My Little Secret

Baking had always been something I wasn't good at. I loved cooking and had this one teal box of recipes I was very proud of. Daphne was planning on moving in with me pretty soon. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I loved living alone, but living with your best friend is a whole new level of comfort. Home would feel like home again.

I wanted to bake cookies for Ivan. I had come across this recipe on Pinterest and I really wanted to experiment with it. He had invited me over to his set many times, but I had turned it down many times. I went to the super market and got all the ingredients as well.

"But I'm tired!" I say to Poirot as I lay on the couch. He wagged his tail in agreement.

'I couldn't be lazy, not now.' I think to myself and get up to bake the cookies.

I take out the bowl and put the flour in it. I usually used the same cup for measurement. It helps me remember the quantities used, better. I put in the butter and the powdered sugar. It reminded me of the time I had made this powdered sugar for using them in pancakes. Adam loved them, I always made sure I made the ingredients myself. Feeding him was a pleasure in itself.

I snapped out of the memory and focused on my batter. It was turning out to be semi solid, like it was supposed to be. I used my favourite chocolate that I had saved for special occasions. I guess, Ivan was worth the saved chocolate, it had only been five months we had been together, but I felt very comfortable around him. We had successfully gone out on dates to places alien to the both of us and places we both agreed on. It didn't matter, where we went. The time spent together nullified all the negativity. If anything, we were very happy. It was almost as if it was too perfect to be true.

The batter was ready when I heard the doorbell ring. I wasn't expecting company so I looked through the peephole. Ivan. 'Hide the cookies', I quickly thought and put the batter inside the fridge after covering it carefully. It was a good thing that I had the habit of washing the bowls immediately. I take my apron off and hang it by the fridge and rush to open the door.

"Hii" he smiles as he tries to balance himself. I threw myself at him and kissed his cheek as he hugged me.

"Hi" I said and rubbed my face on his chest. I did that when I really liked someone, made me feel like a kitten for some reason.

"Mmm, were you making something?" he asks.

"I was, I ate it, I'm sorry" I say trying to cover up my tracks. He bought it, didn't ask anything.

He sat on the couch and looked sad.

"Is everything okay?" I ask him. He takes my hand and makes me sit on his lap and rests his head on my chest. I move my hands in his hair, he liked it when I did that. I kiss his forehead.

"Rough day?" I ask him. He nods his head and hugs me tighter.

"Catherine drives me crazy" he says and sulks again.

He had been more stressed than usual over the past month. Catherine was giving him a hard time and Ivan also mentioned a couple of times that Bryan tried to hook them up over dates. Usually in times like these, jealousy would take control over me and I would act like a crazy person but I was a changed person now. I was surprised at how calm I was at times.

"Wanna get out for a while?" I suggest and he shakes his head in disagreement.

"It'll be worth it, I promise." I assure him, "We'll be back soon." I add. He agrees and we get out of the house.

"Why are you taking the keys of your scooter?" he asks.

"Cause we are going to ride the scooter today." I smile.

"Sof! Slow down!" Ivan screams. His voice sounds distant because of the wind in our faces.

"I can't hear you." I scream back, although I could hear every word.

He was holding my waist and screaming whenever I almost hit a vehicle.

"I have tears in my eyes!" he said and I laughed, "Me too."

We reached a road where the traffic seemed moderate. It wasn't an empty street but the vehicles moved.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh" I screamed as we went past another scooter.

"What are you doing? Sof? People are looking at us." Ivan asks, he seemed so embarrassed.

"Sometimes, we need to let things out, scream our hearts out. Literally!" I say and continue screaming. I burst into laughter and I could see Ivan's face turn into a smile.

"Come on, it's fun! Do it, Iv."

"No way!"

"Don't chicken out now"

"Fine." He says and there's silence.

"Wha.. " I proceed to say and he screams. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh" and laughs hysterically.

I laugh with him. "This is so relieving" he says and continues to scream. I scream with him. We screamed till our throats were dry.

"You sure do know how to relieve stress." He laughs. I liked the sound of his laugh. I liked that he was laughing because of me. It seemed like a mini achievement, making Ivan Radcliffe laugh.

"What?" he said as he was looking at me. I did it again. I had looked at him for longer than usual. I liked him, I liked his company and who he was. Despite living a glamourous life, he was very humble and appreciated the small things in life. He knew when to let go. He had so many things one could learn from.

"I've not always been like this you know." I say. I knew the questions that were to follow. I guess I was ready to talk to him about Adam.