When she was just a child, Eniola's dad passed away so her mom attempts to take her own life, her childhood best friend also moved away and her aunt took her in.
What will Eniola's life be like as she grows up?
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁...
Following what happened in the parking lot, nobody appears to be talking in the car, and Sébastian appears to be silent. They decide to clarify the situation after a little while.
"What?-"
"Who?-"
They both speak at the same time.
"No, it's fine. You are free to go first." I tell him.
"Okay, who was that?" I giggled.
"That was my boss," I said. I turn to face him.
"Really? A boss would never treat their employee in such a way." He claims.
I agree with a nod of my head.
"Yes, you are correct. I have no idea what's wrong with him. To be honest with you, I just wanted to let you know that Mr Ashton, my boss, is somebody I used to know in the past: he was my childhood ex-friend." I explain to him that I don't want him to hear this from someone else, so there'll be no misunderstandings.
"Oh my gosh."
He responds well to it.
"Yeah, also how do you feel about it?" I inquired, curious to hear what he has to say regarding Alexander and me.
"It does not bother me in the least. My attention is solely on you." He stares at me for what feels like an eternity before kissing me at the red light.
Warmth bloomed in her chest, sparks igniting as Sébastian leaned in close, their lips brushing. His lips were soft and warm. They opened slightly, allowing my tongue to enter. I break the kiss after a few seconds, feeling quite hot and flustered.
The traffic light turns green, and the car moves again.
"That was a good kiss, right?" I inquire.
"You can say that again." He gives me a smile and turns on the music.
I get a notification on my phone, and when I unlock it, I discover it's from Kianna.
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She stows her phone in her bag and looks around, a puzzled expression on her face.
"What exactly is going on?
What made you drive us here? Isn't this your eatery?" I ask .
To reassure me, he places his palm over my hand.
"Don't be worried; you'll see."
"All right, if you say so."
I take my bag and exit the car, and Sébastian takes my hand and leads me inside his eatery. I'm intrigued about the second date, so I'm interested to know about what he has planned.He leads me to the back of the restaurant, where we enter the kitchen. There appears to be equipment ready for use, as well as various food ingredients such as flour, eggs, butter, milk, and others nearby.
I think to myself, 'This looks like it's going to be so fun because I love food and cooking.'
"So, you're probably wondering what we're up to here, right?"
"Of course," she says.
"So we're going to have a cooking competition in which we can cook what we like, no pressure, and have a great time. Is that all right with you?" He inquires.
"I really like the concept! What about the prize?" I turn and face him.
"Princesa, you'll find out." He leans in to kiss me, but he is disrupted by a knock on the door and the entrance of a black man with thick dreadlocks tied into a semi- ponytail.
"Oh, I apologise, am I bothering you?"
"No, it's not a problem. Actually, Felipe, why don't you become the judge for the contest we're holding?" He made a clapping motion.
"I'm all in, Sebbie!" Sébastian cringes at the nickname.
"By the way, my name is Felipe, and I am Sébastian's twin brother. It was impolite about him not to introduce me to you." He says this cheekily, and Sébastian rolls his eyes.
He laughs at Felipe's words.
"See, this is why you annoy me."
"You're stuck with me for the rest of your life, Sebbie."
He hugs him on the side.
"Yeah, yeah where we...oh, so basically, me and Elena are going to have a cooking contest, you will be the judge, and whoever wins will pick the next date, but if you can't decide who wins, we both can choose the date, does that sound good with both of you?"
Sébastian casts a glance between the two of us.
Felipe gives me a thumbs-up as I nod.
Felipe pulls out a stopwatch timer from the cabinet and shows that he has set the timer for two hours.
"And the countdown has officially started!"
Sébastian and I arrive at our respective stations.
After a brief instant of thought, I know what I'm going to be making: lasagna with paella.
I'm nervous about cooking paella since it is my first time, but I'll do my best and put in enough effort because if I win, I'll have a date to choose from. Considering that I only have two hours to prepare two meals, I intend to make lasagna because it takes an hour and 45 minutes to cook, whereas paella requires 45 minutes to cook, so I will start with that.
I'm commencing from the first stage, and that is the beef ragu. I initiate by frying an onion in a little oil in a pan. I incorporate garlic, carrot, and finely sliced mushrooms (according to my Aunt Aaliyah, doing so bulks out the dish and adds flavour).
Once softened, I brown the minced beef in the pan, then add tomato puree, oregano, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, a crumbled stock cube, canned tomatoes, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. I stir it, bring it to a boil, and let it sit for fifteen minutes while I prepare the béchamel sauce.
To make the béchamel sauce, I melt butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to make a paste. Then I slowly whisk in the milk and stir constantly with a hand whisk, over the heat until it thickens. I remove the pan from the heat after stirring in the cheese and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Sébastian's POV
Sébastian, on the other hand, is preparing patatas bravas, a snack that Felipe enjoys but isn't a fan of the spiciness from the tomato sauce, though he enjoys it either way. He's also making a simple Italian dessert (affogato chocolate mousse) to balance out the flavours, but also for Elena. In a food processor, combine garlic, a half teaspoon of smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt; process until smooth. I combine mayonnaise, sherry vinegar, tomato paste, a quarter teaspoon of chilli powder, and cayenne pepper. The dipping sauce is covered and refrigerated.
In a small bowl, Sébastian whisks together one tablespoon of salt, black pepper, a half teaspoon of smoked paprika, and a half teaspoon of chilli powder then sets the spice blend aside. He adds one tablespoon of salt, one teaspoon of smoked paprika, cumin, and bay leaves to a large saucepan of water. He brings it to a boil, then lowers the heat to low and covers it with a lid for 10 minutes. He steals a glance at Elena, who is spreading meat sauce over the core of the dish and starts to top with lasagne sheets, though she halts, sensing my glare, and looks at me, grinning and then winks before getting back to what she had been doing.
