Page 75 of Voices

“There you are, sweet boy.” He tenderly brushes my hair from my eyes.

The wind blows making me shiver.

“Let’s go inside. Ryder was making veggie burgers before I came out here, but I wouldn’t count on him actually finishing.”

He helps me stand and laces our fingers together as he stands up and leads me inside.

The smell of burnt…something smacks us in the face as soon as we step inside. I pull the neck of my hoodie over my nose and see Shane do the same.

“Ryder?” Shane calls as we walk to the kitchen.

He doesn’t answer as we reach the counter where there are what I think are supposed to be veggie burgers sitting on a plate with a note telling us to enjoy, and that he went to go get a meat lovers pizza with Matt.

Shane picks one up and sniffs it but jerks his head back.

“That doesn’t smell right.”

He tries to break it in half but needs to use a ridiculous amount of strength to do so. He starts to crack up when he bangs it on the counter and the black disk barely crumbles.

“We might have better luck trying to eat a hockey puck.”

He picks up the plate and dumps them into the trash can with a loud thud making us both laugh.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t think he followed the recipe. That or he cooked them a lot longer than he should have.”

“He tries to help but the kitchen is not the place for him,” Shane says through another laugh.

He walks to his pantry and opens it, surveying what he has.

I walk up next to him and spot the blue and yellow box of mac and cheese. Grabbing it, I give him my best puppy dog eyes.

“That would be the result of Ryder on a grocery run.” He shakes his head as he takes the box from me, flipping it back and forth. “You sure this is what you want? I can make you some that’ll be way cheesier and more filling.”

“Yes. I like the flavor of powdered cheese.”

He snorts and leans down for a quick kiss then shakes his head as he walks to the stove. “How about some broccoli or tofuwith it?” His head is in the refrigerator with his fine ass sticking out. Those grey sweats hug his globes perfectly.

“I don’t like broccoli, and I’ve never had tofu I liked that didn’t come from our chef.”

He stands with the pack of extra firm tofu in his hands.

“You don’t strike me as someone who eats tofu,” I eye him curiously. “I thought you and Ryder would have the freezer full of chicken and beef for protein and stuff.”

He cuts the plastic open and starts cutting up the tofu into cubes.

“I enjoy the versatility of it, and it’s loaded with protein, so it makes for a good alternative when I’m not hungry for meat but still want to meet my protein goals.” He lines a baking sheet with parchment paper and puts the tofu pieces in a single layer. He grabs spices from the cabinet and lines them up in front of me. “Pick two.”

I scan the row of spices and pick the buttery garlic and smoked paprika. I hand them to him as he opens another container and sprinkles it over the tofu. He adds the two spices and then mixes them up with his hands. I tilt my head trying to figure out how these are going to be any good.

“Trust the process,” he whispers before winking.

He cooks them in the oven while he finishes up the mac and cheese. With everything finished, he grabs both of our plates and signals for me to follow him into the living room. Sitting on the couch, I stab one of the tofu cubes. The crunch it makes when my fork goes through it is like music to my ears. It’s perfectly crispy with the right amount of spice. I smile as I let out a long ‘mmm’ sound.

Shane beams at me as I take another bite.

“Good right? My little sister Liz went vegetarian a few years ago so my mom and I had to find ways to make food that wasn’t bland.” He pops a square into his and chews beforetalking again. “Liz was adamant about wanting to like tofu so after countless trials, we landed on this method, and it’s been my favorite way to cook it since.” He takes a big bite of mac and cheese and smiles softly. “This reminds me of childhood. You’re right, there’s something about the powdered cheese that always hits.”

I nod as I scoop a forkful of the yellow noodles into my mouth.

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