Page 142 of Knot That Serious

Then Eli glanced at the date, eyes widening. “Hey, wait, that’s only a handful of days away!”

Jack nodded. “They moved it up.”

“Oh, no,” Eli said, covering her mouth and scooting to the end of the cushion. “What are we gonna bring this year? I haven’t planned anything!”

Usually she tried to bake something to match whatever theme they’d chosen. Last year it had been Hawaiian shirts, so she’d made cookies and decorated them to match. What was she going to make this year?

“What’s the theme?” she asked, leaning back over.

“Uh…” Jack skimmed the letter again before snickering as he read, “This year we are revisiting Eli’s sophomore year. Dress goth.”

“No!” Eli cried, and snagged the invitation from him. “Mom didn’t,” she whined.

“She totally did,” Jack said.

“Ugh, I have to make a goth dessert! The fuck?” she grumbled, and slumped back into the couch.

“Hey, chill out,” Jack said, taking both her hands in his. “You have so much time to fret about this. Deep breaths.”

Eli breathed and let Jack’s words sink in. He was right—she had a few days to plan; it wasn’t the end of the world.

“Right,” she agreed, nodding. “You’re totally right. I have time to plan and figure out what to make, and I likely have all the ingredients on hand.”

Jack’s attention trailed to the kitchen and then back to her, and he waggled his eyebrows. “Wanna see for yourself?”

Eli rolled her eyes. “You just want me to make something to snack on.”

“So?” Jack asked. “It’ll distract you and maybe even inspire what you wanna make for the reunion.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Eli groaned, though she knew he was right.

He followed her into the kitchen, and Eli dug out all the ingredients she could find. As she made note of what they did and didn’t have, she shifted through the recipes in her mind as she grabbed flour and cocoa and baking powder and cornstarch and—

“Hey, we’ve got some pralines,” Jack added from the pantry. “And… chocolate chips and tiny peanut butter cups and… you know what, actually, you should come take stock. You’d know what you need more than I will.”

Eli chuckled and moved over to the pantry beside Jack.

The two of them stood there for a moment, and Eli made note of all the random ingredients and snacks they held for moments such as this.

“Okay, I think…” Her gaze landed on the candied orange pieces, the unopened bar of dark chocolate. In her mind she pictured the drawer full of oranges, and knew she already had the cocoa and flours and butter.

“How about orange chocolate brownies?” she asked. She could take one to Raj, too.

Jack’s mouth dropped open and he glanced over at her. “Do you have a recipe for that?”

“Well, no,” Eli said, lips twisting to the side in thought. “I bet I could find one, though. And if all else fails, I’ll just make you zest oranges until I’m satisfied with the flavor.”

“Riiight,” Jack drawled. “I’m glad I can make such an important contribution.”

“Oh, come on,” she said, grabbing the chocolate and candied oranges to move them to the counter that was quickly growing crowded.

“Never had orange brownies,” Jack supplied, followed by a thump. When she spun around he was seated on the tiny bit of counter space that was right by the entrance.

Eli grinned. That was his usual spot.

She grabbed a medium-ish orange and the zester, as well as a bowl, and plopped them in Jack’s lap. “Zest this for me, please—don’t hurt yourself.”

“I think I can manage,” he retorted. “You just work your magic.”

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