The Way to a Man's Heart

Chapter 15

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Third Person POV

"Huh?"

Dome's heart jumped when he heard and felt the banging against his front door.

Whoever was banging on his door was banging so hard that it was making his back vibrate. He was still sitting on the floor with his back against the door.

"Dome! Are you alright??? Open this door!"

Cheese on rice, it sounded like that pesky new tenant Pavel.

Dome slowly rose from the floor and opened the door.

Pavel stumbled inside, his eyes so wide and frightened that it looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets any second.

"Are you okay?" Pavel squeaked out the words.

"Of course I'm okay," Dome puffed. "Did you think I was going to kill myself over that worthless mutt?"

Ah hah so that Mr. Executive suited guy who introduced himself as Tae Kreepolrerk was someone who evidently had a history, a bad history with Dome, bad enough to make Dome refer to him as a worthless mutt.

Pavel ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing what to say next.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Pavel said, "If you need to talk about it, I'm a very willing listener."

"Thank you but I'm alright," said Dome. "Now if you would please excuse me, I have to go and fix myself some dinner."

"What dish did you have in mind?" Pavel asked.

What was it to him what I was planning for dinner, Dome was thinking, a little bit annoyed that Pavel was still inside his unit. He should never have let him in.

"Nothing fancy," Dome was forced to reply. "Just some satay beef fillet with watercress and cucumbers."

Pavel's eyes widened.

"You don't call that fancy?" he asked in disbelief. "That's my absolute favorite dish in the whole world!"

"Don't exaggerate," Dome scolded Pavel.

"But it absolutely is," Pavel insisted. "Can I stay to help you prepare the ingredients?"

"Why don't you just come out and straight up tell me that you would like me to invite you to dinner?" Dome smirked at Pavel.

"I honestly wasn't," Pavel fluttered his eyes innocently at Dome.

Dome sighed. If the only way to get rid of him was to let him go ahead and help him prepare dinner, so be it.

"Fine," Dome said with some exasperation. "Go ahead and take out the pack of beef fillet from my freezer."

"You are so kind and I gratefully accept your invitation," Pavel said. Then without thinking he rushed over to Dome, and gave him a tight hug.

Dome got a whiff of a pleasant manly scent when Pavel hugged him.

"What perfume are you using?" Dome asked without thinking.

"Oh, you like it?" Pavel asked with a big smile, breaking the hug.

When Dome refused to answer, Pavel supplied him the information.

"It's not too expensive," Pavel said. "It's a cologne spray by Burberry."

"Hmm... smells good," Dome said then quickly turned away and went over to one of his kitchen cabinets to take out his jasmine rice container.

"One point for me," Pavel counted mentally.

Pavel went over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer to look for the pack of frozen beef fillet.

"Is this it?" Pavel asked, showing Dome the pack that he had taken out of the freezer.

"Yes," Dome replied. "Place it inside the microwave for a quick thaw."

Pavel did as instructed.

While Pavel was doing that, Dome poured some of the rice into the rice pot, rinsed the rice a few times and placed the required amount of water before placing the pot into the rice cooker.

With Pavel's help, Dome was able to put together the satay beef  with watercress and cucumber dish.

Dome could not help suppressing a smile when after dinner he saw Pavel licking off the satay sauce that had gotten on his index finger. Pavel had confessed that he was such a foodie.

"If you are such a foodie, why does your figure not show the slightest extra ounce of fat?" Dome was curious to know.

"Oh, I'm a regular gym goer," Pavel said. "I never miss a day or night without doing my fitness exercises."

"I see," Dome said, sucking in his tummy so that Pavel would not notice the flab that he needed to work off.

"Let me help with the dishes," Pavel offered, gathering the plates and utensils from the table.

"No, no, no, leave them." Dome said. "I will let the dishwasher take care of them."

"Well, at least let me load them into the dishwasher," Pavel said.

"If you insist. Thanks," Dome said.

Dome sipped his pineapple juice thoughtfully, watching Pavel as he went over and bent to load the dishes into the dishwasher.

Amazing how there was so much he now knew about Pavel over just a few minutes of dining with him.

Dome tried not to stare at Pavel's back as his tight buns stretched against the fabric while bending to load the dishwasher.

Dome wanted to ask him how his relationship with that guy for whom he had ditched the offer of his previous employer to join them in their move to Singapore was going but Dome was not the kind who poked his nose into other people's private lives.

"All done," Pavel straightened up with a big smile after placing the last plate into the dishwasher.

"How are things going with your boyfriend?" Dome asked.

Shit, what made him ask that. Dome wanted to kick himself. He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

Pavel stared wide eyed at Dome.

It took Pavel a few stunned seconds before saying, "I don't have one. I mean I thought I had one but he ditched me for a coworker. He didn't break my heart though. I'm not someone who mourns over anyone who leaves me for someone else." 

"It was his loss not mine," Pavel added with a careless shrug.

"What an arrogant piece of ass you are," Dome almost said but he managed to keep the words unsaid.