Love Simmers (2 page)

“
Has prom
crossed your mind at all lately?” Maddie smiled smugly, the fact
she knew only fuelled her delusional writer’s mind. “I can see it
now, once upon a time there were two teenagers on prom
night…”

If only she could write the
ending for me. I already knew the cliché beginning.

“
Sometimes I
think of that night,” I shrugged. I confess, I thought about it
more often than I wanted too. Seeing Nate usually triggered those
memories. But then again, I thought about the night when I was
alone in the city.

“
The night that
redefined your passion!” she snickered with sarcasm. I fought the
urge not to recount the story of when Charlie and she got caught by
the police in the back of his car. I promised her years ago to
never again mention that indiscretion. I wouldn’t stoop so low
unlike her.

“
How’s it going
with Charlie?” I tried to smoothly change the topic. I’d spent all
day with Nate. I didn’t want to spend all night talking about the
guy as well. Then probably dreaming about him. It was too much Nate
for me to handle.

“
It’s been
crazy recently. He’s been working intense hours at his new job. On
top of that he’s also taking night classes. Some days he’s gone
before I wake up and not home when I go to sleep. He promises it’ll
calm down soon. Oh, that reminds me, Charlie wants to have dinner
together before you leave.” She gave me a scolding expression, “You
should have asked about my new book if you’d wanted to change the
topic.”

“
I thought that
would be a little obvious,” I teased.

“
Right. Asking
about my boyfriend was definitely subtle.”

I laughed a little louder than
I’d expected, the three glasses of wine making an appearance. My
head felt fuzzy.

“
Do you mind if
I call it a night?” I stood up stiffly, the wine and pizza sitting
heavily in my gut. I’d go for a run tomorrow and everything would
be back under control. The button on my jeans should stop digging
into my stomach then hopefully.

“
Perfect. I
want to get home to Charlie. He owes me a relaxing
evening.”

We paid the bill and headed
outside, the warm night only aiding the wine’s efforts to make me
sleepy. The five-minute walk back to Nate and Ollie’s place was
beginning to seem daunting. I’d been staying with them this trip
much to Nate’s dismay. If he’d had his way I bet he’d have pointed
me in the direction of the nearest inn. Unfortunately for him, my
mother’s new boyfriend meant I’d rather face Nate’s lack of
hospitality than my mother having sleepovers. Plus, I liked
spending as much time with Ollie when I was home as possible so
Nate was the only one unhappy. I must admit I did enjoy making him
uncomfortable. It was payback for how much he unsettled me.

“
Pilates class
Thursday?” Maddie asked, giving me a goodbye hug.

“
Of course.
Have a ‘relaxing night,” I said astutely, enjoying the blush that
colored her cheeks. She and Charlie were not as coy and original as
they thought with their code words for sex. In High School it’d
been hilarious watching them get together, hide the relationship
unsuccessfully and then stress about how to tell Ollie, Nate and
me. We’d finally put them out of their misery and told them we’d
known about them, practically since the night of their first kiss.
They’d been together all the while. No break-ups and make-ups only
ups and downs that they had navigated together. They were like an
old married couple. It made Maddie unbearable when it came to love
advice. One successful relationship and she thought she had all the
answers. It was just luck that usually she did have the answers. I
think it was why Maddie wrote romances.

I walked slowly down the main
street of town, waving to the odd old friend along the way and
enjoying the beautiful night sky. If I were out and about in
Toronto at this time of night I knew I would be holding my purse a
little tighter and looking around nervously. Small town life was
peaceful. I could hear the waves gently lapping the shore in the
distance. The gentle sea breeze that blew through the coastal town
was invigorating. When I came home it felt like I could breathe
deeply again. I loved watching the boats sway in the current and
the birds glide gracefully in the wind. None of those were sights I
saw daily in the dense metropolitan where I lived.

