Page 38 of Not Afraid to Trust Again
“It was busy but good. How was yours?” Her eyes darted to the things on the table, then at me.
I sat next to her and turned my body slightly to face her.
“My day wasn’t bad. I missed you though. I wanted to stop by the pharmacy to see you, but work got in the way.”
Redness tinted her cheeks.
“I missed you too. It was so busy, I hardly got a chance to eat.”
“That’s not good, but we won’t worry about that now. I have a nice little night set up for us.”
Curiosity filled her eyes when she looked at the things on the table again.
“Is this part of it?” She gestured to the table.
I stood from my seat and stretched my hand out. She put hers into mine, and I helped her up from the couch.
“Yes, it is. But first, you and I are going to make our dinner for the night,” I informed her.
“Is that so?”
I gave a light peck to her lips. “Yes.” I led her into the kitchen.
Elise’s eyes lit up when she saw all the ingredients on the counter. I grabbed the apron I had gotten especially for her, placed it around her neck, tied the back behind her waist, then placed a kiss on her shoulder.
“And I get an apron.” She looked down at it and laughed. “Sheriff’s helper.” She laughed again. “This is cute.”
“And so are you. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“Me too.”
Since it was a Tuesday, we had tacos with all of the fixings. We had the option of hard and soft tacos, as well as beef or chicken. I wasn’t a fan of beans so as a side option there was Mexican corn, and Mexican rice.
“Let’s get started. Do you want beef or chicken?” I asked. I didn’t want to make both meats if we weren’t going to eat them.
“Both.”
“Both it is. I can do one while you do the other.”
As we cooked, we talked about our days and the latest thing we watched on television. It felt good being in this calming space with her. We were able to vibe and forget about the world for a while. Everything felt natural with her, and I could picture us cooking together in the future. I pictured our kids running around or helping us as we prepared a family dinner. The vision was clear, and I just hoped it came true. I didn’t want to think about what could get in the way of that, so I shook the negativity away.
Every so often, we would glance at each other or share a quick kiss while we cooked.
“If you could be a flavor of ice cream, what would it be and why?” Elise asked as she browned the beef.
A deep laugh rumbled from my belly. “What?”
“You heard me, now answer.”
I had to think about it for a minute, because that wasn’t something normal.
“I would have to say mint chocolate chip because it’s your favorite, and I know you would lick me every chance you got.”
Her freckles looked darker when her cheeks rose and got red.
“I should have known you would be fresh.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed the spatula at me.
I shrugged. “You asked. Now you answer.”
