Simon wasn’t hungry. He hadn’t been since he deduced his two roommates had slept together.
I shouldn’t even be shocked. I knew they had kissed and were going on dates. And I know how Ryan is…
Despite feeling sated, he kept listening to the kitchen expecting to hear sounds from it. It was Dani’s turn to cook that night and he hadn’t detected a single cupboard opening. She had been in the living room for at least half an hour after getting home from work, and while Simon had apologized on Halloween, he still felt that things between them might need more time to heal.
That’s why he was thankful that Ryan had work that day and he could sulk in their room alone. To Simon’s dismay, their trip to the movies the day before made his roommate much more open to chatting and all he wanted was a day of silence.
The first half of the day he kept himself busy by responding to the dozens of text messages his family sent him regarding Thanksgiving. Somehow his parents, his older sister, and one of his uncles all had to ask individually if he was coming to the holiday. As if they couldn’t talk to each other to cooperate on an invite. Though it annoyed Simon, he was happy to have some normalcy. His family wasn’t always concise or communicative but they were consistent.
It was almost enough to distract from his worries.
“Oh shit,” Dani said from the living room. It was muffled but Simon could make out the worry in her voice.
She must have forgotten it was her turn to cook… again. I should offer to help.
Simon stood up and reached for the door.
Wait. Maybe that would be weird? If she doesn’t want to talk then it would just make her uncomfortable if I’m in the kitchen with her.
He sat back down.
No, it would be a nice thing to do to help her out.
He stood back up.
But–
His body seemed to get sick of his mind’s hesitation and began walking to the kitchen.
It was there he found Dani rifling through the fridge with a carton of eggs balanced on her elbow. She didn’t turn to look at him, likely too worried about what she was going to make.
“Need any help?” Simon asked.
The sudden question startled Dani, causing the cardboard egg carton in her arms to slide toward her and down to the floor in a soft thud.
Dani groaned. “Are you kidding me?” She asked the fallen eggs in vain. Her attention turned to Simon. “Sorry, what did you say? I’m trying to get dinner ready and have NO clue what to do.”
“Something with eggs?” Simon said as he reached for the carton. He already felt guilty enough to run back to his room but powered through, hoping he could salvage the situation.
“Yeah I don’t know,” Dani said. “I was thinking to just scramble a bunch up or make pancakes or something dumb.”
He set the eggs on the counter and opened the container to see how much damage had been done. To his surprise, only one egg had gotten cracked in the fall and it was still staying in one piece.
Okay, I can help here. I know how to cook better than her, no offense Dani. Maybe if the stars align we can get things back to normal?
An uncharacteristic confidence had been welling up inside of Simon since going to the movies with Ryan. It was growing through the whole day in the background, and he finally felt that things could return to normal with everyone. The news he learned from Ryan at the bus stop had hidden it away but now that he had a chance to use it, it was front and center.
I just have to not think about her and Ryan… doing anything. It will be easy.
“Do you want any help?” He asked again. “I have a couple ideas that would be more filling than pancakes. If you want.”
Dani smiled. “That would be amazing, please. I seriously need a real meal tonight if I’m being honest, work was exhausting.”
“Alright, yeah,” Simon said. “Let me double check what we have right now.”
“Of course.” Dani stepped away from the fridge and gestured to it how a chauffeur might to a rich client getting in their limo.
With a small laugh, Simon got to work. He knew they had gone grocery shopping and still had plenty to work with. It was one of the biggest hauls they had ever bought, in no small part because Simon had been asked by the school to prepare some material for an after school health workshop. He wanted to iron out some easy recipes kids could try with their parents and planned to use his roommates as guinea pigs.
After a brief analysis to make sure everything he needed was still there, he got to work. He grabbed something he knew he needed then handed it to Dani to set on the counter. First from the fridge, then from the freezer, and finally from the pantry and cupboards.
Each item he gave to Dani, she made a small comment on, which he thought was cute.
“Ew, vegetables,” she joked with a bag of frozen broccoli.
“Wow, I didn’t even know we had that,” to the pack of chicken breasts.
The quips reminded him of how they used to be. Carefree, always willing to find humor in whatever boring task they were doing. Despite being shy, she somehow never shut up. It was nice.
At last, everything they needed to make dinner was out and ready to be used.
“This feels like a lot,” Dani said.
“Well there’s three of us,” Simon said. “Don’t you want to eat a lot?”
Dani laughed. “So what’s step one?”
“Uh, take the cracked egg and beat it with a fork.” Simon pointed to the carton then the silverware drawer. “We’re gonna do a coating on the chicken.”
