Chapter 35
thirty-five
ROWAN
I tap my finger on the steering wheel of my car as I drive to Ellie’s place. A container of cookies in the backseat, and Milo in the passenger.
I haven’t seen Ellie since we went out, but we’ve been texting back and forth, not missing a day. I could tell that we both felt weird after the couch incident. I figured it’d probably be best to give us some space, as much as I hated it.
She mentioned again that Charlie keeps texting her and that he’s not taking the hint that she doesn’t want to talk to him. At least, not right now. If she gave me full access to contacting him, I would tell him to crawl to the woman that he so desperately needed because Ellie wasn’t around enough.
I pull up to the house and put the car in park. I turn to look at Milo, his tongue hanging out, giving me a smile that dogs somehow do. My body twists when I lean back to grab the container, Milo sneaking a quick lick at my cheek, before placing the cookies on my lap.
“I don’t know if I should give these to her.” My gaze goes back to Milo, still smiling with his tongue out.
The night of the bonfire, I was looking for cookie recipes on my phone. I wanted to do something nice for Ellie. Maybe get her to miss the simplicity of desserts and baking. I’m sure I followed the recipe well enough.
If I can brew beer, then I'm pretty sure I can make decent cookies. I did not try one because I wanted Ellie to have the first one. I’m also scared they taste like shit. I know Ellie will tell me the truth and be gentle about it.
Milo and I walk up the driveway and to the gate that leads to the backyard. The greenery cascades over the path leading to the small guest house in the back.
Birds fly by, chirping and following each other. A bee sits on a bed of purple mums, causing Milo to stop and look at it. I whistle to him to keep walking. I take a minute to breathe before lifting my fist to knock on the glass door.
I made sure to let Ellie know I was stopping by, not wanting to show up unannounced. My heart eases when I see her walking up to us, a gorgeous smile on her face. I can see the tan lines on her shoulders from when we were on the boat. The ribbed tank top leaves nothing to the imagination while it shows off her golden skin.
The door swings open with a blast of cold air. “Hi!” She looks down next to me. “You brought Milo,” she says excitedly, kneeling to his level. “Hi, baby boy, I’ve missed you so much.”
I watch as he licks her face over and over. She attempts to give him a hug around his neck, but he’s too excited to sit still. She kisses the top of his head before standing up and walking back into the house.
I walk in with my arms open. “What, no hugs or kisses for me?”
Ellie turns around with a smile, rolling her eyes when she walks back to me. She pulls me in for a hug, her arms wrapping around my lower back. My arms are snug around her shoulder blades, and my nose buries itself in her hair, smelling rich vanilla.
When we break apart, our eyes stay on each other for a moment. I don’t mind this. I could do this all day. Her long hair braided and falling over one side of her shoulder, her freckles on full display on her bare skin.
Even wearing a simple shirt and cotton shorts, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. She breaks eye contact and looks at the container I’m holding, curiosity covering her face.
“What’s that?” She points to it.
“What’s what?” I keep my eyes on her.
“The container in your hand, dummy.” She points again and laughs.
I blink and pull myself back to reality. I look down at the container and remember what it was that I brought her.
“Oh, shit, yeah. I made these for you.” I hold out the container to her.
“Oh?” She grabs it, then gently shakes it. “What’s in it?”
I shrug. “You need to open it to find out.”
She bites the corner of her lip when she looks back down, pulling the lid off. She lets out a small gasp and looks back at me with a bright smile. Her eyes are soft, pure, and beautiful, like the ocean.
“You made me cookies?”
I nod and smile.
“Is this to make up for the interesting ‘date’ we had?” she teases.
I shrug. “I’ve wanted to make you cookies for a while now, and I looked up a recipe the night of the bonfire. I wasn’t sure when I wanted to until the terrible ‘date’ we went on.”
She angles her head and says, “It wasn’t terrible.”
I look down to the floor, smiling, trying to hide the blush that's creeping up on me because I’m a fucking teenager all over again.
“Now, I’m going to try one of these, and I’m sure it’s going to be amazing .”
I peer back up at her and scrunch my nose. “They’re probably going to taste like shit. I haven't tried one yet.”
She smells inside the container. “You didn’t poison these or anything?”
“No, but they’re definitely coated with a lot of love and apologies.”
She picks one up and inspects it and I’m suddenly extremely nervous. I watch her carefully as she takes a bite out of it, a generous one at that. Maybe too generous. Probably should have stuck with a nibble.
I watch her start to chew slowly, and her eyes squint but then open back up, and I’m almost positive she’s going through the five stages of grief.
“Mmm.” She looks up at me, plastering on the fakest smile I’ve ever seen her make. “Ro, these are delicious,” she says with a mouthful of half-chewed cookie.
I narrow my eyes at her and start to laugh at how ridiculous she looks, trying to lie through her teeth. I grab a cookie, desperate to see how these taste, and holy shit, these are atrocious. I walk to the garbage can and spit the cookie out of my mouth. It doesn’t even deserve to be swallowed.
I motion to the garbage. “Ellie, spit it out.”
She furrows her brows, trying to finish the cookie because she has a heart of gold. She shakes her head and waves me off.
“Ellie, please spit it out.”
She waves me off again. “It’s fine.”
I cross my arms and look at her. She’s smiling at me the entire time through slow chews and small bites.
“The best cookie ever.” She points to it and still has an entire half left.
I watch her in pain, trying to make me happy and not hurt my feelings. She puts the entire other half in her mouth like she’s trying to get it over with and chews furiously like she’s angry.
I have tears in my eyes at this point because watching this is comical and sad at the same time. She swallows the last bit and forces a smile on her face.
“Ellie, it’s okay, they were terrible.” I wipe my eyes.
She walks over to me. “No, they were so good! I mean, they can definitely use some work. I think you missed a step, but they were good.”
I look at her, and my cheeks hurt so much from the laugh attack I just had over a fucking cookie.
“Well, I would love to know where I messed up.”
She taps her finger on her pink lips, looks around the kitchen, and then looks back at me. “How about you make cookies with me, and I can show you?”
“When?”
“Right now.”
“Right now?” I ask.
“Right now.”
“I’m going to be a terrible student.”
“In my kitchen, no one is a terrible student. Now, let’s get to work.”