Pillow Talk | Joanne One Shot Series

Quarter Past Midnight

Dianne sat back, grinning as she watched Joe scraping at the tin she had been using. The two of them had made a meal for one another, based on the foods they knew they liked. Dianne had made Joe a roasted sweet potato curry, and Joe had made her a vegetable puff-pastry tart with goat's cheese.

"You struggling there, Joseph?" Dianne asked as she heard him grumbling under his breath.

"You could have used more oil. Or some baking parchment or something," he said, his frustration obvious, "it's bloody glued on. I reckon I'm going to have to use a knife to scrape this off. Which is going to ruin my lovely tray."

Dianne rolled her eyes. "I'll buy you a new tray. Anyway, it was worth it. That curry was good."

"It was alright" Joe said with a smirk. "Although I don't think you stuck to the brief as much as I did. I genuinely used loads of your favourite foods. You just... made something that tasted nice."

"So you admit it tasted nice?" Dianne asked with a grin as she wiped down the kitchen surfaces. "Also, since you're complaining about my tray, I'm just going to point out that this-" she gestured to a smear on the worktop, "- is goat's cheese, Joseph. I might have to borrow that knife when you're done."

Joe shook his head. "You will not. Just... scrub it. I'm not letting you loose with a knife on my marble surfaces. You're a liability, Dianne." He paused, turning to watch his girlfriend's vacant expression. He grinned. "You don't know what that means, do you?"

Dianne looked away sheepishly. "I sort of do. I know I should be offended."

"It means you're reckless in this kitchen. You use the wrong knives for everything. You sabotage me whenever you get a chance, and now you think the only way to get cheese off my worktop is with a butter knife. You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, but I'm a good cook. My meal was so much better than yours."

Joe rolled his eyes. "It was not. It was burnt. Which is why I can't get the remnants of sweet potato off the bottom of this fricking pan!" His voice got louder as he grew more and more frustrated.

"Well, I think I should have won" Dianne said as she cleared the rest of their utensils away.

"No way." Joe finally prised the last piece of sweet potato off the pan and flicked it away with his finger, before scrubbing at the entire tray. "You're just saying that because you're a sore loser. Mine was good, admit it."

Dianne shrugged. "I'm not saying yours was bad. I'm saying mine was better."

Joe shook his head. "Well, I won fair and square. Josh voted for mine, mine got more pans, therefore I win. And I think I deserve a prize, since I am the champion. I think my prize should be...  you doing the washing up for the rest of the week."

Dianne walked over to Joe, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his long neck. "I mean, that's fine, but how about something you actually want?" She kissed his skin lightly, noticing how his body shivered in response. "Come up to bed and I'll reward you."

Joe gulped, and quickly dried up the final pan before following his girlfriend up the stairs.

///

Dianne rolled over, smiling as she watched Joe's chest rise and fall with every breath. Checking he was definitely asleep, she carefully peeled back the covers. She made her way silently across their bedroom floor before pulling on Joe's dressing gown and walking out the door.

Making her way into the kitchen, Dianne mentally pictured the inside of the fridge. It was full of half-used vegetables and random leftovers, but there was only one thing she wanted. Carefully opening the door, she reached in and took a slice of Joe's vegetable tart. She hadn't wanted to admit it to him, but it was really delicious. And exactly the sort of food she liked to eat.