"Are you sure that I don't make you nervous when I get closer to you?" he teased me. Each word he said he took a step closer to me. By now my heart was pounding so loudly that I thought he might be able to hear.
Being near him made my thoughts all...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Welcome to the second round of The Summer Baking Competition! Today we will get our finalists that would compete for the title of being a winner of the competition and-" Andrew introduced and I tuned him out as the memories of the mornings with Noah came to me. Yesterday's morning was a special one since the first thing I felt when I woke up was being in Noah's arms as they tightened around my frame and the first thing I saw was his sleeping face. For the next few seconds I took in his sleeping form and I wasn't able to believe my luck that I was feeling so safe and relaxed it made me realize that I've never felt these emotions so deeply, so freely. I sighed happily and snuggled deeper in his embrace as I tried to store this feeling, this scene, this memory for the future. I continued to trace his features with my eyes, his soft hair, his closed eyes, his long eyelashes that caressed his skin gently, the slope of his nose, those high cheekbones, his sharp jawline then lastly those lips, I touched my lips as I recalled how soft they were against mine. I couldn't resist myself so I reached out and gently caressed his face with my fingers. I traced the same path that my eyes followed and once I reached his lips he pecked my fingers which were grazing his lips, I was so focused on his skin and my fingers that I didn't notice when he woke up. After his action, I quickly looked up towards his eyes which were now wide open and were set on mine. His eyes shined with amusement and adornment. His lips curved into a smile and I realized that my fingers were still resting on his lips. I removed them and immediately his fingers caught mine and held them on his cheeks.
"Good morning." He murmured with a smile still present on his lips.
"Good morning," I replied shyly.
"That was probably one of the best ways to get up." He commented as he tightened his hold on me and snuggled deeper into the pillow all while keeping eye contact with me. I shrugged as I tried to look away, knowing fully well that my cheeks were pink by now. "Though now that I think about it, it is still missing one thing." He added and my attention was on him again. He closed the distance between us and kissed me softly, full of affection and love, we both ended up smiling as we kissed. "Now it is perfect." He said after we pulled back.
"Hey, what are you thinking?" A voice interrupted my reminisce, I looked around and got reminded that I was participating in the competition and I needed to pay attention as Andrew was giving us instructions on today's cook. I paid attention to him while Noah nudged my arm. I gave him a look. "No seriously, what were you thinking about? I hope it was me since your cheeks were just about to turn pink." He grinned playfully and I shushed him.
"Okay now on to today's challenge. I would request all the contestants to reach beneath their benches and remove the tray." He instructed and everyone obliged. Noah reached down and picked up the tray and kept it on our workspace table. I looked at the contents of it and wasn't surprised to observe that all the ingredients were basic pantry staples. "As you can see the tray consists of basic pantry staples which are all-purpose flour, butter, honey, milk, eggs, sugar, full-fat cream, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, bittersweet chocolate, and vinegar. And you have to present a dessert worthy of making you a finalist by only using these ingredients." He grinned as some people let out a gasp of shock. "Yes, you heard that right. A dessert made only by the pantry staples and so the beautiful pantry will be closed today." And on cue, there was a partition that covered the displayed pantry. "You will have 75 minutes to make your dessert and present it to our judges and the best 4 dishes will make their makers finalist and qualified for the last round of the competition. And I hope you guys are ready, cause your time starts now!" He announced and everybody went into work mode.
