Mizpah: Jillian

Chapter 18

"Vaughn... Am I doing it right?" I asked.

I am now slicing the meat. Nakatayo lang si Vaughn sa gilid ko at pinagmasdan ang ginagawa ko. Hindi na ako kinakabahan sa pagluluto dahil may kasama na ako na marunong magluto at kahit papaano matuturuan niya ako.

Napatigil ako sa ginagawa ko at sinulyapan si Vaughn sa gilid. His eyes were fixed on the meat that I sliced.

"Hmm," nag-isip muna siya. "You should cut the pork bigger than that. Mas liliit pa kasi 'yan pag niluluto na."

"Ah."

Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko sa hinihiwa kong karne. Maliliit ang pagkahiwa ko. Mabuti nalang at tinanong ko si Vaughn if tama ba itong ginagawa ko.

I measured the size of the meat and placed the knife above it. Napatingin ulit ako kay Vaughn.

"Like this?" I asked.

He sighed.

I gulped when he went to my back at hinawakan ang kamay ko na may hawak na kutsilyo. His other hand touched the meat.

My grip on the knife's handle loosened in shock. But luckily, he gripped the knife's handle together with my hand tightly.

I am between his arms, again. The first was when we were at the beach. Walang ipinagkaiba ang nararamdaman ko back then. I still feel my heartbeat racing.

I think mababaliw na ako dito. I feel his warm body, his touch, his scent, his breath that tickles my shoulder. I kinda like it.

Hindi ko na namalayan na hiniwa na pala ang karne sa harapan ko. The meat was cut bigger than my measurement not long ago.

"Like this," he said huskily.

Binitawan niya na ang pagkahawak sa kamay ko at bumalik na sa pwesto niya kanina sa gilid ko. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag pero hindi parin maalis sa dibdib ko ang kaba.

After I finish slicing all the meat, Vaughn instructed me what to do next and I followed it. Hinihintay muna namin ang adobo na maluto at umupo muna sa lamesa.

"Taste while you cook. That way, you'll realize sooner if something's missing in your dish," Vaughn said.

Tumayo si Vaughn at kumuha ng kutsara bago tumungo sa stove. He dipped the spoon in the pot.

"Halika ka."

Tumayo ako at lumapit sa kanya. Inilapit niya sa akin ang kutsara. I looked at him with a questionable look and then suddenly, I get it.

I leaned closer and tasted it while he looked at me intently.

"How was it?" He asked.

Inilayo ko na ang sarili ko. It tastes great. I showed my thumbs up to him.

He smiled lightly. Napangiti din ako. There's something behind his small smile that makes him a lot more attractive and... sexy.

I prepared plates for us two. Lumapit si Vaughn sa lamesa habang dala ang adobo na nakalagay sa bowl. He sat in front of me.

We started eating at napasarap ang kain ko dahil sa masarap na adobo. I'm sure mapaparami ang kain ko ngayon at hindi naman ako nagda-diet. Nagseselos nga si Suri sa akin dahil kahit anong kain ko daw ay hindi daw ako tataba.

"When did you learn how to cook?" I asked him out of curiosity.

He paused eating for a while.

"Grade five," he answered.

My eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

He nodded.

"Palagi kasing wala ang mga magulang ko sa bahay dahil sa trabaho. Dahil panganay ako, kinakailangan kong matutong magluto para sa mga kapatid ko dahil ayaw ko silang magutom."