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“My God, sir! What school did you attend?” the host asked. I thought he was putting it on thick until I tasted it for myself.
“Wow,” I said as soon as I closed my mouth around the piece of meat. The flavors zipped through my mouth. It was sotender and flavorful that my tummy rumbled, and I had to go in for another bite.
“You like that, huh?” He draped a towel across his shoulder and leaned back against the counter.
“Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“I’m self-taught. You betta come right on this dessert woman. I don’t like to lose,” he teased.
“Whatever. Don’t you worry about that. I got this, so you won’t.” I popped my head back, and he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. He dropped a quick kiss on my lips. His velvet touch against mine made me stumble. I was glad I could blame it on his swift movements.
“I don’t think there is any way I can,” he spoke. When I popped my eyes open, still in his embrace, I could tell by the cocky grin placed on his face he knew it was all him. With wobbly legs, I felt my way to the cooking station before us. I turned my back to him and let out an inaudible sigh.You will not fuck this man in this building. You will not fuck this man in the car on the way to your house.I chanted my hoe commandments in my mind just as the host announced the final round.
Hearing the timer go off knocked me back into competitive mode.
“You didn’t tell me the ingredients we need,” Prince came to me.
“And I won’t. This is my momma's secret recipe. I will not have you teaching your other hoes this.” I laughed because the words came out a little too harshly. Something as simple as a nice date gave me respect for Prince. He was being thoughtful.
“You funny. Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I’m going to put sugar and butter in this pot. Your job is not to burn it.” I raced to the pantry and got the ingredients I needed. I was making my mother’s remarkable strawberry turnovers. It had just the right amount of sweet and tangy balance to make a pallet dance. It was only a twenty-minute recipe, and I knew Prince would love this—thejudges, not Prince.I got back to the kitchen and went to work. Surprisingly, I started to reminisce about my mother. She was something for sure, but when she wasn’t over the top crazy making us obsess about our appearance and what we ate, she was a sweet woman. Once a month, she would make these for us. They were so light and flaky. I pushed out the small batch of dough, thinking about the memories. Those times when we were just able to be close to her. When she was just being our mom were the best. Snuggling in her bed was a scent that I would never forget.
“Are you okay?” Prince’s hand rested on top of mine, and I jerked slightly.
“Yes. Just two more minutes on the dough.”
I moved to the other side and ensured the strawberries and sugar were set up perfectly for assembly. I wouldn’t have much time to construct the dish, and it had to be perfect for this one. I heard the ding and assembled the dish just in time before the clock expired. I wiped my forehead from the small beads of sweat that mounted there. I felt like I had just finished running a marathon.
“Damn, you made me one?”
“I ain’t made you nothing, but you can have it if you want,” I teased.
He gripped the plate, and I turned to hand him a fork. When I turned back, he shoveled the last piece in his mouth. Iwatched as he enjoyed it to the last bite, and I wished I could frame the satisfaction on his face.
“Damn Le.”
“I told you I’m like that,” I sang and gloated.
“You did, and you are.”
“We betta win.” I looked around as the judge started to tally their votes.
The host came directly to us after receiving the card.
“Ladies and gents, it's no surprise that these are our winners! Since most of you didn’t finish your dishes and the others almost blew us up a few times, let’s give it up for Prince and Lesha!” He swept his hand our way, and Prince picked me up and swung me around while I laughed the softest I remembered.
“What do we get?” I whispered to Prince as he sat my feet on the ground.
“They haven’t told us yet. They will let us know via email what the prize is in the next few days. Everything is so exclusive. It wasn’t the prize for real. I brought us here because I figured you would enjoy it.”
“I did. Thank you.”
“You got that anytime.” He locked his sleepy eyes on mine. I nodded and looked away quickly. They let us pack up our leftovers, and between all the tasting and testing, I was full anyway. Prince opted not to eat more either as we left the building.
“Wow, it’s already ten?”
“I know that blew by. It felt like only an hour. But we ain’t done unless you gotta get home.”
