Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 60- Taste Test Challenge Part 1/2

Thursday, July 11th, 2013

Christina's voice calls out to us from the main dorm area, waking me much too early.

"Come on, Chefs! Let's get crackin'," she claps. "There's an awesome challenge waiting for you all outside. You have fifteen minutes to be dressed and ready!"

I groan and roll over in the bed. Taylor yawns from the bed beside mine where she sits at the end.

"Good morning, (Y/N)!"

I lift my head from the pillow groggily.

"Hey, Tay. Sorry, I'm exhausted from yesterday," I grumble.

"Don't be sorry, you had a lot of responsibility to deal with. At least Chef Ramsay didn't say there would be an elimination today, so maybe things will be a bit easier."

Pushing myself from the bed, I sit on the side and stretch out my sore legs. Between swimming, running around during service, and nearly collapsing, my legs are shot.

Taylor hops from her bed over to mine and scoots towards me.

"I was sad to see you moved over to the blue team. I guess you were outshining us over here and Ramsay probably wants to give one of us a chance to step up. I just... I'll miss you." She reaches her arms out and wraps them around me. I lean into her hug and close my eyes.

"I was pretty shocked about being moved too, not going to lie. All the stress got to me. I almost fainted last night."

Taylor's eyes widen. 

"Are you OK?"

I nod.

"Thankfully, Abel never sleeps so he was up when I started to fall and he caught me," I say as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Really? He never sleeps?"

I give her a sidelong glance. "No, not never, but hardly ever. He just sits up reading books all night."

"That doesn't make sense, how does he preform so well in challenges without sleep?"

I shrug. "He's probably a robot or something? I don't know, you should ask him."

She releases me from her hug and grins.

"I think I will!"

Taylor stands and holds her hand out. I take it and she helps pull me to my feet. I hiss through my teeth as my knees crack. Please oh please have mercy on us today, Chef Ramsay, I don't know if my legs can take much more.

Taylor and I head into the main dorm area together after donning our jackets. My stomach rumbles. Last night, Abel finished preparing my sandwich for me, but that's all I'd eaten. I grab a muffin from the tray of muffins someone had baked and plop on the couch. Taylor scopes out Abel who's sitting by himself on a stool at the end of the bar idly stirring a glass of orange juice.

He raises an eyebrow when Taylor scoots out the stool directly next to him and gives him a wide grin.

"So, Abel," she starts. "I heard you rescued (Y/N) last night because you just so happened to be awake. I was wondering, are you some sort of super chef robot who needs no sleep and runs on fumes?" She tilts her head. She has the same curiosity in her eyes as a child asking why the sky is blue.

A smile slightly tugs at the corner of Abel's lip.

"I might as well be. Not needing sleep runs in my family on my father's side. Two or three hours a night and I'm right as rain. Such an ability gives me plenty of time to study."