I dropped Jodie off and thanked her again for the help and headed home. When I finally got home I was so relieved to be able to sleep in my own bed. When I opened the door I saw my mom happily moving around in the kitchen, it smelled like she was making fried chicken but I told her I was going to put my things away and take a quick shower and I would be back down. She just yelled "OK SWEETHEART" and continued cooking happily humming along. I got upstairs, tossed my dirty clothes in the hamper and put my bathroom stuff away. I stripped and jumped into the shower and enjoyed the nice warm water. When I finished I put on my pajamas and went back downstairs and sat at the table finally counting the wad of cash Mr. McGowan gave me. Mom looked over and asked "Did you rob a bank? If so I hope you got the exploding dye pack out." I laughed and replied "No Mr. McGowan gave it to me and told me how good everything was and offered me a job cooking dinners for them on weeknights. What do you think?" She said "I don't like the idea of you being at school all day and then working until late at night and having to drive while you're so tired, because you will be very tired but if Jodie drops you off and then drops your car back here then I can drive her home or one of her parents can pick her up and then I'll pick you up when you're finished." I explained that she would need to ride with me over there to know how to get there because it was in the middle of the forest and she agreed saying she'd get to meet my future in-laws. I just rolled my eyes at her as usual and counted my money. "Holy shit mom! This is $1500…he paid me $1500 for cooking ONE meal and fed me dinner yesterday and I got to eat all three meals there today and let me stay overnight with them, although I'm still hungry for some reason. Mom just stood there in shock and ended up counting the cash herself and handed me a plate of fried chicken and mashed potatoes with corn on the side. She said "You have to take that job sweetheart. You could have college completely paid for and a new car before you even leave for college.
Shortly after I called Jodie and she spoke to her parents and they agreed to the arrangement and her mom said since she's a stay at home mom that she would just pick Jodie up since I've been driving her to school for the last year or so. I had Jodie text Aden to tell his dad that I would take the job and be there after school on Monday. She text me back 'He was so excited he sent a bunch of smiley and party emoji back to me and said he would let everyone know. I had to come up with a weekly menu plan so I knew I needed to go over there tomorrow and inventory all the appliances they had and all of the sizes of pots and pans and then inventory their pantry, refrigerator and freezer. I was excited to finally be earning money for myself rather than putting all that strain on my mom. She's such a great mom and has given me a lot of love and everything I need all on her own. We ate and I told her all about the hectic preparations and trying to get everything done on time for so many people. Mom looked proud and happy for me. She even offered to help any time I thought I might need it but I knew she was already working full time and then some so I knew I wouldn't bother her unless it was some special event.
I went to bed shortly after and woke up around 6:30am. I almost always wake up before my alarm. I got showered and dressed and met mom downstairs already making breakfast. We finished eating and cleaned out our cars and even washed them When we got back home I had Jodie call Aden and make sure it was ok for my mother and I to come over to do an inventory. They were fine with it so we went over. My mom reacted like I did Friday when we pulled up to the mansion. Aden and his parents were actually waiting outside for us when we pulled up. When we got out they all introduced themselves and my mom being her says "So…you're Ryan's future in-laws. My jaw hit the ground and I was sure that I was as pale as a ghost or as red as a tomato, I couldn't be sure. I finally replied "Oh my god mom, what is wrong with you?! Aden and I don't really know each other well enough to even be considered friends at this point so I wish you and Jodie would stop embarrassing me. Mr. and Mrs. McGowan, would you mind if I go start the inventory?" Mrs. McGowan replied "Go right ahead dear."
