diecinueve.

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(tw: mild violence in this chapter. nothing to write home about, but be warned.)

Reluctantly Valerie was packed into the same black BMW she arrived in and Brian chauffeured her home.

Luca stayed in his humongous doorway as they drove off, looking every bit of a king in his castle as his form got smaller and smaller.

Valerie breathed a soft sigh in the back seat once she turned around after she couldn't see him in the distance anymore. She felt light. This was their first interaction where... he hasn't dominated her into taking any kindness or berating her lifestyle. She felt a pull, a natural one, to him. It was exhilarating.

The thought of his hands around her waist again from their goodbye made her warm all over. Honestly, he reduced her to a thirteen year old girl getting her first kiss. She loved that.

She loved... so much about him. It was becoming increasingly clear that maybe this distance she placed between them did more good than she thought.

"Thank you, Brian." Valerie chirped as he opened her door when they pulled up to her apartment complex. He gave her a simple nod and smile. "You're always welcome, Miss Stevens."

Walking into her apartment she found Nicki over the stove furiously stirring a vibrant green sauce. The whole place smelling of garlic and pepper. "What the hell is that?!" Valerie didn't bother announcing her presence as she came up behind her roommate and scrunched her nose up at the increasingly unappetizing looking... sauce?

Nicki just elbowed her in the stomach and irritatedly blew out a puff of air, never relenting on her sewer mixture in the pot.

"TikTok fucking lied to me! This is supposed to be pesto, but it looks like puke. I hate everyone." The frazzled fake chef griped over the stove, slowing down her mixing to the point she just stopped. Glaring at the concoction like it was the one at fault for looking like shit. Valerie just rubbed her back, mockingly comforting the girl. 

"What do we always say about TikTok recipes, Nicoletta?" Valerie jokingly reprimanded like a disappointed mother. The corners of Nicki's mouth reluctantly turned up at the tone, rolling her eyes, "TikTok is for bad bitches, not for takeout." She deadpanned, nodding like she knew this all  along.

Then to finish it off, Valerie patted her head, grinning. "Good job! You look beat. I'll clean up and heat up the rest of the gumbo we have in the freezer." She told her, shooing the sullen chef out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Nicki was covered in green from head to toe, like she got in a fight with a swamp monster.

"You're a godsend, Valerie Stevens." Nicki dramatically cupped her cheek before walking out of the space and into her room. Valerie giggled at that before turning towards the bubbling cauldron of failed pesto. She turned off the stove and began to run hot water in their sink, then poured the mixture in the sink; absolutely appalled when clumps of garlic and onion slapped the bottom of the sink.

The pesto was basically a witch's brew.

It was officially confirmed all Nicki could make were potato pancakes and ramen noodles.

Letting her purse drop from her shoulder and onto the ground, Valerie got to work on scrubbing the pot clean and then going into the freezer to pull out the frozen bag of gumbo stew. She scrapes the stew into the pot on the stove and leaves it there on low heat.

Like clockwork, as soon as the gumbo started to smell amazing again Nicki appeared from her room, a content smile on her face as she sauntered up to their kitchen counter and pulled up a seat. She sat there with her face in her hands and watched Valerie slowly stir the pot.

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