Page 63 of Should the Sky Fall

It’s been several times now that Dawson has mentioned him working a lot. It makes him wonder why Dawson’s been putting up with him for so long. They don’t spend time together, they don’t have any pictures. Do they just sleep next to each other or does Cal spend the night at work too? It wouldn’t surprise him at this point.

“What about you?”

“Me?” Dawson touches his chest, uncertain. “Uh, I can cook. Had to when I was younger when it was just me and Olivia. It’s been a while, though.”

Cal’s heart aches for him, same as it did when Dawson told him how his parents died in a car crash when he was fifteen. How he was lucky that his sister was twenty and they didn’t have to be separated. How they sold the house because they couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage and Olivia’s student loan at the same time, and got a one-bedroom apartment instead.

Hearing about Cal’s car accident must’ve been really hard for him.

“So why don’t you cook now? You don’t enjoy it?”

Dawson fixes him with a look. “Ido. Butyoudon’t like my cooking.”

“Really?” That’s hard to believe. Even if Dawson isn’t the best cook in the world, Cal would never tell him to stop because he doesn’t like it. Surely, he wouldn’t…

“I tried to cook for you a few times,” Dawson goes on when Cal remains skeptical. “That was back when we’d just met. Wanted to impress you or something.” He shrugs, letting his gaze wander. “But you’re used to something else and I’m pretty much an omelet or pasta kind of guy.”

Cal doesn’t see a problem with that. He’d eat anything Dawson made. “I’d like to try something you cooked.”

Dawson’s mouth opens and closes a few times. “You do?”

“Only if you want to.” Dawson’s already done too much for him, practically being at his beck and call this whole time. The last thing he needs is to feed Cal like a child.

Before he can overthink it and tell Dawson not to worry about it, Dawson speaks. “Well…” He rubs the back of his neck, looking around the kitchen. “We have nothing better to do, so…might as well go shopping and fill up the fridge and the pantry.”

“That sounds good,” Cal agrees quickly, not even trying to hide his excitement.

“When would you like to go?”

“Now is good.”

Dawson’s brows pinch together. “Aren’t you tired? We did quite a bit of walking.”

“We rested on the beach. I’m fine.”

Dawson seems dubious, but eventually relents. “Alright. Guess you might as well burn all that energy after you just ate your weight in sugar.”

And now Cal’s thinking about sweet stuff again. He licks his lips reflexively, and Dawson laughs, throwing his head back.

“God, you’re unbelievable.” Walking over to the massive TV embedded in the wall, he searches through the drawers underneath. As he stands, he waves a paper and a pen in front of him. “Fine, you junkie. Let me make a list first, then we can go.”

It takes Dawson a good few minutes before he’s done with the list, but that’s not surprising, considering that their kitchen is a desolate wasteland.

“That should do it,” Dawson says, reading back through the list. Sliding the piece of paper in the back pocket of his jeans, he grabs his car keys and goes to the front door.

“Could we walk instead?” Cal asks. He wants to get back in shape as soon as possible. He’s been doing pretty well already, and now that he gets to have some fresh air, he’s even more eager to get on with it. “How far is it?”

“Didn’t you have enough?” Dawson rolls his eyes, smiling. “It’s a 45 minute walk. Fine for me, but not for you.” He holds up a finger when Cal goes to protest. “And I’m not carrying all the shopping bags back here.”

Cal pouts but must concede Dawson has a point. “Fine.”

Rolling his eyes again, Dawson mutters something under his breath. Cal thinks he hears ‘grumpy’ and ‘demanding’. While Dawson doesn’t seem upset, Cal decides to tone it down a little with the demands. After all, Dawson would know better, seeing as he’s the one with his memory intact.

He dutifully follows him to the car, listening carefully as Dawson points out things and places on the way to the store.

“That way is Sea World” and “That’s the exhibition center” and “That’s the Greek place you like to order from”.

“Kieran and I went there the other day.” He points at what looks like a cafe. “It’s vegan, so he was skeptical, but it was really good. They make acai bowls and all that healthy stuff.” He gives Cal a conspiratorial smile. “You’d like it. They have a plethora of vegan desserts.”