Darling

Chapter 6

On Friday evening, Amelia and I are working on multiplication problems at the dining table while her mother prepares dinner for us again.

The setting sun illuminates the house with a lavender hue, and it seems to have a calming effect on the young girl next to me. She's having a hard time staying awake.

"Amelia?" I attempt to get her attention. She looks up at me with sleepy eyes, rubbing them. "Are you tired, love? You had a long day at school, huh?" She nods, her eyes failing to stay open.

"Tell you what, why don't we finish up these next few problems and call it a day?" I offer. She nods once more. "Go ahead and rinse your face, it'll help you focus."

She gets up and shuffles to the bathroom, yawning. I lean back in my chair and focus my gaze on her mother who is finishing up dinner in the kitchen.

Wanting to strike up a conversation in Amelia's absence, I ask, "What's on the menu tonight?" She turns around with a smile, a kitchen towel over her shoulder.

"Spaghetti," she answers. "Does that sound okay? I can make you something else if you'd like," she offers.

I shake my head. "No, that sounds perfect," I assure the blonde.

I notice Amelia's taking a long time rinsing her face, and Lizzie seems to pick up on this too. "I'll go see what's taking her so long," Lizzie says.

While she climbs upstairs to investigate, I venture into the kitchen to refill my glass of water. Lizzie has fresh herbs growing on the windowsill, and I smile to myself thinking of her green thumb.

The thumping of Lizzie's footsteps come down the stairs, and I turn to watch her as she makes her way towards me in the kitchen.

She places her hands in her back pockets and tells me, sighing, "She's knocked out cold in her room. Guess it's just you and me for dinner," she says.

Butterflies invade my stomach at the thought of us being alone together, and I can't help but smile before saying, "Guess so," with a grin.

Lizzie maintains our eye contact and moves back towards the stove with a smile, her side rubbing against mine.

I can feel heat rise to my cheeks at the slight contact, and I join her next to the stove- leaning against the counter.

Her slender hand stirs the sauce bubbling on the stove, and my breath picks up at the memory of what I was imagining they were doing to me just a few days earlier.

Her voice snaps me out of my trance, but I fail to hear what she says.

"Huh?" I ask, looking back up into her emerald orbs, clueless as to what she just said.

She looks at me curiously with a smile before asking,"Wanna be my taste tester?"

"Yes, please," I respond enthusiastically.

She gathers a small amount of sauce on the spoon and blows on it, cooling it down. I chuckle a bit at the sight, and she turns to me with a grin, "What? It's hot. I don't want you to burn your mouth," she explains.

"Right, right. Of course," I agree with a playful nod of my head.

She blows on it once more and I raise my hand to take the spoon from her, but she takes it back quickly.

I shoot her a confused look, and she says, "Uh- uh. Come here," beckoning me closer to her with a wide grin.

My stomach does flips at her request, and I oblige with a quiet sigh.

She brings the spoon closer to my mouth and I try once again to use the spoon myself, but to no avail.

I can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, and Lizzie laughs alongside me.