The Perfect Date

Chapter 2

After meeting the third guy her sister introduced her to, Maka had had enough. Why she had thought she could do this without some sugar in her system, she did not know.

It didn’t help that the entire house smelled of freshly baked goodies. Simba, her brother-in-law, had obviously been busy. It would be a shame if she didn’t go and enjoy what he had made.

She briefly wondered who was manning the barbecue outside but thought slipped from her mind as she walked into the kitchen.

“Cookies! I was looking for muffins, but cookies are way better,” she declared, swiping two cookies off the cookie sheet Simba was holding.

She ignored his laughter and moaned, choosing instead to enjoy her cookies. Chocolate-chip cookies were her biggest weakness. She loved food in general, but cookies were everything.

She sat down on a stool, leaned onto the big island in the middle of Tadiwa and Simba’s kitchen. As the last cookie disappeared, she turned to Simba and smiled at him.

“Hey Simba.”

Simba simply laughed again as he placed a few cookies on a plate and handed it to her.

“Not the whole cookie sheet?” She asked before popping one of those beauties into her mouth.

Maka could cook and bake just as well, if not even better than Simba and Tadiwa, but she usually couldn’t be bothered. Why go through the hustle when you could just order in or eat at your sister’s house.

“Maybe later. My friend Pete cooks and bakes even bette…”

“Oh gosh, not you too! I am on a cookie break. No disrespecting the cookies.”

Simba laughed and shook his head.
“I am not trying to set you up. I am just saying you might need to save some space for the actual barbecue. Pete, one of my good friends, is outside right now taking care of all the actual food,” he said, putting away the rest of the cookies.

“You have a friend I have never met? Someone I don’t see Tadiwa forgiving you for that.”

Again, Simba laughed. He was always laughing at her. If she didn’t know he cared, she would have a complex by now.

“Pete doesn’t date. He would murder me if I let my wife try to set him up on a date. I have been meaning to take you to his restaurant, though. Just for the food.”

“Hmm. Sure.” Maka responded, not believing him one bit. 

She was sure there was a trap somewhere in those words, but she couldn’t be bothered to find it. 

It was cookie time.

Again, Simba laughed, but she ignored him in favour of her cookies.

“So how did it go with the AI last night?” He asked.

“Oh, right, the AI.” She had forgotten she had sent him a text about that. “His name was Pete, just like your friend. He was actually pretty interesting. Superbelievable. The company will make a lot of money once it hits the market. And men everywhere are going to regret not treating the ladies right,” she joked.

“So you think your dad and his team are onto something with this new line?”

“Hmm, from the date yesterday, I would say yes. However, I reserve my last judgement until I know why they hid this from me and created it without my approval. The final product itself is great. They talk and sound human. They sort of even eat too. Pete moved better than the last AI, too. His movements were a little too precise and ordered, but most people wouldn’t have been able to tell.”