A car door slamming shut turned
my attention to the road where I watched as Nate stepped out of his
SUV. He wore his usual uniform of a grey t-shirt and well-worn dark
jeans. Casual but always clean and smart looking. His tall, lean
frame made any clothing look sexy. His brown hair was dishevelled
but somehow groomed looking. I wanted to sink my hands into his
full head of hair. I looked away before he could catch me checking
him out. I cursed the bottle of wine I’d drunk. It made me think
dumb thoughts about wrapping my arms around Nate’s neck and pulling
his full lips onto mine. Dumb, dumb thoughts. I blamed Maddie for
reminding me of prom.

I turned around and started
walking, my wine infused brain hoping that if I could no longer see
him he could no longer see me. Don’t question the logic of a
lush.

“
Logan,” he
called out and walked over to where I was standing. A panicked look
crossed my face I’m sure. I couldn't handle him sober, let alone
tipsy.

“
Nate,” I
replied, looking into his eyes squarely for the first time since I
came home two days ago. I don’t know why I avoided looking into his
eyes. Perhaps I didn't like what I saw reflected in them. Or
perhaps I was easily swept away staring into their beautiful amber
depths. I shook my head visibly, trying to dislodge the painfully
dumb voice that was my drunken self. I should stop drinking. I
couldn’t handle my liquor.

“
I wanted to
apologize but maybe I should try and catch you sober.” He made it
sound like an insult. As though it was difficult to catch me sober.
I knew him well enough to know that’s what his tone was
insinuating.

“
Apologize for
what?” I said calmly, wanting the apology from him now. I’d
remember it tomorrow I hoped. I was willing to take that chance to
hear him say it now.

“
For being
rude. You did come home to help us. I appreciate that. I know you
put your own work on hold to be here so I wanted to let you know
that I’m…grateful.” His apology sounded like a practiced speech.
Like he’d come prepared to say those words to my face. I bet he’d
spent all day psyching himself up to say them. Nate could be
painfully stubborn when he made a decision. I knew that the apology
had most likely been an effort for him given our history. Maybe it
was the wine but I decided to be a bigger person as
well.

“
I’m sorry
too,” I said, his confused expression quickly turning to shock once
he realised where I was going with my apology. “We had an amazing
night together at prom and I never acknowledged it. I never
acknowledged us. I just left and I’m sorry. That was a really
immature thing to do.” I stood up a little straighter under his
intense stare, wondering what was going through his mind right now.
I wished I had apologized to him years ago. I should have but
instead I’d hoped that if I ignored the problem it would go away.
I’d learnt over the last few days that problems didn’t just
evaporate. Instead they’d simmered.

“
Do you want a
ride home?” He said softly, his expression slightly warmer than I’d
seen in a long time.

“
I’m going to
walk. I could use some fresh air.” I gave him a friendly smile and
took a few steps away from him.

“
Some other
time.”

He got back into his car. The
moment between us disappearing as quickly and unexpectedly as it
had started.

I never knew where I stood with
Nate. Never knew what to expect from him or even what I wanted from
him. That was the problem I guess.

Nate and I had been many things
to each other at different stages in our life. If I was lucky,
maybe we could be friends again. At the very least, simply for the
sake of the restaurant and Ollie.

“
Logan, I’m the
head chef, not you!” Ollie shouted in exasperation, slamming the
pot down on the kitchen counter.

“
All I’m saying
is that I have more experience in menu planning than you,” I
screamed, shoulder checking him on my way past to get to the
pantry. It hurt me much more than him given our height
difference.

“
Experience?
You have a cooking show. You don’t run a restaurant.” He dodged the
orange I threw at his head without much effort. We played dodge
ball a lot as children so it was no surprise. “Do you even do the
cooking on the show or is there a ghost chef?”

“
How dare you!”
I said in outrage, “my cooking show is an international hit that
has spawned three best-selling cookbooks. If you read one you would
know I specifically address menu planning in Chapter One! How could
you not read my books?” I was hurt. I had sent them all copies,
signed of course, of my cookbooks and from what I gathered no one
had read them. Not even our mother.