“Ooo,” Dani said. “Sounds good. I can’t believe I forgot it was my turn again, I need to set a reminder on my phone or something. Thanks so much for helping.”
“It’s alright,” Simon said as he set chicken breasts on a plastic mat. “I was going to make this at some point anyway.”
“Glad that you’re up and moving again after being sick last week.”
Simon cringed. “Ah, yeah, me too. Bummer I missed the party but at least you guys had fun.”
Good. Great. I brought it up. I’m such an idiot.
Dani didn’t respond right away. She whisked her egg without a word, leaving Simon to overthink what he had said.
“Well, I’m assuming you guys had fun.” Simon tried to recover the situation. “I wasn’t there so… don’t really… not… sure.”
Maybe the Simon who bottled things up and didn’t talk was on to something…
“It was good,” was all Dani said. Her voice was stiff and quiet.
Simon knew he needed to not continue the topic. It would at best end with more awkward stuttering or at worst devolve into Dani going into detail about…
He slammed the mallet down on the chicken, flattening it out for the pan. If talking wasn’t working, they could cook in silence. It was better than the alternative.
“Actually,” Dani said. “Something did happen at the party that I feel a little weird about. And I should probably tell you.”
No, you really shouldn’t.
“This recipe,” Simon interrupted. “It’s pretty healthy and filling so I think the kids at school will-”
“What?” Dani stared at him, bowl of beaten egg in hand. “No, Simon, just listen.”
Maybe she hates me. Maybe she exists only to torture me and make me suffer.
Simon braced himself for whatever she might say.
Dani seemed to do the same before speaking, “Would you be upset if I was friends with Rachel?”
“Oh.” All the tension in Simon’s body washed out of him. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Really? It wouldn’t be weird? We talked a lot at the party and agreed to hang out. I doubt she would want to come over here but if she does, would that freak you out?”
“Nope, not really. I think you two would be good friends.” Simon smiled and set a pan on the stove top.
He wasn’t super happy about the idea of having to see Rachel more often. To have his mistakes refreshed in his head forever. They might even talk about him. What if Dani revealed that he had confessed feelings to her before ending things?
Whatever. He could manage. What mattered was that Ryan and Dani had not slept together.
Probably.
Announcement Head on over to Patreon to read four entire chapters ahead and get access to some exclusive stories~
Simon wasn’t hungry. He hadn’t been since he deduced his two roommates had slept together.
I shouldn’t even be shocked. I knew they had kissed and were going on dates. And I know how Ryan is…
Despite feeling sated, he kept listening to the kitchen expecting to hear sounds from it. It was Dani’s turn to cook that night and he hadn’t detected a single cupboard opening. She had been in the living room for at least half an hour after getting home from work, and while Simon had apologized on Halloween, he still felt that things between them might need more time to heal.
That’s why he was thankful that Ryan had work that day and he could sulk in their room alone. To Simon’s dismay, their trip to the movies the day before made his roommate much more open to chatting and all he wanted was a day of silence.
The first half of the day he kept himself busy by responding to the dozens of text messages his family sent him regarding Thanksgiving. Somehow his parents, his older sister, and one of his uncles all had to ask individually if he was coming to the holiday. As if they couldn’t talk to each other to cooperate on an invite. Though it annoyed Simon, he was happy to have some normalcy. His family wasn’t always concise or communicative but they were consistent.
It was almost enough to distract from his worries.
“Oh shit,” Dani said from the living room. It was muffled but Simon could make out the worry in her voice.
She must have forgotten it was her turn to cook… again. I should offer to help.
Simon stood up and reached for the door.
Wait. Maybe that would be weird? If she doesn’t want to talk then it would just make her uncomfortable if I’m in the kitchen with her.
He sat back down.
No, it would be a nice thing to do to help her out.
He stood back up.
But–
His body seemed to get sick of his mind’s hesitation and began walking to the kitchen.
It was there he found Dani rifling through the fridge with a carton of eggs balanced on her elbow. She didn’t turn to look at him, likely too worried about what she was going to make.
“Need any help?” Simon asked.
The sudden question startled Dani, causing the cardboard egg carton in her arms to slide toward her and down to the floor in a soft thud.
Dani groaned. “Are you kidding me?” She asked the fallen eggs in vain. Her attention turned to Simon. “Sorry, what did you say? I’m trying to get dinner ready and have NO clue what to do.”
“Something with eggs?” Simon said as he reached for the carton. He already felt guilty enough to run back to his room but powered through, hoping he could salvage the situation.
“Yeah I don’t know,” Dani said. “I was thinking to just scramble a bunch up or make pancakes or something dumb.”
