Page 27 of Bound By Blood
She wrinkled her nose at him in response. "I mean, eating for pleasure. Not eating for—whatever it is you'd be doing if you're eating love cakes."
"Not peeling garlic." He chuckled. He scrunched his face still further as he held up his hand with a few errant strips of garlic peel still clinging to it. "Garlic is the least attractive vegetable that ever existed."
"You certainly shouldn't be eating it right before you kiss anyone. Or right after. Or maybe not even a few hours after. But it tastes good, and it is good for you."
"I just want to crush it."
"Well, don't. It needs to be minced."
"No one is going to know if it's minced or crushed," he said coyly. "We could break the rules."
"Listen to me very carefully, blood fae. It is my soup recipe. If I say the garlic must be minced, it shall be minced. Or I'll be adding blood fae blood to it." She pointed with the knife, speaking with mock severity.
"I don't think that's a good ingredient for any soup." He continued to peel the garlic and then set the cloves of garlic on the counter. "Do you tease me because you like me, Erryn?"
Her grip on the knife nearly slipped, the blade nicking dangerously close to her fingers. "What?"
He picked up another clove. "In my family, we tease people we like. It's a way of showing that they mean something to us. And it's good to laugh. But some people tease because they do not like them. And I am curious."
She bit the inside of her lip. Her stomach twisted. It was hard to force the words out amid the flutters, and the soft but frank way he asked made her heart beat even faster.
"I tease you because I like you."
"Good." He peeled away more of the garlic skin and set it down. "Because I like you. Quite a lot. And I am not really certain how to tease you. Or what to do around you."
Her cheeks heated. "Oh."
"Did I just make you uncomfortable?" he asked.
"No, it's just—well—" She cleared her throat. "I just—"
"I know I told you that you shouldn't fall in love with me. Dared you not to, I suppose. And I know that it has to be unnerving because of what the magic would do, but—"
"It won't happen." She forced a smile and steeled herself as she looked back into his eyes.
He didn't flinch, though his brow did tweak. "Won't happen because…"
"Because I don't make bargains—especially not ones with open ends—and because we haven't known each other long enough to know anything about one another and also because I wouldn't be any good for you."
"Why wouldn't you be any good for me?"
She chopped faster, but she shook her head. This wasn't something she wanted to think about. Especially not now.
"Just trust me on that, all right?"
Aside from the storm's growls and the steady downpour of the rain on the roof, silence descended. More so than usual. An uncomfortable silence. At least that was how it seemed at first.
Then she noticed he wasn't actually acting out of sorts about it. He finished peeling the garlic, then helped her dice the tomatoes and chop the onions. His expression had grown contemplative, but there was no resentment. At least none that she could see.
By the time the soup finished simmering, quiet conversation had returned. Not about anything in particular. The storm. The night. The changing of the seasons.
This time, they both sat next to one another at the round wooden table and shared the chicken and summer bounty soup. When they finished, they washed and dried the dishes together. He even swept the floor and gathered up all the thin bits of garlic paper that had escaped and playfully threatened to put it in her tea. She laughed, of course, and promised him far worse if he ever should.
The rain had let up and the clouds passed by the time he was ready to leave. When he reached the door, he held it open and hesitated at the threshold. "I don't agree with you that you would not be good for me. And I understand why the magic would make this far more unnerving. But I want you to know that I do cherish our friendship. I am glad to have met you, Erryn. Even if I don't know how to tease you well. You're a kind person, and your soup is excellent."
She wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. "I'm sure that given enough time, you'll figure something out. I probably just knocked your teasing abilities loose when I hit you with that skillet."
"It was rather heavy." He rubbed the side of his head as if remembering.
