Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 77- Here Goes Nothing

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

Walking hand in hand out in the open, a nervous sweat breaks out over my brow. After so long keeping my relationship hidden, having one that doesn't need to be covert feels strange. Even though I know it is Abel's hand and not Gordon's that I'm holding, I still feel anxious.

It certainly doesn't help me feel any calmer when we step back into the common area and the chatter from the couch falls silent. Bella's hand flies up to her mouth. Red's eyes go wide. Dave raises his eyebrows. A deep look of confusion settles onto Kalyani's features.

Taylor reels backward into the sofa cushions, her eyes darting from Abel to me to our joined hands then back to me.

"When did this happen?" Bella squeaks from between her manicured fingernails.

Abel smiles gently and squeezes my hand. "Five minutes ago, give or take."

A grin breaks out across Red's face. "You two are so cute together!" She balls her fists and shakes them excitedly as her grin widens.

Dave leans back into the couch and wraps his arm around Bella's shoulders. "Hell yeah, Abel! We got us a coupla cuties!"

"Indeed we have," he responds, his light blue eyes dancing as he looks down at me.

Kalyani stays silent with a faraway look. I fervently hope that she drops her suspicions about Gordon and me. To make a point, I stand on my toes and kiss Abel's smooth cheek, drawing his previously unknown dimple back out as he smiles at the contact. Her brows draw together but she continues her quiet contemplation.

"Can we talk now, (Y/N)?" Taylor's voice is hesitant. She pushes herself from the couch, her eyes reflecting confusion as she approaches me.

"For sure, Tay." I nod at her, then glance at Abel. He releases my hand.

"Go on and talk, I'll be here," he says as he heads towards one of the armchairs.

"Oh, wait one sec!" I stop Abel, then pull his shirt out from where I had kept it folded up against my stomach under my shirt and toss it to him.

He catches it mid-air, and as Bella's eyes get as wide as saucers I realize my blunder. That looked a lot more suggestive than I'd intended.

Abel turns towards the men's dorm as Taylor takes my hand and pulls me into the women's dorm, closing the door behind us.

As soon as we're inside, she reels around on her heels and faces me head-on.

"Uhm excuse me WHAT?" she starts, a little too loudly, her curls bouncing around her face like they are alive with electricity.

"Shhh! Gees! I promise I was going to talk to you about it!"

I manage to maneuver us to my bed to sit down.

"OK, start explaining because I've clearly missed out on a LOT," she says, drawing her knees up underneath her chin.

I glance over at the closed door and strain my ears to hear the other chefs. Their voices are faint, but they're talking animatedly about something. I hear 'Abel' and '(Y/N)' among other unintelligible chatter.

I clear my throat before delving in.

"The interview team said Pietro had told them what he suspected about Gordon and me. I covered for myself by saying that I was interested in Abel," I begin.

She nods slightly, waiting for me to continue.

"So, this morning I went to Gordon to ask him if he thought I should carry out my plan of dating Abel as a cover for our relationship. He let me ask Abel, so I came back and talked to him about it. He agreed to the plan, and here we are." I shrug as if what I'd said wasn't a colossal amount of information to absorb at once.