the scent of heat → r . taylor ( COMPLETED )

three

Roger woke up the next morning to a strange, yet delicious smell coming from the kitchen. He tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed, reaching for a pair of shorts to pull on over his underwear. After stretching his arms and rubbing his eyes, he ventured out of his room and walked towards the kitchen, the faint sound of the radio making him smile. He peered into the kitchen, and his eyes widened slightly: Adeline was in the kitchen, wearing the dressing gown he'd seen her in the previous morning, and she was cooking breakfast.

"Well, isn't this sweet?" Roger asked as he entered the kitchen, and he saw a smile on her lips.

"Good morning to you, too," she said, glancing over her shoulder to smile at him. She turned back to the stove as he walked over, heading right to the coffee pot.

"So, what's cookin' good lookin'?" he asked, leaning over to peer down at the stove top.

"French toast, scrambled eggs, and for the two of us, bacon," she said, smiling up at him again.

"Ah, you remembered Brian's rabbit food phase. Nicely done," he said with a grin.

"It's not a phase, thank you very much," Brian said as he entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with his fists.

"Oh, go eat a twig," Roger said, leaning against the counter.

"Shut it, both of you," Adeline said as she reached to turn off the stove. She then set a piece of french toast and a bit of eggs on three plates, with two pieces of bacon on two plates. She handed the bacon free plate to Brian, and gave Roger the other plate with the bacon.

"Eat up. You've got a big night ahead of you."

"We've done this a million times, Addy," Roger said as he began to nibble on a piece of bacon.

"Yeah, but you haven't had me in the audience. That's huge!" she said, and the two laughed. After grabbing knives and forks, they all sat down to eat, listening to the radio in comfortable silence.

"So, why did Tim keep you back a few extra minutes?" Brian asked, breaking the silence. Adeline froze for a second, her fork nearly falling from her grip.

"Oh, um, he just want to apologize for being rude, that's all. He, um, he talks a lot," she said, and both men nodded.

"He sure can," Roger agreed around a mouthful of bacon.

"Do you have to talk with your mouth full, Rog?" Brian asked, setting his fork down.

"I don't have to, but I want to," he said, this time with a mouthful of eggs.

"Boys!" Addy slapped the table, and they both looked at her sheepishly. They all went back to eating, with Adeline glancing between the two men every once in a while. Once breakfast was over, Brian took the dishes to the sink to wash them, and Roger got up to get himself another cup of coffee.

"Will the place be packed tonight?" Adeline asked, turning in her chair to look at the two men.

"Probably. But it's not saying much. It's a small place we're playing," Roger said, then rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess, Tim's not too happy about it?" she asked.

"Right you are. He doesn't think we'll get anywhere at the rate we're going," Brian said, glancing back at his friend before turning the water off.

"Yeah, you said something like that yesterday, I think. Well, phooey on him for being such a downer," she said, and she jumped a little when Roger snorted.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say 'phooey'?" He began to laugh, and she glared at him. But, the longer she glared, the harder he laughed, and soon, Brian was laughing, too. And the longer the two laughed, the harder it was for Adeline to keep a straight face. And soon, her laughter joined theirs, and it filled the kitchen quickly.