Take Out Chef

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter's song: Lay it all on me by Rudimental

Two weeks later, we forgot everything about moving out. We returned to our usual routine, Mr. Gomez included. He didn't stay over, though. He won Seth's friendship when they started to watch basketball games together. For once, Seth had someone to talk to about plays and moves that actually understood what he was saying.

However, my crush for Bryan kept getting worse. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't keep my eyes off him, and my mind seemed to freeze whenever he was around. It was awful.

Sighing, I nibbled on my grilled sandwich. I'm screwed. Suddenly, my plate was empty. "Hey!"

"What?" Seth grumbled out of a full-mouth spitting crumbles. He blinked, trying to look innocent.

Glaring at him, I crossed. "You stole my breakfast!"

He raised a palm and turned to the fridge. He placed a milk carton and the cereal box in front of me. "Seriously?"

Juno walked in smiling at us. She ignored our bickering, as Seth said, "I could have just walked away, you know?"

Huffing, I poured cereal in my bowl. I was about to grab the milk when Seth got it first and started to drink directly from the carton. "Seth! Get your own freaking milk!"

He chuckled before finishing the whole thing. "I'm in a growing sprout," he offered as an explanation.

Rolling my eyes, I started to eat to my cereal ─minus the milk. "I think I want a tattoo." The thought popped into my head and I blurted it out without thinking much about it.

Seth was about to leave the room when his whole body froze. "You're joking, right?" his hazel eyes were wide as he looked at me as if were crazy.

Juno clapped her hands. "That's so cool!" Seth rolled his eyes and raised his hands in exasperation. We ignored him. "Can I come too? Maybe we can get matching tattoos?"

Seth groaned. "Seriously, am I the only adult here?"

"Says the guy who ate my whole sandwich in one bite." He glared at me. "And I'm not sure what I'd get June." I also didn't know if I wanted to have matching tattoos with my grandmother. "I want something small. I might ask Andrew about it today."

"The delinquent guy you went out with the other day?" Seth was on a roll.

Juno dismissed him. "We don't hold prejudice against other people, Seth." He rolled his eyes again. "I think a tattoo is a wonderful idea, Jess."

"Thank you." I wasn't sure about it yet, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became.

It took me an hour to get to school. As usual, Bryan was already there. I stopped by to say hello after I saw his truck parked on the side of the building. He didn't have his chef coat yet. Since I met him, I learned that wearing jeans and a t-shirt were his everyday clothes. Today, the t-shirt was green. I liked that about him; the fact that he didn't have to dress up or worry about fashion.

His lips curved up as he glanced at me. "Hi Jess."

"Hi," my cheeks warmed up instantly. Sheesh. I so wanted to slap myself.

He was a holding several folders in his hands, but he leaned over his desk and placed them there. "We're going away to camp in a week and Tom is pretty busy at the moment." He pressed his lips together. "I reckon you should stay here in the afternoons to help me organize everything, but I promise to make it up to you and give you training at my restaurant after camp."

His restaurant? I didn't mind missing my practice hours. "That sounds awesome, thank you."

He laughed and shook his head. "Don't thank me, yet. You might regret it." As if. "We're going to be loaded with work until then," he pointed to the manila folders. "I'll need you to contact all these suppliers." I nodded.