Page 79 of These Bonds that Unite Us
A task that is easier said than done.
“Anyway, I had an idea I wanted to run by you. Another way we could make things up to her. Or two ways, really.” He leansagainst the counter, snatching a muffin from the platter in the center.
“I’m listening.”
After two days at the studio finalizing songs for the new album, I made sure we were off today to celebrate Nexus’ birthday.
Sneaking upstairs, I carefully nudge Omen awake. She blinks wearily but pulls herself from beneath Nexus and Titan’s arms. I hand her one of my shirts and a pair of leggings, both lighter in color since our plans for the day may involve getting messy.
“I was hoping you would be up for helping me make Nexus’ birthday cake,” I tell her as soon as we’re out of the nest.
She grins and nods, muttering about needing to pee first. I silently cheer, throwing my fist in the air. A whole morning spent working in the kitchen with my omega sounds amazing, and I’m fucking glad she agreed.
Ten minutes later, we’re standing side by side at the island with all of our supplies spread out in an arc before us. “So what’s the plan?” She turns to peek up at me, one eyebrow raised.
“Neither of us are professional bakers, but I thought we could manage a generic version of this,” I pull out my phone and show her the inspo pic I found. The three-layer, round cake is coated in a white frosting with rainbow colors smeared on the top. “And I thought instead of the usual ‘Happy Birthday’ message we could put one of the smutty book acronyms he likes.”
Omen takes the device, pinching the screen and studying the picture with narrowed eyes. I hold my breath waiting to hear her thoughts. I’ll bake Nex whatever kind of cake she wants, but Ifigured this one would be easiest for our first kitchen adventure together.
“We can add little rainbow hearts around the edges too,” she finally replies. A grin spreads across her lips as she hands my phone back to me. “Tell me what to do first, chef!”
I pass her one of the giant bowls for our stand mixer, and we start preparing the cake mix. We both quickly agree to make a rich, red velvet batter to add another pop of color.
The kitchen is quiet except for the sounds of us moving and the occasional question. It’s a comfortable silence though, one filled with peace.
We pop the three cakes into the preheated oven and turn to look at our disaster zone. Omen chuckles, glancing down at her flour-covered clothes. “Music?” she asks, peeking at me from the corner of her eye.
I open the music app on my phone and connect to the radio on top of the fridge. I pass it to her, letting her choose what we listen to. One of our popular hits comes on and she bounces on her feet, humming along.
She’s heard several of the songs from our upcoming record, but I have a feeling we’re going to be listening to the entire album in depth after it is released. Our girl truly loves our music.
“What’s next, chef?” she teases. Some of the weight on my chest is lifted by the light-hearted interaction. Titan is right, I need to be patient. I’ll get my turn to complete our bond when she’s ready.
“Well, the cakes still have another 10 minutes in the oven, then they have to cool. Before we start the frosting, I’d like to get the pork roast rubbed and on the smoker out back to slow cook for dinner. Would you like to help, or just watch?”
“I think I’ll watch this part. And eat something. The smell of those cakes is driving my stomach insane!” She laughs, twirling around me to open the fridge. It’s on the tip of my tongue tooffer to make her breakfast, but she pulls out one of the Greek yogurts Callisto started ordering and is already sliding onto a stool before I can get the words past my lips. At least they have protein in them too.
“What did you end up getting Nexus?” she asks as I rub a spice mix into the meat.
“One of those page-turners and a stand for his e-reader. Maybe if he uses it, he can stop losing books in the bed.” He’s fallen asleep reading on the nights he isn’t in the nest with Omen, and we’ve had to tear the bed apart to find his book every morning after. Luckily they haven’t been damaged by one of us rolling in our sleep, but it is bound to happen eventually.
“That’s a very sweet, alpha-like gift.”
“How about you? Did you decide what to get him?” I carefully wrap the pork roast in tinfoil to let it sit in the fridge while the smoker heats up.
“Mhmm, I bought him a few books I think he’ll enjoy. And I ordered an enlarged print of one of the pictures I took from your shows. The one of him straddling Callisto on the edge of the stage,” she tells me as I wipe the counter again and rewash my hands.
“He’ll love it. I imagine we’ll want an entire collection of them to hang around the house. You’re a talented photographer, babygirl.”
Omen’s cheeks flush, her head ducking to hide her reaction to my compliment. I mean it though, she’s a badass behind the camera. The way she captures us when we’re on stage… It’s equal parts inspiring and arousing.
The timer on the oven dings, so we jump back into action. I pull the cakes out to cool while she grabs all of the supplies we’ll need for the frosting. With the cakes off to the side, I join her at the island. “Alright, let’s make a big batch of white, then we can separate it to make the colors for the top.”
“Oh! We should make the frosting between layers rainbow colored too!” I grin down at her, swapping out the small bowls for bigger ones to accommodate her request.
I’m enraptured watching as she carefully mixes the color into each bowl. Her lips are pinched tight in concentration, mouth slightly twisted to the side. She’s so fucking precious!
“Perfect!” She exclaims as she sets the final color aside. “What’s next?”
