Ethereal

Plume (pt. 2)

Your entrees arrive in the middle of you and Spencer's conversation about Harry Potter. He finished the series yesterday.

"So what did you think of the books?" You ask Spencer.

"They definitely aren't what I'm used to reading, but I can't say that they were bad."

You watch his jaw clench as he chews on his salad. You can tell he likes it and it makes you happy. You take a bite out of your lobster.

"Is your lobster good?" Asks Spencer.

"It's delicious. What about your salad?"

"It's actually exquisite. I definitely couldn't make a salad like this." He takes another bite.

You laugh. "Do you like to cook?" You ask.

"I don't really know how. I'm more of a takeout person." He responds.

"That's unfortunate. Smart and cute, but you can't cook. I thought I had the total package."

He laughs and looks up from his plate. "What about you?"

"My grandma was a fantastic cook, as well as my mom. I learned how by using their recipes."

"What kind of things do like to make?" He sets down his fork and makes eye contact with you.

"I like making pasta and the occasional homemade pizza." You say. Something about pizza made completely from scratch always makes you think of your childhood. You and your mom used to make it all the time, as well as you and your friends.

"You would like my co-worker, David. He's Italian and a very good pasta maker." Says Spencer. He picks up his fork and takes a few bites of his salad.

"My best friend Cecilia has a lot of Italian in her. I always ask her to taste mine because her dad makes it all the time." You continue to eat your lobster, trying hard not to stuff your mouth full of it.

"I would love to try it sometime." Says Spencer.

"Maybe I can try and teach you how to make it." You say.

He looks up from his plate again and smiles. "I would like that." He says.

The rest of your dinner goes by smoothly. You finish your lobster pretty quickly. It was small, but filling. Spencer finishes his salad as well. His plate is absolutely clean. The waiter asks if you would like dessert, but it's almost 7:45 so you need to get to the museum soon. You pay for the food, Spencer looking tense as he watched you sign your name on the check.

"Spencer, it's okay." You say. He looks into your eyes and you can see him relax a little. You think it's cute how he gets so on edge with stuff like that. You stand up out of your chair and you two walk out of the hotel.

"I'll drive us to the museum." Says Spencer. You nod and follow him to his car.

You sit in the passengers seat and notice manila folders scattered in the back. Are those case files? You don't pay much attention to them. You don't want Spencer to feel like he has to talk about work stuff.

"Do you want to listen to some music?" He asks.

"Sure." You say. He turns on the car and switches to the radio.

"You can choose the station. I'm not picky when it comes to music." He says.

You surf through the stations until you hear Khalid's song "Better" start to play. You release your hand from the dial and look out the window. After a minute Spencer turns up the volume. You look over and smile. He looks at you and smiles back.

"I like this song." He says.

You laugh and look out the windshield. You feel Spencer's eyes on you, but you don't look back. You know if you do he'll look away, and you don't want that. So you just sit quietly as he pulls into the museum parking lot.

•••••

Hi everyone, I've decided to post the second chapter because this ones a little short... and because it's New Years, I want to start on a happy note!
So enjoy the reader and Spencer's night at the museum ❤️