s e v e n t e e n

"My babies!"

Xavier grunted and pushed himself up from the couch. What could have been so important that she had to detach herself from him when they had been sitting comfortably.

He trailed after Aurora as she quickly scrambled into the kitchen. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he watched her go through the groceries.

Hurriedly, Aurora pulled out the box of what seemed like frozen treats and dumped them out onto the dining table.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out a sigh of relief when she lightly squished one of the bars to make sure it had not melted. "I almost forgot about you guys."

She quickly put them back into the box and then thrusted it into the freezer. Watching with amusement, Xavier cleared his throat to remind her that he was still there.

Aurora turned to face him, giving him a sheepish smile. She began to unpack the rest of the groceries as Xavier stepped closer to help.

Wordlessly, Xavier held up a couple bags of junk food with a raised eyebrow. Blushing, Aurora snatched them out of Xavier's hands.

"Don't judge me," muttered Aurora, giving him a playful glare. "I like to snack."

"I can see that," Xavier chuckled as he continued to unpack. How she stuffed managed to stuff so many items into two bags was beyond him. "You only bought snacks and fruit?"

"I told you before that I can't cook," she rubbed the back of her neck embarrassingly.

Xavier made a quick mental note of everything that was on the table. They seemed to be ones that he had never seen before, so while she wasn't looking, he brought out his phone and snapped a quick photo.

"Have you had any of these before?" Asked Aurora when she turned back around, eyeing Xavier's hand that quickly fumbled to his pocket.

"I've never seen these before," Xavier organized the groceries into categories as Aurora walked around placing them away. He always liked to keep things organized and tidy.

"Here, try this," Without giving him a warning, she jabbed a mini straw through a tiny bottle that looked smaller than his hand. She handed it to Xavier with a smile as he stared at her with slight apprehension.

Taking a small sip, his eyes widened in surprise at the sweet drink. It was good, but his taste buds were slightly confused. It tasted like yogurt, yet the consistency was like water. Within three sips, he quickly drained the bottle.

"It's good," was all he said as he examined the bottle with curiosity.

"I grew up drinking these," A beaming smile graced her face as she took the bottle out of his hands and threw it into the trash. "When I was little, we never had enough space in our fridge, so my grandma would put these in the freezer. And trust me when I say they're way better frozen."

Xavier smiled as he learned more about her. "You grew up with a lot of delicious delicacies."

"I introduced Maddie to so many of these," She closed the fridge as she put the last of the fruit away. "My parents made sure she went home with a bag full of these snacks whenever she would come home with me. I'm surprised you've never had them."

"Well, she never shared."

The small pout on his lips made her chuckle. She stood up on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss on his lips and immediately the pout disappeared.

"I'll share with you," murmured Aurora.

She was taken by surprise when Xavier lifted her onto the dining table, placing another kiss on her lips that made her giggle. Their touches seemed to come naturally, almost as if they had been together for a long time.

"Promise?"

She nodded as he pulled away, keeping his arm securely around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lightly rubbing her nose with his. "I want to learn about what you like as well."

"I like you." His tone was serious as he replied with absolutely no hesitation.

Aurora threw her head back as she laughed. "You're so silly."

Xavier looked at her seriously, not quite understanding what she was laughing about. But he liked it when she was laughing.

Aurora looked at him amusingly. "I like you too, but I meant I want to learn more about you."

His mouth opened in an 'O' shape in realization. Chuckling, she gently poked his forehead.

"You're cute."

Xavier grunted in disagreement. He wasn't cute, she was the cute one. "I'm not cute. Men like me are not cute."

"Men like you? I don't know, Xavier, you're pretty cute," Aurora shrugged her shoulders, holding in her laughter as she watched the serious expression on his face.

A smirk made its way onto his face as he stared at her with a mischievous glint on his face. "I can show you just how manly I am."

He began to place light kisses on her jaw, making his way down to her neck. He smirked when she shivered against his hold, liking the effect he had on her.

