Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 25 ]

"Two teaspoons of oregano." Rebecca read from the pristine and previously untouched cookbook Colby's mom had gotten him when he first moved into his own place.

"Two..." Colby repeated quietly and slowly as he concentrated on the task at hand. "Teaspoons."

He clapped his hands together once after successfully adding it to the pasta sauce. Rebecca slipped past him and grabbed his spoon, moving towards the stove and picking up some of the sauce.

She waited for it to cool as Colby watched her impatiently, making her laugh at him before sampling it. Her face showed no emotion, and he quickly grew impatient.

"So?" He tilted his head to the side, and she frowned.

"Maybe we should just start over." She shrugged, disposing of the spoon in the sink.

"What?! Why?" Colby rushed to the drawer to grab a spoon of his own before he quickly tasted some. "What do you mean? This tastes great!"

"I know." She smiled before laughing, "Not so fun, is it? Now you know how it feels."

Colby pressed his lips together, remembering he had done the same thing with their exam results. He nodded to himself, placing his hands on his hips. "You know what, I deserved that."

"Yes, you definitely did." She responded as she threw some noodles into another pot. "Now these just need to boil, and we're good."

"Great." Colby replied oddly enthusiastically, and Rebecca turned around slightly suspicious, only to have Colby poke her on the cheek with a finger full of their pasta sauce.

"Why?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"I could help you get rid of it if you want." His smirk grew gradually, and Rebecca smiled.

"Ah, that's why." She nodded slowly, "No thanks, I see the way parents remove food off of their child's face. I'll pass."

"But you're not my child." He took a step forward, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, I forgot, I'm your mother." She laughed, referring to his comment about her going to his football game.

"No, you're neither." He rolled his eyes, but his smirk never faded.

"Then what am I?" The question slipped past her lips before she could stop it.

To be fair, it was a question she'd been wondering for the past few weeks. She didn't want to label anything or seem too blunt with it, but she didn't want to be left in the dark. Then again, the way they interacted and their mannerisms sometimes made them look like they'd been together for years.

"You're whatever you want to be." His response was somehow vague yet direct, and she didn't know how to navigate it.

She just nodded in response, leaving it open for future discussion, until she remembered she still had sauce on her cheek. She rolled her eyes at Colby as she scraped it off with her finger. He laughed, placing both of his hands on the counter on either side of her, trapping her in between.

She went to wash the sauce off of her finger, but Colby was unmoving. Instead, he lifted her hand up and looked at her straight in the eyes. He placed his lips over the tip of her finger, slowly removing the sauce as he dragged his lips up, and off of her finger.

She watched him carefully, "Interesting."

"That's all that gets?" Colby stood up straight, highly offended. "An interesting?!"

Rebecca rolled her eyes and moved back over towards the stove, using another finger to grab some sauce of her own.

"You know..." She started slowly, blowing on the sauce carefully, "I thought they were lying when they said basil was an aphrodisiac."

"Where the hell do you find these words?" He furrowed his eyebrows, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means it's an ingredient that stimulates your sex drive." She turned around with a smirk, and moved towards him, dragging her finger across his neck slowly.

He raised his eyebrow as her other hand curled around the opposite side of his neck, and she stepped on top of her toes. Then his breathing hitched as he felt her tongue slowly make its way across his neck, taking the sauce with it.

"Wh- Why aren't you always teaching me like this?" He rasped, sounding out of breath as she moved away, "I feel like I would learn way... better."

"You wouldn't." She smiled, moving to the sink to wash her hands, "Listen to yourself, you can't even form a proper sentence."

Colby had to blink a few times to bring himself away from the sensation of her tongue on his skin. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mhm, sure." Rebecca laughed before turning back around and finding Colby still standing in the exact same spot.

She patted him on the back with a bright smile, as she checked on the noodles, which were almost ready.

"Well played, Quin." He smiled, "Well played."

"Thank y-" The ladle dropped from Rebecca's hand as she was swiftly turned, and Colby backed her into the counter opposite to the stove.

He lifted her onto it with a smirk, keeping her waist in his grasp. "Smart and observant, what's new?"

"Just because I know your sweet spot?" She rebutted slyly, running her nails up his chest and down his arms. "You're not that hard to read."

His grip on her waist tightened a bit, "Then why are you still questioning my feelings for you?"

He moved towards her, not wanting to give her a chance to answer his question. But before connecting their lips, he heard some strange noises. The next thing he knew, the door swung open, and he heard familiar voices. He rested his forehead on Rebecca's, before sliding her off of the counter, knowing who the noise was coming from.

Then just like lightning, Riley zoomed around the corner, full of energy. "Alright, who missed me?!"