Chapter 8
The light flickered once, twice before it gave up and half of my room became dark.
“Oh, fuck me,” I muttered.
But I was prepared. I grabbed a spot out of our stash of lamps and a chair from the kitchen. Changing a spot couldn’t be that hard. I saw Theo do it once. This would be fine. Until I stood on the chair and couldn’t reach the ceiling.
“Oh, fuck me!”
My options were rather limited. Should I wait for Theo to come and help me? He wasn’t coming today, and making him come all this way for a lamp seemed a bit excessive. My dad? He’d come from even farther. For a second, I pondered over if I should study in Jasmine’s room. That would barely be a temporary solution. I sighed. Fine . I knocked on the door. It didn’t matter which one would open. There was some shuffling, then Danté appeared. His brows shot up.
“Oh, ‘sup Squirrel.”
I kept from calling him Alighieri. After all, I needed him.
“Hi, do you have a ladder?”
“A ladder?”
“You know, a device that makes you able to reach higher.”
Danté hooked his thumbs in the loops of his faded jeans, his tongue pressing against his cheek. He always looked so much softer in light-coloured clothes. Unlike the cheeky devil that he was on the inside. It was that devilishness that I liked.
“I am aware of what it is. I was more intrigued by why you would need one.”
“One of the lamps in my bedroom stopped working.”
“To answer your question, we don’t have a ladder here. But maybe I can help.”
He was a full head taller than I was, so it could work. I nodded.
“I’d appreciate that.”
He followed me inside my bedroom. It wasn’t that I was a messy person or anything, but having him inside my own bubble felt rather weird. Danté looked at the spot and got on the chair. Yep. He could reach it without any problem. There went my dream of being an independent woman. His shirt moved up enough for me to get a glimpse of the smooth skin and the muscles moving underneath. And boy, did I want to find out if his skin was as soft as it looked. Focus, Evy! I shined some light with my phone. He motioned me to give him the new light bulb. While he was changing it, he stood awfully close to the edge of the chair.
“Make sure not to fall off the chair. I don’t have the strength nor the driver’s license to get you to the ER if you break your ankle.”
He tsked. “Glad to hear you care so much about my well-being,” he shot back without looking at me.
When he was done, Danté got down from the chair. Or he almost fell down off it, was more like it. My heart plummeted to the floor just like he did. I caught him by the middle and almost ended up on the ground too.
“What did I tell you?”
Was he always so clumsy? I had never noticed it before, but I had never seen Danté doing much more than standing or sitting. He patted my head like one would pat a child.
“We’re still standing.”
Realizing I was practically hugging him, I let go, clearing my throat. A mocking smile tilted the right corner of his mouth.
“You can breathe, Squirrel. You don’t have to bring me to the ER today.”
Why did that sound like it was something that would happen eventually? Please, let the ER not be our thing. He pushed on the switch, and the light was back. I let out a happy squeal. Who needed to be an independent woman when the light was back thanks to the cute neighbour? That was a joke. It sucked balls to have to ask such basic tasks to someone who had a penis. Not that I could complain with Danté here.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Instead of leaving, he leaned over the desk. He skimmed through the pages of my lessons and papers.
“Impressive,” he finally said.
“Not as much as you knowing the whole body.”
He looked up, and I found myself blushing.
“I meant bones and muscles.”
An evil grin spread across his face. Shit .
“I didn’t ask for a clarification, but thank you for insinuating I know my way with a woman.”
I flapped some wind at my face. This was ridiculous, so why was that exactly how I saw him? Many of those girls came back for more, so obviously he had to be good. I’d come back just for the soft, low voice and the eyes that promised nothing but trouble. Oh yeah, and a cute round butt was definitely a nice bonus.
“Oh, you know, I love to inflate one’s ego. A deflated ego means a deflated dick.”
It seemed like a valid nindō to have, though I wasn’t sure Naruto would be proud of it. Poetry had never been my forte.
“How considerate.”
I flashed him a grin. “Yes, I wouldn’t want you to have that misery.”
Danté let out a breathy laugh. His eyes turned into crescent moons, and that adorable dimple made its appearance. How could one be hot and adorable at the same time? It seemed like an interesting formula, but as I had always sucked at mathematic formulas, I just loved the result without losing too much thought about it. Danté put his hands together and made a mock bow.
“I am forever grateful.”
“You are so very welcome.”
