Work in Progress

Chapter 27: More Steps

*ELI'S POV*

I woke up with half of Sam's body on me, my hand on her back as if not wanting her to leave. I could smell her shampoo, a hint of lavender. I didn't dare move, wanting her to get as much sleep as she could. Instead, I matched my breathing to hers. After a few minutes, I could feel her stir. I brush my hand through her hair.

"Are you awake?" I whisper.

"No." She tightens her hug on me.

I let out a small chuckle. "Okay, you can sleep some more." I woke her up after thirty minutes since my arm was starting to get numb.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask.

"Yes," she says, looking at me still groggy. I take a mental picture of her face.

We freshened up and went downstairs for breakfast. Her parents had left a note saying that they were at Leo's soccer game.

"What's for breakfast?" I look at Sam.

"Oh, um... I was thinking you could cook?"

"Nope. It's your turn to serve me breakfast." She looked at me panicked then started rummaging around in their fridge. I laugh and walk up behind her, lowering my head beside hers and peeking into the fridge. "Hmm..." Then I went back to my seat in the center island. She closes the fridge door, milk in hand, cheeks flushed from the cold... and maybe something else.

"How do you feel about milk and cereal?" She asks sheepishly.

"It's great."

We had our breakfast on the kitchen island just sitting across from each other and laughing every now and then. I offered to wash the dishes after but Sam wouldn't let me. Instead we went back to her room and watched a movie. I then suggested that we go out since I was feeling a bit stuffy. We rode my bike around and stopped at a nearby park for a break.

"What's your favorite color?" She asks me.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. I guess for now I could say green." I say looking at her eyes. She sees that and says, "Come on, I'm serious. What's your favourite color?"

"Alright, Alright. Umm.." I pause to think about it. "Orange. Like sunset orange." I saw her satisfied so I asked her the same question.

"Fuchsia! Because I remember I could never spell it right but then I learned it and someone asked me for the spelling and I told them." I laugh at her explanation.

"Only you would have a story behind their favourite color like that."

"I guess I'm special," she winks at me. "Okay, next! What's your favourite dessert?"

"Brownies. Definitely brownies. Whether the special ones or normal." She punches my arm and I laugh.

"You didn't spike the ones from yesterday, right?" She looks at me suspiciously.

"Oh, honey. Trust me. You'd know if it was spiked. Plus, I'd tell you."

"Alright, what's your favourite animal?"

We went on like that just asking each other's favourites and getting to know the other person. Then we headed back to her house when we started getting hungry. Her family still wasn't home yet so we decided to cook lunch and surprise them.

Sam let me take full lead since she wasn't much of a cook. So I assessed what ingredients they had in the fridge and cabinets and decided to make chicken alfredo.

We defrosted the chicken in the microwave while we gathered the ingredients: fettuccine, salt, pepper, butter, garlic, heavy cream, parmesan, nutmeg, and some parsley for garnishing. When the chicken was done, I patted it dry and seasoned it with salt and pepper then started frying it, adding some butter for flavor. I asked Sam to mince the garlic and chop some parsley so she wouldn't just be watching me. At the same time I started on boiling water for the pasta. Once the chicken had reached golden brown on both sides, I set it aside for slicing later. In the same pan, I added more butter, then sautéd the garlic. As I whisked in the cream, parmesan, nutmeg, and a bit more salt and pepper, Sam finished cooking the pasta. When the sauce reached the thickness I was hoping for, we mixed in the noodles. I then placed the tongs in the middle and gave the noodles a quick rotate creating a tornado shape. Then I placed the sliced chicken pieces around on top and finished off with some parsley.