He set the eggs on the counter and opened the container to see how much damage had been done. To his surprise, only one egg had gotten cracked in the fall and it was still staying in one piece.
Okay, I can help here. I know how to cook better than her, no offense Dani. Maybe if the stars align we can get things back to normal?
An uncharacteristic confidence had been welling up inside of Simon since going to the movies with Ryan. It was growing through the whole day in the background, and he finally felt that things could return to normal with everyone. The news he learned from Ryan at the bus stop had hidden it away but now that he had a chance to use it, it was front and center.
I just have to not think about her and Ryan… doing anything. It will be easy.
“Do you want any help?” He asked again. “I have a couple ideas that would be more filling than pancakes. If you want.”
Dani smiled. “That would be amazing, please. I seriously need a real meal tonight if I’m being honest, work was exhausting.”
“Alright, yeah,” Simon said. “Let me double check what we have right now.”
“Of course.” Dani stepped away from the fridge and gestured to it how a chauffeur might to a rich client getting in their limo.
With a small laugh, Simon got to work. He knew they had gone grocery shopping and still had plenty to work with. It was one of the biggest hauls they had ever bought, in no small part because Simon had been asked by the school to prepare some material for an after school health workshop. He wanted to iron out some easy recipes kids could try with their parents and planned to use his roommates as guinea pigs.
After a brief analysis to make sure everything he needed was still there, he got to work. He grabbed something he knew he needed then handed it to Dani to set on the counter. First from the fridge, then from the freezer, and finally from the pantry and cupboards.
Each item he gave to Dani, she made a small comment on, which he thought was cute.
“Ew, vegetables,” she joked with a bag of frozen broccoli.
“Wow, I didn’t even know we had that,” to the pack of chicken breasts.
The quips reminded him of how they used to be. Carefree, always willing to find humor in whatever boring task they were doing. Despite being shy, she somehow never shut up. It was nice.
At last, everything they needed to make dinner was out and ready to be used.
“This feels like a lot,” Dani said.
“Well there’s three of us,” Simon said. “Don’t you want to eat a lot?”
Dani laughed. “So what’s step one?”
“Uh, take the cracked egg and beat it with a fork.” Simon pointed to the carton then the silverware drawer. “We’re gonna do a coating on the chicken.”
“Ooo,” Dani said. “Sounds good. I can’t believe I forgot it was my turn again, I need to set a reminder on my phone or something. Thanks so much for helping.”
“It’s alright,” Simon said as he set chicken breasts on a plastic mat. “I was going to make this at some point anyway.”
“Glad that you’re up and moving again after being sick last week.”
Simon cringed. “Ah, yeah, me too. Bummer I missed the party but at least you guys had fun.”
Good. Great. I brought it up. I’m such an idiot.
Dani didn’t respond right away. She whisked her egg without a word, leaving Simon to overthink what he had said.
“Well, I’m assuming you guys had fun.” Simon tried to recover the situation. “I wasn’t there so… don’t really… not… sure.”
Maybe the Simon who bottled things up and didn’t talk was on to something…
“It was good,” was all Dani said. Her voice was stiff and quiet.
Simon knew he needed to not continue the topic. It would at best end with more awkward stuttering or at worst devolve into Dani going into detail about…
He slammed the mallet down on the chicken, flattening it out for the pan. If talking wasn’t working, they could cook in silence. It was better than the alternative.
“Actually,” Dani said. “Something did happen at the party that I feel a little weird about. And I should probably tell you.”
No, you really shouldn’t.
“This recipe,” Simon interrupted. “It’s pretty healthy and filling so I think the kids at school will-”
“What?” Dani stared at him, bowl of beaten egg in hand. “No, Simon, just listen.”
Maybe she hates me. Maybe she exists only to torture me and make me suffer.
Simon braced himself for whatever she might say.
Dani seemed to do the same before speaking, “Would you be upset if I was friends with Rachel?”
“Oh.” All the tension in Simon’s body washed out of him. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Really? It wouldn’t be weird? We talked a lot at the party and agreed to hang out. I doubt she would want to come over here but if she does, would that freak you out?”
“Nope, not really. I think you two would be good friends.” Simon smiled and set a pan on the stove top.
He wasn’t super happy about the idea of having to see Rachel more often. To have his mistakes refreshed in his head forever. They might even talk about him. What if Dani revealed that he had confessed feelings to her before ending things?
Whatever. He could manage. What mattered was that Ryan and Dani had not slept together.
Probably.
Announcement Head on over to Patreon to read four entire chapters ahead and get access to some exclusive stories~