My Mute Mate

Ch. 46

After a few hours, I head inside to start dinner, letting Rose and Sym know I'm going. I didn't want to disrupt the fun the guys were having, especially Daniel. He would guilt trip himself so bad, but he looks like he's having fun. He's smiling for once, it's nice. It doesn't have to end yet, so I'm not going to make it end on my account. I get up to the house and wash my hands before setting to work making chicken parmigiana with homemade fettuccine alfredo, with a side of french bread and zucchini noodles in with the alfredo to add something healthy to what is otherwise a heart attack on a plate. I'm about halfway through grating the zucchini when the door opens.

"Hey, need any help?" Daniel asks, drying his hair out on a towel.

"Oh, hey Daniel!" I greet with a smile, "Sure! If you wanna add the cheese to that pot for me, but dont turn the heat on yet."

"How much?  There's a lot there." He asks, washing his hands.

"All of it."

"Are you sure? There's like six pounds of cheese here." He asks again, putting his hands next to me on the counter and leaning forward, a smile on his face that reads 'you're fucking with me'.

"Yup! I need all of it." I link, adding the zucchini noodles to the pot of regular noodles to soften them up.

"I mean, you're the boss!" Daniel laughs and throws the entire bowl of mixed cheeses into the pot already filled with cream. I turn the heat on low and set hin to stirring it while I pop the bread in the oven and finish up the parmigiana sauce, his unusually happy face warming my chest.

"You're amazing." Daniel compliments me before blushing, "At cooking, I mean." I blush and turn away so he cant see, pretending to check on the bread.

"I'm not all that good, I just did it a lot for a really pretty crowd is all." I play off his compliment and we go quiet. After a second of kicking myself, I ask Daniel to call everyone in as I add some finishing touches.

"Woah, Dove! You made all this??" Mason asks as I'm slicing the bread, his mouth agape.

"Yeah. I mean, I had help from Daniel so don't give me too much credit." I wipe my hands on a towel as everyone starts serving up. Me and Andrew are the last to get to the table.

"Help or not, this looks amazing, and I'm sure the taste will reflect that." Andrew bumps his shoulder with mine when we finally sit down. I give him a slight smile before watching everyones faces as they take their first bites.

"Oh sweet stars above, this is fucking delicious, Dove." Sym looks to me excitedly before diving into her food like she'd been starved for weeks.

"She's right. It's amazing Dove, well done." Rose adds on and I relax. I'm so glad they all like it.

"You just gonna watch us all eat like a weirdo? Eat, hon." Andrew chides me lightly and I remember I have my own plate to contend with.

I'm not used to cooking and getting to eat what I made, usually there'd be nothing left so I'd have a PB&J or something. But here I am with my favorite people. I like this moment, I don't want it to end. But, before I know it, we've all finished our food and the moment is over.

"Oh, thank you? We could've gotten those." Daniel says as I grab everyones plates.

"I can get it, don't worry. Thank you though!" I reassure him with a smile before taking everything to the sink. I start running hot water to fill up the sink when I see the dishwasher open up next to me.

I look to see Daniel filling the dishwasher with all the easy dishes, Andrew gathering up the pots and pans for me, Syn wiping down the table while Rose cleans the counters and Mason sweeping everything. I feel a couple tears spring my eyes as I watch my friends help me clean up. With Andrew switching to drying and Daniel putting it all away, it's safe to say we have the kitchen spotless in under 15 minutes.