Running out of Time (#Wattys2017)

Almost Paradise

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you learned to cook from some fancy school!" Clarke just laughed a bit as he cut up some mushrooms and put them in the pan with some garlic butter sauce. "Actually no, I learned from my mom who did go to a fancy culinary school." We were two weeks into him promising me the best 31 days of my life, and so far he hadn't failed to deliver. Every day or night he had surprised me in some way.

It was either a spontaneous picnic, or a dinner like tonight. Sometimes we grabbed coffee, and other times we just took a stroll through the town. Heck, a couple days ago we just sat here in his living room watching movies and eating popcorn all day. Deep down I knew what he was doing was working because every time he showed up it always excited me and warmed my heart. Hell, when he came by to pick me up tonight he didn't care that I was in just a hoodie and leggings. He didn't even care that I had no make up on or that I was using my glasses instead of my contacts. He just said, "I'm making you dinner tonight grab your phone and lets go."

So that was how I ended up here tonight. Just sitting on his couch drinking a glass of Malbec while he was in the kitchen cooking. And damn did he look good in the kitchen. It was like the kitchen was an extension of him. "So, what about you oh great nomad? Do you have any secret cooking skills that I should know of?"

"Well, we did spend a little under a year in Italy. I ended up taking some classes but they were on the more desert side. Then again, I did learn how to make a couple Indian dishes during my two months in India." As I finished my glass of wine I went over to him. "Let me help." Slowly he stepped aside and let me in. I moved the already cooked pasta into the pan with the mushrooms and added in some more of the garlic butter sauce to the pan. I got like 30 seconds into stirring before Clarke stepped in. "No, no, no, you're doing it all wrong."

"How! There is like only one way to stir shit." Instead of just pushing me out of the way Clarke came up behind me. As he snaked his arms through me his hand grasped around mine and took control of my movements. "You're going to fast. When it comes to cooking somethings turn out better when you stir fast, and others turn out better when they are being slowly stirred." His warm breath made goosebumps cover my neck. He slowly placed a trail of kisses up my neck while stirring the pasta.

He was about to kiss my lips when the oven went off. "Garlic bread is done." And saved by the bell I was. Okay technically it was a kitchen timer, but you get the gist. Honestly I was actually a little bit pissed about that. Sometime in the last two weeks his touch and kisses became a second home for me and I missed it when his touch wasn't there. There was one thing we hadn't done though since Clarke made that promise, and I was okay with the fact we hadn't hooked up yet.

As Clarke brought me a couple plates I put half of the dish on his plate and half on mine. When he walked to the table I found myself thinking, would it be wrong for me to have a sliver of hope he was my second chance? It wasn't that big of one, but it was the tiniest sliver. The only problem was that whenever I noticed that sliver I had to remind myself that it wasn't okay for me to have even that much hope.

Even as he sat across from me with a smile in his eyes and food in his mouth my own small smile felt false. He was right that night that Ryan attacked me. As the last sands in my hour glass fall I am terrified to die. The more time I spent with him I never wanted to leave his side. Hell, I have no idea how he was even to make that offer to me when his own mate died in his arms the moment he found her.

I did know this though, I would make the most of every day that Clarke gave me.