4
Kaden
You might not have noticed, but I was kind of an awkward guy. Big Jon called me adorkable. Which I supposed I was. I loved science fiction shows, anime, and going to comic cons dressed as Luke Skywalker. There was absolutely nothing about me a man like Orion could possibly find attractive. Was there?
He hadn’t seemed particularly keen on coming to this cooking class, but I had to admit, once he’d gotten a closer look at the tools of the trade, he seemed to perk up.
“Okay, let’s get started,” a man in a white chef’s coat said from the front of the room. “I’m Karl Timmons, head chef here at the Four Seasons, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you all to class. We’re going to prepare two dishes tonight, sure to whet your date’s appetite. There are aprons at your stations. Please put them on.”
I practically vibrated with excitement. In my Heart2Heart profile, I’d mentioned being interested in learning to cook Italian food. The powers that be must have taken note of my interest. Grabbing the apron, I slipped the neckpiece over my head and quickly tied the straps around my back. “Piece of ca—” My comment died on my tongue as I caught a look at Orion, who was having trouble putting on the apron. He held it upside down and was trying to put his right foot through the neck loop, all the while looking deeply confused.
“Here,” I said, taking the apron from him. “Let me help you.” I moved closer to Orion, reaching up on my tiptoes to put it around his neck. My chest brushed against his. Electricity burned through my body, making me feel like my blood had turned to lava. It wouldn’t be long before my cock joined the party. The last thing I wanted was for Orion to notice. “Turn around.” I spun him around and tied the strings around the center of his back. His heavily muscled, broad back. I wanted to lick him until I ran out of saliva. Clearing my throat, I pulled back from him. “All set.”
Orion grinned when he turned to see my deep blush. Christ, I felt like a teenager with my cheeks flaming and my dick half-hard in my pants.
“We’ll start with spaghetti and meatballs. You’ll find the written recipe at your stations. The first step is to make the meatballs, then move on to the sauce. I’ll be around to help out if you get stuck,” Chef Timmons said. “Make sure to handle the meatballs as little as possible. There’s nothing worse than gummy, overworked balls.”
“Amen, brother!” Orion called out. He turned to me and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
A giggle bubbled up. I slapped a hand over my face, which was beet red again. I was beginning to think a constant state of blush was par for the course with Orion. “I’ll get started on the sauce.”
“Uh,” Orion began, nibbling on his bottom lip. “I have no idea how to make meatballs.” It was his turn to blush. “I don’t know how the hell I ended up on a date at a cooking class.”
I could feel Orion’s anxiety. Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt. “Okay, we’ll work on it together.” Reaching for the ground meat and a glass bowl, I noticed Orion’s shoulders start to relax. I wouldn’t mind working out his knots later. He was built like a Greek god. Muscled. Solid. Drop-dead gorgeous. How the hell had I gotten matched up with this man? Was it dumb luck? Fate? The random push of a button? I didn’t know, and frankly, with him hovering behind me, our bodies millimeters apart, I didn’t care.
After giving my date a quick rundown on how to use measuring cups and spoons, Orion easily added the ingredients to the bowl. “What’s next?” he asked, sounding more confident.
“Now we have to mix the meat and roll the balls.” I winked, my dick reawakening with a vengeance. While I was nervous as hell around Orion, my dick wasn’t. It jerked in my pants, letting me know he was good to go. “First, we need to put on these gloves.”
Orion watched curiously as I snapped the gloves on. I was used to wearing them from working with old manuscripts in the library, but my date didn’t seem like he’d ever worn them before. He got them partway on before they got stuck on his thick fingers, the ends flapping like used condoms.
Taking his large, hot hand in my own, I smoothed out the wrinkles and pulled the latex up to his wrist. Taking a peek up at Orion, I noticed he was watching me with intent. Orion’s eyes were mesmerizing. I felt like he was hypnotizing me with his heated gaze. “You need to mix all of the ingredients together with both hands. Make sure to pull up what’s on the bottom of the bowl. Ready?”
