Take Out Chef

Chapter Forty

Chapter's song:  Ariana Grande - Side To Side ft. Nicki Minaj (I'm literally listening this on repeat)

Juno left around midnight. Thank God. Seth and I were already planning to ditch the house as soon as the guests left. Our grandmother and her shiny new husband were taking the weekend away. They didn't tell us where, and we were so happy that they were leaving, that we didn't ask.

Bryan left after them but he promised to come back in the morning. Seth wasn't so excited as me. Honestly, I tried not to, but it was hard. We would be spending a whole weekend together. There had to be some alone time so we could talk. I would make sure of that.

After everyone left, the house was a mess, but we didn't clean anything. Seth said it was the first thing Bryan had to do for babysitting us. I rolled my eyes, yet, I was super tired from the stress of the week and then the wedding, so I left it all like that.

Seth's mood improved when I told him that he should invite his girlfriend and that we could use Bryan's chef skills to cook something delicious to impress her.

However, I couldn't sleep. I plotted different ways to make Bryan open with me. A part of me wanted to trail carefully until the subject came up, but another part of me wanted to shake the answers out of him. In the end, I decided to be straightforward. For his sake, but mostly for mine. I just needed to know.

The next morning, right after eight, the doorbell rang. I was already dressed in jeans and a pink t-shirt and I'd cleaned up most of the house, but there were still a lot of dishes to wash.

Bryan greeted me with half a smile. He looked good in that grey t-shirt of his. Then again, the guy looked good in anything. I was totally biased.

"Good morning." He raised the paper bag on his right hand. "I brought breakfast."

"Thank you." I moved away so he could pass. "Seth's still asleep, but I already started coffee."

I thought about asking him right there and then, and get it over with. But I wasn't feeling brave enough, so I decided to bring it up after breakfast.

The scent of coffee filled the room as the coffee machine stopped gurgling. I opened the bag to find three Danish pastries still warm from the oven.

Screw Seth. I'm eating all of them.

I set the table while Bryan poured the coffee. "How are you feeling about the wedding?" He gazed at me after setting a mug in front of me.

"I'm happy for Juno." I pinched the corner of one of the pastries and brought it to my lips. It was delicious. "I mean, Mr. Gomez, Carlos, is a nice man."

"But?" Bryan sat across me, his hand wrapped around the steamy cup.

My lips curved up. "I don't know. Things are going to change, I guess."

"Changes are good." His brows furrowed. "Most of the time."

I shrugged. "I guess we need to adjust." I glanced at him. "But Juno was so happy. I swear I'd never seen her smiling like that."

Bryan smiled back. "She was stunning yesterday."

We both stayed in silence for a moment. I finished the first Danish and offered one to him, but he declined. More for me, I guess. As I dusted sugar off my fingers from the second one, I pursed my lips. I didn't like the way it all felt awkward.

"That little boy was cute, huh?" Awesome, Jess. In my defense, all I wanted to ask was why he'd been acting out like an ass last week or where the hell had he been. I had to bit the inside of my cheek two times before I blurted it all out.