The Experiment © [Completed]

Chapter 71 - Distracted

AN: Hi guys! Sorry for the delayed update. I was out with my son the whole day for their field trip and was just too exhausted to write when we got home. I want to thank some of you who DMed me and left comments asking if I'm okay though. I appreciate the concern. You guys are the sweetest! Thank you!!! ❤️

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RJ came home late afternoon and was met by the delicious smell of his favorite dish. He had a small meeting with his team that afternoon and Dei had asked if she could go home ahead.

He looked up and found her working in the kitchen. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail but there were loose strands that fell on her forehead and the side of her face. She was deep in concentration.

"Hi babe, what are you doing?" RJ asked, his eyes wide and his stomach grumbling.

Dei bit her lip and turned to him, obviously trying to suppress a shy smile. "Well... I tried cooking your favorite dish -- adobo!"

"I knew that was it!" RJ said, quickly walking beside her. He looked inside the pan and saw what she was cooking. "Hmmm, looks good."

"Well I tried my best. I hope it'll taste as good as it looks," Dei said shyly. She had been learning to cook more lately, but mostly just very simple breakfast dishes like the omelet and fried bacons and hotdogs. This was the first time she had tried a more complicated dish, and it had to be his favorite. She was both nervous and excited.

They waited a few minutes and then Dei took a small spoon to get a portion of the meat. She then let RJ taste it.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds while he chewed on the meat and Dei looked at him apprehensively, her lip between her teeth. Then RJ's face broke into a smile.

"Wow, babe! This is really good," RJ exclaimed, opening his eyes. "It tastes almost like how my mom used to make it!"

Dei beamed proudly.

"You're getting really good at cooking, Dei... Who knew?" RJ teased and Dei pinched him lightly on his side.

"Can you help me prepare the tables?" Dei asked. "I want to eat early so we can have a movie marathon after."

"Sure! Sounds great," he said, pulling Dei into a quick hug. "Thanks, babe. I appreciate the effort," he told her, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Well you don't get to be the only one who makes an effort, babe," she said beaming at him.

He smiled and let go of her, then started laying their plates on the table. In less than a minute, their dinner was ready; Dei even prepared fresh fruit juices for them both.

"I can totally get used to this," RJ said grinning. "By the way, I have a good news for you. Our leaves got approved - two weeks. And I already got us the plane tickets. We're leaving next week."

Dei let out a delighted squeal and threw her arms around his neck excitedly. "Oh my gods, Matt is an angel!"

"Yep! He was pretty excited about it too," RJ said, pulling Dei's chair once she let go, and let her take her seat. "Do you want to make an announcement to the followers after dinner? We're taking DeiJay to New York," he said, smiling.

"Okay. That's fine by me." Dei said, grinning widely.

After dinner, RJ prepared his laptop and set up the live feed on their page. They had not done a live video in a few days and there were already a lot of requests and messages from their fans on the message board. This announcement would surely make up for it. He let Dei sit in front of the laptop, and for once, she didn't object.