A Chance at Your Heart

Chapter 27

The steam from the uncovered pot of rice cleared away to show Nami nodding with approval at the progress. It was her turn to prepare dinner today and she decided to go all out. Coincidently, everything was coming together nicely.

"The food smells great, Nami. I can't wait to dig in."

"Thanks mum."

"I invited Luffy over. Hope you don't mind."

"For dinner?"

"Yes."

Bellemére smiled as Nami who was now a nervous wreck hastily checked the taste of the food to make sure everything was good. One thing about her was that she hated to disappoint and Bellemere shook her head at her little perfectionist. She turned to leave but remembered to ask her something important.

"Did you get enough sleep, dear?"

Nami stood straight like a pole. A ball of sweat ran down her face. Staying in was unusual for her and she didn't wake up till 10:00am.

"You're not getting sick, are you?"

Bellemére checked for a temperature and Nami insisted she was fine.

She thought about saying that she was up studying but hated lying to her mum. If she got the truth out of her, Nami hadn't a clue how she would react. But Bellemére's show was back from commercial break and she dropped the topic much to Nami's relief.

Luffy was arriving soon and with that predicament in mind, Nami double checked the meat wondering if she needed to add anything to enhance the flavour but deemed it fine.

Luffy had never tried her food before. Not once. It was nerve wrecking because though she wasn't a terrible cook, there was no way she could top Sanji-kun's dishes. His skills were near perfected. She just cooked every now and then.

Her overthinking made her lose track of time. Didn't even notice when their pending guest arrived.

The floor boards creaked and Nami snapping out of her daydream said,

"Nojiko? Tell mum the food's ready. Did you set the table?"

Luffy caught the exact moment she removed her apron and turned around to realize her mistake. Her face lit up right away and his heart went crazy. The smell in the kitchen was amazing but didn't compare to his dazzling smiling girlfriend who received him warmly in a hug.

"Earth to Luffy."

Luffy snapped back to reality and saw that all he had done was stare at her for who knows how long.

"Hungry?"

Nami blinked after him and turned her head to the doorway at her mother's call to hurry and bring the food before it gets cold. And Luffy whose arms dangled like a Muppet's at his side, held her and kissed her rosy cheek. It was noticeably warmer when he gave her a second and a third.

Still anxious about the food, Nami handed him the serving of meat and bowl of salad and with the roasted potatoes and rice in tow, she lead him to the table.

Though her clothes were mildly stained from the ordeal, changing was out of the question. They scored her a total of three kisses and at the end of the day, Nami was happy Luffy was here.

Her euphoria tripled when he took the anticipated first bite and reacted as if fireworks were set loose in his mouth. He wore the hugest smile and cleaned his plate in a matter of minutes- and she made sure to pile it high too.

After dinner, they all decided on two movies and were all bundled up on the sofa in the living room. Bellemere only made it through the first and before heading to bed, she gave Luffy a big hug. Nami's heart fluttered at the interaction. Slowly but surely she and Luffy had gotten close. It was the sweetest thing.