Faster We Burn

didn’t pull away. “Did you have sex with her?”
    “No, but I was going to.”
    She met my eyes without fear.
    “Why? Because if it was to push me away, you failed. I’m still here.”
    “I’m still trying to figure that out.” She put both hands on my shoulders and leaned in as if to kiss me.
    “I’ve told you. It’s not just the sex.” Using my shoulders as leverage, she pushed herself to her feet. “Now don’t disturb me. I’m cooking, and the first rule of cooking with Katie is that you keep your ass out of the kitchen.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” I said, turning my focus back to the hand turkeys.
    I got a little artistic with my hand turkey, putting texture on the feathers and giving the turkeys interesting facial expressions. Katie banged around the kitchen, peeling things and boiling water and rubbing butter on the turkey and raiding my spice cabinet. I couldn’t help but notice that she put everything back where it should be when she was done.
    If she didn’t know what she was doing, she was really putting on a good show. The Peanuts show ended and Katie came and chose another show, Addams Family Values .
    “It qualifies as a Thanksgiving movie,” she said before I could even comment.
    “I didn’t say anything.”
    “How are those turkeys coming?” I held one up that was nearly dry.
    “Very nice.” I guess that was as good as it was going to get. I went back to making turkeys and she went back to cooking.
    I didn’t glance back until she swore loudly.
    “What happened?” I didn’t move from the couch, worried she’d throw something at me.
    “Cut myself. I’m fine.” She ran it under the water. “Do you have any Band-Aids?”
    “Yeah, sure. Can I move from the couch to get them?” She glared at me. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
    I dashed to the bathroom and came back with a Band-Aid and some ointment.
    “Here,” I said, coming up behind her while she was still at the sink. She jumped a little, but I’d been counting on that.
    “Rule number two about cooking with Katie is that you don’t sneak up behind her like a creeper.” She snatched the Band-Aid and the tube of ointment from me and slid sideways, so I wasn’t behind her.
    “Get back to your turkeys.”
    I did as I was told, but not before brushing my fingers along her back where the apron was tied.
    “Careful, sweetheart. Don’t want you chopping off any of those fingers.” She chucked an empty can at me, but missed.
     
    ***
     
    Four hours later, my eyes were heavy, but my apartment had never smelled so delicious. There was so much food she had to be creative with containers to put it in. The mashed potatoes were in a metal ice bucket, the squash was in a mixing bowl and she’d put the cranberry sauce into a few of my shot glasses.
    As I taped the paper turkeys all around, she threw a white lace-edge tablecloth on my coffee table and set it with the plates and new silverware and cloth napkins before placing the paper stand-up turkey in the middle.
    I looked at the plates and bowls mounded with food.
    “I am never going to eat all this,” I said.
    “Don’t worry about that. Here.” She handed me a serrated knife. “You get to carve the turkey.”
    I did my best and started putting pieces on her plate.
    “I’ll be totally honest,” I said as she spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate, “I didn’t think you were going to pull this off.”
    “Well, that just goes to show you don’t know me and what I’m capable of.” Our hands brushed as we both went for the rolls. I moved my hand back and let her go first.
    “That was a dick move, though. You should apologize to Ric. I’m not her biggest fan but it still wasn’t nice,” she said.
    “I know.” She poured gravy over her potatoes and turkey and went to sit on the couch. “Oh, crap, I forgot the wine.”
    “I’ve got something better.” I searched the bottom of my liquor cabinet and found a bottle of spiced rum Allan had forgotten about that I’d been saving.
    “You trying to get me drunk, Stryker?” she said when I held up the bottle.
    “I was already drunk. I’m on my way to sober, but if you want to venture into drunk territory with me, I wouldn’t say no.”
    “Well, seeing as how I can’t go back to the dorm since it’s closed up for the holiday, and I have nowhere else to go, I might as well.” I grabbed my plate and the rum and joined her on the couch.
    She held out her glass and I poured a little in and then poured