Page 17 of Scandalous

I clear my throat a little as my eyes grow watery. I miss my grandma every day. She was the only one who truly gave a shit about me besides my uncle.

“Next, we mix the remainder of the flour, vanilla extract, and milk into a bowl.” The oven beeps just as I move the bowl to the side. “It’s all about perfect timing. Am I right, ladies?”

I glance at the comments, answering a couple of questions before I grab the cast-iron skillet.

“You guys know what’s next,” I say as I spin the handle of the pan in my palm. “We need to melt some butter in this bad boy.” Moving to the stove, I drop a dollop of butter in the pan and turn it on. “My grandma loved butter. In fact, she would say the more, the better. I don’t want to cause any heart attacks this week, so we are going to stick with what the recipe calls for.”

Walking back to the counter, I fight off the grin when I see the number of viewers. Who the hell knew that making a cobbler could get you two hundred thousand viewers?

“Hey, mods, let me know if you need anyone else to help you out.”

My watch vibrates, and I look down and see a text from Holland.

Holland: I had no idea there were so many jokes about cherries. We need a hand.

My bad.

I look back up and see that a new moderator has joined.

The.American.

“Hey Drake, thanks for helping the moderators out,” I tell him, looking back at what I’m doing.

When I glance up again, I smirk at Liam’s response.

The.Aussie: Oh look, if it isn’t my favorite suck up.

I try and hide the blush on my cheeks at knowing at least three of them are watching me right now. Instead of facing the camera, I turn away to grab the pan.

“Okay, guys, the butter is all melted. Next we add the batter we made,” I say as I pour it into the hot pan. With the batter covering the bottom, I grab the bowl of cherries. “Now we sprinkle these bad boys all over the top. If you are using canned, then you won’t do this part. Or if you can grab some maraschino cherries, you can add them on the top. They will add a bit of sweetness though.”

Grabbing a lone cherry out of the bowl, I pop it into my mouth and let out a little moan as I do a happy dance. “Not too sweet and not too tart. Just the way we like it. Now we pop this into the oven for thirty-five to forty minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the crust is a light brown and puffy.” I hold the pan up to the camera and smile. “Just think about how great this will look once it’s baked.” I step away and place the pan in the oven and set a timer on my watch.

“Do you guys have any questions?”

One pops up right away.

Samantha.Darling: What is the difference between a cobbler and crisp?

“That’s a fantastic question! A crisp has a crumble topping whereas a cobbler is more like a cake. I could be wrong though.”

Marryme.now: You are gorgeous. Can I get your number?

I clear my throat, ignoring that one, moving on to the next.

Low.low: What if you don’t have a cast-iron skillet?

“If you don’t have a skillet, you can make it in a baking dish instead. The skillet gives it a bit more of a crust on the bottom, but it will still be good in a baking dish. In fact, my grandma didn’t actually own a skillet. I picked this trick up over the years from a friend.” I wink into the camera, knowing Holland is watching.

Marryme.now: Don’t ignore me. That’s rude. What’s your number?

I take a quick breath, about to respond, but then another person joins the chat, surprising me.

The.Brit has joined the live.

The.Brit: @Marryme.now stop being a creep. If you want someone’s number, I’d be happy to give you mine and show you how to be respectful.

I clear my throat. “Hey Ezra. Thanks for joining.” I keep my eyes on the screen watching as the two begin a little argument in my comments.

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