A Summer Fling (Aris x Reader AU)

40) Calls Home

An entire cheesecake is certainly a bit of work, especially when there's a thousand separate flavors of it. The kitchen wasn't hot with the oven for once, but that didn't stop the need for every last thing to go right. She doesn't give people anything they wouldn't love, and I am meant to be following her lead.

“That's it, country boy. Crush those raspberries,”she teased, patting me on the back.

“I’m doing my best,”I promised, pressing down on them with a knife. Apparently, the blender ruins the texture or something. I don't know. I’m just here to do what I’m told and act like I’ve contributed more than eating half the ingredients.

“Good boy. Working so hard for me,”she continued. I could just feel that successful smile, the one that screamed she knew the effect she had on me and wasn't afraid to use it.

“You don't have to call me that,”I grumbled, feeling the blush spread across my entire face.

“I don't have to. But I have so much fun doing it.”

“One day that won’t affect me, you know?”

“Okay. When pigs fly, you come find me.”

The audacity really is something else. Is it so unbelievable that one day her nicknames won't make me feel like I’m going to pass out a little bit? Besides, it seems a bit presumptuous to just assume I'll forever be flustered when she speaks.

Turning my head, I snuck a look at her. She had her back to me and bowl in her hand that she was calmly whisking. My hoodie hadn't left her the entire time, which only seemed appropriate with the quickly thrown up hair and sleeping shorts.

Okay. Maybe I’ll have to settle for possibly slightly less flustered. I can't be blamed for that. It’s kind of hard to wake up to a playful smile and instruction on how the day would go and not be a little in over your head.

“Wanna play a game?”

“What game’s available while cooking?”

She hummed, thinking to herself for a moment. Then, she turned, locking eyes with that evil look on her face.

“Kiss, marry-”
“How about two truths and a lie?”I suggested, feeling my face burn like never before.

“That's always available too,”she agreed, the hint of a smirk in her voice.

“You’re going to kill me one day. I hope you know that.”

“You’ll be fine. Now I got a bird when you left, florals officially became my official pattern, or my dream vacation is camping on an uncrowded beach in winter?”

We're jumping right into it I guess. The fact that she was prepared off the top of her head makes me mostly sure she has a secret journal to prepare for everything. There's probably something in there about what to do when stranded in the middle of a desert.

“Well, you're not one to discrimination against animals, so a bird sounds like a side quest you would have. More than likely something you’d raise and release when it's injured,”I guessed, glancing over at her. Her face gave nothing away as she calmly crumbled the bagged graham crackers, going over them with a rolling pin.

“You already loved florals before I left, so that would be a trick answer,”I remembered. She was obsessed with that pink rose dress for way too long. Every special occasion, every weekend, every picture day, she was wearing it.

“You love being outside, and as much as you like making friends, everyone needs their space sometimes. You love the water, and the cold would be a perfect excuse for campfires. So the floral one is the lie.”