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Being Dylan OBriens Assistant
Chapter 3
We reached my floor and Dylan followed me to my door. I unlocked it and swung the door open, letting him go in first. He threw his bag over the back of the couch and headed towards the hallway leading to the guest bath. "This way I assume?" He asked over his shoulder.
"Yes Sir. Second door on the right." I laughed my answer while he did the potty dance down the hall.
I grabbed his absentmindedly tossed bag and made my way to the guest room. I opened the door and admired the housekeeper's work. 'She's SO amazing!' I thought to myself as I placed both bags on the foot of the bed. I heard the toilet flush and the sink water run. Then the door opened. Shortly after that, he was in the doorway to the guest room.
"I figured you might be in here. The door wasn't open when I walked by before. Thanks for bringing my bags in. This is where I'll be sleeping?" He asked.
"Yes. This is the guest room. Your bathroom you've already been introduced to. There's another door there that you can use privately." I replied pointing to the door that lead to the restroom he just vacated.
"Thanks! I was wondering where that led, but didn't want to snoop."
"Snoop away. My home is your home while you're here. Hell, even when you're not here, I'd like you to consider it your home. A home away from home so to say."
His face changed slightly. Most people wouldn't have noticed. But I did. It went from one of amusement to one of thoughtfulness. "I greatly appreciate that, Jason. You have no idea how long it's been since I've had such an awesome friend. I just hope I don't overstay my welcome. Or come off as some kind of freeloader."
"Don't even think it. If you're doing or expecting anything I'm not comfortable with, I'll let you know. Only thing I ask for in return is if you'll afford me the same courtesy."
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it. I'll leave you to get unpacked. If you didn't bring any, there are hangers in the closet and fresh towels in the bathroom. You can have a shower if you'd like. I'm going to go whip up some lunch. I hope you don't mind eating in. I was thinking of keeping it low key since you just got into town and may be tired from the flight. We can eat and watch a movie or something else if you'd like."
"No, that sounds perfect. It would be nice to just relax for a night. Everyone else I ever hang out with wants to go out and spend my money at the expensive clubs and restaurants. This evening will be great. I'll just unpack and take a quick refreshing shower. You'll be in the kitchen when I'm done?" He asked as he grabbed a bag and started to unzip it.
"I will be. Unless you take too long and I finish cooking before you're out of the shower." I said with a grin and slight push to his shoulder.
"Ha ha! You're a funny guy. I'll be quick. I'll come help if I can."
"See you in a few."
I headed to the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients I needed for fixing what I had realized was probably one of his favorite meals. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. But I wasn't going for the quick and cheap fix. I was pulling out all the stops. Homemade everything. I had baked a loaf of fresh whole wheat bread this morning and had good, fresh butter, aged cheddar and fresh tomatoes. I put a pot of water on the stove and cranked it up. I then heard the shower start. He was being quick. 'How DARE he! I wanted him to be surprised by this...Oh well. He'll still be surprised.' I thought. I got the blender out and readied the blanching bowl. The water was now boiling so I tossed the clean tomatoes in.
As I watched the tomatoes cook I heard the shower shut off. I pulled the tomatoes off the stove and dumped them, one by one, into the ice water. Waited a few seconds and then started pulling them out one by one to peel them. After peeling, they went into the blender. Once they were all in, I dumped a splash of chicken stock in and a splash of heavy cream. I put the lid on and started up the puree cycle.
Dylan then made his appearance. His hair still slightly damp. "How's it coming?" He asked a little louder than expected since the blender was making a pretty good ruckus.
"It's going. Soup's almost ready to start cooking. Sandwiches are next. I'm afraid to ask, but what can you do in the kitchen?" I smiled big at him as I turned the blender off and proceeded to pour it into a sieve over a pot.
He smiled back, "Not much actually. I'm decent with a cheese knife and a sponge."
"Good, slice me 4 thick slices of that cheese there, and then you can wash the pan I just used and the blender."
He half assed saluted and went to work. "So what are you making?"
"Grilled cheese and tomato soup."
"REALLY??" He asked sounding very surprised.
"Yes really, why?"
"I LOVE grilled cheese and tomato soup. How did you know??"
"From our conversations on the phone. You mentioned it several times and your voice kind of changed each time you said something about it. I thought I'd try my hand at a homemade version. I hope you like it."
"I'm sure I'll love it. I don't think I've ever had anything this extravagant before though."
"I guess we'll see then." I countered.
I turned on the burner under the soup and then turned on the griddle. I then sliced the bread and buttered one side of each slice. By the time I was done with that the soup was boiling slightly, so I turned it down a little and grabbed the cheese Dylan had sliced. He was busy washing the dishes I had placed near the sink. I added my other utensils next to the sink and hip butted him with a smile. He giggled and said, "Hey now! It's a good thing I wasn't holding that knife! I could have hurt myself."
"Nah, you would have been fine!" I countered. He smiled back and winked. We turned back to our tasks.
I put four slices of bread, butter side down on the griddle and placed a piece of cheese on each slice then put the other four slices on top, butter side out. I stirred the soup and watched the sandwiches closely. I lifted a corner and saw it was a beautiful golden brown and the cheese was starting to melt slightly. I flipped them over and stirred the soup again. I went to the cupboard and grabbed two soup bowls and a couple small plates. I then grabbed two soup spoons.
"Are you ready to eat,Dylan?"
"Damn right I'm ready!"
I placed the sandwiches on the plates and handed them to him. I then ladled soup into the bowls and headed to the table. I handed him a spoon and he reached for the salt and pepper. I cleared my throat.
"What is it?" He asked.
