Worth Saving(56)

So, when I hear knocking on the door and I make my way towards it, I cut off any outside thoughts. I take a deep breath and clear my mind of anything besides Austin and me. But, as I reach for the door knob, I hesitate. A thought suddenly crosses my mind, and I speed walk back into the bedroom. I see the phone lying there on the bed, and I know what I have to do. So, I grab it and press the button to turn off the power.

“There,” I say to myself in the mirror. “Now, I’m ready.”





Layla

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey,” I say as I open the door wide enough to let Austin in. He’s wearing black pants and a white t-shirt that hugs his muscles. He’s pure sex appeal. “What’s that?”

“Oh, you mean these?” Austin holds up a yellow plastic bag and smiles from ear to ear. “What we have here is two sirloin steaks, ready to be seasoned to perfection and cooked right here, right now.”

“What? You brought food? I thought we were just gonna hang out.”

“We are just gonna hang out,” Austin replies as he strides into the kitchen and takes the steaks out of the bag. “But, we’re also gonna eat this dinner I’m about to cook for you, because it’s your birthday.”

“Aww, you don’t have to do that, Austin,” I say, but obviously I think it’s incredibly sweet.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

Austin walks back over and gives me a playful kiss on the cheek, and then turns on his heel and goes back into the kitchen. He opens up a few cabinets and pulls out a couple of pots and a skillet. Then, he goes back to the yellow bag and pulls out three separate spices. He spends the next few minutes seasoning the steaks, and before he even sets them on the skillet, they already smell amazing and have my stomach growling. He fills one pot with water and dumps a can of red sauce into the other. I watch him as he lightheartedly moves around the kitchen, dancing back and forth between the sink and the stove, even though there’s no music on.

“Well, you’re in a cheerful mood,” I say, feeling my own smile come to life. “Did you have a good day today?”

“My day was normal, really,” he replies as he finally stops moving and leans against the counter to wait for the water to start boiling. “I went to breakfast with Jason and Jordan, and then I went back home and planned out how I wanted this night with you to go.”

“Oh, so you have plans now?”

“I do have plans. Dinner is phase one.”

“A multi-phase plan? Okay, so you’re not sticking to our plan of just hanging out and watching some movies together. So, fill me in on how things are gonna be different then.”

“Well,” Austin begins as he leans over and sees the water is starting to boil. “These plans are only allowed to be known by the person who made the plans. Therefore, you’re out of luck, ma’am. Sorry.”

I have no choice but to laugh.

“What? I don’t get to know the plans in my own house?” I say between giggles.

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” he replies with a shrug.

“Oh, wow. Well, these better be some pretty awesome plans then.”

“You just need to sit back and relax, alright? I got this.”

“Okay, okay. It’s your show, Mr. Sloan.”

Austin faces me and takes a bow like a magician standing center stage, then he turns back to the stove and goes to work. I watch him as he finishes making the pasta and covers it with a lid. Then, he heats up the skillet and tosses the steaks on, they immediately start to sizzle. He looks like he’s been doing this for a while. Maybe it’s another thing he got from his mom while his dad was flying for the Air Force. Apparently, Mrs. Sloan did a good job of raising Austin to be awesome.

It doesn’t take long for everything to be ready, and Austin quickly serves up the pasta and steak. When we sit down at the table and I take my first bite, I’m shocked at how delicious it is.

“Wow, this is amazing, Austin,” I say as I chew a piece of the perfectly cooked, medium rare steak. “What the hell kind of seasoning did you put on this thing? This is better than the steaks I pay for at restaurants.”

Austin showcases a proud smile.

“Oh you know, it’s just my special blend of awesome-sauce and amazing, mixed in with a little bit of I’m-kind-of-a-badass-ness.”

“Oh my gosh,” I say as I try to fight off my laughter so I don’t choke on the meat in my mouth. “Well, it’s good, but I think it could use a splash of humble juice.”

“Well played,” Austin says as he chuckles. “Nah, honestly, my mother taught me a thing or two about throwing down in the kitchen.”

“Well, your mother was a great teacher, and she sounds like an awesome woman.”

“She is. Everything good in me is from my mother. My dad was great, too, but he was gone so often all I really had was my mom, and she was perfect.”

“That’s great. Do you talk to her often?”

“I try to talk to my parents at least once a week. It can get a little difficult when I’m doing a lot of training and getting ready to deploy or go TDY.”

“Okay,” I interrupt. “I’ve heard you say something about going TDY before, but I don’t know what that means. What is TDY?”