The Protection Program

TPP : Chapter XXXI

She stare at the TV intently, watching the chef maneuver around the kitchen. She took notes every now and then because sometimes the show wasnt on, it was now her favorite and Aubrey said he could record them for her. Chef Stan was an internet sensation, he started on YouTube and overnight became pretty famous, he now had his own TV show and it obviously enticed many people, including Nina.

"So first what were gonna do is dice the onions into small portions, not to big because then they wont taste right, the littler the better when it comes to mincing."

She repeated it to herself "the littler the better" as she jotted down scribbled notes, watching the show made her want to be able to cook well. Not just because it was fun and it made her happy when she succeeded, but Aubrey loved food. The day at the office was long, tiring, quiet and boring. Aubrey had to sit through meetings all day, so that meant she had to sit through meetings all day, they talked about irrelevant things to her and she was bored out of her mind the whole day. The whole day she sat in silence, trying to ignore the monotone voices, drawing more portraits of Aubrey. That was another thing she liked to do, it gave her something to do and she liked how they came out. They weren't the best but she enjoyed doing it, same with her cooking, she wasnt very good but she liked doing it and that's all that mattered.

"The next thing your gonna do is place them into the frying pan, make sure the pan has some type of oil poured into it, that will not only keep the pan from staining but it will keep the onions from burning. I suggest olive oil or vegetable oil, that always gives your foods more of a flavor."

"Olive oil...or vegetable oil.. got it."

She wrote that down as well, she was so intrigued into the show that she didn't even notice Aubrey standing there staring at her, she wasnt worried about him. She was worried about learning as much from Chef Stan as possible before the hour long show was over, on today's show she was learning how to make chicken tetrazzini, it was something she had to be 100% focused on because she wanted to learn how to make it. Aubrey liked Italian food, he liked pasta as well as chicken so chicken pasta was the perfect dish.

"I thought you didn't like to watch anything but the news?"

"I like Chef Stan."

He nodded his head as he sat down, he sat next to her on the couch instead of on his reclining chair that he loved so much. She felt his arm go around her and soon she was scooped up and sitting on his lap, she didn't mind though, his lap was just as comfy as the couch if not more.

"Once you get the onions frying you want to quickly check on the noodles, stir them and make sure there not sticking to the pot and if they are add more oil into the water. You can never go wrong with oil."

"you can never go wrong with oil."

She listed down more notes on the white paper pad as Aubrey watched her in memorization as she stare at the TV then quickly write down what he was saying as if she were a chef prodigy. He licked his lips causing her to blush, she wasnt looking at him but she could see out of peripheral vision and it made her insides heat up. He bit the corner of his lip causing her to smile and look down, he smiled too feeling as if he accomplished something, he was proud that he could make her feel that way. His arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed, pulling her a little closer to him, he leaned his head down and placed a soft kiss to her cheek. She smiled at him sweetly before returning her gaze back to the TV but it was hard to focus as his kisses dipped lower, they moved from her cheek to her collar bone quickly and she couldn't concentrate very well.

"After you get the onions mixed with the noodles and both items are laid nicely into a casserole pan you are going to get your medium sauce pan where we will now begin to make the sauce."

"make the sauce."

She wrote it down in her pad as Aubrey intertwined his hand with her free one, she was a lefty so he held her right hand tightly in his. She liked it, it made her feel comfortable, it made her feel like he cared which is exactly what she needed. Chef Stan was good about taking her mind off of the terrifying things, for example, the fact that she was going to a state that had her on a death wish list, or the fact that she was falling for this man who she was positive was not falling for her. Of course he said he liked her, but liking someone, and falling for someone was two different things and she didn't know how to handle that. It stressed her out but she was afraid that she would look stupid if she opened up and told him about it.

"Your so beautiful you know that?"

She stared at him, she hesitated before speaking up because she didn't know if she should or not. She was worried that if she did he would be upset. She didn't know why he would be upset but you always have to expect the unexpected

"I have something for you."

She got up and ran away, she ran to her room quickly before going to her drawers. In the top right drawer was her notebook, her drawing notebook that held all of her drawings of him. She hesitated and doubted her decisions to show him but the worst he could do was tell her to stop, right?

"Remember when you asked me what i was doing? Why i was so compelled to my notebook?"

"yes."

"well.. this is.. this is why.."

She sat back down on his lap gently as she held the notebook in her hands, she held a tight grip on it before letting go. He held it in his and flipped open the cover to the first page, his eyes widened a little at the drawing, it took him back a bit because the more he kept flipping the pages the more drawings came. She was nervous, her mind ran wild with thoughts about what he was thinking.

"Nina... you drew these?"

"yes."

He continued to look down at the notebook filled with drawings and doodles of him, some were small and some took up the whole page, there were little hearts around his name and even some cool drawings of the OVO logo. It made him blush on the inside that she did this, she thought he was thinking she was a stalker but really he was thinking about how cute she was.

"Kiss me."

She looked up at him as he stare at her with passion, he wanted her to kiss him and she wasted no time with pressing her lips against his and falling in love just a little bit more.