Page 51 of How Not to Date an Angel

“Wow, this takes some preparation,” Julian mused. “Can I help with anything?”

Rami didn’t know why they were surprised. They just hadn’t expected the offer, but eventually, curbing their shock, they slid a knife free from the chopping block. “Do you know how to cut veggies?”

Julian scoffed. “Of course I do. Give me that,” he said, and slid from the counter in one smooth, sinuous move before taking the knife from Rami’s hand. Their fingers brushed and Rami pretended like it didn’t affect them.

Just like they pretended they didn’t notice that Julian was still wearing their cardigan, draping his lean frame and spilling over his fingers.

IfRami was appreciating the sight, they didn’t get to for long, since Julian shrugged it off and draped it over the back of one of the island chairs.

His right hand curled around the handle of the knife with confidence. And now that his forearms were bare, Rami was finding it quite hard to pull their gaze away.

“You don’t have to watch,” Julian drawled. “I know what I’m doing.”

Right.Rami shook themself out of the moment. Of course, that’s why they were staring at Julian, to make sure he could do it correctly. No other reason.

It took so much strength to turn back to their own task with a soft hum.

They went about finally unpackaging the cheeses and retrieving a few more options from the fridge they had previously opened: brie, goat cheeses, some sharp cheddars.

“Technically,” they said aloud to fill the silence, backed by the smooth sound of the knife against the cutting board, “a charcuterie board is strictly meats and cheeses. The word literally means ‘cold cuts.’”

“So what do you call this, then?” Julian asked. “Because we have much more than that.”

Rami pursed their lips. “A vegetable charcuterie board? Or… a snack platter.”

The snort that came from the demon filled Rami with a new kind of delight. They enjoyed being the source of amusement for Julian.

Best not to look too closely at that, they feared.

It was domestic, sharing the kitchen with someone. Rami admitted it was kind of… nice to have someone around, sharing their space. Maybe that was the real reason why Rami hadn’t kicked the demon to the curb, since he was definitely healed enough.

Why, if Rami wasn’t careful, they could imagine that instead of an angel and a demon, the two of them were just … what? Acquaintances?Friends?

With a demon?

Rami swallowed back an unfamiliar emotion and promised to unpack it later. Maybe.

“Is there cooking in hell?” Rami asked suddenly.

“What?” Julian asked, knife scraping evenly, steadily.

“Well, I just wonder, where did you learn to use a knife like that?”

“What exactly is it that you think I do in Hell?”

Rami felt their cheeks flush and hoped they could somehow word their thoughts in a way that wouldn’t offend the demon. “Well, I just—I’m not sure. Hellish things, I suppose.”

Julian’s laugh was thankfully free of any bitter undertones. “I was a messenger. So I delivered messages, and then waited until I was needed again.”

“What did you do in the meantime?”

“Hung out at my house.”

Rami turned abruptly, but was only met with the back of the demon. His muscles moved as he continued cutting. Rami pointedly didn’t notice. “You have a house?”

“In Hell, yes. What did you think I did, hung from the ceiling like a bat?”

“I don’t—I don’t know, I’ve never been to Hell!”

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