Jules
“You’re in a hurry.” Stacy watched me shove a few items into my bag. “What did I miss?”
“Olly will be here any minute to pick me up.” I pulled the strap onto my shoulder.
“What?” I attempted to walk past her, but she blocked the doorway. “I need more details.”
I wrapped my hands around the strap. “I ran into him when I was upfront. He mentioned Birria tacos, and I was curious.” There was a small opening on her left, so I took it and bent down to squeeze past her. “Plus, we’ll make some tortillas with his mom.”
“Oh my shit, are you teasing me right now?” She turned on her heel.
“Maybe.” I winked and started to leave.
“You are?” She sighed. “I knew it would be too good to be true.”
“Or maybe I’m not.” I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. She ran toward me. “It’s dinner, Stac, that’s it.”
“But it’s with Olly, and I’m so damn excited right now.” She followed me to the front entrance. “Oh, shit.” She stopped. “He’s waiting for you.”
“Well, yeah.” I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I did tell you he was picking me up.”
She clapped her hands, and I shook my head: my friend, the matchmaker.
It was just dinner. The dish sounded too good to pass up.
“Hi.” I opened the door and hopped up into the passenger seat.
***
“Jules.” Maria grabbed my hand and tugged me through the door. “I’m so happy you’re here.” She held my hand against her chest.
“Hi, Mrs. Martin…I mean, Maria.” I tried not to feel uncomfortable, but the woman had a death grip on my hand.
“Mom, she needs two hands to help you make tortillas.” Olly glanced down.
“What? Oh, sorry, dear.” She patted my hand before letting it go. “You want to help make some tortillas?”
“Jules heard about your famous tortillas.” Olly walked over to the kitchen island and rested his hands on the counter. “So, I thought, why not let her see how they’re made.”
Maria clapped and reached for the bag Olly had placed on the counter. “This will be so much better than eating store-bought.” She held the package of flour in one hand. “I wasn’t excited about eating them, but in a pinch.”
“We have some good options at the market.” I shrugged my shoulders. Olly was standing at the kitchen island, Maria was busying herself with the ingredients for the tortillas, and I felt awkward standing in the middle of the kitchen.
“Here.” Maria handed me an apron. “Let’s mix up a batch.” She waved to Olly. “You, too. Put that apron on.” She had placed one on the counter next to him.
“Mom.”
“Now.”
“Fine.” He grabbed the apron and made sharp movements like he was frustrated to put it on.
“You two stand here.” She pointed to the other side of the kitchen island and placed all the ingredients before us. “Here’s your mixing bowl.”
Olly leaned closer to me and whispered, “Sorry, I didn’t know she would be so bossy.”
I burst out laughing.
“What’s that dear?” Maria turned around.
“Nothing, Mom.” He looked at me, and we smiled but held in our laugh.
“Okay.” She added the tortilla ingredients to the bowl and handed me a wooden spoon. “Mix that up until it forms into a round ball.”
“Will I need to add any liquid to it?” The flour, lard, and water ratio seemed off, so I figured I should ask. The look the woman gave me was priceless. She didn’t say a word; she just glanced my way and back at the stove. “I’ll take that as a no,” I whispered.
“Yeah, she has the tortilla recipe down to a science.” He took a step back while still holding a bulb of garlic. A small clove fell off and onto the floor. He bent to pick it up when I noticed it fall, so I dropped to pick it up at the same moment he did. Our heads hit, and we both placed our hands on our foreheads. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” I reached for the garlic clove and placed it in his hand.
We were still crouched on the other side of the kitchen island, out of view of his mom. I tried to avoid his eyes, but finally, I glanced up. Yeah, that was the wrong decision. His ice-blue eyes took my breath away.
“Jules.” He reached his hand forward and was only about an inch away from my face.
“Olly, where are you?” Maria practically yelled his name. Olly dropped his hand and stood. “Oh, what are you…”
I stood. “Sorry, Maria. Some garlic fell on the floor.”
A smile emerged on Maria’s face that was easy to read. She seemed happy.
I had no idea what was happening.
I met Olly this morning. Now, I was at his parent’s house making tortillas. All this seemed too fast. Then, my mind wandered to his ice-blue eyes, and I was content with how the day played out.
“Don’t let that sit too long.” She pointed at the bowl with the tortilla ingredients. “You need to get that dough mixed up.”
I pulled the bowl closer. “Yes, ma’am.” Olly laughed, which made me laugh. “She’s serious about her tortillas.”
“You have no idea.”
AUTHOR NOTE:
Okay, I love this instant attraction. I thought they might kiss, but the look they gave each other was even better. Should we work on creating a relationship between them, or have a past lover come in and mess things up briefly?