Page 40 of Tyriq & Teaira
“You’re impatient. Just chill. We’re here,” he says and I look up. We are parked in front of the business in the middle, On the Table. I heard that there were new spots behind the mall but I hadn’t ventured back here yet. When he kills the engine, he turns and asks, “You ready?”
“To eat? Is this a new restaurant?”
“You will see in a few minutes. Chill,” he says and I playfully roll my eyes.
He leans across the middle console and pecks my cheek. “You’re going to like this. Trust me.”
“Okay. I can do that.”I already do.
He gets out, walks over ,and lets me out. When we walk to the door, it’s locked, so he lightly taps the glass. Seconds later, it opens and we are greeted by a tall, cinnamon sister with a head full of beautiful microlocs. Her smile is so warm and inviting.
“Mr. Hill. We just finished setting up for you two. Come on in,” she says before fully opening the door.
As soon as we enter the space, I realize it’s not a restaurant. It’s an enormous, gorgeous, state of the art kitchen with a massive Sub Zero fridge, several ovens, multiple sinks, and individual cooking stations all surrounding a large island. On the backsplash in the kitchen in large cursive letters is On the Table. My eyes dart between the space, him, and the pretty sista.
“What is this?” I ask.
“This is On the Table and I’m the head chef and owner, Aundricka. Welcome. We have a special cooking lesson designed for you tonight.”
“Cooking lesson? Tyriq! I’m not a cook; that’s all my mom. I’m a mean orderer though but that’s it.”
“You’ll like this lesson,” he assures.
“I’m sure you will too,” Aundricka says, still smiling. “Right this way.”
She leads us over to a rack filled with beige and gold aprons with the On the Table logo on front. There are also disposable chef’s hats nestled on top of the rack. Tyriq grabs an apron and drapes it over my head. He does the same for himself. I tie mine then help him tie his. Aundricka and I both laugh when he sees how small it looks on him. It practically stops at his waist.
“What?” he questions.
“The apron is short,” I say, still laughing.
“Sorry. We don’t have any longer ones. I need to rethink my apron sizes. I do suggest you both wear the hats; they heighten the cooking experience and make for cute social media posts,” she says.
“We are definitely wearing the hats.” Tyriq grabs two and hands one to me. I put mine on first then him and I hand my cell to Aundricka. “Can you please take our picture?” I ask.
“Of course. Side by side first so we can get the logo then let’s switch it up,” she suggests.
“I like that,” I agree.
We take a total of five pictures with different poses. Then we walk over to our station. As soon as I see the setup, a huge smile spreads across my face. I can’t hide it at all. We are making my favorite, popcorn. Along with ingredients and toppings, our cooking stations have three clear tubes filled with different popcorn kernels, a large popcorn tin with a label that reads Teaira’s Favorite Popcorn, and three clear, plastic popcorn bags with the same labels. My excitement can’t be contained. I practically leap into his arms but he catches me.
“We’re making popcorn!” I gush as I examine our cooking station.
“Yes. And it’s our first request like this. I was so delighted when I got the call. I hope we deliver,” Aundricka says.
While staring into his eyes, I say, “You already have.” I’m answering her but my words are meant for him, meant for the thoughtful man who made this happen. “Thank you,” I tell him before kissing him too nastily for watching eyes but I don’t give a damn.
“Save that for tonight,” he whispers in my ear.
“Oh, I definitely will.”
When we break apart, Aundricka is blushing but still smiling. “I take it we’re ready to get started?” she asks.
“I’m too ready. What kind of popcorn are we making?”
“We will be making three different gourmet popcorn flavors. Since he said you like the infamous Chicago mix, we will start with that one first. Then we will be making spicy ranch and truffle bacon. The chef in me is excited for the last one.”
“Me too,” Tyriq says.
