Chapter 33: Chapter 33

"XANDER…" I slowly tapped him in the arm. He was sitting on the couch while listening to something from his earphones.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. "What is it?"

It's been four days days since we left the hospital and started living here in the apartment. Xander treated me better now than the past few days. He wasn't complaining anymore whenever I helped him with things. But at night, when we sleep, he still keeps his distance from me.

Well… it's a good improvement.

"I'm going to prepare dinner," I said. "I'm going to ask what you want to eat this time?"

"You're going to cook again?"

I nodded. Yesterday, I tried to prepare chinese food. With the help of Bernice. The woman knew a lot about chinese cuisine.

"We can just order at a restaurant, Charity."

I smiled. "It's okay. I enjoy cooking. Besides, I have nothing to do. So what do you want?"

"Can you cook anything?" He slightly raised his brows.

I pursed my lips. "Italian, and Greek." I bit my lower lip. "And Filipino, of course. But I don't think we have ingredients here for Filipino food."

"Just whatever you want, Charity. I can eat anything."

"Uh, okay." I left him in the living room and went to the kitchen. Berna was not here because it was her day off today.

After checking the stocks on the ref, I just decided to cook steak. I also planned to make grilled potato and carrots for the side dish.

I was preparing the ingredients for the sides when I heard Xander's footsteps. I turned my head… and found him at the entrance of the kitchen.

I immediately went to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Is there something wrong?"

He used his crane to check what's in front of him, then he pulled a chair and sat down. I noticed he wasn't wearing his earphones.

He cleared his throat. "I wanted to stay here."

"Okay…"

"Don't mind me. Just continue what you're doing."

"Uh… okay." Although I was aware that he couldn't see me, I felt like he was watching my every move. I couldn't help but be nervous. Shit.

I took a deep breath as I opened the stove. I put the pan on the stove and put some butter in it.

"What are you cooking?" he asked.

"Oh… pan seared steak and mashed potatoes," I answered. "Do you want it well done?"

"Medium done."

"Okay." I smiled as I looked away from him.

"What's your favorite food, Charity?" Xander asked me all of a sudden.

"Oh. I'm more into Filipino food. Sinigang, menudo, caldereta. But I also learned to love some Greek cuisine when I lived there."

I looked at Xander. He was resting his chin on his palm while looking at me. Damn. He's really good looking. If I hadn't known that he couldn't see, I would feel that he's watching me.

"How about pasta?" he asked.

I was forced to look away from him and focused on my cooking. I flip the steak on the pan then put rosemary herbs on it. "I like it but pasta's not my favorite."

"But you cook Italian well," I heard him say. I pursed my lips with his words. The other day, he said my pasta was just okay, but now… hes admitting it's good.

I cleared my throat. "I learned it from my brother Conrad."

"You have a brother?"

"Half-brother. He's my father's son from his ex-wife. I'm older than him by one year."

"Are you close with him?"

I tried to clocked my head to his direction. I found his chin was resting on his palm as I looked at my direction. If I didn't know that he couldn't see me, I would assume that he was staring at me and watching my every move.

"Yeah. Just like with Luke. The Alinsky was a big clan but I was closest to him and my cousin Luke." I cleared my throat to divert the topic. "His passion was cooking so Dad let him handle our food and restaurant business. Aside from being a businessman, he's also a chef. He's the one who taught me how to cook Italian food."

"How's your relationship with him now?"

"We still talked."

"So it's just your father who's not talking to you?"

I bit my lower lip. "Yeah." I placed the steak on the plate and brought it to the table. "That smelled nice," Xander said, sniffing the food in front of him.

I smiled at his reaction. He looked so cute. "I'll slice it first for you." I grabbed a knife and sliced the steak on the place. A satisfied smile crept into my lips when I saw it was medium well. Then I placed the mashed potato on the side.

"Do you want wine?"

"Do we have wine here?"

I went to the kitchen cabinet and opened it. "Well, we do have cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir." It was Austin who did the groceries before he left for the Philippines. "What do you prefer?" I pursed my lips. "But I suggest Pinot Noir. It's perfect for steak."

I noticed how he arched his brow. "You knew something about wine?"

"Oh. Our family has a winery in Italy."

I grabbed the bottle of Pinot Noir and grabbed two wine glasses before I went back to Xander. I opened the bottle of wine and poured some on our glasses.

I sat beside him. "Let's eat. I'll help you."

I was about to grab the fork but then he stopped me by touching my arm.

"You don't have to help me, Charity. You already sliced the steak. Just seat beside me and eat. I can handle it alone."

"It's okay, Xander."

"Charity."

I pursed my lips. "Come on. I won't eat if you won't let me feed you."

His brows furrowed. "I'm not a freaking baby."

"But you're my baby." I said in a small voice. Of course, I was only inches away from him so he heard what I said. I saw his lips parted and the tip of his ear flushed.

"Come on, sweetheart." I said in a soft voice.

"You're still persistent," he said as he slightly rolled his eyes. "Fine." He opened his mouth and took the slice of steak on my fork.

"Your turn," he said after eating the food on his mouth. "Your turn, Charity."

"Okay." I smiled as I sliced the steak on my plate and took a slice to my mouth.

"There. I already ate." I said after I swallowed the food in my mouth. I was sure he heard me eating. I held my glass and sipped wine from it.

I put down my knife and fork and grabbed the utensils on his plate.

"If we're going to eat like this. Then just use the same utensils. You're making it harder for you, Charity."

I stared at the utensils in front of us. I cleared my throat. "Yeah. It's a good idea."

"What's your favorite pinoy food?" he asked after we finished the steak. We're now eating the mango float that Berna left in the fridge last night.

"Hmm…  I guess it's sinigang…"

"Cook sinigang tomorrow." He pursed his lips. "I wanted to see if you're also good with Pinoy food."

"Alright. I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow."