𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬

CHAPTER 8

Karan smouldering above.

cacoëthes

(n.) an urge to do something inadvisable

Donning her father's 'kiss the chef' apron, Kiara tied her hair back as she prepared the ingredients to make her famous Kerala chicken curry. She had spent the past two days engaged in exhaustingly long press conferences and interviews, making sure to keep the last day of the Hong Kong tour free so she could spend the day with her family before the cast flew to their next destination. Having carefully monitored her father and brother's cooking, she guided them as they placed the lime pie into the oven then shooed them out of the kitchen so she could cook in peace. She bustled around the kitchen, dancing along to the melodic tune of 'O Bi Karamel' by Ozbi.

Suddenly she was rudely interrupted by someone rapidly banging their fist against the front door, "Hellooo I'm starving!"

Recognising who the voice belonged to, Kiara washed her hands and took her own sweet time to open the door.

Vijay impatiently continued rapping at the door, "Open up, Mathew! I know you can hear me."

Not feeling particularly fond of his tone of voice, she slowed and retorted, "Remember that time when you shut up? Yeah, me neither."

"Open up!"

"Shut up!"

"Open."

Karan angrily walked over and interfered, "Shut the fuck up, dipshit."

"You shut the fuck up!", Vijay shouted back.

She threw her arms up in frustration, shoving Karan away from the door, "Both of you shut the fuck up!"

There was a long pause on the other side as Vijay let out a frustrated grunt, "Fine."

She released a relieved breath and swung open the front door, smiling victoriously at him, "Good boy."

Vijay pecked Kiara's forehead before removing his shoes and making a beeline for the kitchen as she followed behind him, grabbing cutlery along the way. Swaying her hips to the music, she carefully arranged the table as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

He subtly checked her out, "Shit, if we weren't best friends, I might be slightly attracted to you right now."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance as Karan slapped the back of his head hard, "Oi, that's my sister you're chatting up."

"I didn't do anything!"

"What more do you want to do?"

"You giving me permission to do more?"

"No! No. Definitely not. Stop twisting my words."

"Then use better words!"

She slipped between them, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders, "Dinner's ready."

Upon catching the mouth-watering scent of Kiara's cooking, her father snuck into the kitchen in an attempt to steal a bite before she plated the curry to serve but was unfortunately too late as the boys scrambled to divide their share. She laughed at the men as they comically competed with each other to grab larger portions, settling into her seat as she watched them. Deciding she couldn't be bothered to mess with them, she avoided the chicken curry and instead quietly worked her way through the remaining dishes.