Pursuing Miss Introvert

Chapter 19. The Soup

"What is this?"

Ryan wrinkled his nose at the bowl in front of them.

He couldn't quite distinguish what was in it, except for the cabbage and the carrot which were pretty distinct.

Distinctly floating in too much water.

Laurence blinked at the soup.

He had reservations about her cooking skills, but he seemed to have even expected too much. He gently grabbed the ladle and scooped up what was inside the bowl. It caught slices of pork at the bottom but they looked stiff and either undercooked or overcooked, he couldn't conclude which.

"Hey, don't judge the soup by its..."

Milly stood in front of them by the table, looking defensive.

"Water content..."

She finished stiffly, avoiding their scrutiny of her face.

Deep inside she wanted to run away as far as possible. She wanted to choke her cousin for putting her in such a shameful situation.

Laurence was the first one to recover. He smiled encouragingly and filled Ryan's bowl to the brim before sitting down and did the same for himself.

"I'm sure it tastes better than it looks."

He declared confidently, then sipped a spoonful into his mouth.

It didn't.

He looked up at Ryan awkwardly, the soup still inside. Ryan's face contorted in disgust, not helping much in his attempt to hide his reaction to how bad it tasted.

Laurence braved a glance at Milly and she looked at him expectantly. He gulped the soup down, smiling at her.

"Mmm..."

He hummed in approval.

And almost vomited right then and there.

Ryan looked at him in pity and gently tapped his left shoulder before pouring him a glass of water.

He hesitated to grab the glass instantly in case she hoped he wouldn't. Seconds ticked by but just as he was about to give up, the doorbell rang and interrupted the awkward silence between the three of them.

The sound alerted Milly and in an almost animated mood, she volunteered to go and open it.

Only when she was out of earshot did Laurence scramble to drink the glass Ryan offered him. Not satisfied it did the trick the first time, he poured another and gulped it down hungrily, as if his life depended on it.

Ryan blurted out laughing, clapping even, at his misery.

"Wow."

He wiped his mouth with the kitchen towel.

She sure had a way of crushing his fantasy of having her in his kitchen, cooking a meal for him.

Laurence's shoulders shook in laughter, looking down at the enormous bowl of extra watery food she prepared for over an hour.

He couldn't believe the girl he was in love with could do something as disastrous as this.

God, it was awful.

Laurence shook his head and bit his lip hard to stop himself from laughing like crazy.

And she looked so adorable too, wearing a bunny apron and a pretty ponytail.

"Be thankful you're still alive after that spoonful."

Ryan was still grinning like crazy.

The obnoxious mutt knew it all along and he baited him. Turning at his friend, Laurence threw the crumpled tissue paper at him, sticking it straight to his mouth.

Ryan spat it out in disgust and aimed a jab at him but stopped mid-air when his mom entered the kitchen, a bag of groceries and a box of pizza in hand.

"Oh, hey boys!"

Rosie greeted them when she put the bag down on the table.

"Did you have dinner yet?"

She asked, before eyeing the soup in front.

"Thank God he created moms."

Ryan lifted his hands to the ceiling dramatically.

"Otherwise you could have come home to our corpses."

He muttered under his breath, but Milly heard it loud and clear.

Grabbing the wooden ladle off the table, she smacked her cousin right in the forehead and stomped her way out of the kitchen.

"Don't you want a piece of this life-saving pizza?"

Ryan shouted at her back while rubbing his forehead vigorously.

The spoon left a huge red mark on his skin, making him look like a three-eyed ogre with his green t-shirt on. Laurence laughed out loud, unable to hold himself back any longer.

"Man, you look like an ogre with that shirt and a huge-ass pimple on your forehead."

Ryan turned to him with the ladle in hand, but luckily he anticipated it sooner and escaped to the living room in a sprint.

"I'm going home!"

Laurence called out as he snatched his cap and proceeded out the door.

Milly was sulking but couldn't do anything about it. Of course, she wanted to destroy her cousin for putting her on the spot when he knew she couldn't cook at all.

Hmph!

She glared at the 30x40 inches canvas board she placed against a white backdrop at the far end of the shed. When she heard Laurence's truck leaving the house, she went outside to find a way to vent her frustration. And what better way to do it than throw splashes of paint on an empty board!

Milly dunked the medium-sized paintbrush into the color palette again and carelessly splashed it on the piece of cotton canvas. Yellows and reds, greens and peaches, all splattered on the surface. What was she trying to make of it? She didn't know. She just had to do something to distract herself.

Sighing in despair, she knew her efforts were futile.

"Waaahhhhh!"

She cried out loud, pouting her lips in disappointment.

Of all the talents she managed to get, cooking was the most basic of them, and yet that was where she failed the most. Her mom and grandma used to encourage her a lot that she could do better, but after countless attempts and with the sheer waste of food, they had silently accepted that there was no use for her in the kitchen.

'He must be shocked.'

She thought sadly as she moved closer to the canvas and started tracing the droplets of paint with her right hand.

Did she care much about what he thought anyway? Milly asked herself.

Maybe not before, she considered, her fingers making an abstract spiral image on the canvas.

Still, she failed miserably in cooking and now he too knew it!

Damn that obnoxious nerd of a cousin she had!

"Waaaahaaahhh!"

Ugly crying, Milly lightly pounded her fist on the board, splattering her shirt and face with tiny spots of paint in the process. She was close to crying for real when her cellphone dinged.

Huffing her breath out, Amelia stood and opened her messages.

'Hi.'

His first message since they knew each other.

'You're still as adorable as ever.'

Milly blinked.

What the hell was he trying to say?

Was he trying to comfort her with those words?

'Don't know if I should feel comforted or insulted.'

She typed back, repeating the words several times over because her left fingers kept messing up the letters on the screen.

Pulling the dishcloth off the table nearby, she purposefully wiped the wet paint off her right so she could hold her phone comfortably.

'For what it's worth, I could cook for you anytime.'

He replied.

'Free of charge.'

Milly snorted in response.

Did he think she was a charity case?

'Pleeeaasse.'

She typed back sarcastically.

'I could boil eggs all my life instead and still survive.'

Amelia declared with conviction.

That earned a heart emoji from her chat mate.

'That's fine too.'

He chatted back.

'I'd eat boiled eggs every day if it's you.'

Milly rolled her eyes reading that, but her face stretched to a small smile.

Laurence was so bad with pick-up lines she swore his looks were the only reason a girl would give in to him.

She replied with a laughing emoji.

'You're crazy.'

Milly added.

'Crazy for you.'

He countered back, sounding ridiculous with his pick-up lines.

Milly smiled at her phone unconsciously. He might have awkward pick-up lines, but he somehow succeeded in averting his focus and calmed her down.

'Can I ask you to be at the game on Thursday?'

He messaged again after she didn't reply anymore.

Considering her answer carefully, she thought for a moment before typing back.

'If I do, what's in it for me?'

She was merely teasing.

Her mood miraculously changed from being annoyed with the dinner incident to being amiable, at least to him.

'A kiss.'

Amelia bit her lip at the audacity of his reply. Yet somehow she felt challenged, and a little crazy. She must be losing her mind, she thought as she typed back.

'You're on.'