Growing Attraction

Hannah

Nina was all smiles as we joined her in the back room, which had a handful of small kitchen stations set up.

“Grab an apron and join me up here, we don’t need to be super formal tonight,” she told us.

Jordan swiped two aprons off the hooks on the walls and lifted the strap of one over my hair. His fingers lingered as he pulled the ends of my hair loose.

“Come on now. We don’t have all night,” Nina teased as he pulled on his apron and tied it around his waist.

“How do I look?” he asked as he held his hands out to the side.

“Handsome.”

His grin widened as my cheeks darkened. I hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but it didn’t make it any less accurate.

“Red is definitely your color.” Nina beckoned us closer.

“So, in sticking with Jordan’s requests, we’re going to be working on making a cauliflower risotto tonight with braised lemon pepper chicken. It’s all gluten-free and low carb.”

“Mmm,” I hummed as my mouth watered. “Sounds yummy.”

“It is,” Jordan murmured in my ear.

God, his voice turned me on.

“Okay, so I’ve already prepared the chicken legs for you, with the thighs still attached and the skin on,” she explained. “Liberally salt and pepper them, then set aside for a moment.”

Jordan and I reached for the salt and pepper at the same time, our fingers brushing.

“We’ve got more than enough so that you two could each have your own station if you’d like.” The older woman raised her eyebrows, and Jordan immediately shut her down.

“Nope, she’s stuck with me tonight.”

I grabbed the salt and pressed the mill down several times, evenly coating the tops of the chicken.

“Feeling salty?” he teased.

“Not right now.” I laughed as he reached around me to mimic my actions with the pepper.

“So I’ve prepared a few special things that go with this dish called ghee and garlic confit. If you come up here to watch the rest of the demonstration, I’ll talk you through the process to make both.”

Nina waved us forward to her station again.

“After you…” He gestured, and we walked to the front of the room.

I stood directly in front of Nina, expecting that since there was plenty of space, Jordan would stand to the side of me.

I was wrong. He stood directly behind me, placing one hand on the counter beside me. His other hand lingered at the side of my waist.

Nina patiently talked us through the next steps of preparing the cast iron pan with ghee and olive oil, dredging the chicken in the arrowroot powder, and then placing it in the pan to cook.

“One of you can go and get the chicken going while the other dices up the shallots,” she instructed.

“I can take the shallots,” Jordan volunteered.

“Gonna show off those knife skills?” Nina teased with a grin.

“You know it. I learned from the best.” He winked, and I watched the older lady melt at his attention.

I could totally empathize right now. Once he aimed that charm at you, it was hard to resist.

When we settled back at our workstation, I tried to concentrate on following all of Nina’s instructions.

Jordan worked at my side, occasionally smiling in my direction while he effortlessly prepped the rest of the ingredients. Nina was right. He did have some skills.

I found myself wondering what it’d be like if we cooked together like this in the future.

“Are you warm?” he asked quietly as he leaned against the counter facing me.

“No,” I answered quietly.

“Hmm… then what has your cheeks turning so pink?” he asked curiously.

I avoided eye contact as I turned the chicken, letting it brown on the other side.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said softly.

He laughed and stepped in behind me, using a pair of tongs to adjust the position of the chicken.

“I wish I could see what's inside that head of yours sometimes, Hannah.”

No... no, you don't. There were times recently when my thoughts went to a pretty X-rated place. The ongoing tension between us made it hard to focus on anything but my desire for him.

“Like right now. Your breathing just picked up, and that lovely flush traveled down your neck,” he whispered as a finger traced down the side of my neck.

Oh my God. He was going to make me explode.

“And now that rosy color has peaked on your cheeks again.”

I was sure I was the color of a tomato again, and his proximity wasn't making it go away anytime soon.

“How are you two doing?” Nina appeared in front of us, and Jordan took a step back, helping me take out the chicken and gently steering me to the side while he got the rest of the ingredients in the pan cooking.

“It smells delicious, Nina,” he told her.

“Mm-hmm.” I nodded as I took deep breaths and fanned my face a little. Jordan and Nina both smirked at me and then gave each other conspiratorial looks.

