A Delightful Taste, From a Sweet Victory

I’d just put the finishing touches on my extravagant dinner when the sound of the door opening could be heard throughout our dorm room.

The meal itself was a few cuts of very expensive steak, a number of nutritious side options, and my garlic bread that had become famous back home. The steaks were mine as a result of winning the start of term culinary competition the other day, which I was beyond proud of.

“Smells incredible.” Ria said, rushing over to help me move the dishes towards the dining table.

“Thanks, Tea.” She said in a lower tone as she got closer, her eyes brimming with appreciation and pride.

I smiled and set down the side salad I’d prepared, glancing at Liam who had joined Ria in helping.

They looked so natural together, even at a glance. So much so that I immediately abandoned my half baked plan of pretending Liam wasn’t worthy of dating my ‘daughter’.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever really intended on committing with messing around, but I was now much more intent on enjoying the positive atmosphere.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Liam.” He said formally as he joined me standing by the table.

I knew that they must have walked through the near blizzard outside to get here, yet I noticed that his hair was straightened, as if a certain someone had run her fingers through it before entering.

“I’m Tea, though you probably know that already.” I said, smiling and gesturing for the two of them to sit next to each other across the table from me.

“Did you make all of this on your own?” He asked, looking a little less on edge, and a lot more impressed now that he’d settled in.

“Yeah.” I said, about to elaborate if not for Ria’s addition.

“She’s incredible, the best chef in the world.”

I glowered at her for clearly overstating my talents.

“Well, at least the best on campus, we know that now for a fact.” She elaborated, before explaining my competition win to Liam.

“Do you plan on becoming a chef after school?” He asked as we all started eating.

“Maybe a private chef for a certain athlete and her partner.” I said, unable to resist a little teasing after all.

I enjoyed seeing the sudden redness take over their faces, but the cherry on top was the fact that both of them seemed to like the idea that had been little more than a far-fetched dream in my mind.

There were still far too many things that had to go right for that to happen, but maybe someday it could be more than a dream.

“I saw your article,” I said, pointing at Liam with the fork that had just conquered the salad on my plate.

“Were you trying to get on my good side or what?” I was only half joking, but the sudden change in his writing style wasn’t lost on me. If he was abusing his work as a way to get in our good graces…

“It’s a new method I wanted to try, turning a bad result into a redemption story.” He said in between bites of steak.

I nodded, pleased with the explanation, and feeling grateful for the looks of pure delight on their faces as they ate.

It was obvious as I watched, but both of them made sure to put into words just how good the meal was.

I’m unsure if I ever felt as complete as I did in that moment, with Ria the happiest I’ve ever seen her, and my food being at least part of the reason her and her partner were so overjoyed.

My phone lay forgotten in the other room as the meal went on, peacefully and merrily.

Ria, the Ria that I’d known for so long, loved, trusted, and supported for so long, was in love.

The expression on her face every time she looked at him, the way their eyes met and held for just a little too long, the way they’d slowly shifted towards each other throughout the meal without noticing.

It was beautiful.

Ria was happy, is happy.

And that was all I could ever hope for.

It truly was a delightful taste, from a sweet, sweet victory.