half/closer | GirlXGirl

37 / closer

"Here we go," Hilary beamed as she placed our plates on the table. "It's not much but I totally did my best."

I looked over the dish with a smile — a happy smile. It was the first time she'd cooked for me and it was giving me a blissful excitement. She really did her best but overdone it for the first time though. It was a steak dish but I couldn't figure out its ingredient without tasting it first. But I would let her do the talking.

"Care to tell me what's this all about? Not that I'm trying to criticize you but it's unfamiliar to my eyes."

Hilary gave me a timid smile. She bit her lip and rubbed her neck in coyness. "Umm, it's charred steak and broccolini with cheese sauce."

"Oooh, sounds rich," I chuckled and then cut a strip of steak. "And it's medium-rare."

Hilary laughed as she watched me in anticipation. "To be safe. You like it medium-rare, right?"

"Absolutely."

Once I put it in my mouth and chewed on it, I knew there was something wrong. It had to be salty because she said it was cheese sauce. However, it tasted so sweet and... sweeter?

Hilary leaned forward and gave me a nervous look. "How does it taste?"

"Ummm, you haven't tasted it yet?"

Hilary groaned then cut a strip for herself from her plate and munched it with a deep frown. "Oh no! I'm— I'm so sorry. I—I'm embarrassing myself right now. To be honest, this is my first time cooking for someone. Ugh, gosh! I think I put the sugar instead of salt. I should've tasted it first but then I have trust in this recipe I found online so I was confident that— that... How could I mess up like that? I'm so stupid— I'm sorry I'm not going to be a good wi—"

"Stop right there, waltz," I cut her off and pulled her to sit on my lap. Hilary looked so upset at herself right now. She looked so cute though. "You've done better actually."

Hilary shook her head. "No, don't sugarcoat it. It tastes so wrong."

"What the hell are you saying?! It tastes so great. So sugary and right for this moment. I found it so sweet that you tried to cook for me for the first time. I love the effort in it and as I said, you've done a lot better. The first time I cooked, first-year high school and it was just egg and I almost burned our kitchen. But you managed to keep our apartment in one piece after cooking a steak for the very first time? That's really something."

Hilary's lips twitched into a toothless smile. "You think so?"

"I know so," I said and cupped her face, looking into her blue eyes. "But nothing is sweeter than your lips."

Her smile widened and she leaned in, giving me a chaste kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, Toes."

Hilary sat straight back on her seat with a smile on her lips but shifted in a worried look. "I shouldn't give another one to Mad then."

With a raised brow, I placed the steak knife on the table. "You shouldn't give anything to her in the first place. I'm sure she can handle takeout for dinner."

My fiancée gave me a dissatisfied look. "Klo! How many times did I tell you that you shouldn't be mean to her? She's working hard to secure us. It's just a steak, you know."

"A steak you cooked for me for the first time. No one else should have this other than me."

She giggled. "C'mon, you know clearly that you're the only one who can have my steak."