The Ideal Deal

12

Dominic took out a box of macaroni, two packages of shredded cheddar cheese, and potatoes.

"We're going to start with these," he informed, and I nodded in response. "First, we're going to put on two pots of water on the stove." He handed me a medium sized pot and took out a larger pot for himself. He then turned on the water by the sink, and we both filled up our pots to a certain level. Then, we placed the pots on the stove. He turned on his side of the stove and poured the macaroni out of the box and into the pot to boil, along with adding a little bit of salt to the pot.

After, he took out two knives and handed me one. "We'll need these later. For now, wash the potatoes and put them in the pot. Do not peel them as yet, and add a little bit of salt to the water." I nodded and did as he told while he took already cut up chicken out of the fridge. Once I was done, he instructed me to pick up my knife. He then began cleaning the chicken with the knife, making sure that there wasn't any hair left on the chicken- even though he had already bought it pre-plucked. He mentioned that sometimes few pieces of hair were left on the chicken. He cleaned majority of the chicken, while I only cleaned two, being that I moved so slowly.

After cleaning the chicken, he took some seasons out and taught me how to season the chicken. "We're gonna deep fry them tonight," he informed while turning on the deep fryer. He then poured flower into a bowl and added salt and a little bit of other seasoning before mixing them together.

Once getting a proper mixture, he dipped the chicken into the bowl and flipped it so that the other side would pick up the flour mixture too. He then plopped the chicken on the net tray and told me to give it a try. Being that it wasn't a difficult task, I was able to successfully do it. Once the net tray had enough chicken on it, he dipped it into the mini deep fryer and closed the lid so that it would deep fry. He then peeked over at the two pots on the stove. The potatoes still needed time, but with the macaroni, the water had already boiled down almost completely. He turned the stove down a bit before taking milk out of the fridge and pouring it in the pot. "Know how to make mac and cheese?" I nodded and he threw me a pack of shredded cheese. I opened the cheese and poured it into the pot.

Dominic then handed me a really big spoon and stood behind me. He took my hand in his and placed his other hand on my waist to keep me in place. From such a simple touch alone, I could feel waves of tingles evade my body, and my knees began to grow a bit weak. Luckily and unfortunately, he was holding my waist. I was lucky because I knew I wouldn't fall, but it was unfortunate because it was his touch that was making me feel a bit weak. I could smell his subtle yet rich peppermint scent, and it clouded my brain, making it hard to concentrate.

With his hand on mine, Dominic gently stirred the pot with me so that the cheese would properly and evenly melt into the macaroni. He then lowered the stove a lot more than before, turned on the oven to 360 degrees, and walked over to the deep fryer.

"How do you know which things to focus on?" I questioned as I watched him in awe. His timing was literally perfect with everything.

He smirked, "It took a few bad meals to get to where I am. I started off taking things one step at a time, however, but because I'm very hungry, we need to speed this process up a bit. I hope you're paying attention, though."

Dominic King failed at making the perfect dish before?! It was a bit unbelievable, given that he was great at everything he did, but I guess that he was great because he often practiced his practices, which was very admirable.

"I am," I confirmed as he flipped the chicken pieces so that the opposite side could fry properly as well. I checked on the potatoes and noticed that they looked boiled, but to check, I poked them with a fork. They were soft, so I assumed that they were ready. When I looked up from the pot to ask Dominic if the potatoes were ready, I caught him watching me with a pleased smile on his face.

"Yeah, turn the pot off," he nodded, as if reading my mind. "I like the technique you used, by the way."

I joked, "Oh that little thing."

Dominic playfully rolled his eyes before turning the stove off under the macaroni. He took out a baking pan and poured the macaroni on to it. "Sprinkle the other pack of cheddar cheese on top," he instructed, so I opened the package and did as he told me to. Once I was done, he rubbed in the cheese a bit before placing it into the warm oven. "Wash the knives and take out the potato peelers out of the middle cupboard. They have blue words written on their black handles." As I followed his directions, he grabbed a big bowl and placed the fried chicken onto them before plopping the last batch in the deep fryer.

He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl to cool. He then took mayonnaise out the fridge. "Damn, I forgot to boil mixed vegetables, but we'll leave that for a different day. Come here." I walked over to him and handed him a potato peeler, but he placed his down and stood behind me like he did when he was showing me how to stir the pot. He took up a potato, which was cool by now, and placed it into my free hand, he then took my other hand that had the peeler in it and gently scraped the skin off the potato. I could feel his cool breath fanning on my shoulder, giving me goosebumps all while his minty breath and cologne invaded my nostrils. "Can you manage?" It took me a while before I could gain consciousness, and when I did, I quickly nodded to cover up the mental delay I had from being so close to him. I didn't know what on earth was going on with me lately, but it needed to come to a stop.