Page 22 of Such a Sweet Girl

FRANCESCA

‘You need to sift the flour first,’ I said, handing Alexander a sieve with a smile.

Between our newly fixed air-con and my parents being gone, I’d practically lived in the kitchen, finally enjoying summer the way I had wanted to from the start. Our shared kitchen in my college apartment was small and often dismal. More often than not, I had to spend an hour scouring furred growths from pots and scraping burnt on god-knows-what from the stovetop. Baking with my parents around may have come with less mould-based issues, but with more derision. Nothing kills creativity and joy like the eye roll of someone who believes you are wasting your time.

‘Is it really necessary?’ Alexander asked, taking the sieve and dutifully dumping the flour into it over the large ceramic bowl.

‘Yes.’

Alexander had been over to my cabin twice in the day and a half since my parents left for their trip, and so far he’d been true to his word. Nothing but a perfect gentleman.

As much as I appreciated his seemingly genuine interest in me, I was also more wound up than an over keyed jack-in-the-box. Just being in the same room as him contorted my insides in a way I couldn’t explain. Teaching him to bake was fun, but what I craved was him sweeping the dishes to the floor and fucking me over the counter. Never had I felt so compelled to need sex. I’d never spent nights tossing and turning in my bed, squeezing my thighs together to assuage the memory of a man between them.

Alexander had unlocked a part of me I didn’t know had existed. Some inner nymph whose mind drifted away from the task in hand and right to his fat cock.

‘So fold in the flour,’ I instructed, handing Alexander a rubber spatula. He went straight to mixing with a rough clash of the bowl. ‘No... let me show you.’

I placed a hand over Alexander’s, fighting the twisting in my stomach at the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers.

‘Scoop and kind of pat it on top like this.’

The action brought me closer to his side. He turned his head, his breath whispering over my cheek. Tension rang between us, losing myself in the proximity to him as my eyes fluttered shut. Silence enveloped us both as we lingered in the moment.

God, the spice-laced aftershave he wore smelled incredible. I burned with the urge to turn to him and bury my face in his neck, inhaling his woody scent before biting the tender flesh there.

His hand moved, breaking my reverie.

‘You’re so good at this. Why don’t you do it full time if you aren’t keen on dentistry?’ I loved how openly he’d praise me, like it wasn’t a chore at all. My parents had always treated compliments like potential bombs, like every time they gave me one it might blow me to smithereens. Used only when they absolutely must.

‘It’s been drilled into me since I was a kid that I’d join my parents’ practice. That I’d be the next generation, carrying on everything they’ve worked so hard for. It’s expected.’

‘That doesn’t answer why you don’t do what it is you want... Do you want to be a dentist?’ I slid back to finish grating the lemon zest, creating some space between us.

I couldn’t imagine myself spending the next thirty years being the junior dentist under my parents’ reigning superiority. Even if I didn’t join their practice, the thought of spending my lift rooting around in other peoples’ mouths turned my stomach.

‘I don’t, but I’m in too deep to ditch it now. Plus, I wouldn’t have my parents’ support. They are helping me get through college without debt. Trying to go my own way and start a business from scratch? It would be a stupid risk.’

‘Is it worth it?’

Alexander looked at me with those dark lashed rimmed eyes softening. Why did I feel so exposed around him?

‘I don’t know.’

Changing the subject, I turned the conversation back to him.

‘What about you? You come to see Nick every summer for years, but you seem to hate it. Why do you keep coming?’

His sigh tore at my chest.

‘I ask myself the same question every year. When he was young, it was different. Seeing him made my entire year of working worthwhile. I have so many wonderful memories of our time together, so many shared laughs and adventures. Stories beneath the stars. Fishing until we gave up and picked up service station food on the way back. Days spent in wonder at this amazing little boy who I so rarely got to see in person. Months passed where seeing him again drove my career, every promotion bringing more freedom to see him again.’

Swallowing, I put down the lemon and leaned back against the counter, focusing fully on Alexander. ‘That sounds tough. What changed?’

Giving a shrug, he looked out of the window and shrugged. ‘He grew up, and the distance mattered more, I guess. Teens andyoung adults often grow distant as their lives outside of their family take greater precedence. The shared memories and home are the only weapons against them shearing away entirely. Our relationship suffered from cracks that were too large to bridge. I’ve been desperately nailing planks over them for the past few years, but without him doing the same, the cracks expand faster than I can mend them.’

‘If we were together, it would be like throwing a bomb down that crack,’ I said, guilt bubbling.

‘Good thing we are just cooking together then, I guess.’ Alexander’s voice thickened, making me swallow harder.

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