Dangerous Games

ONE STEP CLOSER TO PARADISE

When Samuel arrived at the house late in the afternoon, Kali was holed up in the kitchen preparing the meal she wanted to serve that evening. She was used to cooking by herself, and Samuel couldn't deny that she was an exemplary cook. The house smelt savoury, even from the door. The rich aroma of spices saturated every crevice of the room. He liked everything she made and was even getting used to her more spicy numbers.

He watched for some time, and she didn't notice. She was intensely focused on her work, chopping and sorting the things she needed. Her hair was tied up with a multi-coloured scrunchy, but a good amount still swayed around as she moved. She arranged small bowls on the counter, pouring the ingredients she needed into them while checking in on what was already boiling on the electric cooker.

"Hey." He greeted from the door.

His voice scared her, but she quickly recovered when she turned to see him.

"Hey!" She stretched on her toes, leaning away from the pot to hug and peck his cheek. "When did you arrive?"

"Right now."

"Good." A bowl of vegetables was dropped into his palm before he could say any more. "Help me wash and chop those, please."

"Seriously? I literally just walked through the door like three seconds ago."

"And I appreciate that you'll help me all the same."

"My pleasure." He rolled up his sleeves and picked up a bunch of bell peppers to begin chopping. "What are we making today?"

"Rice served with beef sauce. You'll love it."

"I bet."

"Ember and Peter would too. Don't worry, I cordially warned them about my affinity to peppery foods, and they promised they could handle anything."

"They can't?" He chortled. "Peter can try, but Ember would be in a mess. She'd probably be a sweaty mess three seconds in."

Kali became worried, halting in her chopping and staring at her stew. "Maybe I should have cut back then."

"No, it's great. I want to see how this plays out. Imagine them..." he laughed, unable to help himself. "Acting like they have any idea how to handle spicy food."

She smiled at that. "As long as you think it's okay."

"Still don't understand why you want to host a dinner?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Hmm. Just something casual, though, right?" He looked over her shoulder to peek into the pot.

"Definitely. No suits are needed. Simple dinner amongst friends."

"Friends?"

"That's right. Friends and family." She pushed him back to the chopping board. "Make yourself useful. I want to finish this early, so I can set the table up and rest before dinner starts."

"Would I be helping with that too?"

"Of course. I am taking advantage of the fact that you came in early today."

"I'd think that you wouldn't like throwing dinners considering how much you hate going to them."

"When my mom was alive, we would have family dinners. I think I mentioned it to you before." He nodded. "It was glorious. She didn't like preparing too much food, but, on those days, the table was a work of art. She had a set of hand-embroidered tablecloths and porcelain plates that only came out that day."

"That's the plan for tonight?"

"Yes."

"You and Ember have really grown to like each other, huh?"