Take Out Chef

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter's song: Perfect by One Direction. Because come on. It's OD :)

Working in Tom's show was depressing. After the first day, they needed to edit the episode to make it perfect, and that meant repeating scenes. Over and Over. I ended up filling coffee orders and walking to the nearest Starbucks for whatever the crew felt like.

When Friday rolled in, I was glad I wasn't going to step foot in that stupid set, at least, not soon. I should have felt exhausted and drained, but I wasn't. Bryan was coming over for dinner and I was worried. Juno seemed bent on playing matchmaker, and knowing her, she was anything but subtle. Plus, I didn't know how to act around him anymore.

I liked him. A lot.

My heart raced every time our eyes met. Or my cheeks would feel warm whenever he talked to me. It was so embarrassing and emotionally challenging trying to appear nonchalant when your whole body reacted to him.

So, I did the most sensible thing any intelligent woman could do: I avoided him like the plague.

I dreaded tonight's dinner. I was sure that Seth would notice me blushing. Juno too. And I knew my brother. He'd take any chance to embarrass me. Plus, Juno invited Mr. Gomez. That was bound to be more awkward. The guy was nice, but I couldn't shake away the image of his beer belly and naked chest out of my mind.

The bus took longer than expected. There was a car crash that slowed up the traffic. I couldn't stop looking at my phone's clock. When the bus finally stopped, I had less than thirty minutes to get home, take a bath and help Juno with dinner.

I ran all the way home, shoved Seth out of the way on the doorstep before he could say hello and ran to my room to take a quick shower. The house did smell great. Juno was making my favorite dish, lasagna.

Dressed in khaki pants and a white blouse, I let my hair air-dry since it was usually up in a tight bun. I pinned it to the side with a pretty butterflies' pin and stepped down the stairs in a hurry.

When I reached the kitchen, Juno was making a salad and Seth was setting the table in the dining room. "Did you have a good day?" Juno had a grey stripped sweater over a bright yellow shirt. Her usually long hair was up in a ponytail. She looked pretty.

"You look great, Juno!" She smiled at me while assembling a few grape tomatoes inside the salad.

Seth walked in and stared at us before crossing his arms. "Why are you two looking so nice?" Juno chuckled while I cracked up. He placed both hands on his hips. "Is there anything I need to know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop acting like a caveman, dude." I patted him on the arm as I passed next to him. The dining room looked great. Seth had placed the fancy china and all. It looked like Thanksgiving dinner. "You should have asked your new girlfriend to come along, Seth!" I said aloud as I straightened a fork.

"Why? Is this a meet the family, kind of thing?" he answered back in a loud tone, too. Only that he was standing right next to me, making me flinch. Idiot. His grin was smug when I glared at him.

"No." I glanced at Juno. She was singing softly while finishing the salad. "Things are getting serious, don't you think?"

Seth shrugged. He had a blue shirt on with jeans. "What's with the shirt?"

He rolled his eyes. "Juno made me wear it." He scrunched up his nose as it was the worst thing ever.

I laughed at him. "You look nice. For a change."

"I always look nice," he raised an eyebrow while I shook my head. "Jess. You need to be honest. Do you like Bryan?" My whole face felt on fire as I averted my eyes. "You do!" he sounded shocked.