Pure of Heart / l.h ✔️

27

~Seraphina's POV~

"Sera!" Carmen called for me in a whiny voice as I sat in my bed in my room, doing my homework. "Yeah, Cara?" I called back, hearing her footsteps growing nearer and nearer to my bedroom.

Carmen entered my room and I looked up from the paper in front of me, placing my pencil down on top of my textbook. "Are you nearly done with your homework? I'm so hungry." She pouted, causing me to raise a brow and frown slightly. I looked over at the clock that sat on my nightstand and saw that it was just a little bit after six PM, so she'd probably just gotten home not too long ago. "I'm not done just yet, but I'll be down after I finish. Just figure out what you want, I guess." I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. She pouted again a little, but she left my room and headed back downstairs, leaving me to finish up my homework alone. When she was gone, I grabbed my pencil and began to do the calculus homework that I had been doing, only having three questions left to do.

After I finished all of my homework, I put my papers back into my homework folder and slipped into my backpack with my pencil, zipping the bag closed before I set it next to my nightstand against the wall. Because I was still dressed in the clothes that I had worn to school, I shut my bedroom door and took them off, tossing them into my laundry basket. I pulled on a pair of comfortable pajamas and then headed downstairs, finding that Carmen was on the couch and Luke was in the kitchen, looking through the fridge when I walked in. "Are you looking for something?" I asked curiously, cocking my head to the side.

Luke looked up and shut the fridge, his clear blue eyes falling on my brown ones. "Hey, sunshine." He grinned, stalking over to me. "I was just checking to see if I had any more beers, but I'm out." He pouted, though he didn't actually seem to be upset about his absence of beers in the fridge. I went to send him a smile, but he caught me off guard when he slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him, causing me to gasp softly. My head tilted back to look up at him and I blushed brightly as he slid one hand down to my butt, squeezing a handful in his grip. A soft hum left his throat and his lips twitched up in amusement when he saw that I was blushing, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. "What?" He asked innocently, hiding a cheeky smile. "I missed you all day."

I couldn't help but to blush softly and let out a small giggle, slipping my arms around his waist. "I-I missed you, too." I said shyly, biting my lip. He smirked and squeezed me in his hold, his eyes peering down into mine. "What are you doing in here anyways?" He wondered, cocking a brow up at me. I gestured to the clock that was built into the stove, causing him to glance at it. "Well, it's nearing seven PM, and dinner isn't gonna make itself." I teased, brushing my fingers against the fabric of his shirt as I carefully pulled away. He grinned softly and grabbed my waist tighter, not wanting to let me go just yet. "Oh? And what are you gonna be making, hm?" He wondered, peering down at me. I struggled my way out of his hold, sending him a scolding look while I opened up the pantry to get out the ingredients I needed.

Once all the ingredients were out of both the pantry and the fridge, I took the boneless skinless chicken breasts and began to cut them into small pieces. "I'm making food." I answered vaguely, glancing up at him when he chuckled and moved closer. "That's the type of answer my mom would give me to that question." He tsked, making me giggle softly. I finished cutting up the chicken and then put them inside of a big metal bowl, beginning to add some spicy seasoning mix and a little bit of olive oil. "Technically, that is an answer, though." I smiled, beginning to mix it all together. Content with the way it was mixed, I put the bowl into the fridge to cool while I did everything else.

"Mm, well it might be an answer, but that doesn't mean it's the right answer." He teased, a grin forming on his face as he watched me prepare dinner. I had three whole potatoes that I washed, peeled, and then diced up before arranging them on a sheet pan. After sprinkling them with olive oil and a few spices, I grabbed another sheet pan that I began to put the chicken mix onto once I got it out from the fridge. Next, I took both of the sheet pans and put them into the oven, beginning to bake them. Lastly, I grabbed the frozen broccoli from the freezer and began to cook and that while the other food cooked in the oven. "That question doesn't have a correct answer." I responded with a tiny smile, amused at how cute he was.

