Page 110 of Mother Parker
“I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe the cream was off?”
I got up and found the tub of cream in the trash can.
“Yup. Three days out of date, in fact. God. I’m so sorry, boba,” I said.
I caught a smirk on his face that he promptly wiped off, and he raised his eyebrows instead.
“You put cream in carbonara? My God! Sit your ass down. I’ll make you the real thing,” he said and grabbed both plates.
He stood in front of me, chest to stomach, looking up at me, a spark of defiance in his gaze.
“What? Are you Italian now too?” I asked him.
He shook his head, chucked the pasta in the trash, and proceeded to turn the stove on and get to work.
“No, I’m not Italian, but I grew up with a master chef at home. I picked up a few skills, which apparently your whole family lacks?”
I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into me with an involuntary grumble. I held him there, staring into his beautiful eyes and wishing this moment would never end.
Not the whole showing me up moment, but this, this moment of familiarity and domesticity.
Was it strange that we lived together after only two and a half weeks of dating? Yes, yes, it was.
Did I care?
No. Not a damn.
“I’d be careful if I were you. Wouldn’t want me to get all angry and start punishing you, would you?” I whispered in his ear.
Hwan didn’t flinch, speak, or move, but I felt his erection growing against my leg, and I couldn’t help the smirk that crawled to my face.
“Are you done?” he said after a few moments. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to eat this century. You can punish me all you want later. Or…I don’t know, just a thought. I could punish you since you made me try that monstrosity,” he said.
I slapped his ass and boomed with laughter, letting him get to work.
I watched him get busy, boil the water, crush the cloves of garlic, and fry the pancetta. It was intoxicating to watch him get lost in the moment, in the ritual. After a while, it was like he’d forgotten I was even there.
When he finished, some five, ten minutes later—I didn’t know how long, I’d lost track—he plated it and offered me a bowl, and I didn’t even need to try it to know I’d love it.
I took the bowl from him and held it between us, searching for his eyes and the easy smile that lived on his face no matter what. The same smile that put my fears at ease. My heart beat so fast it was all I could hear, suffocating me with warmth and affection.
“I love you,” I said in a quiet but clear voice.
It wasn’t an accident.
I meant it with every fiber of my body.
Hwan didn’t say anything. He didn’t do anything. He just stayed where he was as if frozen in time.
I waited while the pounding in my chest slowed down as a strange weight settled in my stomach.
“Did-did you hear me?” I asked.
He still didn’t react. Didn’t do anything. And the more he didn’t, the heavier the weight got until I couldn’t carry it anymore.
“I said I—”
His fingers were on my mouth in the blink of an eye, and he took a step back.
