An Evening In (Dani POV)
I opened the door of the apartment fully expecting to find my place in its usual state of not-quite-messy but more than a little cluttered. Instead I came home to fluffy bunny slippers at the door that I had never seen before, a clean apartment, a new small table with 2 chairs in the kitchen, and a tall blonde Vampire humming while he roasted garlic for some pasta dish that smelled amazing.
“Did the cat let you in again?” I asked sliding off my shoes and slipping on the bunny slippers.
“Yes, he did. Do me a favor, look in the refrigerator and grab the Parmesan, please?” Oliver didn’t miss a beat, he never missed a beat. He seemed more at home in my home than I did.
I tossed open the door to the fridge and stared in disbelief. Since I had moved in, I had never seen it so full. Veggies, meat, cheeses, milk, yogurt… it was all there. “You went shopping for me too?”
Oliver chuckled to himself. “No, I can only take credit for the table and slippers. Kat had all the food delivered for you. I just happened to arrive in time to sign for it and unpack it.”
I glanced at the table. It was a warm honey-colored wood with matching chairs. I shook my head to clear the daze, handed him the cheese, then went to try out the new slippers. “So have we progressed to this level?”
“What level?” He asked, his brow wrinkling as he flipped the pasta one last time in the pan.
“You buy me furniture and cook for me?”
“Oh, well the table and chairs are from my place. I purchased a new set and thought it would be nice to be able to sit and have meals together here instead of on the couch. If you don’t care for them I can sell them. The bunny slippers were staring at me all cute like and I thought you may like them with the basement apartment. As for cooking for you… yes. I’m comfortable with cooking for you. Kat cooks for you.” He turned, holding up a spoon for me to taste.
I leaned forward and accepted the bite. The sauce was a light lemon cream, over chicken and fine angelhair noodles. My eyes almost rolled back in my head. “It’s amazing!” I said looking up at him. “Thank you for the table and slippers, they are very nice. I like them… a lot. As for cooking for me, I was teasing. You are welcome to cook for me whenever.” He nodded and turned back to the stove. I reached up into the cabinets, grabbing plates and glasses to set the table.
“I thought I would stop by and fill you in on the newest info about the war between the Dragons and Werewolves.” He commented as he turned to serve the pasta dish. As he finished with the pasta, the oven sounded and he retrieved fresh garlic bread.
“What war?” I asked, unsure if I had heard him correctly.
He motioned for me to take a seat and then sat across from me. “Kat came home this weekend to work things out with Ian. Something happened and Briar attacked her. Kat refused to fight back, so of course Hue came riding in as a gallant white knight to save her.”
“Like he does,” I added.
With a nod and a bite he continued the story. “Hue threw a fit that Ian had allowed Kat to be put in danger and said that since Briar is a mate to the son of Cariss this is an act of war against the Dragons. He sent a list of demands with Ian to take to his father. Both Ian and Hue thought the demands were simple and forgiving but Cariss has grown bored over the last century and declared it war. He’s demanding Ian and Briar both return home at once. Hue took Kat back to the nest to recover from her injuries.”
“Oh shit! How bad is she injured?” I let the concern slip fully into my voice.
“Well, she is banged up pretty bad. She feels horrible she’s causing all this trouble but believes she still did it for the right reason. Ian agrees she did it for the right reason. Honestly, I don’t really know what to think.”
“Wait, how do you know all this?”
He grinned widely. “Marthailain has officially named me to head up Enforcement for Korea. He has also granted me permission to seek a seat on the council!” He looked so proud of himself.
“That’s great!” I nodded, shoving another bight of the heavenly dinner into my mouth. I was already contemplating how to get to the Dragon’s nest to check on Kat.
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited. You must have really enjoyed dinner. You finished it in record time. Would you like me to make you something else? Are you still hungry?”
I glanced down and realized I had in fact cleaned the plate thoroughly. “No you don’t need to do that, but would you like me to treat you to a coffee, ice cream or something?”
“What are you in the mood for?” he asked
“Me? Cheesecake ice cream, but really it’s about what you want.”
He stood up moving our plates to the sink. “Ok, then you stay here and find us something to watch and I will go get us ice cream.”
“Wait, I was going to get it because you made dinner,” I tried to argue. He was gone before I could say much more than that.
Grumbling that I was one day going to win at this game I flopped down on the couch and began looking through the movies I had with me. I stumbled across a folder from Kat that had some new period drama in it. With a shrug I popped it in my laptop and awaited the return of the Ice Cream Vampire.
As if on cue the front door opened and Oliver sauntered in. Crossing the room and dropping down beside me he offered a pint of ice cream from around the corner before we both entered the mindless world of fancy costumes and beautiful castles.
