Learning To Love (bxb) ✔️

Chapter 12

Rowan ^^

Liam's POV

On Saturday, I get ready to head over to Rowan's house. We're going to his house to cook lunch and then watch some movies. He offered to pick me up, but I didn't want him to go out of his way to drive me so I politely declined.

I settle for a T-Shirt with a light jacket over it and some light wash jeans.

Taking the bus can be pleasant or not pleasant to me. I love it when the bus is empty or almost empty. It's quiet and peaceful and you don't have to worry about people getting into your space.

Mildly full buses aren't too bad. If I can still find a seat and relax I'm fine, but of course my social anxiety as kept me wary of anyone who might get to close or try to talk to me.

Full buses are the worst thing on this planet. Who doesn't love being jam packed like sardines in this tiny moving vehicle with strangers in every direction of where you're standing? It makes me feel nearly claustrophobic, but with people.

Thankfully, the bus today was okay. I made it to Rowan's house in time-

Oh, it's massive.

His house is like a mansion! There's a huge driveway space surrounding a lovely fountain. I can't see much else because I'm blocked off by a security gate. Oh no, I'm going to have to buzz in, aren't I?

I decide to take an alternate route and just text Rowan that I'm outside and that I'm locked out by the gate. I feel nervous just standing outside the house, like I'm not supposed to be here. All the wealthiness is kind of intimidating.

A few minutes later, I receive a text from Rowan saying "okay" before the gates open. I hesitantly step inside, looking around warily before walking up to the front door.

The door swings open when I'm a few steps away from it. Rowan greets me and welcomes me inside.

The entrance way itself is beautifully elegant. It's definitely a sharp contrast to my own house, or any other house I've been in.

Rowan must have noticed my staring, because he lets out a little sigh.

"All my friends say I'm so lucky to live in a house like this. Personally, I fucking hate it." He mutters, making me flinch at his bitter tone.

"Why? It's beautiful."

"A lot of people start to see me just for my house- and it's not even mine. They see a wealthy kid they can hopefully leech something off of, whether it be the best video games, the money, I've had some people come over just to use the pool too. The design isn't that great for me either. It's so... isolating. There's too much empty space for a family of five, and one of my sisters isn't even living here anymore." He explains.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." I murmur softly.

"It's fine. Anyway, let's start with lunch." Rowan replies, leading me towards the kitchen.

"Would you mind making some lettuce wraps? I didn't want to make anything too complicated because uh... I can't cook." Rowan chuckles.

"Yeah, sure. What kind did you have in mind?"

"I saw this recipe for buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, and if you don't eat hot sauce we can always substitute it for barbecue sauce." Rowan informs, pulling up the recipe on his phone and showing it to me. A quick glance tells me that these are relatively easy to make.

We start by cutting up the boneless ground chicken into small pieces as well as the vegetables we plan to add. Rowan gets out a pan and pours... way too much oil.

"...We don't need that much." I say, glancing up at him in amusement. He blinks, pausing for a moment.

"Oh, how much am I supposed to put?"

"Just enough so it covers the bottom of the pan in a thin sheet. This much would be enough for deep frying."

Rowan nods slowly before making a pitiful attempt to dump the oil from the pan back into the bottle.

"You can- you could just... pour it into a bowl for now and cover it. Perhaps we'll use it later." I suggest.

"Sorry. See, I told you I'm terrible at cooking." Rowan sighs.

"Everyone starts somewhere." I try to send him an encouraging smile between my chuckles.

I fry the chicken, telling Rowan when to add in the vegetables. I give him a chance to cook by letting him fry the food while I try to find the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and seasoning for the barbecue sauce replacement. Even though Rowan already has barbecue sauce, I always love to create my own from scratch. You can make adjustments that can make or break the dish.

In the short while where I make the sauce... Rowan nearly burns all our food.

I manage to salvage it by turning down the heat and stirring them for a bit, and then hesitantly tell him to go mix the sauce instead. All the ingredients are already measured out and in the bowl. It can't be that hard to mix sauce.

Rowan does an excellent job at stirring the sauce! Honestly, I was fearing the worst, but at least his cooking skill is enough to stir a wooden spoon.

We finish up making the wraps around one o'clock. They look pretty good and we managed to not mess up badly.

We just add some cheese on it afterwards before eating.

"Jesus, this is the best thing I've ever eaten." Rowan moans as he bites into the wrap. I nod in agreement. It is actually really good.

"Thanks for, you know, cooking with me and being patient. I know I'm terrible at it." Rowan states earnestly.

"It was fun. I had fun. It's okay if you're not the best at cooking. In fact, I think it's admirable that you even tried to do so. Looking for improvement is always good." I say after swallowing my last bite.

"Yeah, guess so. Anyway, let's go watch a movie? We can watch in my room."

I agree and we wash our dishes and clean up before heading upstairs.

Here's the link to the recipe if anyone's interested: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/easy-buffalo-chicken-lettuce-wraps/