Chapter 12 Failed Attempt
Cecil eyed the instructions on the cellphone Sin had bought him, frowning as he read them for the third time and still failed to understand at least half of what was being said.
Which pretty much meant he didn’t understand a damn thing, because not knowing what a word meant during a step, kind of made it hard to follow.
How had Cecil gone from helping to cooking dinner himself?
! He hadn’t even helped that first time he offered over a week ago, it was more that he’d just stood there and watched closely.
Yep, he’d just supervised, as in he did absolutely nothing and stared, because cooking was not a life skill he had even attempted to develop.
Like, where exactly had his confidence come from, and could it stay the fuck away, because he wasn’t sure what the hell had possessed him to tell Sin he wanted to make dinner the other day.
Oh, that’s right, he’d been thinking, how can I say thank you for feeding me, clothing me, and buying me shit without actually saying it?
! And the only idea that had come to mind was trying to make Sin’s favorite food.
Which had led him to this current crisis, after picking a day to cook, and sending Benji to fetch ingredients.
Cecil’s gaze flicked down to the stack of sealed packets of salmon, then to the multiple bags of squid rings, and he sighed, before taking a few calming breaths.
He could search to see what the words meant and then…
Videos! He’d watch some videos! Yes, videos, the savior of amateur cooks…possibly. What the hell did he know?! Cecil had never cooked a damn thing in his entire eighteen years of life.
No, he could do this! Really, how hard could it be to make baked salmon and fried calamari?
Practice, and practice alone, kept the neutral expression on Sin’s face as he eyed the black charred mess on the various plates Cecil had set on the table. Half of them looked to hold large burnt chunks, while the others…blackened strands…rings?
Sin was honestly struggling to remember what the arcadian had said he was making, if he had even told him at all, and he certainly had no clue what he was looking at.
He and the other ten people in the room remained quiet, before Benji, in the fakest, cheerful voice he’d ever heard from the vampire, said, “It looks so…good, ha…”
Cecil remained quiet, but his cheeks, which had already been red, deepened in color, as the arcadian was clearly embarrassed.
Roth cleared his throat. “So…what is it?”
The young man murmured something, but Cecil’s words were too quiet for even Sin’s ears to pick up.
“What was that?” the redhead pressed.
“Baked salmon and calamari,” Cecil blurted.
Sin smiled despite the oncoming charcoal to his tastebuds, because how could he not? The arcadian had attempted to make his favorite foods. Disaster or not, it was the thought that counted, and he couldn’t help but be pleased by it.
With a smile still on his face, Sin picked up a charred piece of calamari, as Cecil rasped, “Ah–maybe—” The arcadian cut off on a wince as Sin tossed it into his mouth, the crunch audible as he chewed.
It tasted about as awful as it looked.
When Benji popped a piece in his mouth and began to choke, Cecil cried out, “Let’s just order pizza or something!”
The young man’s words were followed by what sounded like a collective sigh of relief from the rest of the people at the table.
Sin chuckled as the arcadian covered his face with a groan.
“It probably would be for the best. Don’t feel bad, it was your first time, and calamari is not an easy dish to make.
Not to mention, this isn’t the first time someone has set plates of charcoal on the table, and it likely won’t be the last. We appreciate the attempt though. ”
He smiled when Cecil just groaned again, pushing the plates in front of him out of the way as he flopped onto the table and buried his face in his arms.
The arcadian was honestly too adorable for words. At the same time, he knew it would be best if he didn’t try to apply any special meaning to Cecil trying to cook his favorites.