Capture The Moment (boyxboy)

Chapter 9: Fruit salad (yummy yummy)

"I think I should sit this one out."

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Clark thought Roshan was joking when he said he was going to get the knives out at the next lesson. Just a play on words, or maybe Clark was hoping that Roshan did actually want to see his 'skills' or whatever he meant by that phrase in the heat of the moment. But here he was with a shiny blade in front of him, a chopping board and two bowls, one full of fruit and the other empty.

"As you can see class, we will be ' 'sharpening' ' up on our knife skills today." Roshan lets out an infectious laugh at his play on words. It makes Clark smile. Not because the joke was any good, but because that guy's laugh was so adorable. He clears his throat before continuing. "It's crucial that you hold a knife correctly. We only have one set of fingers." 

At that moment, Clark knew he would be saying farewell to a digit very soon. This was going to be a bloodbath. He raises a hand to get Roshan's attention. "Excuse me chef, I think I should sit this one out." 

"Nonsense!" Comes the reply. "Just watch, take your time and all will be well." 

"Chef, are you sure this is not risky? I need my fingers to do stuff" Tully adds. 

"Like I said, watch and learn..." 

Everyone braces themselves as they subconsciously lean forward to take it all in, as Roshan explains the importance of keeping the fingertips tucked away like a claw and using the knuckles' edge as a guide. He goes into detail about the push away strokes of the blade and Clark was finding himself getting hypnotised by the rhythmic cuts through the cucumber, perfect disks were left on the chopping board in the knife's wake. "And that's how it's done." Roshan finishes off, resting the knife down on the work surface. 

Clark looks at the bowl of fruit, seeing no cucumber. He is about to say something when Roshan beats him to it. "You will be practising on fruit and making a beautiful fruit salad in the process. The fruit is graded in difficulty. Bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries and finally a pineapple, but I don't expect anyone will master cutting a perfect pineapple in this class." He jests.

"Game on."  Clark utters under his breath, determined to again prove the chef wrong. He grabs a banana and begins to peel away the skin, automatically leaning in to bite the top like it was habit, glancing at Roshan as he does so. 

The chef takes in the innocent,  yet suggestive scene of Clark's hand wrapped around the base of the unpeeled end. His mind takes him to places far too unhygienic for a cooking space. He calls out in a mild panic, "Remember, the bananas are for cutting, not for...eating."  

Clark instantly lowers his hand. He hurriedly pulls back the rest of the skin, with the banana taking on a life of its own, as it slips from it's yellow jacket and falls onto the floor. 

"First casualty of the lesson." Tully says, turning to see Clark bent over, retrieving his banana. 

Roshan pulls another one from the bunch on his desk and takes it across to Clark, adding. "That one has been on the floor, you can't use it now. Take this." 

Clark stands back up, reaching out to take the replacement, but Roshan doesn't let go straight away. He looks at Clark directly in the eyes, causing Clark to return the gaze. "Please....be careful." He utters, before finally letting go. 

"I will." Clark replies, now taking the fruit and peeling it with more caution before resting it on the chopping board. 

Roshan still remains, watching as Clark takes the knife and begins to carefully chop up the banana. "That's right, well done." Roshan praises as the now cut banana gets placed into the bowl. Clark can't help but feel the flush of joy rush through him from the praise and with his confidence boosted, he reaches for the red apple. 

It's now that he thinks he has it in the bag, but Clark isn't quite ready for the smooth surface fighting off the sharp blade. Clark's knife slips and Roshan's heart is in his mouth.  "Careful... Just take your time." He utters as he stands behind Clark and proceeds to thread his arms through the space between Clark's arms and body. 

Clark instantly lets go of the apple and the knife, which Roshan now scoops up as he looks over Clark's right shoulder and proceeds to 'teach' the correct cutting skill. "Just slice a little from the side to create a flat surface to stand it on, see..." 

Clark is looking....he is looking at the long, slender fingers, with beautiful manicured nails steadying the fruit, whilst the other hand wraps around the handle of the knife. He admires the total control Roshan has over the blade. Clark felt like he was watching hand porn. He was captivated in a way he thought he never would be over a pair of hands, but he knew they were not just anyone's hands. They were Chef's hands! His beautiful skilled creative hands!

It almost pained him when Roshan stopped slicing up the apple, but little did Clark know what the chef was going to do next..