"You're supposed to taste home cooking before seasoning it first. It's the polite thing to do."
"Oh, sorry. You're probably right. It smells amazing." He took a spoonful and gently blew on it. He sipped it gently and his eyes rolled slightly into his head. "OH MY GOD!!" He practically moaned out loud. "This is AMAZING!" He took another spoonful and slurped it up.
"I'm glad you like it." I replied as I took my first sip of the soup. It was really good. Even I was impressed with my skills. "Wow. It is good. Ha! I didn't realize that something this simple could be this good."
We continued eating in comfortable silence. Each of us occasionally taking a chunk of sandwich to dip in the soup.
After we finished eating, Dylan having had a second bowl of soup, we cleared the table. Placing the dishes in the dishwasher. I asked him, "Would you like a beer or a glass of wine? I don't feel like leaving the house tonight. Unless you have something you want to do?"
"No, after that amazing lunch, I think a relaxing evening in would be welcome. A beer would be good for me."
"Do you have any preferences? We never really talked about alcohol, so I stocked up on a few of my favorites. If you'd like to look through what I have, they're in the mini fridge on the other side of the island." I indicated.
"Thanks. I'll take a look." He responded with a smile and made his way around the island.
"Whatever you grab, grab a second one for me and I'll meet you in the living room. You can look through the DVDs in the cabinet with the doors, for something to watch. I'm just going to finish cleaning up in here."
He replied, "Ok. Or I could do the cleaning up and you can relax after making that amazing meal for me. It's the least I could do."
"No way, you're my guest. You will not be doing any more work than absolutely necessary. Get the beer and I'll be there soon."
He made his selection pretty quickly and disappeared into the living room.
I had seen a brief flash of the label as he turned around and walked out. I patiently waited..."Hey, Jason, do you have a bottle opener out here? Or do I need to come back in to get one?"
I laughed, "Haha, there should be one in the cigar box on the coffee table."
"Why are you laughing??" He asked, a slight hint of playful pain in his voice. He was such a good actor. I smiled to myself. This was one time I'd be able to show my admiration of this boy without him being uncomfortable.
"Because, it didn't take you nearly as long as I thought it would for you to realize you grabbed the only beer in there that didn't have a twist cap on it."
"Hey now, shut it. I was excited about relaxing. I didn't have time to look at the cap."
I laughed aloud again and finished up what I was doing and headed to the living room. Dylan was sprawled out on the couch. He looked up at me as I came around the end where his feet were lying. "Need me to sit up so you can sit on the couch too?" He asked.
"No, I prefer the view from the chair." I stated as I looked around for a DVD he may have picked out. "Did you find something you wanted to watch?"
"No, I didn't really look. I thought I'd let you choose. And then I sat down on this couch and it called to me, saying 'Dylan, you must lie down on me. I'm incredibly comfortable, please...'"
I laughed again, "Yes, it's an incredibly comfortable couch. I actually spent an entire day, opening to closing, sitting and lying on different couches in my favorite furniture store until I decided on that one. Then I sat in the matching chair and oh MAN, it was like they were made for me. Stylish and comfy. It was meant to be."
"How long did you sit and lay on this one before you chose it?"
"In total? Probably 4 hours. I kept coming back to it after I'd get up and move to the next one for a bit. But this one won out in the end. I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds it comfortable. I think you're one of maybe 4 people to spend any amount of time on it. I'm not home very often and have few friends nearby to enjoy it."
"Well that's too bad. I think I'll be spending a lot of time on this couch. It's amazing."
"I'm really glad you like it." I then turned on the TV and flipped it to the DVR to see if there was anything I needed to catch up on. "See any of these recorded shows you're interested in seeing?" I asked him.
"None that jump out at me. But I'm not incredibly picky. So I'll watch whatever you want to watch." He stated taking another sip of his beer.
I opened mine and took a swig. I then said matter of factly, "Teen wolf it is then. I think this episode is a Stiles heavy one. Should be good." I was watching him out of the corner of my eye to try and see his reaction. I was NOT disappointed.
"You. Cannot. Be. Serious." The look on his face. I started laughing so hard I almost blew my swig of beer out of my nose. I had to get up so I didn't drip on the chair.
I finally swallowed and calmed down a bit. "You should have seen your face! It was priceless." I said, trying to contain my laughter.
"You're a dick." He said flatly. I was watching his face very closely and saw the twinkle start in his eyes and then move to his lips. "Gotcha!" And then he started laughing too. We both held our sides as we laughed uproariously at our childishness. It was heavenly. That was a sobering thought. I instantly stopped laughing.
He looked at me with tears in his eyes, "What? What is it?" He asked.
"It's nothing. I need to pee. Be right back. Find something on live TV to watch." I said as I turned tail and walked to my bedroom. I went to the ensuite and turned the tap on cold. 'What are you DOING!' I yelled at myself in my head. 'He's not going to be interested in you. He's already stated as much. Get a grip dude!'
I flushed the toilet and splashed cold water on my face. I was drying my face and my hands when I heard a knock on the door. "Jason, you alright in there? You've been gone almost 10 minutes."
"Have I? I'm sorry. I'm almost done. Be right out." I replied. 'How could I have been in here almost 10 minutes berating myself about enjoying my time with a new friend. Sure, I have feelings for him that surpass mere friendship, but that's all I'll ever have with him. I came to terms with that just a few hours ago. Ok, you've got this. Brave face, go back out there and enjoy yourself. You've got nothing to worry about.' I told myself as I reached for the door knob to exit my bathroom.
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This is my second attempt at fictional writing, please let me know what you think of it by emailing me redmondgayguy at yahoo dot com.