(Previously; Waridi and St. Claire are leaving from their cooking date.)

Heaven-Tatiana Manois

16.//hot enough for St. Claire

Waridi.

"Do you think, maybe we could do this again?" She could see St. Claire drum his fingers on the steering wheel, a gesture she had come to learn he did when nervous.

She decided to play along, to prolong the time. It had been a while since she had felt happy and she did not want it to end anytime soon. "What? The cooking?"

"You know I can't cook to save my life."He scoffed.

"I kind of figured that out a while ago. I could teach you," she offered happy to spend some more time with him, in the kitchen, she reminded herself.

"I meant a date. Can we do it again?"

"Sure. Of course. Just tell me when," she made a move to open the car door and step out when she heard the locks click shut, she jumped a little, startled. "Do you have anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"No. I only wanted to open it for you. Chivalry is not dead, you know," he clicked them open again and went around to open hers. She just sat there, staring at him go around.

She felt the cold air hit her and she knew he'd opened her side of the door. She shivered slightly, clutching her trench coat tightly around her. She held out her hand to his, and he made no move to make more room for her between them.

With the limited space, she could feel every inch of him. The muscled arms and torso... If only he would... When he hugged her, she didn't know what to do, so she patted him awkwardly on the back.

"I'll see you tomorrow... at work," he whispered in her ear pulling away. She nodded turning away to walk the long driveway to her home.

"You forgot your cake," St. Claire shouted after starting the car.

"You can have it," she shouted back waving at him. "I can make another one. You on the other hand, well..." She trailed off, the humor apparent, mocking him at his lack of culinary skills.

"I'm sure I can also buy another one but I can make use of it. Thanks," he drove off, leaving her laughing.

***

Waridi's alarm went off early the next morning. She pulled out of bed, without hesitation. Her mother would have been so proud of her for not snoozing the alarm for another five or ten minutes. She had always been an early riser, but she also needed a few minutes to get used to the morning cold.

She stretched, yawning, the t-shirt she had on rolling up on her stomach. She hissed loudly when the cold air hit her midriff, cutting her stretching halfway through.

She arranged her bed, folding the corners perfectly. Sometimes she wondered if she had inherited her mother's near perfection tendencies. Hitting the playlist on her phone, she brushed her teeth, humming to it. Her mood had considerably improved from six months ago, and she wanted to keep it that way.

She chose her outfit while the bath ran. Running her hand through the neutral grey, white and black section of her color-coded closet, she tried to choose what would go perfectly with her mood that day, but for some reason, she didn't want something from there. She wanted a bright and bold, statement-making piece.

A come-on type of clothing for St. Claire and a shocking classy number for her employees. Holding a dark red sundress to herself, she felt like she had found what she was looking for.

Running her fingers through the chiffon form-fitting dress, she smiled demurely at her reflection. The off-shoulder detail would draw attention to her bust, and even though it was barely there, it made her look bigger. Clinched at the waist, it highlighted her small waist, flowing gently to her knee.

Not too inappropriate for the office and hot enough for St. Claire.

With water running over her silky skin, she wondered how he would react to seeing her in that dress. Surprised maybe because it wasn't her usual type of style in the little time they had spent together or aroused because he thought it looked good on her.

***

The coffee warmed her hands and body as it traveled down her throat. The nude heels she had on clicking as she went to her car. Her driver opened her door, his eyes widening at her outfit. She muttered a hasty good morning, climbing in and concentrating on the project on her laptop.

The weather was pleasant that morning, the sun peeking through the clouds like the Ray of hope in her heart. It was starting to melt her usually cold heart.

"Do you want to go to that place we usually go to every morning?" The driver asked her, and she immediately realized he was asking about her parent's graves.

She didn't want to go there, that was the past. She didn't feel like it was a betrayal on her part, she was moving on. She couldn't keep going there, it would only break her. She could go every once in a while, but not every day like she used to. She could love them at a distance.

"No." She replied with a sigh finality ringing in her voice. She was starting anew, and she hoped it would last this time.

I know... It's been a while... but here we are...

Who else feels like 2020 should go back into the kitchen, have a bunch of potatoes thrown in to suck the salt in it.

Anyway, tell me your favorite artists, or songs, so far.