“Nope. I have no idea who the number belongs to. They can leave a message if what they have to say is so important. Besides, I don’t want to be rude,” he said as he worked in the kitchen. The smell of bacon filled the air and made my mouth water.
But the phone kept going, and I wasn’t new or blind to red flags. His phone going off and his ignoring it was a huge one.
“You wouldn’t be rude by answering your phone. I’m not trying to make you my hostage or anything like that.”
He laughed. “I’ll address the calls later.”
I shrugged and whisper-sang, “Okay.”
As much as I hated to admit how bothered I was, his insistence on not answering the call raised a few more red flags and was hard to ignore. I could understand wanting to have uninterrupted time with a girlfriend or family member or even a long-lost friend… but a perfect stranger? Well, maybe not perfect. Though we didn’t know each other, we were hardly strangers. He was my brother’s roommate’s cousin.
Regardless, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable spending time with Guy with how often his phone buzzed unanswered.
Seconds after the phone stopped buzzing for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Guy rounded the corner, bringing me a steaming mug. He smiled. “This is a little twist, my personal recipe, of your hottie totties.”
“Mm,” I moaned out. “Sounds delicious.”
My mouth watered as I took the cup and brought it to my lips. I breathed in the aroma of the steaming liquid. Everything was there… the whiskey, honey, lemon… but there was something else added in. I pursed my eyebrows as I tried to figure out what the ingredient was. When I couldn’t, I took a sip. Sweet citrus stood out against the tartness of the lemon.
“Can you guess what the twist is?” he asked with a smile stretching his lips.
I shook my head. “I can’t believe this, but I’m stumped.”
“Orange zest,” he said. “And if we had the fruit itself, I would have boiled the peel with the water. That really infuses the flavor.”
“Interesting,” I said with a smile. After taking another sip, I added. “It’s delicious. Five stars.”
He chuckled and bowed at the waist. “I’m glad you approve.”
He turned around on his heels and dashed back into the kitchen. Right in time for his phone to buzz again. I narrowed my gaze on the annoying device and then on the spot I assumed Guy was standing in the kitchen.
Something wasn’t adding up with everything and that had my nerves on edge.
About ten minutes later, Guy walked back into the room, bringing with him two plates, and took a seat next to me. He smiled at me as he handed over one my sandwich.
I sat straighter and my eyes bugged out on the masterpiece. The bread had the right amount of toast. Leafy lettuce stuck out from the sides, and the whole thing was cut at a diagonal. The sandwich was a work of art, and I imagined the image before me could have been in the centerfold of a food magazine more than in my lap.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’m starving.”
“I warn you; you will never go back once you’ve had one of my BLTs,” he said.
I laughed and picked up half of the sandwich resting on my plate. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
He dug into his sandwich as I held up my half. I inspected the dish further, noting the thin slices of deli meat—probably turkey—thick pieces of tomato, slices of crispy bacon, and a creamy, white sauce on the toasted wheat bread. Some of the sauce started to drip out of the sandwich, so I stuck out my tongue and saved the dollop from falling to an unfortunate fate.
Flavor danced along my tongue.
It was a smokey mayo with garlic and pepper.
I took a bite of my sandwich and moaned as the flavors exploded in my mouth. In my hands was heaven in a sandwich and hard to believe I could experience so many divine flavors at once. Once I swallowed the piece down, I turned my gaze to Guy who was staring at me in a way I had never seen before. Almost as though he was mesmerized by my eating.
“This is amazing,” I stammered. “So good.”
He blinked away his trance and smiled. “I told you.”
I took another bite and rolled my eyes as the taste danced along my tongue. Once I finished with it, I sighed. “You were not kidding.”