Cooking Lessons (Nick)

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam pulled out the keys to her apartment as she walked up the stairs to her front door. God, she was tired. After school, she’d rushed to get to her dance class, which was killer. Trying to get used to new teachers and a new style of teaching was always difficult. After that she had to find the Aikido studio her father picked out for her, which couldn’t be conveniently located near her dance studio, her apartment, or her house, but a 40 minute bus ride. And she would have to get lost, wouldn’t she? She walked in late and got a lecture from her instructor, which meant she’d probably be getting a phone call from her father sometime that night.

That’ll be fun…

She went shopping before she went home; her fridge was getting pretty empty. And as she put the key into the lock and walked in the door, she was glad she remembered to buy pasta. She’d give Nick a call when she got in and see if he was still up for some cooking lessons. It would at least give her something to focus on besides her long day.

Sam threw her dance bag and school stuff into her room, and went back into the kitchen to put the groceries away. Pulling the slip of paper with Nick’s number out of her pocket, she dialed it into her phone and put it on speaker while she pulled things out of bags and tried to find places to put everything.

ring, ring…

If he answered, she’d greet him with a “Hey, Nick, it’s Sam. You still want me to wean you off the fast food?”

[Nicolas Constantine]

After a hard day of school, Nick was at his and his father's townhouse, spending the rest of the day his way. He had finished the homework he had that day right after school, practiced his drums for a couple hours, and since then had been playing on his Xbox 360.

He was wondering what he would have for dinner when his cell phone rang. Nick took out his Blackberry Storm and looked at the number on the screen. It wasn't anyone from his contacts because the whole phone number was there, so instead of greeting the person with formalities, he pressed send and answered like anyone in his position would.

"Hello?"

“Hey, Nick, it’s Sam. You still want me to wean you off the fast food?”

Nick was stunned.

She had actually thought of him and called him?

His mind fluttered before he answered. Maybe this girl actually did like him. After all, he had made what he thought was a good first impression. Nick thought about her perfect face, her long brown hair, and her hazel eyes. And he definitely couldn't forget about the dancer body. But it was more than just that. Her friendly, energetic attitude is what mostly attracted Nick towards her, and actually spending time with her cooking sounded like the best thing in the world.

Nick regained consciousness.

"Um, yeah, of course! When and where and I'll see if I can do it!"

[Sam Ballerino]

"How about right now? I live pretty close to the school, and I'm not doing anything tonight. You can make me dinner." She grinned, picking up a bag of uncooked pasta. She almost put it away... and then left it out. Just in case he said yes. She'd only had a short conversation with him at school, but she liked him. She wasn't yet sure how she liked him, but he definitely made a good first impression.

First off, he was wonderfully attractive (and his accent definitely helped him out there too), and he was very obviously into music. Sam had a soft spot for any guy who was into the arts, in any fashion. It gave her sort of a common ground with them. And on top of all that, he seemed like a genuinely sweet person, and whether or not she ended up developing something more than just a friendship, she wanted to get to know him better. She just hoped she wasn't coming on a bit too strong by asking him to come over on such short notice.

Having just about finished with the groceries, she picked up her phone and carried it into the bathroom to begin taking her hair out of it's tightly bobby-pinned and gelled bun.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"How about right now? I live pretty close to the school, and I'm not doing anything tonight. You can make me dinner."[/i]

"Um, well I'm not doing anything tonight either, I was about to go eat something, but you have definitely given me the better offer. Text me your address and I'll be over in a jiffy; just gotta tell my dad."

Nick had butterflies in his stomach. Not only had Sam called him, but she invited him over for dinner. Well, to make her dinner. Nick took a deep breath and reassured himself on the subject, knowing himself to jump into such situations blindfolded.

Settle down, Nick, you two are just friends. You don't even know for sure if she likes you that way. Besides, you don't even know if you like her that way.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam laughed. "Good. I'm glad I take priority over eating alone. I'll text you the address in a sec. See you in a bit." She hung up, grinning. She was liking this. There was no one to tell her she couldn't have anyone over, that she had to train, or practice, or do homework... this was nice.

She sent him the address and continued taking down her hair, pulling it out of the bun and brushing it out. She walked into her bedroom to change. No way was she gonna let Nick come over while she was still in a leotard and tights. No way. She went to her closet and pulled out a low cut navy blue halter top that just let a little belly button show, and a pair of roughed up jeans that looked like the kind you get specifically because it has holes in it – but these were all natural. Sam climbed things a lot.

