Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 4

Isla

After saying goodbye to everyone, I make my way back into the house. It's not dark out, and yet I'm already feeling paranoid about being here all by myself. I make my way into the kitchen, and when I do, I get shocked at the fact that there is someone in there.

"Oh Julian," I say out loud, and at the mention of his name, he turns around to me. His eyes glanced at my face and then back at where he was standing in front of the stove.

"Everyone leave?" Julian asks, and I nod, walking over to see what he was cooking. It smelled good in the house all of a sudden, and I wanted to see what it could be.

"Yeah, everyone said their goodbyes," I tell him, and I brush myself behind him in order to see what he was doing. I accidentally brush my hand on his back and retract it with an embarrassed smile. I make my way to stand beside him and find that he is cooking some kind of rice in a pot. It smelled as though he was frying it, and I knew now exactly what I was smelling before. "I was so paranoid being alone, but then I realized that I'm not here alone."

He hums in answer and says, "But I will be leaving tomorrow morning, so I get it."

I keep the fact that I had forgotten that he wasn't leaving today to myself and move on with the conversation. I gesture to the pot and ask, "What are you making?"

"Fried rice," he answers as he stirs the rice with a spoon. He glances at me and says, "With shrimp."

"Ooh, I like shrimp," I say to him with a hum, and he nods, moving over to add the shrimp to the pot as well. I cross my hands over my chest to get out of his way, and then, with a shyness I didn't know I possessed, I say, "So do you think there is enough for me?"

"Hm?"

I have to try again, and it makes my cheeks heat up in embarrassment now. I move away from the sizzling pan and wave my hand in the air casually as I say, "I asked, do you think there will be enough for me?"

He glances at me with his eyebrows slightly forrowed together and then says, "Of course there will be enough, seeing as I'm making it for you as well."

"Before I even knew I wanted some?"

"Well, I'm cooking, so I figured I'd cook for you as well," he says with a nonchalant shrug, and the gesture makes me smile at him for a little bit. But then I notice the way I'm looking at him and move away. Truthfully, standing next to him and just staring at the way he worked was a little weird to me. I didn't know him, so I stuck to studying his features, like how his hair was fluffy and almost hung over his eyes but was perfect length so that it didn't. Or how his eyelashes were dark and coated around those almond-shaped eyes that were a pretty blue. It was nice to take notice of this new person I just met, but I was being weird.

I press myself against the cabinet and cross my ankles together. Then I say, "That's very nice of you, Julian. Tell me, is there anything I can do to help?"

I watch as he ponders the question for a while before he gives a small nod. "I didn't get to take out plates and utensils yet. You think you can find some in the pantry? We ran out this morning."

"Perfect," I say almost too quickly at finally being able to do something other than stare at him. He gives me a nod, and I watch for a second as his fingers go to undo another button on his shirt. He fans his face, and before he can notice that I'm watching him, I push myself away from the cabinet and toward the pantry.

My phone dings in my short pockets, so I pull it out.

Jasmine: The plane is about to pull off. Are you good at the house?