Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 33

When the next day Lucy decides to stay over at Matt's for dinner, I decide to go join Ellie and Will at his house. It feels good not to have to cook and really, I just love Will's cooking. As I arrive at his door, I raise my fist and knock. Seconds later, footsteps resonate through the wood of the door to my ears and soon, Will is facing me.

"Hi," I greet. "I'm here to eat." I say and hold a bottle of wine I found in Ellie's house.

He rolls his eyes as he welcomes me in and closes the door behind us. "I take it Lucy ditched you again." He says. When I give him a grimace, he gives me one of his own in sympathy. He pulls me into a hug, "Don't worry, Willie won't ditch you."

I push against him, playfully rejecting his display of affection. "Get off me, Willie." He lets out a laugh and I ask, "Ellie's there yet?"

As I follow him in the kitchen, he says, "See for yourself."

He steps aside so I can behold the sight before me: Ellie is wearing an apron, a deep frown on her face as she examines the contents of a bowl before her with deep concentration as if performing a very delicate surgery.

"Ellie?" I call to her.

"Not now," she snaps. I hear her mumble softly, "A teaspoon of that, yes. Half a pound of this, hmm," she continues as she checks she has the right proportions. "Will, I don't get it. She finally lifts her head. Her eyes fall on me immediately and she smiles. "Tracy, when did you get there?"

I'm torn between laughing and rolling my eyes at her. I am about to speak but Will cuts me off, "There's nothing to get, Ellie. It's cooking," he says matter-of-factly. He strides towards her and looks her up and down, "Plus, you look ridiculous in that apron."

Ellie's open mouth lets me know she's about to retort something but I interrupt, "What are you trying to do, El?"

Her attention momentarily veers towards me but not before she sends a death glare in Will's direction. "Dessert."

Will scoffs behind her and before I can oppose myself between the two of them, Ellie slaps him on the back of the head with a table cloth. "Ouch!" Will screams as he whips around to glare at Ellie.

"I dare you to open your mouth and complain, Will Simons." And she points a menacing finger at him to underline the seriousness of the threat.

Will stares at her for the longest time, and I watch the two of them have a staring contest. There's no real rivalry between the two of them however, and by the way they're looking at each other – I don't think they even realize it – the only thing that's brewing is passion. I'm not surprised to find that passion in Ellie, I'm surprised to find it in Will as he looks at her. This isn't a best friend having a staring contest with his best friend, this is a man looking at the woman he loves.

Or maybe I'm wrong – I used to have a fertile imagination as a child and sometimes remnants of it resurface.

I cough awkwardly to have their attention and Will is the first to look away. He appears to be shaken out of a trance as his eyes widen slightly. With one last look at Ellie, he goes to his cooking and ignores the two of us. Ellie rolls her eyes at his back before removing her apron and walking towards me.

As she reaches me, her phone rings and she looks down at the caller ID before looking back at me. "Sorry, it's James." And she disappears.

I let her go and go find Will as he finishes to prepare dinner. "You okay?" I ask.

He lets out a sigh. "She can be so annoying sometimes," he mutters as he takes the meat out of the oven.

"You never answered my question," I say.