Sipping Bubbly, Feeling Lovely | Brent Paraiso

just love me

Brent cannot cook. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Both are facts. Brent cannot cook to save his life. But here he was, trying to cook breakfast at 6 in the morning. Probably, endangering the kitchen and the whole household. By arson or food poisoning? That is yet to be determined.

Buti na lang talaga gwapo ka, your inner self uttered as you took a sip of your espresso. The thick, almost suffocating smell of burnt pancakes hung in the air. You were about to tell him that he has to pre heat the pan before pouring in the batter but the overconfident 6 foot 2 inches tall man just shushed you.

"Alam ko ginagawa ko okay?" Brent pointed to his phone. "I followed everything Erwan said in the video."

You just sighed in defeat. Brent has been learning to cook from youtube videos. As long as the kitchen does not burn down and he cleans up after his mess, you had no problem with your husband making an effort to cook breakfast. Besides, the view was excellent. A shirtless Brent in grey sweats and an apron, you did not see that everyday.

"The pancakes from McDonald's looked different," Cali commented innocently as she stood on her toes to peek into the pan.

Brent turned the stove off and faced his daughter. He carried her in his arms. "This one's better than McDonald's because daddy made it. It smells delicious, right?"

"Definitely, daddy." The six year old Cali smiled and gave her dad a thumbs up despite the burnt smell of the pancakes. The poor kid did not know anything. You almost choked on your coffee as you tried not to laugh.

"See, love? Our daughter approves of my cooking," Brent quipped and stuck his tongue out at you.

He had flour all over his face and his apron was splattered with eggs and butter. With his height and build, he could have been menacing and intimidating but that was not the case at all. Brent had always been a softie, a playful one. But you carefully struck the balance between being playful and being the disciplinarian. This house would have been a complete chaos without you.

You hopped off the stool and walked around the island. You picked Cali up from Brent.

"Cali, baby, dada cannot cook to save his life," you said in a teasing tone.

"Patay na patay ka pa rin naman sa 'kin," Brent teased back.

"Dada, what's patay na patay?" Cali asked with a frown. "It sounds mean."

"Yes, Dada. It's mean." You set Cali down on her feet. "Go wake your kuya up. We cannot save dada's pancakes. Daan tayo somewhere for pancakes before kuya's basketball practice, okay?"

Cali nodded with a quick yey as she scrambled to wake her Kuya Lucas up. Her little feet bouncing off the wooden floor as she ran.

You could not help but feel a little sad as you realized time flew so fast. Your first child with Brent was almost off to high school. He joined a basketball camp this summer because at a very young age, he already knew he wanted to be just like his dad. A skilled and known basketball player.

Brent looked at the mess he made in the kitchen and sighed. "You already knew I couldn't cook before you married me."

You wanted to tease him and pretend to be mad over the mess but you could not help but smile at his defeated expression.

You wrapped your arms around his waist. You were not that small but your face was right smack on his chest as you hugged him.

"Oo. Alam ko." You tilted your head up to look at his face. You wiped the flour off his cheek and placed a quick kiss on his lips. "It's okay, love. I like cooking for you. And Cali. And Lucas." You said their names in between pecks all over Brent's face. "It takes my mind off work."

Brent's defeated expression turned into an adoring one as he wrapped his arms around you as well, "Thanks, love. I really appreciate what you do for me and the kids. I love you. I'm really happy I married you."

"You're such a big sap, Mr. Paraiso. I love you too." Brent leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on your lips.

"You're still not getting out of this mess, Brent. Linisin mo," you pulled out from his arms and playfully slapped his butt.

"Yes po, ma'am. Opo," he said with a grin.

You heard a pair of footsteps as Cali dragged a sleepy Lucas to the kitchen, her hand curled around her brother's fingers. Lucas was already noticeably taller than her. Sometimes, you still cannot believe this young man was the baby who wanted you to rub his back and comb your fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

"What is this smell?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes with the other hand Cali wasn't holding.

"Dada cooked," Cali responded. Lucas let out a small laugh as those two words were enough explanation about the mess in the kitchen.

"Heeeey. No bashing dada in this house," Brent scowled.

You slowly made your way upstairs to change your clothes. But stopped and looked over the railing when you heard the loud laughter in the kitchen.

The kids were holding their tummies as they laughed at Brent telling them that he purposely burnt the pancakes so they could eat out. The banter eventually died and Lucas helped his dad with the mess while Cali sat on the island, as if supervising the whole clean up.

The kids went up eventually as you finished prepping. You went downstairs and saw Brent scrubbing the countertop. Brent smiled when he saw you and dabbed soap suds to your nose.

"Ako na tatapos. Go shower and change na. We can't be late."

"Okay, love. Thanks," he removed his apron and kissed you on the cheek before going out of the kitchen.

Brent may not know how to cook. He may not know his way in the kitchen. But your 6 foot 2 inches tall basketball player definitely knew his way with children. Your children. And nothing could be better than that.