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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Santi breaks in with the paper bag in his hand wordlessly, walking straight to her kitchen. Gail follows him inside, a pile of thoughts rolling in her mind. When he told her it was okay, she believed the date was canceled but here he was. That sneaky see you at the end of his sentence was even sneakier than she assumed. Taking the ingredients out, he shoots a look at her as if everything is normal. "I'm cooking dinner tonight," he says in a tone that Gail knows by heart.
"I'm not hungry," she replies. She has eaten a little with Melanie.
"I'm not taking no as an answer. You look thin."
She looks anything but thin. "You're funny. I look like an elephant."
"A baby elephant." A grin appears on his lips as he rolls his sleeves and starts cooking. "Can you please rest on the couch and wait for dinner?"
Gail is really tired to fight so she obeys him. She tries to think of a solid plan to explain that he should stay away from them but she can't come up with something witty enough. Santi is stubborn and smart. She needs more than offensive words to make him stay away. The sleep wins over when she's deep in thoughts and she only wakes up with a soft poke on her shoulder.
"Dinner is ready." She looks up at Santi hovering over her with a tray and she rises from where she lies to make room for him as he sets the tray down on the coffee table. Gail's nose is the first sense to notice the incredible smell and her eyes follow up to the tray.
"What's this?"
"Pozole," he replies as he sits down beside her. "Mexican soup. It's normally spicier but I wasn't sure if you can eat spicy food."
"I don't normally have a problem with it but thank you." She takes the bowl in her hand and tastes the soup. She's surprised by how delicious it is, though she knows Santi's talent for cooking. She misses this—the nights they have together, effortlessly good and how good he used to take care of her. How easy it was to let him in and entrust him with herself. Fuck. She takes another spoon of the soup not to overthink about the past.