“Once you've got it in the oven, come up and I'll show you how to prep the risotto.”

My eyes followed Jordan as he finished getting the chicken ready, effortlessly moving around our workspace. It was outrageously sexy to see him in his element. He was obviously passionate about cooking as well as his gym.

The rest of the time seemed to blur, the two of us working together to make our dish. Several times he'd step behind me and help stir the risotto, his muscular forearms on display.

“Are we ready to try our creations?” Nina asked.

We'd just pulled the chicken out of the oven and plated our finished risotto. Cauliflower still never tasted like rice, but this smelled amazing.

Jordan plated portions for each of us and cut off a small bite of chicken, filling the end of his fork with the risotto. I expected to watch him take a bite, but he aimed it in my direction, his hand cupped underneath.

I licked my lips and opened my mouth as he guided it inside; the flavorful bite exploded on my palate.

“Mmm…” I moaned as my eyes closed, and I heard a quiet groan from Jordan. When I opened my eyes, he was standing there, fork poised midair, an intense look focused on me. “You didn’t try it?”

“What?” His eyes widened, and he coughed, averting them to the food to grab his bite. “Mmm. So good.”

I smiled as we both dug into our food, quietly savoring the delicious meal we’d cooked together.

We worked side by side to clean up our mess as Nina smiled at us from the front of the classroom. As we finished, I felt myself getting anxious, knowing the night was over.

It had been nice to be able to enjoy spending time with him outside of the gym.

“Can I walk you out?” he asked after we’d settled the bill with Nina, and she’d sent us out the door with containers of leftover food.

“I did promise.” He smiled and placed his hand on my back as he opened the door and guided me through it.

The air had cooled a little bit and helped clear my head as he walked toward my car.

“I’m glad you decided to come tonight,” he said sincerely as we stopped next to my car. I opened the door to place the leftovers inside.

“I’m glad too,” I told him honestly. I straightened up and turned to face him. He gently set his container down on top of my car and stepped forward, our chests just shy of touching.

“Does it make me sound like a prick that I was happy no one else showed up tonight?”

“No,” I breathed out as his fingers grasped the ends of my hair again.

He fingered a strand, and then his hand moved to cup the side of my neck. I was sure my pulse had to be racing as I looked up at him.

“Normally, at the end of a first date, I’d be imagining what the first kiss would be like,” he said quietly. His voice had dropped and was like a caress across my face as he took a step closer to me.

“Was this a date?” I asked breathlessly.

“Mmm… I guess, unintentionally, it was. Don’t you think?”

It had felt very date-like, but that would have involved him asking me on one first.

“No.”

“No?” He leaned in closer, his hand pressing into my hair and tangling in the strands at the back of my head.

“You never asked,” I pointed out quietly.

“Well, I’ll fix that next time.”

“There’s a next time?” My voice was weak as his nose skimmed the side of my jaw. He was so close.

“There will definitely be a next time. Will you say yes when I ask?” he asked in that alluring deep voice. I was downright panting as he leaned back slightly and looked into my eyes.

“Yes…”

As I breathed out, he leaned in... his lips gently brushed mine. Just that whisper of his skin touching mine ignited something inside of me, and I grabbed the sides of his shirt, pulling him into me.

His lips parted as he kissed me more fully, gently slipping his tongue inside my mouth.

When he pulled back a few moments later, he chuckled at the firm grip I had on his shirt.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hannah.”

He leaned in and gently kissed my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear and running the back of his finger down my cheek.

“What?”

“In class,” he clarified. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“But I…?”

“Relax, Hannah. We can talk more about that date after Saturday.”

“Okay.” I nodded.

“Drive safely.”

I nodded again as I climbed into my seat, and he shut the door for me. He stepped back, holding his food container, and watched as I backed out, heading in the direction of my apartment.

My mind was racing with what had just happened. I hadn’t expected him to kiss me, but God, was I elated that he had. It wasn’t the hottest kiss I’d ever experienced, but it held the promise of more.

And boy, was I looking forward to what more would look like with Jordan.