Epilogue Kitchen Novels & Stories

He closed the door behind me and his hand brushed my lower back guiding me toward the open kitchen. The touch sent heat straight down my spine and made my pussy twitch. “I do more than cook for clients. Come see.” His palm stayed there firm and warm fingers spread a little like he wanted to feel more of me. I followed him trying to play it cool but my nipples hardened against the thin fabric of my dress. The kitchen was all stainless steel and dark counters. Pots simmered on the stove and Kieran moved like he owned every inch of it. He stirred a thick red sauce then dipped a spoon in and held it out to me. “Open up. Tell me what you think.”

Chapter 2 The kitchen had finally fallen silent, the roar of the dinner rush replaced by the rhythmic scrubbing of stainless steel and the low hum of the walk-in refrigerators. Chloe stood at the pass, her hands trembling as she folded her apron. The air was still thick with the ghost of garlic and butter, but the atmosphere had shifted. The adrenaline of the service was gone, leaving behind a raw, pulsing anticipation.

Kenna Cleo, the wife, mother, and matriarch of the property where Evander and I fell through the sky into their chicken coop, sets a huge clay platter on the kitchen table–an old, gnarled table graying with age and wear–and smiles brightly as she lifts the lid. Fragrant steam wafts into the air as roast chicken and an assortment of vegetables come into view. I’m starving and still riding a high from jumping for the first time. I honestly can’t believe I did it.

As they began to enjoy their dinner, conversation flowed more easily between them, the tension of earlier dissipating in the warmth of the cozy kitchen. When dinner came to an end, Evangeline cleared the table while Klein retreated to his laptop, engrossed in his work. The clinking of dishes filled the kitchen as Evangeline diligently washed them. Suddenly, a wave of nausea washed over her, her stomach churning uncomfortably. Evangeline's hands trembled as she placed the last dish in the rack, her breathing growing shallow. Without a word, she excused herself from the kitchen and hurried towards the bathroom, her steps quickening with each passing second.

Lucas finally surfaced from the duck and told a very long story about a colossal squid he had seen on television, with Chloe providing increasingly irritated factual corrections from two feet away. Harrison forgot the bread in the oven, and Estelle sprinted over to pull it out, smoke curling off the top of it, declaring it alive, barely. Lara offered to help clear. Estelle said absolutely not. Lara cleared plates anyway. In the kitchen I ended up next to Harrison at the counter while he set out coffee cups. The women’s voices came through from the living room, Chloe already narrating something to Lara with the air of a tenured professor. “She’s wonderful, Karl,” Harrison said quietly.

As bad as Calistha was when it came to the kitchen, that woman shouldn't be causing the mess she used to. In the kitchen, Aiden was slightly amazed by the kitchen which now looked different. Every corner in the kitchen is now filled with small notepads that contain descriptions of each spice. Then there were some rather large pieces of paper on the kitchen wall that contained recipes. Aiden pulled the corner of his lips slightly to the right to smile. Even though it wasn't the kind of smile that was sincere, not even a big smile, but at least Aiden had smiled. It was rare, if not impossible, for a sniper like him to smile. His cold, fierce face was far more useful for bluffing his damn foes

He enacted it. The January evening was cold outside and warm inside and the kitchen island was littered with the detritus of two people living adjacent lives that were slowly, steadily, becoming the same life. Elijah's culinary school textbook was open to a chapter on sauce emulsification, the pages marked with Post-its in three colors. Alexander's tablet was displaying a spreadsheet that Elijah couldn't parse but recognized as important. There were two mugs, both empty now, and a plate that had held the cookies Elijah had brought from the bistro, and a small vase with a single winter branch that Alexander had put there for no reason except that it was there.

The restaurant workers peeked from the kitchen windows to see the result. Using a spoon, Charbi moved the ingredients and picked the whole plate to smell it. This dish was common looking, but this one had some brown paste, with a sweet aroma filling his nostrils, making him gulp his saliva nonstop. As he was about to taste a spoonful, the impatient and salivating Mukti beat him and spooned a small chicken cut with some sauce to her opened mouth. They waited for her reaction. With just one bit, her eyes opened wide, and elation suffused her being. She couldn't control herself but to get more. The rest saw her excitement and started digging. The other kitchen staff ran to taste even a little.

"Vesper, I love you. We'll be together again soon." I looked at him and said nothing. The door closed, and the apartment fell into a dead silence. I continued packing, my movements robotic and calm. The next morning, a notification popped up on my phone. Elodie's new social media post. It was a photo. Julian, wearing an apron, busy in a kitchen. The table was set with a beautifully roasted leg of venison and all sorts of side dishes. The caption: "It feels so good to be taken care of. I'm so lucky to have a mate who can cook like this."

She pulled off her shirt and snatching a towel from the pile Noah had brought went to the bathroom. Cathy found Steph and Edna in the kitchen. The smaller of the two women was grinning from ear to ear as she rose from the oven that she had been inspecting. It was an electric hearth-style oven built into the white walls of the kitchen. Even the fridge was taller than Edna who was quite as tall as Cathy and Asher. It was also built into the wall, so where the stoves. The kitchen was so lavishly done and exquisite in architecture. “This kitchen is amazing! Look at all these!” Steph squealed.