AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Those will be taken out Monday, and we can consider this another successful week as far as what we were hoping to accomplish goes,” I told him when we were finally done.
“Great,” he said. “Is there anything else you need done before we head to your place?”
“I don’t think so.” I looked around. I didn’t want to find things to do for the sake of it, but in all honesty, there was always something that could be done. I figured the best thing to do was to just let it all sit until Monday morning. I could come in at some point over the weekend if I felt it was a good idea to get a little ahead, but I wasn’t going to worry about it right now.
I was already planning on what we were doing for dinner. Meatloaf had been the first thing to come to mind since I was really good at the meal and knew I could impress. But I wanted to put down a nice side to have with the dinner, too. I decided on simple summer veggies, and a nice wine to finish out the meal.
I didn’t know if Cole was much of a wine drinker, but I did have a knack for matching the right wine with the right food, and I felt that was a skill that was worth showing off.
As soon as I got to my place I started grabbing things out of the fridge and pantry, eagerly opening the door when Cole arrived. He’d stayed to check on the horses one last time for the night, then he headed my way. I would have insisted that I drive him, but I figured I had pressed my luck enough with having him come over at all.
“Come on in,” I said with a grin. “There’s beer in the fridge, but we’re having wine with dinner.”
“You didn’t have to get that fancy,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting anything, really.”
“I like to make a nice meal when I’m sharing with someone,” I said with a wink. “Really, please take a seat here and let me work the magic.”
He sat at the breakfast bar with a beer in his hand, and I plunged right into conversation as I made dinner. It was awkward at first, there was no denying that, but the further he got into his beer, and the more we talked, the easier it got.
The hour it took me to put together the food as well as cook it flew by, and before I knew it, I was putting the plates on the table in front of us, then pouring the wine.
“Is there anything else I can grab?” I asked.
“No, no, you already went above and beyond with what you did here,” Cole said as he looked over the meal in surprise. “This really is great, but you didn’t have to go through all this trouble. I wasn’t that offended, you know.”
“I don’t want you to be offended at all,” I told him. “Which is why I wanted to do this for you. I guess it’s sort of an apology.”
“No need to apologize,” he replied. “You didn’t do a damn thing wrong!”
“Okay, so maybe it’s an apology for sending the mixed signals. Either way, let’s just have this meal and call a truce.”
He didn’t say anything, instead taking his fork and stabbing it into a bite of meatloaf and popping it in his mouth. I waited, then smiled as he looked at me in surprise.
“That’s the best damn meatloaf I’ve ever had.”
