Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

50 | Bake, not roast

Perfect poster for a chapter that begins in the kitchen. Thank you @_tv.158!

I almost don't believe it. We're already at chapter 50!

Chapter 50: Bake, not roast

The last time I looked in a breadbasket, I found a pound of weed – courtesy of my mom's new boyfriend.

Orange juice was only ever in the fridge when mom planned on drinking screw drivers. And pop tarts were a staple.

But the Dawson household was very different. Bowls overflowing with fresh fruit. Their fridge packed with cheese, greens, protein, salad, milk, juices. And sourdough bread in their breadbasket. Not weed.

"Everything ok, Millie?" Luke asked me from behind the countertop.

His arms were leaning against the marble surface as he watched me. He was in a t-shirt and the fabric cut off just around the level of his biceps. 

I'd opened the fridge five times now, gaping at it each time.

"Look! Avocado yogurt," I pointed.

Luke smiled. He was about to say something when his sister walked into the kitchen. She wore jogger pants, a matching tank top and appeared flushed.

"Just did an hour on the bike upstairs," she told us, grabbing a bottle of cold water from the fridge.

She twisted the bottle cap open and drank ice cold water. "I've always wondered what people think about staying friendly with exes."

"Where do you keep the banana bread?" Luke asked, changing subject.

This was a sore subject for us.

"OK, let me rephrase," Charlotte responded, putting the bottle down, "How does everyone here feel about staying friends with exes who want more?"

She may have said everyone but she was looking at Luke.

"How's your ex, Char?" Luke responded, "He traded places with your boyfriend yet?"

"Luke!" I gasped.

Charlotte glared at her little brother and fixed the cap back on her water bottle. I almost expected her to throw it at him. If she didn't, I will.

Luke walked past her, "Hard to keep track when you're seeing two at the same time."

Luke searched for banana bread in the breadbasket and the oven, like he hadn't just roasted his sister.

"If you want something, you'll have to make it," Charlotte told him, "And you never bake, Luke, so I guess that'll be another chicken sandwich as a snack."

He does not bake but apparently he knows how to roast.

**

We found an easy bake recipe for chocolate chip cookies that only required a few ingredients. And in Mrs Dawson's magical kitchen, all those ingredients were present.

We'd already laid out a bowl, spoons and a mixer. I found it surprising that he was helping me bake. Maybe I should take a sneaky picture and send it to Chad...

Luke pulled out a carton of milk and eggs from the fridge. "Don't even think about it, Minnie."

It's like he knew.

I found a frilly apron beside the cabinet and offered it to him. Luke rejected it.

"But it has nice strawberry pictures on it," I insisted, "You don't want to get your shirt dirty, do you?"