Chapter 3

Michelle slumped against the kitchen bench, her head resting on the countertop as Jason finished washing his hands.

“I’m so bored!” she groaned, balancing a pencil on her lip.

“Then do something,” Jason commented as he prepared the ingredients for his special fried rice.

“Can I help you prepare food?”

“No!” Jason replied without a moment of hesitation.

“Why not?” Michelle whined, sprawling even further down on the countertop.

Jason leaned over and flicked her forehead.

“Because there are lots of dangerous items in a kitchen.”

“What if I’m careful?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing the area Jason just attacked.

Jason doubted Michelle could be careful. She lacked the common sense to ever be considered safe in a kitchen. Still, the graceful way she moved on the court gave him pause.

“Well, fine then, I guess as long as you sit at the bench and follow my instructions, it’ll be alright.”

“Yay!” she squealed, throwing her hands up in the air. “What do you want me to do, boss?”

Jason was already beginning to have second thoughts.

“I’ll get you to mix the very secret fried rice sauce, beat the eggs and make sure all the ingredients are there,” Jason instructed.

'That should keep her busy and away from anything dangerous.’  He desperately hoped. Knowing how much of a klutz she was, he had no doubt she’d somehow find a way to cause an injury in the kitchen.

Michelle began meticulously going through everything, whilst Jason set aside the sliced bacon and started chopping the ingredients.

“Is everything there?” he asked, without looking up. He already knew the answer, but he thought he would play along to make it seem like she was actually assisting.

Michelle looked over the ingredients and noticed something she deemed ‘too vile’ to ever go in food. So she snatched up the bowl of broccolini and quickly moved it to one of the unoccupied island stools, hoping that Jason wouldn’t notice.

“Yep. All the ingredients are here,” she replied, poorly trying to deceive Jason.

Jason didn’t see what she did, but he had a very big hunch. Sure enough, a quick glance at the ingredients confirmed his suspicions.

“Put them back!” Jason scolded.

Michelle sulked as she returned the bowl to the island bench.

“Sorry. All the ingredients are here now.”

Jason smiled warmly and reached forward to rustle her hair.

“Good job.”

Her teeth began to grind, a nervous tic brought on by Jason’s touch. How she wished he’d perform these tiny actions more often. How she loved the touch of his gentle hands.

Jason began slicing the ingredients with a precision that was captivating to watch. He emptied the diced ingredients into the wok, letting out a loud sizzle, and after a few seconds, tossed the wok.

Flames licked up the side. He was so focused on preparing the food, he didn’t notice Michelle’s lingering gaze. She always loved watching him cook. He looked cool as he was absorbed in the ingredients.

“How do you ‘flippy’ the pan?” she asked.

“It’s a wok, and it's called tossing.”

“Are you calling me a tosser!” she started flailing her hands, and Jason was glad he didn’t pass her a knife.

“I’ll banish you back to being bored.”

“I’m sorry, it was just a joke.”

“I know.” Jason smiled before pausing to think.

“I guess it’s like how you can ace a serve.”

“With maximum force?” she responded.

Jason was reminded once more of how big an airhead she was.

“I mean, like experience. You learn how to do it. It becomes second nature.”

“So you can’t consistently serve an ace?”

“Of course I can’t!” He snapped back.

She looked genuinely shocked, because she was. She knew not everyone was good at serving; she wasn’t a complete idiot. Even a few of her fellow pro players weren’t that good, although she’d never name them. But she just assumed Jason could do it.

She spent a long time watching him, seeing how graceful he was in the kitchen, how meticulous he was with his portion sizes. She just assumed he could do anything. In her eyes, he was the perfect being. So, finding out he’d struggle to serve an ace was surprising to her.

“If it is so complicated, can you tell me what goes into preparing food?”

“A lot.”

“Stop keeping secrets!” she complained.

Jason let out a sigh that captured the regret he was now feeling.

“Well, there is a lot to consider. If I were just cooking for myself, I’d just prepare recipes that I enjoy.”

“And you don’t for me?”

“Nope.”

“Is it because you hate me?” Her eyes were watering up.

Jason rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the migraine she was causing him. He considered responding ‘yes’ just to see her reaction. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I don’t hate you.”

“So you love me?”

Jason almost burnt himself on the pan. He was tempted to deny it, pass it off as a joke, but at the same time, he couldn’t. His heart simply refused to reject her.

“Yeah, I like you, Michelle,” he admitted.

Michelle had spent an unhealthy amount of time planning that line. She calculated he would respond with a snarky response. So when he admitted he liked her, her brain began to malfunction, and her cheeks began to heat up.

“You like me?” she mumbled, avoiding all eye contact.

Jason expected his comment would make her flustered, not withdrawn. The way she mumbled was so cute that it made his heart almost beat out of his chest. How could she be so cute? Jason thought to himself.

“You asked what goes into preparing food…” Jason fumbled over his own words.

“Yes… I said that…” Michelle fumbled back.

They both laughed awkwardly. So fixated they were on their own embarrassing feeling for each other, neither picked up the obvious feelings of the other.

“Well, when preparing food, I have to consider many things to ensure you get the appropriate nutrition.”

“So is that why you put so much broccoli on my plate?” Michelle replied, pulling a disgusted face whilst eying off the broccolini.

“No, I give you so much because I like to see the face you make.”

“You bully!” Michelle complained, her eyes watering up.

“At your age, you should just eat them,” Jason lectured her like a disappointed parent. If she were just a bit closer, he might’ve flicked her forehead.

Michelle responded by crossing her arms. “But they are evil.”

Jason smirked at the girl who was far too expressive. He couldn’t help but feel the twang in his heart as he watched her freak out over the smallest of things.

“What I guess I’m saying is that I consider how your body will process the nutrients best,” Jason tried to de-escalate the conversation. He didn’t think his feelings could handle any more.

“So I guess you think about my body a lot.” She didn’t even process what she was saying until it was too late. She covered her mouth with her hands.

Jason felt the heat increasing in his cheeks and along his hand as he brushed up against the wok. He quickly dropped it, creating a loud clanging. Tiny bits of rice were scattered across the bench.

“Look what you made me do. Alright, out!” he ordered. He said all this without making any direct eye contact with her. Which was a shame because if he had, he would’ve seen Michelle’s true feelings on full display.

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End of Chapter 3