Florida | Gabriela Gonzalez and Kay Cook

seventeen ★ pasta carbonara

MAY
of twenty-twenty

"hey, we should hang out," kay suggested, playing with the sand below her and bella.

"we already are," bella laughed.

"no, i mean, like, at my apartment," kay corrected, "only if you want to."

bella smiled, "sure, we can keep watching the good place."

the two exited the beach, and drove to kay's apartment. once they entered, they were greeted by her dog.

"hi, calvin," bella remarked, rubbing the dog's belly.

kay dropped her bag by the front door, and walked over to the kitchen to grab a snack. cheri was cooking by the stove, and her dad was looking at his computer at the kitchen island.

"hi, mr. and mrs. cook! it's nice to see you again," bella greeted, waving at kay's parents.

"oh, bella, thank heavens you're here!" cheri declared, "by any chance, are you good at cooking?"

"cooking is like my second language," bella laughed, "do you need any help, mrs. cook?"

"i'm so confused with this recipe," cheri sighed, gesturing at the cookbook beside her, "i'm cooking pasta carbonara for dinner, but i've never tried to make it before."

"i eat pasta carbonara all the time! my mom is 100% italian and my dad is half italian, so i'm really familiar with italian food. i can totally give you some tips, mrs. cook," bella suggested.

"perfect!" cheri stated, "do you think you can watch the food? i have to head to another social distancing meeting with my husband for a bit."

"of course. i can also continue the recipe if you'd like me to," bella brought up.

"that would be wonderful, bella, thank you so much," cheri acknowledged, walking out of the front door with her husband.

kay walked over to the stove, and watched bella cook the pasta with ease.

"geez, how do you do that? i cant cook," kay asked.

bella shrugged, "it's in the italian genes."

kay lightly chuckled, and kept watching what the girl was doing.

"if you're going to stare at me like a creep, the least you could do is try and help," bella laughed.

"alright, what should i do?" kay questioned.

"i want you to heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over a medium flame while adding the pancetta and sauté," bella declared, "once you're done, make sure the bacon is crisp."

"yes, chef isabella," kay teased.

bella smiled to herself, and turned her focus back to not overcooking the pasta. after a few minutes, kay asked, "am i doing this right?"

the strawberry blonde turned around, and watched the blonde nearly burn the substance.

"that's not a medium flame; you're going to burn the house down," bella pointed out, "this is a medium flame."

she put her hand on top of kay's, and showed her the correct temperature, "see? it's easy-peasy."

kay grinned at the feeling of bella's hands on top of hers, and she continued to cook once the bacon was sufficiently crisp, she poured it into the pan with the pasta, and bella stirred the bacon with the pasta. the two put the food on a serving dish, and placed it on the dining table.

"this looks like a job well done," kay declared, high-fiving the other girl.

"indeed," bella agreed.

"now we can watch netflix," kay remarked, running over to the couch.

the two went in the same position that they were in a few days prior. bella's head laid on kay's chest, and kay had her arm snug around bella's body as a white fuzzy blanket covered them. their legs intertwined together, and they quickly fell asleep on top of each other.

until cheri woke them up for dinner.

...