Accepted under the mentorship of your idol and the world's hottest chef Gordon Ramsay, you must prove your skill and determination through competing in Hell's Kitchen- A month long cooking contest versus fifteen other fierce contestants and difficul...
As soon as I get back to the dorm, I grab Taylor's shoulder and pull her with me into the vacant bedroom, past everyone on the couch. She waits until I close the door before she eagerly bounces up and down and begins peppering me with questions.
"What happened?" "Did you find anything out?" "What did he say?"
I hush her by putting a finger to my lips. She quiets down then sits on the end of her bed, drawing her legs up against her body and looking at me expectantly.
I sit down next to her and am silent for a moment. She wiggles in place with excitement as she waits for me to speak.
"Well," I gulp, "he and I, uh..."
She gasps and puts her hand to her mouth. "Did you guys–"
"No!" I respond quickly, still trying to get her to quiet down. "But we did kiss."
She squeaks, then wraps her arm around my shoulder and leans back until we both fall onto the bed, laughing.
"Was it amazing? Is he a good kisser?" She pries.
"Yes, and yes," I respond, blushing as I recall his skill.
"This is insane, absolutely crazy, I'm so excited for you." She pauses. "Did he explain what was going on with his wife? Are they breaking up?"
I shake my head. "He said she knew what we were doing. Not that she knows of me specifically, but that she had given him permission for... what we did."
She looks confusedly at me, and I return her look with a shrug.
"I don't really know the details, we didn't actually talk a whole lot."
Taylor gives me a wry grin and nudges my side with her elbow. "Too busy getting busy?" she giggles.
I laugh but don't respond, my flushed face giving me away.
"Well, I hope you find out more soon. I hope you don't have to wait until next Sunday to get any new information. The anticipation would be too great, I think." She turns her body towards me on the bed.
"Oh God, me too. I don't know how I'll behave normally during service either. I still have so many questions." I sigh and rest my arm over my forehead, trying to cool my face down.
"Well, you better do well during service because even if he's into you I'm sure he won't give you a pass on elimination day if push comes to shove. I'll try to keep you focused," Taylor responds.
"Thanks, Tay," I gratefully reply.
It is getting late into the evening, and I know the group will be out in the kitchen preparing dinner. Taylor and I both get up after a while and go to join everyone.
In the kitchen, Shaun is working over a pot of noodles while Pietro is practicing cooking salmon, smiling to himself as he flips it over and sees a perfect golden finish. Kalyani is chopping vegetables while Abel fusses over a pan of sauce. The stove is pretty darn crowded and I don't really see anything that needs my assistance, so I sit at the bar stool right outside of the kitchen. Taylor sits next to me and starts chatting to Kalyani.
Red, who had been sitting on the couch, comes over and sits on the other side of me. She smiles softly. "Getting to talk to Chef Ramsay personally really helped me understand some things I was struggling with. I hope we get more chances to talk to him in the future without having to worry about being recorded. All of these cameras and mics make me feel like I have a thousand eyes on me constantly." She absentmindedly rubs her arm.
"I completely understand what you're saying, Red," I agree, feeling the pain of near-constant surveillance far worse than she can ever know.
"Do you think we'll have a challenge tomorrow?" she inquires.
I think for a moment.
"Yes, probably. I think he has to eliminate one of us every two days, and he likes to do challenges on elimination days."
Red nods solemnly. "I wish none of us had to go. I don't want to go back to real life."
I pat her shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't worry about that, Red. We just need to focus so we can make it to the top five together."
She puffs out her cheeks in determination, resembling an adorable chipmunk. "Yeah, right. You're right." She then turns back towards the kitchen, watching everyone work.
After thirty minutes, the food is ready. We all get out plates and serve ourselves dinner, skin-on salmon with buttered noodles. It is somewhat simple, but it hits the spot.
Dinner conversation mostly focuses on what Ramsay had discussed with everyone. Eventually, the spotlight shines on me as Garrett points his fork in my direction, a noodle hanging limply off the end of a tine.
"What did you and ole Gordy discuss?"
Everyone's eyes turn to focus on me, Bella's and Pietro's especially.
I swiftly rack my brain for a response, drawing a blank. I stare down at my salmon, willing for an answer to form on my lips, but finding nothing.
"Uh, hellooo?" Garrett waves his fork at me, the noodle wiggling.
Kalyani reaches out and puts her hand on Garrett's arm, pushing it down to the table.
"Manners, Garrett. You don't point at people, it's intimidating and rude."
"So? If she can't handle intimidation she needs to get the hell outta Hell's Kitchen, s'all I'm saying," Garrett mumbles.
Kalyani's expression becomes harder. "There's intimidation that's meant to cause improvement. Then there is the kind you're doing, the annoying and not-helpful-to-anyone kind. It also makes you appear insecure." She eyes him before tutting. "Intimidating women isn't the best look for you."
"Ohhhh, Kalyani got the burns!" Jay hollers, eagerly bouncing his eyes between the two like he is watching a tennis match.
Garrett fumes but otherwise doesn't continue the argument, stabbing his salmon with his fork roughly. I am thankful to Kalyani for changing the subject so I don't have to come up with a response as to just what Gordon and I 'discussed'.
After dinner, Pietro approaches me hesitantly. I gulp as my mind goes through everything he might ask me.
"Uh hey, (Y/N), I didn't see you at your scheduled meeting time with Chef Ramsay..." he trails off, being sure to not meet my eye-line.
"Yeah, Pietro, I didn't really have anything to say, so the talk wasn't very long. I went to the bathroom after my meeting, so you probably just missed me," I lie, hopefully convincingly.
He finally makes eye contact, smiling timidly. "Oh, good, I thought..." he trails off again, "never mind, anyway, sleep well." He abruptly turns away and heads towards the men's dorm.
I get dressed in my sleeping outfit and lay down in bed earlier than everyone else. Memories of Gordon's touch swirl through my brain. If I really concentrate, I can still smell him on my skin. If I had been alone, those thoughts alone would be enough to take me to the edge. However, I don't know when the others will be joining me, so I opt not to chance being caught. Uncomfortably, I shift in bed and try to ignore my desire.
Soon, I think to myself.
Soon.
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