Find Dominic, and Go Bake with Him

You remember that Dominic mentioned something about baking cookies today during the hall meeting on Friday, so you decide to head to the hall lounge to help out.

At the public kitchen next to the hall lounge, you find what you expected to, sans Dominic and cookies: that is, nothing but an empty kitchen. You look around in confusion, but after a couple seconds, you are **** to admit that Dominic is not hiding under the sink, and there aren’t cookies hidden away in the cupboards. Darn. But now, with cookies on your mind, you can’t just give up, can you?

You venture down the hall to Dominic’s room, figuring that if he’s not in the kitchen, then there are good odds he’ll be here.

You bump into him just as he’s heading out of the room.

“Hey Alex, what’s up?” he says, waving to you.

“Where are the cookies?” you blurt out. Whoops. You’d meant to say something that a regular, civilised person would, like maybe a greeting. Maybe you should have gotten breakfast.

“Cookies?” Dominic says, frowning. “Oh right, the cookies. I was planning on baking them later today, at around 2. I take it those are the cookies you’re lusting over?”

“It sounded that bad?” you ask.

“I make cookies to die for,” he replies, “So no big deal, I’m used to it. My girlfriend can’t get enough of them—I’ve got to save some for her when I do get around to making them.” Your stomach rumbles. It is audible, it is loud, and it is embarrassing. “On second thought… want to get started now?”

“If it’s not a hassle…” you begin.

Dominic shakes his head. “But you will have to help me, if you want it to be done soon."

“Then yes! Please!”

It was a well known fact in high school that your weakness was cookies. More than one girl scored a date with you by offering to bake you cookies in exchange for a night out. It was almost always worth it.

Down in the kitchen, Dominic rummages through the shelves, pulling out flour, baking soda, and salt. He precisely measures out hefty quantities of each (the amount of flour, of course, far outstripping the others), and then passes you a bowl to whisk the ingredients together in.

“What are we making?” you ask him.

He goes back to cabinets and pulls out two bags of ingredients, waving them for you to see: white chocolate and macadamia!

“We won’t be needing these for a little bit,” Dominic says, setting the bags aside. He heads over to the pantry. “I’ve got to hand mix the cookie dough, which is a pain in the ass, but that’s how you get the stuff to be fucking delicious.”

A little over an hour later, you’re finally done baking. The fresh trays of cookies look irresistible to you, but you stay your hand, knowing that you have to wait for them to cool at least a little. Dominic snaps a pic of you and the cookies, posting it to the hall’s Facebook page. Then, the two of you head into the lounge, bearing the goodies.

“Cookies!” Annalise cries in delight, rushing over to the two of you.

“Yes, cookies,” Dominic says drily. “Try not to have all of them at once, you two.”

You’ve already snuck a cookie out of the tray after setting it down on the table, and Annalise somehow has one in each hand. She takes a bite out of one and closes her eyes, letting out a low mmm sound that is surprisingly sensual. Your first bite into the cookie explains it: it’s warm and soft and sweet, and shit… so chewy…

“I owe you one, Dominic,” you say, and he chuckles, getting a cookie himself.

“This was nothing,” he replies. “Though I’ll tell you what—you’re close with Griffin and Rachel, right?”

“We’re friends,” you reply.

“How’s this. If you keep an eye out on them for me, I’ll make you cookies anytime,” he says.

“What am I missing?” you ask, confused as to why Dominic would want you to do this.

“Nothing, just… let me know if either of them need help? I just want to do my job well,” he says, shrugging, “and they’ve been a little bit dodgy lately.”

“Okay…” you respond, though you feel a little uncomfortable with it. What does he mean by this? And what is he insinuating? “Actually… um… I’ve got somewhere to be, so I should get going.”

“Sure, see you around,” Dominic says, his mouth pulling into a tight line.

You grab another cookie before you head out, wondering where it is you’re planning to go.

Annalise +5
Dominic +5