Chapter 8 #2
But that was harder than he’d anticipated. His dreams had been filled with steamy visions of Staci in his arms on the beach. He’d been tormented by the memory of her soft warm body wrapped around his.
“You’re up, Remy. Three mains.”
He started cooking, remembering making love to Staci and when he plated his dish he knew he’d created something that had its roots in what they had both experienced together. He sent the dishes out with the waiter and tried not to stand there like a first time chef.
None of the dishes came back and the rest of the night passed in a blur.
Soon they were back in the Premier Chef kitchen.
There was a tension in the stew room as they waited to be called in front of the judges.
Staci jotted notes frantically in her journal.
Others drank water like it was cheap vodka. Finally Fatima entered the room.
“We’re going to do individual judging first and then teams. We’d like to see Vivian, Remy and Gail.”
Remy got to his feet more nervous than he wanted to be. He knew he’d cooked a great dish but he hadn’t exactly hit a home run with the judges thus far.
“Now it’s time to see if we’re the winners or the losers,” Vivian said. “But if we’re the bottom three then there is something wrong with them. I know I didn’t screw up today.”
“We will just have to see,” Remy said.
“Yes, we will.”
They entered the judging room where a long table sat with the three judges behind it.
Fatima took her spot next to them and Jack, the director gave them all marks to stand on.
In this moment he really resented the fact that this was a TV show.
He wanted them to just deliver the news—good or bad.
But they had to be set up and then wait.
Eventually, the production crew were in their spots and Fatima smiled at them. “Congratulations, the three of you had the top dishes.”
“I know that,” Vivian muttered.
Relief coursed through Remy. He was very happy to know that he’d made a good showing today. A part of him, just a tiny part felt bad that Staci wasn’t in here. But perhaps being the leader of her team had distracted her from cooking.
The judges all took turns telling them why they liked their dishes before Fatima announced that Remy had won the challenge.
“From the first dish you put up, we knew you could cook,” Hamilton said. “But tonight you showed us something fresh and new. Good job.”
“Thank you, chef.”
“You’re welcome,” Hamilton said.
“We need you to send back a few of your colleagues.”
“Certainly,” Remy said.
They asked to see Tony, Ashley and Conner.
Remy had a feeling that Conner might be going home.
Although he had no idea how bad Ashley’s dish was.
Tony’s dessert hadn’t set right but Remy had tried it and presentation aside it had tasted really good.
He was thrilled they didn’t ask to see Staci.
He wanted her to stay in the competition.
He wondered if their date had been a distraction for her.
And decided he’d keep his distance as she clearly wanted him to.
They returned to the stew room and sent the three chefs to see the judges after Remy announced he’d won.
“I heard them raving about your dish,” Staci said when he sat down.
“The judges?” he asked.
“No. The diners. There wasn’t one who didn’t talk about the main and how delicious it was. I thought that must be Remy’s dish. Did you make them what you made for me?”
“No,” he said. “That was just for you, ma chère. But I did use the advice you gave me. By talking about food and memories you reminded me that there is more to cooking than technique.”
Staci smiled. “Given that you won, maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.”
“Maybe you should have.”
“I’m glad I didn’t,” she said.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Now that you’ve upped your game everyone has and the competition feels more unpredictable. These challenges really shake us up and force us to focus on the food. That gets lost in the day-to-day working of the kitchen, you know?”
“I do indeed,” he said.
The three chefs re-entered the kitchen and they were told that Conner had the least favorite dish and was going home.
“They want to see the rest of you,” Conner said. “The cook-off will be between the bottom three on the losing team. Good luck, guys.”
Everyone said goodbye to Conner and then they all went back to the judges room.
The comments started out harsh but then ended on an upbeat note.
The contestants were given a chance to defend themselves but everyone owned up to their mistakes.
The women lost the round and Staci, Kristi and Whit were the bottom three.
STACI WON HER QUICK COOK with Kristi going home, but the next week was back in the bottom three again.
A part of her wanted to blame Remy but he’d kept away from her which was all she’d wanted.
They had a free day and Staci knew she should be in the kitchen practicing but she had the feeling her head was getting in her way.
It was as if she’d forgotten all the things she really knew about cooking.
Remy walked up to her where she sat in the living room watching Sponge Bob with Dave.
“Pack your bathing suit and meet me out back in ten minutes.”
“Um...why?”
“Because it’s our day off and we need to talk and to get out of this house.”
Remy had won the last two weeks and he was clearly hitting his stride at the right time. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“Go get changed. The clock is ticking,” he said.
She wasn’t sure that going out with him was a wise idea but ignoring him hadn’t exactly been working for her either.
She pushed to her feet and went to change.
Putting on her black bikini and covering it up with a pair of denim shorts.
She grabbed her sunglasses and put on a pair of Roxy flipflops before heading out back to meet Remy.
He’d swapped clothes for a pair of blue board shorts and left his shirt off.
Oh, the man was ripped. His chest muscles drew her attention and she didn’t want to look away.
