11. DINNER AT MY HOUSE

"Ahem!" [Ashley]

He was acting as if he was trying to clear this throat. He covered his mouth. But I noticed a slight blush at the end of his ears.

"Sure, I will come up after washing up"

Since Ashley was a resident of France, he is better at French dishes than me.

Of course, he can't defeat me when it comes to English dishes.

We advise each other about the types of food we prepare.

That's right. Most of the conversations between me and Ashley were mostly based on food or broadening our horizons about food.

He does not like sweets but he is very good at preparing sweet foods. He was like a food companion to me.

I entered my apartment with Lila. Ashley went into his apartment.

Lila glanced back at him and closed the door. Her face was pink.

I could not control my curiosity anymore. I decided to ask her after dinner.

We both washed up and took a shower. Since Lila sleeps overnight a lot at my house, her spare clothes were stored in my guest room.

She sleeps there when my mom does not come back home. We sat down on the couch for a moment and had a brief conversation about our day until Ashley arrived.

Ding dong. The doorbell rang.

Lila told me that she would like to prepare for an assignment, by the time dinner is ready.

She went to the guest room and I opened the door.

Ashley came in. He greeted me and looked around.

I could instantly tell that he was looking for Lila. I explained to him what Lila had told me.

The interiors of the kitchen are open towards the hall. We could even watch the TV from the kitchen slab while chopping the meat and vegetables.

The kitchen is also very spacious. We can prepare multiple dishes at the same time.

Lila usually used to sit and watch while Ashley and myself used to cook by taking turns.

Ashley tried to hide his disappointment and smiled at me. We went to the kitchen.

During the time when I just moved into my new apartment here, I was very cautious of Ashley.

Eventually, we became close after he discovered one of my secrets. I still keep my guard up around him though I feel that it is unnecessary to do so.

We unwrapped the ingredients. I was speaking to him as he was preparing Lila's favorite Burgundy, salmon shrimp quiche, and hot chicken soup.

While he was doing his part, I prepared some chocolate mousse and scotch eggs. We stored some for my mom. I was preparing the cutlery while Ashley was keeping all the dishes on the table.

A spoon fell down the table while I was arranging the cutlery. I bent down to reach the spoon under the table and tried to pick it up.

My head was almost under the table. My other hand was gripping on top of the table as a support.

I picked up the spoon. And when I tried to get up, my other hand accidentally touched the vessel of the hot chicken soup. It was really very hot.

I flinched in response to the hot burn on my fingers.

It happened when I was about to get back up and my movements were not steady yet.

I felt like I lost my balance.

I thought I was going to have a hard fall.