“I only failed because of you, and you know it. Ms. I’ll-tease-my-boyfriend-while-he’s-cooking-and-distract-him-from-what-he’s-doing,” Sterling sighed, shaking his head as he turned the stove off. He pulled the pan over to the sink and poured some soap and water onto it, then set it in the sink.
“First rule of cooking,” Eden hopped off the counter to walk over to him, poking him in the chest. “No distractions. Do not get distracted at all. Second—“
“What are you doing?” an annoyed voice cut her off and Eden looked to the hallway, finding her brother with an irritated, sleepy look on his features. The shirt he wore was inside out, and Eden knew he didn’t bother checking it before putting it on. He slept shirtless. His hair was ruffled and messy, probably from running a hand through them. “It’s three in the morning. Are you seriously trying to burn down the house?”
Sterling has been looking down at his girlfriend heatedly and was about to grab her hand when Lucas walked into the room. The former sighed and looked over, resting his hands on Eden’s waist.
“Sorry, Lucas. I got distracted and accidentally burned some pancakes. Thankfully, they were out last ones,” he said with a shrug. “We didn’t mean to wake you.”
Lucas blinked, shaking his head. His eyes fell on the hands on his sister’s waist before he sighed.
“Be careful next time,” he yawned, covering his mouth and turning away as he did so. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“We did not,” Eden responded slowly, following her brother’s gaze. Why didn’t he… look disapprovingly? Why wasn’t he upset at having Sterling here?
“All right,” he muttered, shaking his head again and rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m off to bed. Turn on the exhaust fan or something. It smells horrible.”
“Sure. Sorry again for waking you,” Sterling said, nodding at the younger man. When Lucas was gone, he turned to Eden and raised an eyebrow at her. “Naughty girl…” He chuckled and kissed between her brows. “Help me finish up so we can eat.”
“Why am I naughty?” Eden furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Did something happen between the two of you? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“You’re naughty because you very nearly got us in trouble with your brother,” Sterling laughed softly, letting her go. “He came in earlier to check on you, not long after you fell asleep. We had a nice talk in the living room, and he basically said he approves of me now.”
“…oh,” Eden fell silent, eyes back on the hallway. “He did, huh… if you hadn’t ended your sentence like that, I would have asked you to define ‘nice talk.’”
She pulled away from him to grab the dishes he used, taking them to the sink. Of course Lucas had come to check up on her…
Sterling watched Eden carefully, eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Is something wrong, E?” he asked softly, resting his hand on her arm. “We good?”
“No, it’s just,” Eden shook her head, sighing. “I’d forgotten what happened yesterday. With… him.”
“Oh… Yeah…” Sterling sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “Sorry I brought it up. I wasn’t thinking about that, I guess.”
“It’s fine,” Eden forced a smile on her features as she started washing the dishes. “It doesn’t matter.”
Sterling frowned and touched her cheek gently. “You sure you’re okay? I’m here if you want to talk about something, you know,” he murmured.
Eden leaned into his touch, her smile softening. “I’m okay,” she assured him. “And I know you are. That’s one of the things I lo—like about you. You’re always here.”
“Always,” Sterling promised with a small smile. He swept a kiss across her brow before pulling back. “I’ll get the table set up while you finish up here? And then I’ll come help you if I finish before you do.”
“All right,” Eden hummed as she began to soap up the dishes. “Go, then. I’ll be done by the time you finish up.”
Sterling kissed her cheek again before grabbing two plates and forks and bringing them to the table. He finished setting the table, complete with maple syrup and butter for the pancakes, then made his way back to Eden in the kitchen.
“Ready?” he asked, leaning against the counter beside her.
Eden was just finishing up the last dish when Sterling came back. She smiled at him, setting the dish away to dry.
“Ready,” she hummed as she wiped her hands. “Come on, then.”
A mischievous glint appeared in Sterling’s eyes, and as soon as Eden had dried her hands, he was bending down and wrapping his arms around her legs. He chuckled as he carried her over to the table, setting her down on top of it.
“Ready to try my not-so-famous pancakes?” he asked, grinning at her playfully.
Eden let out a startled squeal when he wrapped his arms around her legs, lifting her up. Her own arms wove around his head, pressing his face against her, hers burning. Then he was setting her down on the table and she released a breath.
“You…” she breathed slowly, “Could have warned me before doing that!”
Sterling chuckled and leaned in to peck her lips. “I could have, yes. But where’s the fun in that, hm?” he teased.
“You jerk,” she grumbled, her fingers fisting his hair. “Hot jerk. Just eat.”
“There are much sweeter things I’d rather taste than pancakes, sweetheart,” Sterling declared in a low voice, leaning forward with his hands resting on her waist. His gaze dropped to her lips before meeting hers again, his head tilting in an unspoken question.
Eden shivered at his words, cheeks heating up. She hiccuped again, her eyes falling on his lips. “Well,” she breathed, pulling his head closer, wrapping her legs around his waist loosely. “Then take what you want.”
Sterling’s eyebrows shot up at the hiccup, and he smirked before a chuckle pushed past his lips. “You do hiccup when you’re flustered. Don’t you?” he questioned, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. “That’s adorable.”