With a nod, Orion sank his hands into the meat mixture. He reminded me of a kid making mud pies in the backyard. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he didn’t know how to cook. “Here, let me show you.” I slipped under his arm, my back against his chest. At least from this position, he wouldn’t be able to feel my erection. Hopefully, Orion would be feeling it later.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was on a blind date with a virtual stranger. I could think of a million horrifying ways this date could end if we ended up back at my place. I watched way too much true crime television for my own good. People survived one-night stands all the time. Didn’t they?
“You were saying?” Orion whispered in my ear. He moved against me, closing the distance between us.
His meaty erection slid against my ass. I moaned low in my throat. To my ears, it sounded more like a growl. Christ, I was way in over my head here. Taking a deep breath, I wrapped my hands around Orion’s and carefully demonstrated how to mix the meat with the egg, breadcrumbs, and grated parmesan cheese. Chef Timmons’s admonition not to overwork the meat played in my head, but with Orion doing a slow bump and grind, I couldn’t give two fucks about the food. If the meal sucked, we could call out for pizza from bed. Another giggle bubbled up.
“What’s funny?” Orion asked, his voice like a caress.
“I don’t care how the food comes out.” I turned back to Orion. His eyes glowed with naked lust. He wanted me, and I was of a mind to let him have his way, first date or not.
“Your meat is perfect, boys. Stop playing with it. Time to roll those balls,” Chef Timmons said with a knowing smirk.
Orion jolted against my back, seemingly as surprised by the chef’s appearance as I was. Reluctantly, I backed out of his arms. “Do you want me to show you how to make a meatball?”
“I think I’ve got it.” Orion grabbed a hunk of the mixture and rolled it to perfection before setting it on the cookie sheet.
“You really know your way around balls,” I said, hoping to get a rise out of Orion.
He shot me a wicked grin. One that said he wanted to eat me alive. “Shouldn’t you get busy with the marinara? If you don’t get cooking, all you’ll have to eat are my balls.”
My cock jerking in my pants, I gave Orion a saucy look. “Fine by me.” Okay, who the hell was I? It wasn’t like me to flirt like this, not even with the few boyfriends I’d had over the years.
Chuckling under his breath, Orion kept working, leaving me free to start working on the marinara. Taking off my gloves, I grabbed the can of whole plum tomatoes. The label identified them as being imported from the San Marzano region of Italy, which meant they were the best tomatoes on earth. I opened the can and carefully poured it into the sauce pot. I was going to hand-crush the tomatoes like I’d seen celebrity chefs do on television. The sauce would be chunkier this way. Setting the can back on the counter, I felt a flash of pain in my hand. “Ow! Shit!” My index finger was sliced from the tip to the first knuckle.
“Are you okay?” Orion asked, taking my hand in his.
“I cut myself on the jagged edge of the can.” How could I have been so careless? Orion brought me to the sink at our station and turned on the cold water tap. I watched helplessly as my blood sluiced down the drain. As Orion held my hand under the water, I felt my flesh begin to heat. Not with lust the way it had earlier, but as if my finger was burning from the inside out. I grimaced, burying my head against his shoulder.
“You’re just fine. See?” Orion asked, his voice tender.
I chanced opening my eyes and couldn’t believe what I saw. My finger was healed. It looked just like it had before I’d cut it. What the hell had Orion done to me?
“Is everything okay here?” Chef Timmons asked, checking out my finger.
“He just banged it against the can.” Orion smiled at the chef. “Kaden thought he was bleeding, but it was just tomato juice on his hand.”
The chef surveyed my hand and nodded. “Get back to it. The sauce isn’t going to cook itself.”
“Yes, Chef,” I said, unable to take my eyes off my miraculously healed finger. I was cut. I felt the lid slice my skin. I saw the blood. I pulled my hand back from the water and reached for a towel.
Orion owed me an explanation about what happened, but now wasn’t the time.