Imagining Us

Ch.73- In a Good Way

At this point, Esi thought that she should just move in with the Danvers. She felt like she was at their house even more than at her parent's house.

She was getting breakfast after a movie night with the boys–well, it was supposed to be her and Luka, but of course, her boyfriend had to find himself between them. She remembered making eye contact with Luka and them rolling their eyes in unison. Secretly, she was glad that the brothers were spending time with each other.

Then, there was that early morning swim with Porte. Her whole body flushed as she remembered how he'd backed her up against the edge of the swimming pool, with the hard planes of his body pressing against hers. His hands on either side of her and every inch of him dwarfing her. But it was his mouth on her that was her undoing. 

Conveniently, Luke had decided to make his appearance at breakfast despite not being a morning person.

His eyes danced in amusement as she glared daggers at him.

"Thank you," she said to Delphine as she passed her a loaded plate filled with the largest omelet that she had ever seen accompanied by toast, sausages and bacon. The scent wafting off of the breakfast was mouthwatering, but Esi wondered if Delphine piled her plate that high because she was so accustomed to cooking for those large men. Next to Esi's plate was a cup of tea, a glass of water, and some apple juice. She loved food, but this was...alot.

A hand reached over her shoulder—Delphine again—handing her a small plate of alloco, which was essentially what the Ivorians called fried plantain. Esi's eyes lit up as it reminded her of home. The last minute addition to the meal was apparently requested by Luka, who Delly, as they called her, proceeded to cuss out—in French—because she had asked since yesterday what he wanted to eat for breakfast, and it wasn't on the list.

She sat in a small—well, large to her, but small to them—room adjacent to the kitchen which was in a completely different wing than where she had dined the first time. It housed the breakfast table which was an eight seater. 

No small room contained an eight seater table. The kitchen was open concept, so from where she sat she could see Delphine bustling around the kitchen with Luke constantly pestering her. 

The decor of the room where she sat was stunning. The table had a smooth dark grey granite top with cream swirls. The decor on the wall matched the rug under the dining table, but it was the light fixtures that caught her attention. About twenty pieces of individual hanging cylinders came together to form one large chandelier. To Esi, they looked like upside down candles.

 The top was a dark, almost black grey, and the bottoms were tipped with gold. The backdrop of the room was a large wall of windows, with a door leading out to a patio. Because of the light drizzle outside, they were forced to eat in the breakfast room, but she would've liked to feel a bit of the warm post-winter sun on her skin. 

 After a few minutes, a chair pulled out next to her, and Luke slid his extremely long legs under the table. She knew that his movements were deliberate especially when his knees constantly "accidentally" bumped hers.

"Ten seats....ten seats, Luke...and you decided to squeeze next to me." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Aww, London. Don't be like that. Thought you needed cheering up, so I decided to sit next to you."

He wore an annoying grin on his handsome face, accompanied by unfairly glossy, finger-teased light brown hair.

"I'm fine," Her brows furrowed. "Why do you think I need cheering up?"