Once they got home, it took them three to four rounds to clear out the car trunk and move everything to the kitchen. After a long discussion, they've decided to simply make stir fried chicken marinated with various seasonings and fried rice with octopus sausages. He wanted to have them cut to small pieces, but she insists on making them octopus shaped.
Since he already persuaded her to leave chopping to him, he could only compromise and let her design the octopus herself. Still, he refused to let her use the butchers knife from the cabinet. Instead, he took out a small pair of scissors for her to cut the sausage.
While he dealt with the chicken, she was cutting up the sausages carefully. After that, they marinated the chicken and started off with making the fried rice. With the new and already cleaned utensils, Selina was happy with the way the fried rice had turned out. The fragrance it emitted reminded her that she hasn't even had lunch yet.
Originally, she wanted to get some lunch or make her own, but she was too concentrated on painting that she forgot. If she told him the truth, he would probably give her a scolding, so she decided to keep it a secret for as long as he doesn't ask.
Stir frying the chicken slices and vegetables were easier and less time consuming. Within five to eight minutes, it was done and ready to serve. From the looks of how convenient and easy it was for her to make these dishes; he was certain she had been cooking for years.
When the fried rice was done, Selina took a spoon and tasted it herself. Tilting her head slightly, she felt like something was missing from it. Scooping another spoonful of fried rice, she blew on it lightly and fed it to him.
"Do you feel like something is missing?" She asked with a confused expression.
"Soy sauce? Pepper?" He finished chewing on the rice and noticed it was lacking slightly in flavor.
Nodding, she grabbed the pair of scissors and somehow skillfully cut hot peppers into small pieces without tearing her eyes out. Since he was stir frying the chicken, she could only use what she could to do this. After adding the pepper and soy sauce, she continued stirring the rice for a little bit longer before turning off the stove.
This time, the fried rice was perfect and chicken dish was also done.
Finally, it was dinner time! Both of them devoured the food quickly as if they haven't eaten for a while. Actually, Jason also skipped lunch because of the meetings he had to attend. He also decided not to tell Selina about his unhealthy choice.
Dinner was delicious and finished in about an hour. The leftover rice was wrapped up and placed in the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast. Since dinner was finished, it was time for dessert. Reality struck her like lightning strikes when she realized something and gasped in a terrifying manner.
With her palms against her cheeks, she stepped a step backwards and gasped loud enough for him to hear her all the way from the living room.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked and quickly rushed to her side.
She turned to him like a stiffened stone statue. "I forgot about desserts! Oh no!!!!!"
"What about the snacks you bought?" He pointed at the cabinet filled with chocolates and took two different products off the shelves. Her head was laying lifelessly on the table and hands were flat on it like a frog.
He let out a chuckle as he shook two different chocolate products in his hands to tempt her. Unexpectedly, she rejected these snacks in the next second.
"Those are different. I want something chewy and sweet. How could I forget such an important part of the grocery list? I should have bought some ice cream at least!" She knew she had forgotten about something when they were in line for checkout. It was ice cream! It was dessert! It was all the sweetness she wanted!
"Chewy and sweet? How about the gum we bought earlier? After eating, you would have some after taste in your mouth anyways. Gum would help get rid of it. It's sweet, chewy, and you could blow bubbles with it." He walked back to the cabinet and placed the chocolates back into the shelves.
Her ears wiggled when she was reminded that she still had a can of gums in her pants! Right! How could she forget? She was craving for lychee jelly, coconut sago, jelly ice cream and many chewy texture desserts! Gum was closest to the fun of eating them.
Lifting her chin up, she smiled. "You're right! I still have gum! The texture is similar to the desserts and it's strawberry flavor too. Not bad!"
Her mood was instantly brightened up as she took out the canned box in her hands and skipped her way across the room. Slipping her feet out of the slippers, she leaned back on the couch and unwrapped the plastic around the rectangular can.
He took a seat next to her and watched her joyful expression. When she saw the glossy wrap and strawberries all over as part of the packaging inside the can, she smiled. "Hmm? Are gums this thin and rectangular shaped nowadays? Interesting."
"Ah! There's a drama update today! It's a horror plot, so best if the lights are turned off." Hearing her request, Jason clapped his hands twice and the lights switched off by itself.
"Thank you~" She said cheerfully as she took the remote control and started navigating her mouse cursor across the screen. Since it was a newly uploaded drama, she found it easily on YouTube. Once the episode started playing, she placed the can on her thighs and tried to rip open the package.
With the help of her sharp teeth, she managed to peel it open. Without a single thought, she took her first bite.
"....." She fell silent as she slowly took the product away from her mouth and wiped it. From the corner of her eyes, she peeked to make sure Jason hadn't noticed her odd behavior. Then, she stuffed the opened item back into the can and covered it up; pretending it never existed tonight.
