Chapter 6

The dawn broke on the valley green. Jason always loved the morning. It was quiet. Peaceful even. This was his time. A time when he could go a bit slower.

Making breakfast for Michelle was always easy. He barely had to do anything. He could take his time and enjoy a nice warm drink. Maybe even read the local paper he picked up from the petrol station on the way over.

What could be more perfect than that?

He went over to the coffee machine. Oh, what a splendid machine. If Jason ever stopped being a chef, he would be a barista. The art of coffee making was the only thing more splendid than meal preparation.

Alas, it was a skill he did not possess; he only knew how to make it how he liked. He brewed a cup. The perfect aroma of the coffee beans filled the air. The steam whirled in the cool morning air.

Jason leaned in and took in a whiff. As Jason expected, it was perfect.

“You’re doing something weird again, aren’t you?”

Michelle’s voice made Jason jump, almost causing him to spill his drink. He turned to see her entering the kitchen via the outside door.

“What are you doing up?” Jason asked, setting his cup down so he wouldn’t spill it.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a jog.” She glanced at his cup. “Whatcha making?”

“I was going to enjoy the morning by having a nice cup of coffee.”

“Coffee? Eww.” Michelle pulled a disgusted face.

“Blasphemy!” Jason screamed, waving his finger in the air as if to exorcise the demon that compelled her to say such things.

“But it smells yucky, and it is poo coloured,” she stuck her tongue out once again as if she was gagging. “Why do you drink it?”

“Because I like it.” Jason didn’t mention that his caffeine dependency had grown ever since he took on being her personal chef. Whatever got him through the day. Some chefs turn to cigarettes or alcohol. He turned to a slightly less destructive coping mechanism.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” She shrugged. “Given I’m not allowed to drink that stuff due to my strict diet. Such a shame.”

“What do you mean?” Jason asked, smiling with nothing but pure malice. He’d normally let this slide, but after she uttered such hurtful things, he wanted to hold her accountable.

“Well, I’m sure it goes against my strict diet. So I’ll just have to drink a hot chocy instead.”

Jason went to put the kettle on. “Oh no, caffeine isn’t against your diet.”

“Really?!” She looked startled, clearly not expecting this response.

“Actually, there have been a few studies saying it may even be good for tennis players.”

Michelle’s face drained of colour. She dreaded that Jason was about to force her to drink coffee. She had just managed to sign a peace agreement with broccoli. Her mental arsenal was depleted of having new foods now.

“So you are saying I should have coffee from now on?” she hesitantly asked. Her eyes were locked onto Jason, making sure he didn’t try to pull anything under her nose.

“Absolutely not. I’m slightly terrified by the thought of you caffeine-wired.”

Michelle sat in silence, processing Jason's words. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” She screamed.

Jason laughed, although he missed the chance to quietly enjoy the morning with the paper, he more than made up for it by teasing the girl he loved.

“So you want to try coffee?” Jason turned away from the kettle to face her. He raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t say that.” Michelle began to sweat profusely. She really didn’t want to try coffee.

“You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to make you a coffee.” He reached forward and pulled a few times on her ponytail. “I doubt you’ll like it anyway.”

She ducked down, escaping his grasp. Grabbing her head. “Of course I’ll like it. I like everything,” she pouted before she could think about what she was signing up for.

“Five bucks says you don’t like it.”

“You’re on!” Despite this faux confidence, Michelle was panicking. Not because of the money but because she was scared of disappointing Jason. She wanted to prove she was the best. To match how she viewed him. Perfect.

Jason went to the machine and fixed up another cup of coffee. He already knew Michelle would hate it. She had a sweet tooth. Coffee would be way too bitter for her. He added a few extra scoops of sugar to give her a fighting chance.

“Alright, mademoiselle, here is your coffee.”

Jason set the cup down in front of her. She looked down at the cup, as dark as death. How could he actively put this poison in his body? It looked awful.

“And I just have to have a nice sip, right?” She tried her best to weasel her way out of the bet.

Jason picked up on this instantly and smiled wickedly.

“You said you’d enjoy it. I think that means you’d finish it, don’t you?”

“But of course… I look forward to it…” she poorly lied.

She took a sip. Instantly, she scrunched up her face, and her tongue rolled out of her mouth.

“Well?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows, knowing he was five dollars richer.

“I love it,” she responded, her eyebrow still twitching, unable to mask her disgust.

“You clearly don’t…” Jason used his fingers to make air quotes, “love it.”

“What do you mean?” she placed the cup on the counter. “I love it so much.”

She looked away before she could finish speaking, which Jason knew only further supported his case. That, and the sweat that was forming on her face. Jason couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to further tease her.

“Well, if you like it so much, I’m sure you’ll have no issue finishing the drink.”

“Of course.” She turned to look at the nearly full cup of coffee. “I would love…”

She pulled another disgusted look and instinctively pushed the cup away from her.

“You know you are a terrible liar; you can’t keep anything from me.” He spun back to the kettle and poured out another drink. “I’ll make you a hot chocolate now.”

“I managed to keep my feelings for you secret,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Jason spun around, having missed what Michelle had said.

“I didn’t say a-anything!” she stuttered, her face bright red. Jason caught the redness of her face, but instead of noticing it as a blush, he figured it was just another reaction to the coffee.

Meanwhile, Michelle was spiralling in her mind about what she had just confessed. How could she do something so impulsive? It was as if there was some unknown force that propelled her to act this way.

Why did she say that? She thought to herself as the room began to dance around her.

What she couldn’t know was that she was a coffee lightweight. She was already caffeine buzzed. The caffeine had acted as the liquid courage needed to confess her feelings.

Jason, meanwhile, had finished making the hot chocolate. He brought it over to the bench and placed it in front of her.

“Thank you, but I also don’t want to waste the coffee you made,” her tender fingers wrapped around the coffee cup. She looked somewhat dazed.

Without thinking, Jason scooped the cup out of her hands and took a sip.

“There we go, it’s not going to waste now.”

Something wasn’t right… Jason replayed the events of the last few seconds over again in his head. It was only after the third replay that he caught up to the fact that he had just had an indirect kiss with Michelle.

He felt his heart rate increase.

He glanced over to Michelle, worried about what her reaction would be.

The caffeine had worn off, and she had fallen asleep before he brought the cups to his lips.

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End of Chapter 6