I practically ran into the kitchen and heard Aden following me at a leisurely pace with his long ass legs…damn giant. I did my inventory of the food and they were less than ideally stocked considering how many people were eating here. Aden and I casually chatted while I was doing the inventory. I made a grocery list and then asked for 3 dry erase boards to be purchased and found that they had no crock pots and asked for 10 large crock pots as well as 10 deep fryers. I made my lists and we went to find our parents. When we found them I explained why I needed the crock pots and that I would use the dry erase boards to keep a running inventory and grocery list along with writing down the next days dinner menu so that anyone can walk in and see what to expect. I told them that they would have to get the other cooks to go by the new system so we could ALL do our jobs effectively and they said they would tell them. For tonight I left my inventory sheet on the refrigerator for them to mark things and the grocery list so they can add anything they use to the grocery list. My mom asked "Isn't 10 crock pots overkill?" I laughed and said "Mom, I made 100 lasagnas, a massive amount of salad and 10 full sheet pans of garlic cheese bread last night and it was all gone by the end of the meal. It will take 10 it I go to slow cook roasts, trust me." Mom said "I'm not surprised with the size of the crowd you mentioned." After explaining everything I planned to do I asked if somebody could do the shopping today so everything was ready tomorrow. They agreed and promised to have everything ready and asked me what I would be making tomorrow. I said "Tomorrow I'm going to make stuffed potatoes and chicken parmesan with a side of roasted asparagus. All of their faces lit up and I saw Mr. McGowan quickly lick his lips which made me chuckle slightly. Mom said "Oh, I've had that meal before and it is DELICIOUS. He changed my recipe and it's much better but he won't tell me how he changed it. I'm going to miss his cooking when he goes off to college and I don't see him for months at a time." The McGowan's looked at each other with worried expressions and then all put on their best smiles.
We all chatted a little longer and then mom and I went home. We hung out around the house and then went to bed. The next week went by in a blur. The McGowan's loved everything I made and the changes I made to how the kitchen was run were working out perfectly just as I hoped. Aden and I have been getting to know each other a lot more and he's starting to grow on me. I like his smile and his laugh. He has a great sense of humor and a big heart and surprisingly he's not as dumb as I thought in the beginning. It's the second Monday that I would be working as the dinner cook and we are at school. It's lunch time and I walk to the table and set my tray down but before I can sit, Aden pulls me into his lap. I'm stunned for a moment as he has his arms wrapped around my waist and is leaning into my back snuggling up to me. I then come to my senses and try to get up but he won't let go. I whisper yell "Have you lost your mind?! Let me go before I rip your balls off and shove them up your ass!" He smirks and says "They're under your cute little ass right now and you can't reach them so just let me enjoy this for a while please?" He gives me the sad puppy face and I groan and say "FINE but don't try to make this a habit or I'll really follow through with my threat." All the guys at the table cringed and cupped their crotches making pained noises. I smirked evily at them all and made the 'I'm watching you' motion. I decided to screw with Aden and kept shifting on his lap complaining that I couldn't find a comfortable position but Jodie knew what I was doing and put her head down on the table suppressing her laugh.
When the lunch bell rang I got up and tried to pull him to his feet and saw the HUGE tent in his shorts and was very surprised by the size and thought 'nope that thing would rip me in half' but I felt it when I was sitting there and it didn't seem THAT big. I pulled him to his feet and he hugged me in front of him from behind to hide his problem as we walked down the halls and people gave us funny looks but I kept wiggling around making it worse on purpose. Great, now people will think that we're dating or something. When I got to my class he no longer had a shield and had to walk through the halls with a huge boner. I laughed, enjoying my not so little revenge. When I sat in my desk a girl turned to me and asked "Are you dating Aden McGowan?" I laughed and said "No, he's only an acquaintance who wants people to THINK that we're dating for some reason. I work for his family as the dinner cook on weeknights." She smiled and said "That's too bad, I think you two would make a cute couple, you the sassy smartest guy in school and him the football star muscle bound hunk of the school…a serious power couple and you're both so hot." I blushed and thanked her for the compliment. Why am I suddenly blushing at every compliment? Russ came in laughing his ass off and sat next to me and said "That was the BEST most obvious revenge I have ever seen." I smirked and said "That's what happens when ya get too handsy with me. I am nobody's property or boyfriend unless I say so." Russ smiled and gave me a high five and said "I'm so going to enjoy watching you torment my best friend." I winked at him and said with a shrug "If he keeps acting like a foolish Neanderthal then I will keep making him crazy." Russ patted my shoulder with a laugh and I suddenly heard a growl like noise at the door and looked up seeing Aden standing there glaring back and forth between Russ and me. Russ quickly pulled his hand away and put his hands up in surrender.
