It was a few weeks after I received the invite to go to my high school reunion. The date was set for May the next year, so there was plenty of time to think about it. Still, the thought of walking into the venue with my beautiful neighbor did fill me with some of the feelings that made me think about it more. It didn't help that Matt volunteered to pay for my trip with her or that Ben was talking about bringing his new girl. Still, it felt like it would be a hard sell. So, I decided to let it go for a bit.
She was running errands and texted me to let me know she'd be home late. I took that opportunity to invite her to my place for dinner. She responded with a yes but challenged me to actually cook. This began to seem like a daunting task because I rarely cooked as of late. Yet, I knew she'd appreciate the effort even if I failed miserably.
I started by finding some chicken thighs in my freezer. I put the bag with two of them under cool water to help them defrost slowly. As that happened, I found some alfredo sauce in my cupboard as well as some noodles. I went ahead and chopped the chicken into strips and started working on cooking it in a pan with some oil until cooked through. I then cooked the noodles before warming up the sauce and mixing everything together. I grabbed a bag salad out of the refrigerator and dumped it in a bowl with some shredded cheese and started to set the table.
I could hear her car driving up. I put the lights down and lit a few candles before I heard her open the door. As she walked in, I went to her to hug her tightly before guiding her to a chair. I pulled it out for her and pushed it in after she was seated before sitting myself and popping open a bottle of wine. I poured myself a little glass before handing her the bottle. She filled her glass before smiling at me.
"Will you escort me home after dinner, Sir or am I staying for dessert?" she said seductively.
I smiled.
"Whichever you like, Beloved. Thank you for joining me for dinner."
As we started to eat, she started grilling me about dinner.
"Frozen chicken thighs or the prepped kind?"
"Frozen. I defrosted them before cutting them into strips and cooking through."
"Did you order from Sal's?"
"No, I cooked this."