Was she showing off? Yeah. Just a little bit. Nick had shown an obvious interest in her at school, and even if nothing happened, it was fun to play around a little bit. Mess with guy’s heads. Sam was a flirty girl. And besides, it was comfortable. She liked wearing comfortable clothes.

She decided to go barefoot, and grabbed her laptop to carry into the living room. She opened up iTunes and began pulling out things they’d need for pasta.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick's phone buzzed with a new text message. It was Sam's address. She actually didn't live too far from him. He decided to walk, as to give Sam time to prepare, just in case she wasn't ready.

Before he left, Nick went into the bathroom to size himself up. He didn't want to look like crap in front of his new friend. He found himself in the hoodie, jeans, and t-shirt he looked like he was in every day, but that's not what he needed to check. His hair was a bit askew, and he took out a comb to fix it. He rubbed his eyes to remove their video game haze, said good bye to his father, and left the townhouse.

It wasn't terribly cold outside, just a nice ocean breeze rolling by Nick as he walked along the near empty streets, hood up. He didn't completely know his way around yet, so he set his phone's navigation system to Sam's address, which he checked frequently to make sure he was on the correct path.

After taking a few left turns and a few rights, Nick found himself in front of a quaint apartment complex. He found the door marked with the number she had text him, knocked rather forcefully, and waited.

[Sam Ballerino]

They were havin' a wild, wild party...
They were lovin' it loud and fast!

Sam didn't listen to musicals too often, but this one was just damn fun. She danced around the kitchen with a rare kind of reckless abandon, singing along with the song. Her phone rang just as she heard a knock on the door. She checked the caller ID on her cell and cursed. Dad, it said. She sighed resignedly and paused her music, knowing if she didn't pick up she was a goner. Sam flipped open the phone and put it to her ear as she went to answer the door. She opened it and waved Nick inside, giving him the "one minute" finger and mouthing I'm sorry at him. Even though she'd taken the phone off speaker, the conversation could be pretty clearly heard:

"Your instructor told me you showed up late today. Where were you, Samantha? Off at dance class again?"

"No, sir, I just got a little lost-"

"Don't you lie to me! I don't know what I'm going to do with you!" Vincente went off into a stream of rapid Italian. "Quando infine state andando imparare una certa responsabilità? La vostri madre ed io permettono che vi muoviate fuori perché dite potete prendere la cura voi stesso, ma non potete neppure preoccuparti per ottenere al vostro addestramento in tempo? Ciò è inaccettabile, Samantha. Inaccettabile."

Sam's mouth tightened, her jaw clenched. There was so much she was fighting not to say to him, because it would only get her into worse trouble. All that she allowed out of her mouth was "Yes, sir. I apologize."

"Good. Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, sir."

"Your mother says vi ama."

"Ti amo anche, mamma."

Sam hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes, collecting herself before she spoke to Nick. "My dad," she said as an explanation. "I'm really sorry about that. He called right as you knocked, and I never would've heard the end of it if I hadn't picked up..." She sighed, pushing her annoyance out with her breath. She was not going to let this phone call ruin her evening. "So," she said, finally grinning at him. "Are you ready to cook? I hope you like fettucine alfredo with chicken, because that's what I've got."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick was let into her rather small but comfy apartment after waiting for a good minute at the door. Sam was on the phone talking to someone she seemed rather infuriated with. Or the person on the other end of the line was infuriated with her. He could hear cursing in the receiver, but it sounded of another language. Sam had an apologetic look on her face and put a finger up to say she'd be done in a minute. When she hung up, she had to collect herself as she look as if she were to burst into hysterics.

"My Dad. I'm really sorry about that. He called right as you knocked, and I never would've heard the end of it if I hadn't picked up..."

She sighed and look a deep breath, which turned her frown upside down.

"So, are you ready to cook? I hope you like fettuccine alfredo with chicken, because that's what I've got."

"Yeah, I'm ready to cook, but are you okay? Do you need to talk about anything before we start?"

Nick was being extra sensitive than usual, but he knew deep down her really meant it.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam gave him a small smile. "No," she said. "I'm ok. He just likes to be in control of everything."

True enough. He did. And apparently, liked to piss everyone else off in the process... sometimes Sam thought he tried to piss her off on purpose.

"Thanks, though. I appreciate that." She grinned. "Come on. Pasta." She walked into the kitchen, looking back for a moment to make sure he followed. Sam picked up a big pot and handed it to Nick. "After you wash your hands, fill this with water from the sink and put it on the stove. We've got to boil it before we put the pasta in."