I stood up and walked over to the door, took him out into the hall and said "What the hell is your problem now? You're suddenly growling like some DOG and glaring at your best friend and me?! You need to back the hell off and chill before I put you in your place." He suddenly pushed me up against the wall and had his arms close on both sides of me, just like my dream the other day and had his body pressed firmly against mine. He then said "You are MINE! You will not let anyone touch you but me. Do you understand?" He then had his face against my neck sniffing me again and gave a slight nip which made me yelp. I pulled every bit of courage I had to the surface and punched him in the ribs as hard as I could and heard a snap. He cringed a second but didn't move and growled louder. I wrapped my left leg around his right one and pulled forward throwing him off balance long enough to push him back onto his ass. I stepped away from the wall and looked at him with narrowed eyes before speaking in my most menacing voice "I belong to no man, especially YOU! Don't try this crap again or I'll completely ignore you, beat the crap out of you and cut you out of my life…job be damned you spoiled rich boy."
I walked back into class and people's jaws were dropped because they were standing by the door watching and listening. Russ of course was laughing his ass off. The girl from earlier said "I can't believe you did that. I've never seen anyone do that to him and you're like…tiny compared to him…no offense." I laughed and said "None taken and somebody like him just needs a firm hand to put them in their place so they learn that they don't always get what they want when they want it." The rest of the day passed uneventfully and I didn't see Aden again even at his house. I think he might have been embarrassed but I can't be sure. The rest of the week went normally with Aden and his entourage sitting with Jodie and I, chatting away. Aden just acted like nothing happened after apologizing on Tuesday morning. The weekend flew by in a blur of course seeing as it was my time off of work. Sunday evening I went over and put roasts in the crock pots to let them cook all night and day. I then put the rolls on the pans and covered them so that all I had to do tomorrow was bake the rolls, serve everything and then wash the dishes.
As I was about to walk out of the McGowan mansion, Aden called my name. I turned around and flatly said "Yes?" He replied nervously "I was just wondering if you'd like to…umm…go to a movie with me tomorrow night since you won't have much to do here. I'll drop you off back at home afterward." I raised a brow and asked "Are you trying to ask me on a date?" He looked sheepish and said "Well, you can consider it that or two friends going to watch a movie together…your choice." I smirked and said "So, you think you're ready to move into the friend zone hu?" He smirked back and said "Absolutely and beyond." It was kinda flattering the way that he was STILL pursuing me so hard even with all of my rejections. I decided to FINALLY give the guy a chance because it's clear he isn't going to give up any time soon. I said "If you can impress me and convince me while we are out to even CONSIDER dating you then you'll get what you and apparently everyone else wants and I'll give you a chance and agree to be your boyfriend but ONLY if you REALLY blow me away and convince me. Don't choose a movie though…be original and put some serious thought into it because it may be your only chance." He smiled widely and asked "Seriously? If I convince you and impress you then you'll finally agree to be my boyfriend and move me past the friend zone in one quick step?" I smiled and said "Yep but I don't impress easily so good luck." With that I turned on my heel and walked out to my car. Aden followed me out and said "I live for the hunt when you play hard to get, it just makes me chase you harder and faster." I just chuckled before I got into my car to drive home.
Apparently Aden had already called Jodie asking for advice who in turn called my mom and I had Jodie, her parents and my mom waiting for me with big cheesy grins on their faces and they let me know that they all gave him some ideas of what I might like and apparently his parents were even getting involved with all of this craziness as well as his friends in the entourage including Russ. Jodie practically yelled in a happy tone "YOU"RE GIVING HIM A CHANCE! YAY! If he impresses you, you agreed to be his boyfriend?!" I smirked and said "Yep, because he is obviously not going to give up any time soon and it's driving me crazy but you know I'm not easily impressed so…" All four of them rolled their eyes at me as a group and were smirking mischievously at me which made me nervous. I sat down at the dining room table with a glass of tea. Mom then said "So, are you going to be fair about judging whatever he does right? You won't just immediately write him off?" I smiled earnestly and said "Of course. I told him I would give him this chance and I meant it but he better try hard because the standard dinner and movie thing won't work or the cliché picnic thing. I gave my word and I never break a promise unless it's absolutely necessary for some crazy reason." After dozens of questions I went to bed.