Luke chuckled and grabbed my waist while I stood there in front of the oven, pressing himself up against me from behind. "Fine, then. Don't tell me," He hummed, kissing my shoulder. "But I'm sure it'll be delicious, like always." He smiled softly, making me blush. Even now that he and I were dating, he had not stopped praising me and my cooking. Not only that, but he had also not stopped insisting on doing the dishes afterwards.

"Thank you." I giggled, gently bumping him off of me. "But I don't know if it's good for you to be always grabbing on me when Carmen could just walk in, considering you don't want her to know about us." I hummed.

With a little huff, he pulled away from me and stepped to the side instead, but not without smacking my butt first. I squeaked and jumped in surprise, looking at him over my shoulder with wide eyes. He just chuckled and gave me a grin and playfully winked, leaning against the counter next to me. "My bad, sunshine." He hummed, that little grin still in his face. I hid a smile and shook my head, taking the cooked broccoli out of the microwave before I put it on the countertop. Once the chicken and diced potatoes were done, I took them out and set them on top of the stove, smiling happily up at Luke as I closed the oven and put the mits up. "Food's done!" I called to Carmen, pushing my hair out of my face.

Next to me, Luke was already stood with a plate and was piling food onto it eagerly, as if he hadn't eaten in months. I couldn't help but to find it cute. He was eager and excited, giving me a very quick kiss on the cheek before Carmen came walking in and he went walking out, taking a seat at the table while I put the dirty dishes in the sink to be washed later. By Luke, of course.

After I finished putting all of the dirty dishes into the sink, I headed out of the kitchen and into the dining room, sitting down across from Luke. Carmen got her food and then waved to Luke and I as she passed with her plate, returning right back to the living room to eat while she watched TV. That was what she always did. Luke, on the other hand, just sat across from me and scarfed down his food until I was practically waiting for him to start licking his plate clean, a tiny smile on my lips. It always made me feel so good to see that he enjoyed the food that I made, perhaps because he voiced his appreciation as well and didn't just eat it all without even thanking me or anything. He was really a proper gentleman about it.

I watched Luke as he sighed in content and relaxed back in his chair, pushing his plate away and placing a hand on his belly. "That was delicious." He sighed happily, causing me to smile softly. "I'm glad you liked it." I said, watching as he got up and took his plate with him into the kitchen to do the dishes. Unable to stop myself, I got up and skittered after him, his head lifting to look over at me while he was doing the dishes. For a while, I just stood there quietly while he was doing the dishes, putting one after the other into the dishwasher. However, eventually I decided to walk over and, knowing that Carmen wouldn't be coming in her anytime soon because of how long she took to eat, I slid my arms around him from behind.

He paused as I hugged him from behind, my arms wound around to clasp my hands over his belly. My chest pressed gently into him and he was so much taller than me that I only reached up to his shoulder blades, pressing my cheek against his shirt. "What are you doing back there, Nina?" He chuckled softly, reaching down to place another dish into the dishwasher. I smiled slightly and buried my cheek into his back more, hugging him as tightly as I could. "Hugging you." I answered quietly, making him hum and shut off the water. "Well, shit." He teased. "I should consider myself quite lucky then, huh?"

My cheeks warmed and I giggled softly, looking up at him as he turned around to face me in my arms. His arms slipped around my waist and he softly brushed his fingers through my hair, a glint in his eyes. "You're silly." I whispered. He just snorted and hugged me tighter, causing me to grin softly. "Maybe I am silly, but I'm also right." He hummed. Then, he leaned down and gently kissed my forehead, a small smile growing on his face when he pulled away a moment later. "A man can always be both of those things." He muttered. I couldn't help but to grin slightly and a giggle slipped passed my lips, finding him both cute and charming. Another smile rose on his lips, this one larger than the last. He softly brushed his fingertips down the side of my face and peered at me with affection. "You're so good at sweet talking a girl." I whispered.

He grinned. "Is it merely sweet talking if I really mean it?"