Into you : When We First Met

Chapter 6

Chay's POV

'Now that's how you cook for someone extraordinary with your skills.' I was dying to watch his reaction when he took his first bite.

I took the plate to the table and saw that he wasn't there. I left the food where it was and went to look for him. As I looked through the house. I finally found him sitting on the balcony with a guitar in his lap while he played something. "K'Wik, your lunch is ready." I walked up to him and informed him. "I'll be right there," he told me as he looked at me. He put down the guitar and came back with me to the table.

As he followed me to the table, I was not able to control my excitement for him to take the first bite and see his reaction. He sat down at the table and observed the food. He smiled before looking at me and said, "Not bad; it looks good." I smiled at him, nodded, and waited for him to taste the food. Before taking his first bite, he put a forkful of noodles in his mouth, looked at me, smiled, and said, "You probably didn't eat lunch, right? Just get a plate for yourself also; we'll eat the food you worked so hard to make." He smirked at me.

I nervously laughed and said, "It's okay!" as a way to get out of the offer. "K'Wik, I'll have it later. I don't feel hungry right now."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, "but I can't resist this delicious aroma." He took another bite, enjoying the flavors, and motioned for me to join him. "Don't be shy; come on. It's a shame to waste such a delicious meal."

I was surprised that he wasn't reacting and that he was enjoying the food without showing any signs that the spicy was bothering him.

He ate without complaint. I stared at him, surprised that he didn't react as expected. I didn't realize someone was calling until I felt a nudge on my shoulder. I then turned to face him in disbelief at his lack of response.

"The meal was really delicious," he said, smiling and leaving. I looked at the plate, speechless. It was almost empty what I served it to him. Despite the heat, he enjoyed every bite. I wondered if he had a high spice tolerance. And took the plate to the kitchen sink, still wondering how he handled the noodles' spice.

I kept the plate near the sink and saw that some noodles were left in the pot, so I took a spoon and tasted them to see if they were spicy. The noodles were hotter than I expected. My taste buds burned, making me gasp for water. As my cooking had intensified the spice with which I had specially added extra for him. I wondered how he handled such strong flavors without flinching.

I went to the fridge to find water to cool my mouth, which was burning, and drank it quickly. And that wasn't enough to stop it from burning, so I went to get a glass of milk.

But I still felt like my mouth was on fire. I felt like the heat from the spicy noodles had spread all over my body, and I wanted to get some relief so badly. I thought about reaching for a piece of bread, a spoonful of yogurt  ice cream, or anything else, hoping that their coolness would finally help. But I couldn't find anything that worked. Before I could do anything to make me feel better, it made me hiccup instead, intensifying the discomfort. The spiciness seemed to linger, making my eyes tear up as I looked desperately for a way to stop the burning feeling.

"Argh... hicc now I need hicc to stop hicc this." I said this in between hiccups, feeling frustrated. And I thought, How did he eat such spicy food without showing any discomfort?

"Oui, Chay, stop hicc thinking abo.. hicc how he hicc tolerated hicc; think about hicc and how to stop hiccings hicc." I said to myself.