Chapter 1

Jason was a patient man, an understanding one; he had to be as a chef. And in his line of work, he’d just about seen it all. Even the most insane things can almost always be explained. But what he was observing was not one of those things.

“Michelle… What the hell are you doing?” Jason asked, watching the girl jump from side to side in front of the television. Her white pleated skirt swayed with her hips in a rhythm that matched the avatar on the screen. Her light brown hair bobbed with every move. Her bare feet danced across the floorboards.

“I’m training,” she responded without breaking eye contact with the screen.

“You call that training? It looks more like a video game to me,” Jason snapped back, finding a spot on the pleather couch. He had gotten good at knowing when Michelle was up to some kind of antics. All he was missing was some popcorn.

“It’s both. I can multitask.”

Jason could have criticised her, given a snarky retort, but he knew she was serious about training. He also knew that she was supposed to be taking it easier today anyway. She always pushed herself too hard. When would the girl learn to take a break? I guess that was par for the course for a tennis player.

“Well, don’t injure yourself,” Jason responded calmly.

The character on the screen stopped moving as Michelle froze. The motion controller she was holding fell to the ground as she spun around to face him.

“You think I could hurt myself playing this game?”

Jason avoided making eye contact. He knew he couldn’t answer honestly. If it were anyone else, he would have said it was impossible. But Michelle was an absolute klutz. He didn’t put it past her to somehow find a way to hurt herself. Where there was a will, there was a way, and Michelle had one hell of a will.

“Sometimes it’s better for me to keep my mouth shut.”

She paused the game to face him. Her cheeks were puffed out, showing her frustration.

“If you have time to tease me, does that mean lunch is ready?”

Jason ran a hand through his dark brown hair, a sly smile forming on his face.

“Perhaps.”

Michelle's frustration grew, and she began stomping on the spot.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

‘Because I was captivated by your beauty.’  Jason held himself back from speaking his thoughts. Her light blue eyes were captivating, enchanting. Just like every part of her. Perhaps that was why he fell in love with her in the first place.

“I thought you looked busy,” Jason replied, before quickly adding. “You were training after all.”

She finally stopped pouting and proudly rubbed her chin with her hand.

“I see you finally notice my worth,” she responded smugly. Although she was merely feigning pride, because deep down, she was freaking out.

'Oh my god! Oh my god! I can’t believe he was watching me. How embarrassing. I want to die. Gah! I love him so much.' She thought to herself. But like Jason, she could never admit this out loud.

“How about some lunch before you continue to train?”

Michelle was already drooling. She quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“Alright then. So? What is it?”

Jason slowly stood up and extended his hand like a prince offering his hand for a dance.

“Wanna see?”

It took Jason a second to process what he’d done.

'What the hell did I just do? What if she took it as a confession? I mean, it wouldn’t be wrong. But it was embarrassing as all hell. Especially since she would never love someone like me.' He mentally screamed at himself. He wanted to throw himself through a window.

Michelle was a professional tennis player. And he was just her personal chef. Someone who could be replaced at any time. Unlike her. Someone who was born to be a star. Someone like that was far beyond his league.

Instead of a cold rejection, she nodded. Slowly reaching her hand forward, for him to take.

“Can you show me what we are having?”

Jason could feel his cheeks warming up as he took her hand. It would have certainly given away his feelings for her. But Michelle was staring directly at the ground. If she made eye contact with him, then her own feelings would be exposed. For her face was just as flushed as his.

Jason led them back into the kitchen, where the meal was resting. Michelle took a seat at the island bench as Jason went over to the hotplate to serve up the meal. He lifted the lid off the wok, and a fragrant steam filled the air.

“Gosh, it smells even better up close.”

“Just wait until you see it.”

He scooped up the meal, setting it on a white plate, making sure that it was presented as well as he knew it would taste. You eat with your eyes after all. Once he was satisfied with its presentation, he brought it to Michelle and set it in front of her.

“It looks delicious!” Michelle drooled. “What is it?”

Having his culinary prowess appreciated, he proudly responded. “That there is chicken with Walnuts and straw mushroom stir fry.”

“Fancy.”

“Not really, if I wanted to be fancy, I’d have marinated the chicken overnight.”

Jason didn’t mention that he had, in fact, marinated it overnight. If he did, he knew she would ask why he went to such effort. He didn’t want to get drawn into a lengthy conversation about how it was because of her.

“Well, it smells amazing.”

'You smell amazing,' Jason was careful not to say out loud. Instead, he opted for a more measured response.

“Thank you, the smell comes from reducing the alcohol.”

Michelle dropped her fork, shock and horror all over her face.

“I hope you didn’t use too much. I need to be fit for tomorrow.”

Jason smiled warmly, reaching out and rustling her sweat-damp hair. Michelle stiffened for half a second before pretending she hadn’t.

“But of course. I burnt it off for the flavour. I believe in only cooking the best for the best.”

He didn’t think about what he was saying, what he was doing, until it was too late. HE recoiled his hand and glanced over at Michelle.

Her face was red.

Jason’s face turned red.

Even the stir‑fry looked embarrassed, thanks to the red capsicum.

“By best… I meant the best tennis player…” Jason fumbled over his own words as he shifted his gaze away.

“Of course, I knew that!” she fumbled back.

The two of them didn’t say much else as she began to shovel the food into her mouth. They were both too embarrassed by their own actions that they hadn’t even noticed each other's obvious feelings on clear display.

After a few bites of her meal, Michelle stopped and held out her fork in front of her.

“Broccoli?” she pulled a disgusted face.

“It’s good for you.”

“That’s still debatable,” she snapped back as she used her knife to push the broccoli aside.

“I get it, you just don’t want to eat my cooking,” he sniffled, faking tears.

“That’s not true,” she shovelled the broccoli into her mouth. The look of disgust never left her face as she finished the last piece and commented, “See! I like your cooking.”

Jason laughed. Resting his head against his hand as he observed her eat. He’d pulled this trick several times before, but she seemed to have never learnt. She remained adorably clueless.

One that he loved.

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End of Chapter 1