Begin Again

Chapter 9

My alarm rang at seven in the morning. I woke up and turned it off. I looked at my phone and saw a notification. It was a text from Matteo: Good morning, Grey. Breakfast is ready. Please come within half an hour or you shall have no food.

I looked at the time the message was sent. It was fifteen minutes ago! I jolted out of bed at that instant. I only have fifteen more minutes to brush my teeth, wash my face, comb my hair, prepare my things and run over to Matteo's apartment.

I hurriedly did everything I was supposed to do and dashed out of my house. I took a sharp left turn and pressed the doorbell. I looked at my phone. "Right on time," I muttered as I panted, gasping for air.

The door opened and standing right there was Matteo. "You sounded like there was an earthquake in your house," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Who asked you to give me such little time to prepare?"

"Half an hour is a lot of time," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You've got plenty of time to do whatever you want to do before coming over." He moved aside and I entered his apartment. It looked quite similar to mine, original and undecorated.

Now that I think of it, this is the first time I've ever been to a boy's house. I've never been to Derek's house. We were always going to the town square for dates. He never let me go to his house, always using his strict parents as an excuse.

Perhaps, all this time, he had never truly loved me. All he wanted to do was to get into my pants. How was I so oblivious to that? How could I not tell? Wasn't I supposed to be the smartest kid in town? I feel like I'm the dumbest kid now. Well, love is blind.

"I woke up at seven. I only had fifteen minutes to prepare. Give me a break, Matteo," I said, covering my mouth as I yawned. "I'm surprised I even made it here on time."

"Well, that's your problem. Who asked you to wake up at seven?" he replied.

"Didn't we agree to meet at eight? Why did it become seven-fifteen? That's like forty-five minutes early!" I protested.

He shrugged. Ugh, why is he so annoying? "Anyway, be grateful that you get to eat the food that I cook. You've been blessed. Breakfast is on the dining table. Thanks to you, I haven't eaten. Why did I decide to wait for you?"

"I don't know. Ask yourself," I replied. I wonder what his food actually tastes like. Will it be delicious or atrocious? I walked to the dining room and saw that he had cooked bacon, a scrambled egg, a hard-boiled egg and a sunny-side-up egg. "What's with all the eggs?"

"I had a lot of eggs to spare. I hope you're not allergic to eggs," he said with a wink.

"For the last time, I'm not Lexie Grey. No, wait, I am Lexie Grey but not the one from Grey's Anatomy. Anyway, eggs are good for health! They're full of protein and vitamins. I'm not complaining," I replied, rolling my eyes. Why is my name Lexie?

He chuckled upon seeing my Lexie Grey stumble. After that, he started eating. I followed suit. I'm not going to lie. It's good. If only I had such skills... My eggs always end up burnt.

"Not bad," I muttered.

"Just 'not bad'? Admit it, Grey. It's delicious," he laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, it's delicious. Are you happy now? Gosh, I can't even cook to save my life. I'm so lucky I have my mother to cook for me. Well, not anymore. But it's okay. My aunt gives me a huge allowance. I can eat out every day."

"If you don't mind, I can teach you to cook. That way, you don't have to feel bad burning so much of your aunt's money," he suggested.

"Aren't you too busy studying? Why would you be willing to spare time to cook or to even teach me how to cook? I thought you'd be the kind to order takeout for every meal," I said. "Now that I think of it, why are you willing to do things you usually don't do for me?"