Her worst fear had happened, making her heart jump at the ghost zoom-in scene. Jason extended his arm the moment that ghost screamed on high pitch. After that scene had passed, she turned her neck and saw his palms facing upwards.
Gulping, she said. "What is it?"
"Give me a piece too. I want to get the chicken taste out of my mouth." He said without turning his head towards her.
Sucking her lips inwards, she thought of an excuse. "How about I make you some tea? Or warm water? The gum was honestly not tasty at all."
He shook his head while eyes were still glued to the drama as a random zombie apocalypse occurred and spirits were now fighting each other. "I can't drink tea at night or else I'll stay up all night. I can't drink water either because I'll get bloated and puffed eyes in the morning."
With his fingers wiggling at her, he said. "It's fine even if the gum tastes bad. Not good to waste it right? We can buy a different brand next time."
Hearing his words made her choke on her saliva. He quickly patted her back and looked her way to make sure she was alright.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. But I don't recommend this gum to you. What if you get an upset stomach eating it?"
She sounded worried, but this only raised his suspicions. He leaned closer towards her and smiled, "Is the gum actually good? You seem to not want me to have a piece so badly."
Shaking her head, she denied his thoughts. "It's not good."
"Then let me try." He raised his palm once again.
"No." She turned her head the other way.
"Let me try." He repeated, sounding more and more teasing. She kept moving backwards and he inched closer every time she moved. Finally, there was no more space for her to move back on the couch. Her hands were holding onto the can behind her back.
When they realized it, he was already on top of her and their faces were very close. While she was distracted by the closeness of their faces that their noses were touching; he took the opportunity to take the can from her hands.
Right at that moment, an advertisement played with the same packaging in the air. Hearing the sailor moon theme song, their heads turned to the side. She covered her face as she realized she was screwed.
Since she didn't cover the can properly, he easily uncovered it with one hand. Seeing the ripped package and the condom on top of it, he looked down at her flushed cheeks. His face also grew heated as he realized why she tried preventing him from getting it.
"Condoms?" He whispered with his deep voice.
Before she could say anything, the advertisement ended with Sailor Moon making a victory sign. "Safe and 0.01 thin! Come buy it on sale for 10 dollars now~"
"Ahhhhh!!!" She covered her face and hurled up sideways; avoiding his gaze.
It was rare to see her embarrassed like this, so he decided to tease her. "Oh? So, this is the gum you chose? Strawberry flavor hmm?"
"You're the one who said Strawberry! I mean, no! I didn't know it was condoms! I thought it was candy!! Sailor Moon tricked me!!! Damn you Japanese worded packaging!!! At least write what it is in English!!!" Her voice muffled as she covered her entire face with a cushion.
"Uh huh...but the sticker label on the back says it in English." He flipped the can to the back and showed it to her.
"Ahhh!! Who has time to read the back description? Let me go to throw it out!" She sat up and tossed the pillow between his legs. Reaching out to grab the can from his hands, she realized he purposely stretched it higher up. Pouting, she moved closer to his side and tried grabbing it multiple times.
With her knee between his legs, she used one side of his shoulders as support. He was afraid she would get hurt and wrapped an arm around her waist. Since she really wanted to get rid of it, he could only let her at the end. Nevertheless, he had already gotten the reaction he wanted from her. The only difference from his original plan and right now is that she was pushing him down to take the product back.
She sighed once the product was back in her hands. As she relaxed and bent her leg, she forgot about her current posture. Since his arms were wrapped around her waist, she was no longer meeting him at eye level with a gap between them.
When her legs relaxed, her body fell onto his lap. He caught her in his arms, but their faces were so close that their bodies turned into an ice block. Their eyes locked onto the other as if they were having a staring contest. She could see his Adam's apple dropping and raising every time he gulped.
Out of nowhere, a loud scream shrieked from the drama, making her body jolt upwards! Their eyes widened and another few minutes or two had passed. The feeling of their first kiss was not romantic nor slow, but shocking.
Her lips brushed softly against his as she parted away from him. He was as stiff as he was from before and her cheeks were red as hot pepper. 'Thank goodness it was dark or else he would have seen my cheeks flushed!' She thought to herself as her heart pounded nonstop like fans cheering for their idols at a concert.
"Y..You throw it away. The episode is over...I'll go to bed first. Good night!" She hopped out of his arm and ran up the stairs without turning back. As soon as she closed the door to her room, she went under her blanket and touched her lips. Even though they didn't react much to the accidental kiss, it was heating up on her end.
Meanwhile, Jason's lips curved to a small smile after a long while. He finally processed what had happened. He wasn't dreaming after all! Then, he realized she had left the condoms on the couch. "Pffft, how cute." He chuckled.