Page 53 of Death, Interrupted
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes filling with so much joy my heart almost burst.
“Sorry about all this,” I told her, but she shook her head like she didn’t mind.
Back on stream, I clapped my hands and sat up straighter. “Alright, enough about that. We’re here to play. And if you guys can keep your eyes on the game instead of trying to ruin my personal life, that’d be great,” I joked.
Nah, bro, we’re locked in.
Never letting this go.
SO SWEET OMG
We’ll protect her privacy. Mystery Girl stays mystery girl.
That one made me laugh. “Yeah, you better. Otherwise, my stream is canceled forever.”
I played on, but the mood was different now. Lighter. Every time Sumner shifted in the corner orlaughed at something dumb I said, I felt my chest loosen. She was here. She was with me. And no matter what the people in the chat thought, she was mine to keep.
The sweetest secret I ever kept.
***
It had gotten late by the time I ended the stream and shut everything down. The adrenaline that always kicked in after a good session was still running through me, and Sumner hadn’t moved from the chair the entire time. She sat there curled up under the blanket, watching me like this was the most natural thing in the world.
When I finally turned to her, she gave me a soft smile, making my heart beat louder in my chest.
“You hungry?” I asked after taking off my helmet and pushing back from my desk to stretch my arms overhead.
She tilted her head at me. “A little. What do you have?”
I grinned and got up to walk toward her. “I actually have a surprise for you.”
“You do?” Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me.
I nodded and held out my hands. “Come on.”
She got up with the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders and curiosity written all over her face. Once I led her to the kitchen, I gestured for her to sit at the counter stool, and she climbed up, resting her chin in her palm like she was ready to watch a show. I started pulling things out and laid them out on the counter.
Her eyebrows rose as she studied the fresh salmon filets, spinach, and a box of rice. “Wait…you cook?”
I wasn’t offended, but the answer was no. “Not really. I’ve been trying to figure out how to cook things that don’t come in a Styrofoam cup or a cardboard box.”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “That’s already impressive.”
I rolled my sleeves up and focused. “You just sit and watch, okay? If I start a fire, please help me put it out.”
“Of course,” she said with an assuring grin.
“Alright, here I go.”
First, I rinsed the rice, set it on the stove, and covered it to steam. Then I patted the salmon dry, seasoned it the way I’d seen in a dozen tutorials, and heated the pan until it hissed when the fish touched the surface. The smell filled the room almost instantly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sumner watching me with a look that told me she was both amused and impressed, but trying not to make a big deal out of thefact that I was cooking for her.
I knew she’d always been the one to cook for Joey, and that she probably never got anything more than a grunt in return. I ignored the anger, which had begun to make itself noticeable in my chest, and focused on dinner.
The rice finished first, and the salmon came out with the perfect crisp on the edges. I tossed the spinach in the same pan for flavor, as the recipe called for, and plated everything together. When I set the plate down in front of her, she blinked and then looked up at me like I’d just performed some impossible trick.
“That looks delicious.”