In Your Corner | ✓

Twenty-Eight

I can't really explain why I'm so nervous, but my stomach is acting as though there's a whole stampede of wild horses going on down there.

Well, of course I can actually explain why I'm so nervous.

Josh is coming over for dinner tonight.

Anandi, thankfully, is spending the night at Gray's despite having an exam tomorrow, and MJ hardly batted an eyelid when I told her Josh was coming over.

She's slightly less relentless about him and the apparently suspicious nature of our friendship, so it's not actually her presence that's making me feel like this. It isn't the fact that I'm cooking, either.

It's just him.

That's the thing, though. It's Josh. So, when he knocks on the door, I paste a bright smile on my face, swinging the door open and greeting him enthusiastically.

I try really hard not to look at him too much, to notice the fact that he's dressed in jeans that hug his legs beautifully, or a sweater that showcases his broad shoulders.

I fail miserably, obviously.

"Hey, Nat," he smiles, pulling me into a one-armed hug, his other hand pre-occupied with a bag that turns out to contain a couple of bottles of really nice IPA, which he definitely didn't have to do.

"You shouldn't have," I sigh, taking the bag from him when he offers it, trying to ignore the fact that he smells so good. "It's not like I brought anything when you cooked for us."

Josh smiles crookedly as he takes his shoes off by the door. "Well, it's just me this time. I didn't want to turn up empty-handed. Besides, I've never seen this IPA in the shops before, so I thought that we should both try it."

I try to tell the cartwheels my stomach is doing to quit it, but it's doesn't exactly work.

So, I just offer him a small smile. "Uh, so Anandi is at Gray's this evening, but MJ is here, so I offered that she has dinner with us. I hope that's okay. She has an exam tomorrow that she's pretty stressed about, so I didn't want her to have to worry about dinner, too."

His expression is soft and he reaches out to tug a lock of my hair, which, of course, only worsens the gymnastics in my stomach. "Don't look so worried, Nat. I love that you're looking out for your friends. It's something you excel in, clearly."

My face is brighter than a tomato, surely, so I turn away, embarrassed. "Right. Well, come this way. It's pretty much ready."

I love looking out for my friends. On one level, I'm glad he's noticed, but on another, it makes me feel a little awkward.

He pads behind me quietly into the kitchen area, where the gomguk is finishing on the stove top. The other side dishes I've prepared, including beef bulgogi, dak galbi and beoseot gui, are warming in the oven.

Smiling lightly, I gesture towards the kitchen island. "Sit down," I instruct him quietly. "I just need to get MJ from her room and then I'll get everything out the oven."

Josh starts to protest. "Let me help you, Nat."

Putting my palms on his shoulder blades, I gently nudge him towards the island, irritated that I literally feels sparks with my hands on him like this. "It's literally all ready, Josh. Just sit down, all right?"

Reluctantly, he hoists himself into a stool. "Unfair," he grumbles under his breath. "I let you help me when you came over."

Brushing off his complaints, I head to MJ's room and pop my head around the door. "That's dinner ready now, when you're ready."