The Secret Ingredient to Falling in Love

Chapter 39. In Sickness And In Health.

I hold the spoon up and glare at him, "Eat. Your. Soup."

He narrows his eyes at me and shakes his head, "I don't want soup."

I huff out in frustration and put the now luke-warm chicken noodle soup on the nearby table. "Zander, you cannot eat three cheeseburgers while sick. You'll only feel worse!" I sigh and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. "Will you please eat your soup, for me?" I look back up at him pleadingly, reaching back over to hold the soup out for him.

He stares at me blankly, then bursts out into a fit of laughter. He clutches his stomach as he laughs, which quickly turns into a coughing fit. I gently rub his back as he coughs, giving him a flat look when he smiles over at me sheepishly.

"You're insufferable." I smile softly, my heart warming despite my annoyance towards the sick boy in front of me. I look down at the soup and stir it up again, gently biting my lip as not to smile like a madwoman.

He sighs loudly, drawing my attention back up to his face. I raise an expectant eyebrow and he responds with another sigh accompanied by a groan, "Yes, I'll eat the soup, only because you asked so nicely." He pokes my side with a grin on his face.

I flinch away from him and swat at his hand, "That tickles, quit it!"

"So demanding." He shakes his head sadly, "Too bad it only makes me want to rebel even more." He reaches out and latches onto my hips, abruptly pulling me towards him. I gasp loudly when the soup sloshes forward, spilling all over the front of his shirt. I cover my mouth and stare down at the mess then look back up to him. He's staring down at his shirt with surprise, his hands falling away from my hips to poke at a noodle laying on his stomach. Slowly, his eyes make their way up to meet mine, both of us immediately starting to laugh at the mess.

"Well, that didn't go as planned, did it?" I place the now empty bowl on the table and turn back to Zander, my eyes almost falling out of my head when I see him.

"No, it didn't," He shakes his head at himself then looks up at me, "Do you have any shirts for me?" He points down at his shirt, perfectly rolled up in his hand as not to spill any of the soup everywhere else. Upon seeing my expression he frowns slightly, "What?"

What is breathing?

"I-I uh - Yeah just let me - uh - yeah," I get up quickly, a burning blush making its way across my cheeks. I rush out of the room and run to my parents room, shutting the door behind me to lean against it. I shut my eyes tightly but reopen them quickly as images of Zander's naked chest starts floating around my head again. Oh my fudge woman, get a grip! I take a deep breath and push forward, moving across the room to rummage through my dad's shirt drawer. It's mostly composed of business shirts and flannels, to which I all push aside. It's gotta be in here somewhere . . .

Eureka!

I pull out the faded Led Zepplin shirt from the back of his drawer, smiling down at it fondly. He used to tell me so many stories about this shirt, the main one being about how he met mom while wearing this shirt. I slam the drawer shut and spin around, walking back downstairs to find Zander rinsing his shirt under the sink. He hears me approaching and turns around slightly and oh boy those abs, I can't. I can't, I'm going to die.

I force myself to look up at his face, keeping my smile in tact. "Here you go, trade?" I point to his now dripping wet shirt and offer mine halfway.

He smiles gratefully and reaches out to take the shirt, "Thanks, Cupcake."

"Ah," I pull the shirt back so he misses it, my deadly stare pinning him in place, "Hurt this shirt, I'll hurt you. Please, return it as soon as you can."