How You Get The Girl - Lukas Dostal

ten

The sound of sizzling was the only noise in the quiet room as Maddie sat on the counter, near Lukas, who was the one who dropped the butter on a pan. "Sorry, I'm not the best cook..." Lukas mumbled, his eyes focused on the butter melting for a moment before he walked to his fridge, and pulled out a singular carton of eggs.

"Probably better than me," Maddie replied, jokingly. Her eyes followed Lukas around his kitchen, fixating on the way he opened the carton and cracked the eggs into the pan with such practiced precision - it was like she was weirdly hypnotized by him.

Lukas chuckled, a lock of his, now unusually messy, hair falling into his face. "Well, can I trust you to make a cup of coffee?" He joked, now chopping up a green onion on a cutting board.

Maddie laughed, the sound filling the small kitchen and breaking the silence that had previously dominated the space. "I think I can manage that," she said, hopping off the counter and heading towards the coffee maker, "How do you like it?" She questioned as she glanced over her shoulder, catching Lukas's eye for a brief moment.

"Black is fine," He replied, adding the chopped onion to the sizzling eggs in the pan, "There's creamer in the fridge if you want any, though."

Maddie hated the taste of coffee. Every time she had it, she drowned it in cream and sugar to make sure she didn't actually taste it. So, she leaped on the opportunity to open the fridge and take out a singular carton of half-and-half, which unfortunately leaked slightly as she set it on the island.

She went to go get a piece of paper towel to clean it up, but when she turned back around, she was met with an unexpected visitor.

A small, tabby cat licked up the spilled milk on the ground before Maddie could act on it, and when Lukas glanced in the same direction, he spoke up. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, you're good with cats, right?"

Maddie smiled as she crouched down, gently scratching the cat behind it's ears. "Absolutely. What's its name?"

"Sněhurka," Lukas remarked, flipping the omelette in the pan before glancing at Maddie and seeing her confused expression, "What now?" She questioned, raising a brow.

Lukas exhaled, racking his brain for the right word. "In English?" He paused, biting his lip, "I think her name would be... Snow White?"

Maddie chuckled, standing back up and pressing a button on the coffee machine. "You named your cat after a princess?"

Lukas shrugged, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. "She's more of a queen, actually," he replied with a grin. "She's cute, but an asshole when I don't let her lay on me every waking moment. You can call her 'Sníh,' it means 'snow.'"

Maddie felt her cheeks burn at the thought of the pretty much already perfect Lukas, cuddling with a cat. Every time she learned more about him, it just made her heart want to burst at the seams with affection.

Lukas flipped the large omelette on the plate and split it in two, garnishing them with a bit of shredded cheese. It wasn't anything fancy by any means, but to Maddie, it was as if he just served her a five-star meal.

Maddie poured them two cups of coffee, one with an obscene amount of cream and sugar, and sat beside Lukas at the island. "Wow," She said through a mouthful of eggs, "Who told you you weren't a good cook?"

Lukas snorted, taking a sip of his coffee. "No one. But I have to be humble around the pretty lady, yeah?"

A blush creeped up the back of Maddie's neck, and she felt her whole body get jittery at his words. It wasn't even a huge compliment, but she now felt heavily observed by Lukas, as if his eyes burned into her, never leaving.