ARROW INFERNO [Man X Man]

Chapter 7: A perfect balance of danger and charm... The Date!

Stanley 'STAN' Norris vs. Ian 'WILL' Williams

Pix: Stan working in bed

Video: Alicia Keys' Fallin by Saxophonist Mark Maxwell

Dedicated to b_is_out

Apologies for the delay guys. I've been very busy with work. Missed you all. Kindly ignore my errors. Couldn't edit it.

Enjoy!

***

Stan opened the door and grinned at the smiling man who held two large grocery bags in each hand.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Osei." He took the bags from the cook.

He'd given the cook a list of things he needed to cook the mashed potatoes that Will had requested for. The soldier had said he didn't mind the accompaniment as long as it was good so Stan had decided to go with beef and mushroom sauce and lamb chops.

"You're welcome, Mr. Stan." The cook grinned. "I hope Yaw has brought all the cooking utensils you requested for."

"He has, thanks."

"Good, good. Hey, Mr. Will." He called out when he saw Will appear behind Stan. Even though they'd both asked him to call them by their first names, the cook always added Mr. which never failed to make them smile.

"Hello, Agya Sei." Will addressed the cook by the name the Ghanaians around affectionately called him. Agya in their local dialect meant father but could also be used to address a male as a form of respect. "Today Stan is going to show me what he's made of." He grinned as he shook the cook's hand in greeting. "If we don't show up for lunch, then it's either we're dead from consuming his terrible meal or we're too full to eat anymore."

The cook laughed. "You won't die. Bad food never kills anyone. I added two aprons."

"Oh, he'll be the only one wearing one." Will laughed.

"You should help him." Then he looked past Will at Stan who had turned to go. "Call me if you need anything, Mr. Stan."

"Will do that, Mr. Osei, thanks."

"We'll see you tomorrow," Will said as the man turned to leave. But he turned to give Will a curious look.

"Won't you be coming for dinner?"

"Not today." At the cook's nod, he added, "It's not Jollof, I hope..."

"No. We'll be having fries but there will also be cassava flakes and peanut butter soup." The cook responded with a straight face.

"You mean gari..." Both Will and the cook burst into laughter. "What the hell is that?" Will briefly looked behind him when he heard the sound of grinding coming from the suite.

"That's the food processor." The cook chuckled.

"Right. I'll take my cassava flakes in the morning then." They had no training in the morning so he could afford to eat a heavy breakfast.

"No problem, Mr. Will. Bye."

Will closed and locked the door and then started for the kitchen. Finally, they had a weekend off so as had been agreed, Stan was going to cook for him. The anticipation had been so high it almost felt like a date. He'd chosen mashed potatoes because he'd missed it. But Stan had decided to give him a treat by adding a cheesecake as dessert because he'd let it slip that he loved cheesecakes. In the kitchen, he could see that Stan was already busy with the cheesecake.

"What can I do to help?" Will asked.

"Nothing. Just sit there and keep me company as I work." Stan poured the mixture of digestive biscuits and toasted pecan crust out of the food processor and into a bowl. Then he brought a tall glass of iced tea to Will who had taken a seat at the mini dining table.