"Dude, you should go in and get us some beers," Kellan told Rob, standing in the middle of the pool, the water up to his shoulders.
"You should stop splashing me," he retorted, pushing himself up from the deck chair. "You're lucky I want a beer."
"Don't be a puss. I'm all wet. I can't go tromping thorough the house like this," he motioned to his body.
"You're lucky I want a beer," Rob repeated, walking around the pool towards the house.
"How about you grab four?" Kellan shouted after Rob as he opened the door to the house.
Rob flipped him off and entered the kitchen. Rounding the corner, he again was surprised by Gracie Jo in the kitchen. This time was different though. He'd closed the door behind him, and she hadn't turned around. His eyes swept over her, and noticed instantly her hips were swaying, and she was singing softly. He went to the fridge and opened it, still watching Gracie Jo's hips. He closed the fridge without the beers. He had to talk to her. He had to know more about her. Her cooking was amazing, and he wanted to know what she was up to now. He approached her, then turned and leaned his back against the counter right next to her and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting. She jumped slightly, then reached for her earbuds. He watched her cheeks color.
"I am so sorry, I didn't hear you come in. Is there anything I can get you?"
He paused, listening. He couldn't hear any bass or static coming from her headphones, so they couldn't have been that loud.
"No, I just came in to get a few beers. What're you making now? Your lunch was delightful, by the way," he leaned in and complimented her with a smile. For the first time in his life, he wished he could dazzle a girl the way Edward did, just by looking at her, or breathing on her. He tried channeling him. He watched her hazel eyes widen, then blink in surprise.
"Ah, this is Mississippi Mud Cake, and then I'll be making Fresh Raspberry Bars," she said, looking up into his gray-blue eyes. "Just in case chocolate isn't someones' thing," she added quickly.
"They both sound amazing. Tell me, how did you learn to cook like this?"
Finally, some safe territory. She could answer this. What was he doing to her brain? "Well, I started like any kid, watching my family cook. When I turned 18, I went to culinary school, and after a while I even did an internship in England with Chef Gordon Ramsey in his restaurant..." he didn't listen to anything else. She'd worked with the famous Chef Ramsey?! He'd have to look him up the next time he was home. He was way passed impressed. He smiled at her, and tuned back in, finding out she had her own restaurant in Atlanta.
"Well, it sounds like you're more than qualified to cook for Kellan and I," Rob said. "I'm glad you accepted the job." He gave her his famous crooked smile, hoping it had his desired effect on her. "What are you listening to? Do you mind?" He motioned towards her hanging earbud. She shook her head no. He picked it up and held it by his ear. "What's the name of this song?"
"'Runaway Baby' by Bruno Mars," she said as he listened. Then it dawned on her they lyrics, and she cringed.
'Every girl that I meet, yeah this is what I say
Run run run away run away baby
Before I put my spell on you
You better get get get away get away darlin'
'Cause everything you heard is true
Your poor litte heart will end up alone
'Cause lord knows I'm a rolling stone
So you better run run run away run away baby
He grinned, and took the earbud away and handed it back to her. "Catchy," he said, pushing off the counter and headed back to the fridge. He opened it and grabbed the four beers, and let it close. He noticed she hadn't put the earbud back in, so he went back to her quietly, watching her mix the brown goo furiously. He leaned in, a whisper away from the shell of her ear. "Run run run away run away baby before I put my spell on you," he quoted from the song, his voice low and enticing. Her hand froze, then started up again, mixing with the speed of a power mixer. He chuckled to himself and went back to Kellan.
"Bro. What took you so long?" He hoisted himself out of the pool and pulled up a chair next to Rob's and sat as Rob handed him a beer.
"Oh, Gracie Jo's in the kitchen making some kind of chocolate cake," he said casually.
"So were you distracted by the cake or the woman?"
"First one, then the other," Rob said vaguely.
"She is one fine piece," Kellan admitted, then took a long drag of his beer after unscrewing the cap. "I wonder if she'd be game to put on a French maid's uniform," Rob mused, and sipped from his beer, stairing at the house.
"That would be HOT," Kellan said. "I wonder if she's seen any of our work, if she's a Twihard or something."
"If she is, she hasn't let on," Rob said. "Not that we've said a whole bunch. She seems to make herself fairly scarce."
"True, maybe we'll just have to bug her a little more," Kellan said with a sideways smile.
"Or, we could have some wicked fun now," Rob said with a twisted grin. He waived Kellan in to share his plan.

*******

Gracie Jo bent over and pushed the cake into the waiting oven, closed it with her knee, straightened up and pulled off her hotmitts, placing them on the counter next to her. She spun to her right and began to gather the ingredients for her next dessert. She was still rocking out to her music, but she never had put back in the other earbud. This time she heard the door open, and all of her senses went on high alert. She counted to five, and then turned around slowly, a smile pasted on her lips. It faltered, and only regained half of its position as she took in what stood before her. Both boys, glistening with water, empty beer bottles in hand, stood dripping onto the floor, with bashful grins on their face.
"Ah, Gracie Jo, we're sorry about the mess, but we forgot our towels," Kellan said with a slow smile.
She watched them take stock of their disaster leaking on the marble floor then glance back up at her, both through their lashes. She knew then they'd done it on purpose. Kellan couldn't keep that grin off his face that gave them away. Alright, well, she could play too.
"Okay, no big deal, hang on a second." She made her way around the island, and disappeared down the hall to the nearest bathroom and to the linen closet inside. She grabbed two wash cloths and two towels, and she went back to the waiting guys. "Here you go," she said, and with a straight face, she handed them each a wash cloth, then unfolded the towels and knelt down as if to clean the mess they were making. She looked up at them through her lashes, and smirked at their dumfounded expressions, their eyes bouncing between eachother and the washcloths. "Aw, now I'm just kidding," she stood up and snatched the wash cloths from them and pushed the towels into their chest, then bent down to clean up the water with the wash cloths, snickering to herself the entire time. As they stepped away, she finished cleaning the water just as her cake timer went off. She stood and went to the oven to turn the timer off. She knew she had to start getting the topping together, so she glanced once more at the guys, who were busy wrapping and securing the towels around their waist, then began the process for the cake topping over the stove.
"Thank you for the towels, Gracie Jo, and sorry about the mess, again," Rob said to her back. She turned and threw a smile at them over her shoulder, then turned back to her task.
"No problem. Are you guys gonna want a snack before dinner? It'll be ready in about an hour and a half," she told them. It was quiet for a moment. In her head she imagined them conversing with each other.
"No, thank you, we'll just wait for dinner," they both said in varying forms.
"Okay, hour and a half," she reminded them. When she got no response, she knew she was alone again, left to her work.