Dinner Talk

“So what’s for dinner, oh MasterChef?” Nicole asked JJ as she leaned across the breakfast island in the kitchen.

“Oh I have something interesting in mind,” JJ replied with a cryptic smile as he searched the cupboards and drawers for pots and pans.

Anna walked into the kitchen as Nicole was laughing and continuing to give JJ shit over what he was going to be cooking for dinner. The others in the group were lounging around in the living room, she could hear crass jokes flying back and forth between Kenny and Mindy as they all cracked open beers and wine.

Anna tried to join in on the good-natured ribbing, even accepting a beer from JJ as he finally began to make something. His knife clicked and clacked as meat and veg were sliced, diced and tossed into a pan.

As the air filled with the smell of cooking Anna felt the warmth from the beer start to trickle up her spine. The ball of tension starting to dissolve as she leaned against the counter and watched JJ work.

“Not a bad sight,” Nicole whispered, leaning into Anna with a wry smile.

Anna was still sober enough to blush at that. “That’s awful!” She hissed back at Nicole, jabbing her in the ribs. Nicole just smiled and gave her a wink before swigging her beer and turning back to JJ.

The pair of them watched as the dinner took form, diced beef browning, veg wilting as it is folded into the sauce. JJ moved across the kitchen with surprising ease and confidence, loving the attention of the two women.

Anna let herself drink more than she should, let herself play along with Nicole’s jokes more than she should. The idea of talking to Nicole about her feelings became less and less scary with every single moment.

By the time the gang was sitting down to dinner, she had almost forgotten about all the previous stress.