It was the first time she’d seen his chest. She’d touched him, true enough, but now she knew what he looked like.
She understood why he’d said the next time they made love it would be in a bed.
She wanted the chance to explore his body, too.
He glanced over at her as she approached, his gaze skimming over her body. “Ready?”
“Yes,” she said. “What are we doing?”
“You’ll see. I arranged for us to go sailing.”
“I’m not really that proficient on a boat.”
“That’s okay. I hired a crew.”
“Can you afford that?” she asked.
“Let me worry about that,” he said. When they got to the beach he directed her toward the pier where there were a number of yachts tied up. Suddenly she was feeling a bit underdressed in her bikini top and denim shorts but Remy took her hand in his and led the way to a large yacht.
He helped her onboard and directed her to a padded bench in the back of the boat. “I’ll be right with you.”
“Um...where are we going?” she asked.
“Away from the world,” he replied disappearing below deck. She took a seat where he’d directed her and tried to relax. It was harder than she’d expected because she felt unsure of what Remy was up to.
He’d been keeping to himself for weeks, now they were on a luxury yacht. She took out her cell phone and texted Alysse.
Staci: You’ll never guess where I am.
Alysse: Where?
Staci: On a yacht...with Remy. Is this a mistake? Tell me to jump overboard and swim for shore.
Alysse: Ha. Stay there and enjoy your time with him. The competition is just heating up and he must like you if he’s wooing you.”
Staci: I’m scared.
Alysse: Men are like that. Remember how afraid I was to trust Jay.
Yeah, but Jay loved Alysse. Jay had come back to town to win her friend’s heart and make a new life with her. This was totally different. She heard footsteps and glanced up to see Remy approaching with a champagne glass in each hand.
Staci: TTYL
Alysse: Like I said, relax and enjoy it.
Staci doubted that was going to happen. She’d let Vivian’s words and her own natural reticence take over and she knew that it was going to be hard to be calm around Remy.
She didn’t know if he was sincere even though he did seem to be.
But then she’d never had a good radar to judge when a man was lying.
She put her cell phone back in her bag as Remy sat down next to her and handed her the champagne. “I realize we should be dressed more formally but I didn’t want to give my surprise away.”
“And what exactly is your surprise?” she asked as the boat’s engines were fired up.
“A day out at sea, just the two of us. I took the liberty of securing permission with Jack for us both to be gone until ten tonight.”
“All day at sea?” she asked.
“I thought we could go swimming and sunbathe. And just have a chance to get to know each other away from the house. A chance to take a break without thinking about the competition,” he said.
“You know the water in the Pacific is cold unlike the Gulf of Mexico,” she warned him.
“I do. I have wet suits for us both. Have you ever tried spear fishing?” he asked.
“No. Have you?”
“Yes. In the Bahamas with my grandfather. I’d like to show you,” he said.
In for a penny, in for a pound. “Why not? Given the way I’ve been cooking I could go home next week and then I wouldn’t see you again, would I?”
“At least not until the competition is over. I can’t think beyond that but I do know that I want to enjoy every moment with you,” he said.
“And I think you want the same. That’s why ignoring each other isn’t working for us.
We need to pay attention to this part of ourselves.
You are constantly on my mind and my body aches for yours, ma chère. ”
“You seem to have done a good job of ignoring your desires and cooking up a storm,” she said.
“That’s an illusion,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. A part of her had missed him too but she really had her hands full. All of her energy either went to cooking or ignoring him. Maybe he had a point about why that wasn’t working.
He handed her the champagne flute and lifted it to her. “To new beginnings.”
“New beginnings,” she said, taking a sip of the champagne as they sailed farther away from the shore. “Where exactly are we going?”
“Trust me,” he said. “The captain said we have a thirty minute ride to where we will try fishing. Why don’t we sunbathe?”
“Okay but this is nice.”
“It is but I want to see all of you,” he said.
“All of me?” she asked, realizing he was talking about her denim shorts. “And maybe help me put on some sunscreen?”
He laughed. “I’m obvious, aren’t I?”
“A little.”
“It’s true I relish the thought of running my hands over your curvy body. You need to relax. I’ve never seen anyone more tense than you are with each passing day.”
“I’m struggling to find some balance. And it’s hard to always be on your guard around all the contestants.”
“Do you miss your roommate?” he asked.
Recently, Vivian had been the eighth chef to be sent home. “I do. She was funny and I could count on her to lighten the mood. I’m not looking forward to being alone in my room.”
“If this afternoon goes well, perhaps I’ll ask to be your new roommate.”
“You will do no such thing. I don’t want to be gossiped about.”
“Why does gossip bother you so much?” he asked. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned it.”
“It bothers everyone. No one wants to hear their name whispered behind their backs.”
“We aren’t doing anything wrong,” he said.
“I know. But I’d rather keep it private,” she said. “Between us.” She couldn’t help but admit that if for some reason her track record with men held true and Remy ended up breaking her heart and leaving her, she didn’t want the cast of Premier Chef to know she’d been burned by love. Again.