She was the one teaching him... so it seemed only fair that he do most of the work, right?

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick felt he should do most of the work, as Sam listed off the beginning steps to prepare to cook the pasta. She started off by handing him a rather large pot that seemed like it could hold enough pasta to feed a family of four.

"After you wash your hands, fill this with water from the sink and put it on the stove. We've got to boil it before we put the pasta in."[/i]

Nick put the pot down on the counter of her apartment's kitchen. For the size of her apartment, the kitchen was not lacking at all. He was about to wash his hands, when he remembered he still had his hoodie on, which was probably not proper cooking-wear. He looked at his hoodie and then at Sam.

"Umm, where should I put my sweatshirt?" he asked in a way that made him seemed completely confused.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Oh. Well." Sam thought about it a moment as she washed her hands. "I usually just push up the sleeves and leave it on, but you can put it on the couch over there if you want." A wet finger pointed vaguely in the direction of the living room.

"A good salad always goes well with pasta, so I'll work on that and you can deal with the difficult stuff," she teased him. "Once you get the water started, pour a small handful of salt in and put the lid on. We'll let it boil."

She was gonna try hard not to take over completely; after all, the point here was Nick learning how to cook, not watching her do it.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick took off his hoodie on his way to the couch, and slung it over on the cushion. What he had on underneath was something new. It was a tight, white t-shirt. It outlined his otherwise rather unseen chest, which was muscular in its own respect from playing the drums so frequently, but this shirt accentuated his form.

He walked over to the sink nonchalantly, and started to wash his hands with soap so he could start cooking with Sam. Nick walked over to the pot he had left on the counter and Sam started spitting out more directions for him to follow. She hadn't turned around from the sink she was at the whole time.

"A good salad always goes well with pasta, so I'll work on that and you can deal with the difficult stuff," she teased him. "Once you get the water started, pour a small handful of salt in and put the lid on. We'll let it boil."

"Um, should I use tap water?"

Nick was completely clueless when it came to cooking.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam nodded. "Mhm, tap water's fine. If there’s anything funny in it, it’ll be gone once it boils." She moved over, flicking excess water off her wet hands, and as he neared her with the pot, she actually looked up at him.

That right there, was a great definition of eye candy. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt that hugged his form and showed off his muscles. It made him… well, damn nice to look at. Sam had to bite her lip to hide a smile. She knew what he was doing – exactly the same thing she was. The casual outfit that just happens to make you look spectacular? She may be a tomboy, but she at least knew that trick when she saw it.

She didn’t comment on it, just maneuvered around him, going to the stove and turning on one of the burners. “Put it here when you fill it up, ok?”

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Mhm, tap water's fine. If there’s anything funny in it, it’ll be gone once it boils."

Sam finally had turned around to look at Nick. It seemed as though she had to control her face from showing any emotion towards the spectacle, but some still slipped past and sparkled in her eyes as she looked at him. He also then noticed that she was dressed rather different than the time he had seen her before. Lots more skin showing. She went around him, trying not to be so obvious that she noticed his attempt to show his good points.

“Put it here when you fill it up, ok?”

Nick snapped back to reality in the kitchen and filled up the pot, put some salt in it and went over to the stove to put the pot on a burner.

So far, so good in the cooking department. Haven't burned he apartment down yet...

Nick blushed every time he caught himself looking over at Sam while he was following the directions she had given him. This happened a couple times, but he would quickly turn away to what he was previously doing when he realized he was staring. When he finished he turned to her and was ready for the next step.

"That was pretty simple, what am I supposed to do now?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam caught Nick eyeing her once or twice as he filled up the pot. She didn’t say anything, merely smiled to herself, but she was flattered.

Sam peeked into the pot as Nick set it down. “A little more salt,” she commented, grabbing the container. She poured a little more into her hand and sprinkled it in, then turned around to lean against the counter and look at Nick again. “Normally I wouldn’t, but you put in a lot of water, so you need to make sure the ratio’s the same. So next time just make sure there’s a little less water, and then the salt you put in is perfect.”

Sam wanted to find something else to talk about besides cooking, but unfortunately that was all she could think of at the moment. Most of her creativity had gone out the window when he took his sweatshirt off, and she actually felt butterflies into her stomach.

Just because he’s well-built? You shallow whore…

She breathed out, bringing herself back to the moment. “Grab the lid so we can let the water boil, and come help me make this salad.” She turned around and busied herself with the lettuce so she wouldn’t space off again.