Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 80- The Black Jacket Lounge

||A/N: Merry Christmas! Here is an early chapter for everyone's present :D I love you guys, thank you so much for reading Hell's Smitten and for all your wonderful votes and comments!||

Monday, July 15th, 2013

I open the door and Taylor's hazel eyes meet mine with a flash of excitement.

"I KNEW it!" she cheers. "They cut the cameras before announcing the winner. We were so worried about you when you forgot that rice, but I knew once I saw your fancy pants spoon bite thingy that you won for sure!"

Taylor grabs my hand and pulls me into an embrace. I squeeze her back and look through her sprightly curls at Abel, who is standing a few feet away from the door and grinning at me with his arms crossed. The black jacket he wears makes him look even more handsome and imposing.

Once Taylor lets me out of her hug, I take a step towards Abel before Bella's voice cuts through the air.

I turn towards the source of the sound. Bella sits on the couch in the center of the room next to Red with her eyes glued to the screen.

"Dave!" she chokes out. Taylor rushes to the couch and plops down to the right of Bella. My eyes are locked onto the TV, watching with fascination. The camera focuses on Dave's puffy eyes and half-hearted smile as he walks towards Ramsay.

I jump a little when I feel a hand against the small of my back. It's only Abel, and I relax as he hooks his arm around my waist.

"I knew you'd make it. I wasn't worried at all," Abel whispers. I lean into his shoulder while a grin spreads across my face. He is warm and makes me feel secure.

On the screen, Dave has reached Gordon and hands him his blue jacket.

"Dave, from the start I thought you were just another goofball. I mean that. But you blew my expectations out of the water, young man." Gordon takes Dave's jacket and folds it over his arm. "You have an amazing personality. You're kind, fun, and a hard worker. You're going to be an incredible father, you know that?"

Dave's half-smile turns into a full one. When he smiles, tears are squeezed out of his eyes and roll down his cheeks.

"Thank you, Chef. Thank you for everything. But mostly thank you for bringing Bella here with me, I had no idea I'd find someone who loved me in Hell of all places," he jokes, his eyes shining.

"C'mere." Gordon smiles, then opens his arms. Dave hugs Chef and a few more tears trail down his cheeks before he releases Gordon and steps back.

"It's been an honour, young man." Gordon shakes Dave's hand.

"Likewise, Chef." Dave grins before waving at the camera. "I'll be waiting for you to win this for us, babe. I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, Dave!" Bella wails, crossing her arms around herself and squeezing tightly. Taylor rubs her back with one hand and her knee with the other, trying to comfort her as Dave waves goodbye to Kalyani.

"You got so lucky with him, Bella," Red's small voice is barely audible. "Ramsay is right, he is going to be an amazing dad."

Bella's crying fills the black jacket lounge as she buries her face into her hands.

"Th-that was the f-first time he said he loved me..." she sputters before leaning into Red's side. "I d-didn't get to tell him back!"

"He knows, Bella. You heard what he said. He already knows," Red tries to comfort her, petting her hair with one hand.

While everyone else is talking to Bella, I look around the room. It is spacious with a bar in the far corner, a pool table, a table full of snacks, and then the TV and the couch in the center of the room. Aside from the snacks, nothing else seems to have been touched.