Late Night Munch

9

August 21, 2020

"Hey, could you help me with the rest of the bags downstairs. There's only a couple left." Michael said.

Emma nodded. She had a slight pep in her step as she went down the stairs of her apartment. Her music was softly playing in her pocket while she took in the sight of the green leaves on the trees. They had a hint of orange speckles, but there wouldn't be any grand noticeable changes until the end of September. Only someone as observant as her would pick up on these little details. Excitement bubbled in her chest as she jogged up the stairs with the three plastic bags. A new season had begun.

Her dad had just finished putting the last perishable item in the fridge, "What's with the rice vinegar?"

"I'm making sushi." She said enthusiastically.

"But you suck at cooking? And I thought you hated it." He said. Her least favorite part of cooking was always cleaning up the mess. Not to mention cooking required time and patience.

She shrugged, " Its never too late to learn."

"Well, you've got a point there." He said slightly amused at her antics. The last time she tried to pick up a hobby she nearly gouged his eye out. Let's just say that playing the violin wasn't one of her best moments. " At least with sushi I know you have a decent chance of not burning your apartment down."

"How was I suppose to know that you can't put aluminum in the microwave. You never told me and you can't say it's common sense because it obviously wasn't." She said, recalling how bad their house smelled for days.

He chuckled, " I'm glad you're excited about something kiddo. I haven't seen you this amped-up  since May."

Emma stopped rustling around in the grocery bag and stood still, "You're right I didn't even realize." She murmured, lost in thought. "I hope I stay like this. I can't wait to go back to college."

"College will always be there." He reminded her.

"I know." She sighed, it didn't make her miss it any less, " I think I might change my major."

"Oh?" He asked.

"I think it's time for a change. Maybe I'll apply to a new university too." She nonchalantly said.

"I'll always support you and your choices, but make sure you put a lot of thought into it before you do anything."

"No, yeah for sure. I want to figure out where I'm going to live before I make any permanent decisions." She said.

"How's the apartment hunt going? Any luck?" He asked.

"Nope. Everything is over my budget and everything that's within my budget is in bad neighborhoods. I have a couple of more locations I need to check out, but I'm not expecting much." Emma explained.

"Just remain open minded. I know something will pop up." He said.

Emma hummed in agreement, "You want some apple cider? I'd offer you coffee, but this is a caffeine free zone."

"Maybe some other time. I told Nina I'd drop off some paper work before 5. Plus you seemed pretty excited to be making sushi and I don't want to take up any more of your time." He said. 

"I appreciate you going to the store for me." She thanked him.

He kissed her forehead, " Call me if you need anything." He turned to leave, "Oh! And send me pictures of the sushi."

"I will, bye dad." She chuckled.

. . .

"Where have you been? I thought it was gonna be one of those lonely nights again." He lightheartedly said.

Emma held up a small lunch box, "I brought dinner."

Tucker's eyes widened in surprise. Even he knew about her terrible history with cooking, but he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt."I'll get the drinks." Walking over to the refrigerated section he grabbed a cranberry juice and a lemonade. Emma giggled as he made a grand gesture towards the camera of him scanning the drinks and putting money into the cash register. He knew Emerson watched the silent surveillance footage and he didn't want to risk getting falsely accused of stealing from the gas station.

"I just want to warn you that they aren't the prettiest, but I promise they're good." Emma forewarned.

Tucker opened up the tupperware to reveal some decent looking sushi rolls. The rice was slightly spilling over the edges of the seaweed, and the carrots and cucumbers weren't a consistent size, but at least it was all held in place.

He pouted, "There's no fish in these."

"On the bright side you aren't at risk of getting salmonella." Emma said, offering him a small container that held the soy sauce and some chopsticks.

"True." Tucker smiled and graciously accepted the chopsticks. He dunked the roll into the soy sauce and mumbled "cheers" before he stuffed it in his mouth. "Mmm, not bad."

"What's the verdict?" Emma asked.

"I'd say a solid 8 out of 10. The flavor is good, but I know we'll improve the presentation next time." He teased.

"We?" She asked in an amused tone.

"Yep. Your next challenge will be to make spicy tuna rolls and I'm going to teach you." He confidently said.

Emma grimaced,"Yuck I hate tuna."

"That's because you haven't tried it how I prepare it. Raw tuna is good." He said.

"Oh yeah how good can it be?" She fired back.

"It taste like candy. You'll be sucking on your fingers when you're done." He said in a promising tone.

"Alright, and if I don't you have to admit that tuna isn't all that you're hyping it up to be." She said.

"Bet." He raised his hand so they could shake on it.

They continued to eat, Tucker made fun of Emma for not being able to use the chopsticks right. At some point she was trying to use them upside down and gave up after 3 seconds opting to use her hand.

"It fucking broke." She exclaimed.

"Don't look at me, I didn't make them." He said.

"Smart ass." She mumbled under her breathe.

"Hey, for your first attempt I think you did pretty good. It's a random choice of a hobby but I respect it." He fist bumped her. "If it makes you feel better I've taken photography up as a hobby and I completely suck ass. At least you have something going for you." He said. 

"Oh my god! You have to show me." She said.

"Next time. I promise I'll bring in my camera for you." He said. "And I'll let you tease me all you want."

"You're a good friend Tp." She raised her cranberry juice and said, "To friendship."

"To friendship." He said, hitting her drink with his lemonade.

Smiles never left their faces for the rest of the night.

An: I'm living for these cute scenes. They've been my favorite to write. I've been reading too many slow burn romances lol.