen he is laser-focused on everything I’m doing and is actually taking notes—and lots of photos—on his iPad. We start preparing all the vegetables for the eggplant salad because we have to cook everything and then have time to chill it before it’s served. I let him know he can do this the day before to save some time.

After we make the basil oil and start preparing the prosciutto, we decide to have a taste. It’s really the best part of cooking.

“This is delicious. What if I don’t pick out a melon that’s this sweet though? How did you choose one again?”

“Why don’t you just let me go shopping with you the day before you cook? I promise it’s not cheating, and it'll take some of the pressure off of you.”

“Yes, thank you. That would be amazing. You’re seriously the best.”

“That’s sweet, it’s really no problem though. Plus, you know I love Dami—there’s no way I’m letting you screw this up for her.” I shoot him a wink right before I go to the fridge and start grabbing everything to start the lasagna.

“She loves you too. You know, she almost never came over here before you moved in. I owe you, it’s been so much easier with work now that she’ll stay here. A lot less driving back and forth from Culver City.” I remember Adamma saying something like that too but it still doesn’t make any sense to me. She obviously loves her boyfriend—she definitely doesn’t need me to hang out with her.

“She said that too. But I don’t get it. This house is amazing, why wouldn’t she want to hang out here?” I put all the different ground meats in a large bowl and show Preston how to mix everything with his hands.

“This feels so weird.” His face is half smile half scowl as he blends the mixture together. “And umm, things have just been different with you here, more relaxed. Especially with Henry. We never really hung out together before. It was just work all the time, and if anyone wanted to do something . . . fun, we’d go out.”

He pauses, like he has more to say but isn’t sure if it’s appropriate.

“This place looks like a party palace, but it’s our office, and I think she always felt like she was intruding on work when she came over. It’s just, Henry’s our boss, you know? So if he’s always working, it kinda feels like when we’re home, we should always be working too. Graham’s the only one that isn’t scared of him and just surfs all day until he has something due.” I laugh at this, because I can’t imagine Graham being scared of anyone. “It just never felt like we were supposed to have fun here, until you showed up.”

“That’s so nice of you, but I really can’t take any credit. You don’t feel like you guys are . . . friends? You all seem so close to me.”

“No, we are. We definitely are, it’s just different now. Henry never hung out with us before. The only time I ever saw him was when we were working. I’m not sure what you did to get him out of his shell, but having him join in when we have dinner or just chill at the pool, it’s really nice. I’m finally getting to know him. He’s like, surprisingly funny.”

I think about everything Preston’s saying as I walk him through the lasagna process. Henry may have explained a lot today, but I still have a million questions. Do I really have this much of an effect on him?

Preston seems more than willing to divulge all the information, but we’re interrupted when Jayce comes in and tries to grab a ball of burrata with his hands.

“Ow! Did you seriously just slap me, Luce?”

“We’re not done cooking. If you want to partake you’ll have to wait until everything’s done. I need to show him how to present it all.” I flash him a satisfied smirk as he backs away and sits on one of the stools at the island. Good boy.

“When will it be done?” Jayce bats his eyelashes at me. “It smells so good and I’m fucking starving. Crystal and I just did five miles and it was steep as hell. Thanks again for letting me take Row.”

“How many times have you gone out with her now? Is this the longest relationship you’ve ever been in?” Preston’s definitely mocking Jayce but I don’t see the grin I’m expecting from him.

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