We went back to the living room. Before he could leave, I ran to the kitchen to grab the cookie jar and offered him a chocolate chip cookie.
“As a thank you for your precious help.”
He let out an appreciative hum. Danté and sweets had always been a love story.
“Self-made?”
“Always.”
His brows slightly scrunched. Danté hesitated before taking one that had the least amount of chocolate in it. So he wasn’t a fan of chocolate but was too polite to tell me no.
“I’ll see you around.”
I waved and waited until he was back in his apartment before closing the door. How was it that he made perfect scores when he wasn’t even in the competition?
***
A spoonful of lemon zest and a drizzle of honey made most things in life better. Though every test cake I had made had been fine the last few days, there was always something off. So instead of doing a lemon frosting, I put a honey glaze over the baked goods. And it smelled heavenly. Jasmine’s hand ventured too close to the cake, and I had to pat it away. She still managed to get a little chunk of it, humming.
“This one is perfect, Eves. The cardamom gives it a nice dimension.”
Theo also tried to take a piece of cake, but this time, I was prepared. I hit his hand with my spatula. He yelped; no piece of cake was lost. Theo shot his girlfriend a desperate look and got a cackle as response.
“You ought to have better timing when stealing from Evy.”
I took a bite from the cake, analysing the taste. The proportions were just right. The cardamom gave it a nice little twist. Had I added more, it would’ve tasted like perfume.
“Alright, I’ll quickly change and we can go to the market,” Jasmine said before vanishing.
Theo shot me a glance. I got more of those the last few weeks, so I ignored him until he glanced at me again.
“What?” I asked, his behaviour unsettling me.
Suddenly he couldn’t look in my direction anymore. It had been a while since he and I had spent time together, just the two of us. Jasmine and Theo were a duo, just like Jasmine and I were. The Theo-Evy duo had ceased to exist, so when it was just the two of us, I didn’t know what to say. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one to feel that way.
“Stop being so mysterious and just tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I hoped to go to the market with Jasmine, just the two of us.”
For a few seconds, I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like I had asked to go with them in the first place. Theo saw something shift on my face and immediately shook his hands in front of him before I even opened my mouth.
“I know she asked you to come. She always does.”
And he never did. I couldn’t remember the last time he actually asked me to come. Theo’s expression turned sad; he knew his words hurt me.
“Evy, you know that I love you. I just want to go outside with my girlfriend every now and then, and not with my two best friends.”
“Well, maybe you should tell her if it bothers you,” I snapped.
My eyes went wide as my tone became harsh, and so did his. Unlike with Jasmine, Theo and I never fought. Jasmine and I were both fire, he was soothing water. Me snapping at him was something that hadn’t happened in years.
“I know. I’m not implying that you did anything wrong. Jasmine can’t plan something without having you in it. You guys are like twins. But I’m not dating you…”
My shoulders sagged. That was probably something that was bound to happen while growing up, I guess. I had never wanted to interfere or be their eternal third wheel. Especially since it bothered Theo to have me around twenty-four seven.
“Fine, I’ll stay.”
“You don’t mind?”
I didn’t mind not going. I understood where he was coming from. What I did mind was that he had waited so long before telling me this was how he felt. Not that I could blame him. Theo had never been one to hurt others. He was too kind for that. So I just shrugged.
“Enjoy your date.”
I took another bite of my cake. His eyes lingered on it, and I couldn’t resist giving him a petty smile.
“But no, you still can’t have my cake.”
Theo engulfed me in a bear hug. It had been so long since it had been just him and me.
“You’re a bitch,” he muttered in my hair. “But know that I still love you as much.”
“So are you.”
My eyes prickled, but I wouldn’t cry. None of us needed that right now. Jasmine cleared her throat, and in the blink of an eye, the moment was gone. She observed us with a frown.
“Did I miss something?”
My friend’s mouth opened, probably to tell her what we just talked about, but I quickly intervened. There was no need to go that way and ruin their afternoon.
“No, nothing. I just told Theo to enjoy the market.”
“You’re not coming with us?”
I shook my head, smiling. “I need to write my recipe down. You can go.”
Jasmine looked at Theo and me, unsure of what just happened. When she wasn’t focused on us anymore, Theo mouthed a quiet thank you. Once they were both gone, I looked at my dessert.
“At least I have you, buddy.” Then I plopped down on the couch, ready to eat away the afternoon.