“
Let’s agree to
disagree you two,” Nate said from the far wall he was leaning
against watching us fight. He knew from past experience our fights
didn't end well. That was likely why he was on the other side of
the room from us. He knew better than to be in the middle of our
fights. He’d learnt that lesson the hard way at twelve when he’d
taken a stray baseball to the head. The bruise had been
ugly.

“
Fine. Your
restaurant, your decision,” I conceded, mostly because I liked the
sound of his menu more than mine. I just wanted him to admit that I
did have some expertise in the area. That my opinion did count.
Obviously it did not. All I was good for was stocking shelves
according Ollie and Nate.

“
Glad that’s
sorted,” he replied dismissively, as if my expertise was so trivial
he had forgotten about it already. Ollie didn’t see us as
professional equals. He was a chef. I was a sell out in his
opinion. It drove me insane. You would have thought one of me was
enough. It wasn’t fair that I had to compete with the male version
of myself.

“
We have four
days till we open. The menu needs to be finalized now. We’ve got
potential staff interviews starting in ten minutes,” Nate said as
he walked over to us, pulling out a dozen resumes from a file in
his hand. Nate didn’t go anywhere without his A4 sized file. I
don’t know what was in there that he couldn’t just have on his
iPhone but I was starting to want one. It did give him a certain
air of importance.

“
Fun. I love
interviewing people.” I picked up a handful of the resumes and
began flicking through.

“
Fine, but you
don’t ask them any questions. I’ve heard the type of questions you
ask guests on your show,” Nate said.

I frowned in response. What was
he implying about the questions I asked?

“
I ask great
questions. I get people to open up and feel comfortable. There’s a
reason my show is a success!” Neither of them seemed to appreciate
that success in my industry depended on your personality. They
seemed to think I was a joke.

“
Have you ever
been turned on by a piece of food?” Ollie did his best
impersonation of me as Nate laughed. It was embarrassing for us
both that his impersonation of me was so accurate.

“
Have you ever
during sex started thinking about what you want for dinner?” Nate
quoted another line from my show this time while Ollie laughed
beside him.

I blushed lightly before
starting to join in the laughter. You could never take yourself too
seriously when this is what you had to come home to. I don’t think
they’d ever be impressed by me.

“
It’s good for
ratings,” I mumbled lamely, barely even trying to defend myself
against their mockery. I had no defence, not when they were armed
with footage of me saying those very things. I was a sell-out. The
evidence all pointed to that conclusion.

Once the laughter finally
subsided we headed out to the dining area to wait for the staff
interviews to begin.

I was forced to take a seat in
the corner. They paid no attention to my cries ‘nobody puts baby in
the corner’. At least I amused myself. Life would be depressing if
I didn’t.

Still smiling when the first
person arrived for their interview, I watched in fascination as
Nate and Ollie’s demeanour became serious and professional as they
asked the ‘appropriate’ questions I apparently failed to ask on my
show.

“
How much
experience do you have in start-up kitchens?” Nate asked Quinn
West, potential chef. I liked Quinn so far. His laid-back surfer
nature was refreshing. I could tell Nate wasn't finding him so
refreshing.

“
None. I’ve
only worked for established kitchens. What’s the dif?” Quinn looked
genuinely confused, I laughed quietly though Nate obviously heard.
He gave me a reproachful look. I noticed Ollie tense up at Quinn’s
use of ‘dif’. Personally, I would avoid hipster abbreviations in a
job interview but Quinn obviously disagreed.

“
The difference
is a start up kitchen requires much more compromise and flexibility
in order to get the business off the ground. We need to be able to
change the menu and dishes quickly depending on what’s going over
well and what isn’t,” Ollie answered the question in a brisk and
assertive tone that caught me by surprise. When I’d left home Ollie
had been a hot-headed and reckless young man. Now, watching him in
his work environment he was different; mature, responsible, I was
seeing a side of him that I hadn’t even realised existed. It made
me wonder what else I had missed out on while I was gone. A lot had
changed in recent years and I was only now realizing I hadn’t been
around to witness the progress.