Without warning, his hand began to tickle her sides causing her to let out a loud shriek of laughter. She was extremely ticklish, especially on her sides and the back of her neck.

"Say I'm manly and not cute."

"N-never."

Xavier continued to torture her while she squirmed against his hold. Tears began to form in her eyes as she continued to thrash in his arms. The apartment was filled with sounds of her laughing and screeching, she was sure her neighbors were going to complain.

Aurora stuttered as she continued to laugh. "O-okay, y-you're manly a-and n-not cute."

Satisfied with her answer, Xavier stopped his assault and wiped the tears that had begun to form in her eyes with his thumbs. Her face was beet red from laughing.

When he placed his hands back around her, she slumped against him with exhaustion, her face burrowed comfortably into his neck. He chuckled as she lightly slapped his chest.

"Are you hungry?" She quickly pulled away, remembering that it was a little after dinner time. "I'm such a terrible host. I should have served you something to eat."

Shaking her head at her foolishness, she jumped off from the dining table and headed back to the fridge. She tilted her head as she scanned the contents.

Xavier walked over to where she stood in front of the fridge. Bending down, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"I'm not really sure what to make," muttered Aurora. She knew cooking wasn't an option, yet she still wanted to impress him.

"If you're unsure, we can always order in," he said gently. He turned his head, and placed a small kiss on her cheek.

Aurora shook her head, squinting her eyes as the gears in her head began to turn."My dad made some of his special spaghetti sauce. Do you want spaghetti?"

"I'd love that."

She let out a sigh of relief as she made a mental note to thank her parents. Her mom had dropped off her dad's special sauce a couple days ago along with other dishes that she had eaten throughout the course of the week.

All she had to do was boil the noodles and heat up the sauce on a pan.

How difficult could it be?

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Apparently very difficult.

Aurora sat on the counter sporting a pout on her face as Xavier stirred the boiling noodles while keeping his eye on the sauce in the pan.

One minute she was boiling noodles and the next, they were on fire. What exactly did she do wrong? If it weren't for Xavier's quick reflexes, she was sure her kitchen would've been up in flames.

He turned around with an amused glint in his eyes. Reaching around her, he grabbed two plates from the dish rack and began to pile the spaghetti onto the plates.

"You know, I'm suppose to be the one serving you," muttered Aurora, watching his muscles flex as he plated the food. His big figure seemed so out of place in her small kitchen, yet he moved with grace, almost as if this was his apartment instead of hers.

She jumped off the counter and grabbed two forks from a drawer, making her way to the small dining table.

Xavier trailed after her holding the plates. "I think we can both agree that from now on I'll be the one in charge of the kitchen."

"Are you suggesting that I'm a terrible cook?"

"Of course not, sweetheart. I would never," Xavier feigned innocence as he placed a plate in front of her, taking a seat across from her. "I'm just saying you're kind of a kitchen hazard."

Aurora's mouth widened as he gave her a teasing grin. "You did not just say that."

"I'm just stating the facts, love."

She felt her heart flutter at the endearment. Her cheeks reddened slightly as a smirk formed on his face. How did he manage to insult her and make her blush?

Clearing her throat, she playfully rolled her eyes before switching her plate with his. He had given her the bigger serving, wanting to make sure she would be full. He looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"I'm not that hungry," Aurora gave him a reassuring smile, encouraging him to eat. "I had a small treat before."

He shook his head disapprovingly. "Dessert before dinner?"

"I'll have you know, I am a very responsible adult," Aurora gave him a cheeky grin as she stood up to head to the fridge. She quickly grabbed the already shredded cheese and sprinkled it onto her spaghetti.

"An adult who has a child's palate."

She paused for a second to think about his words that were speaking all but the truth. He wasn't wrong.

"I- okay you're right," She said giving in. "It can't be helped that I love sweets."

After asking if he would like some cheese, to which he declined, she quickly placed it back into the fridge and settled down. She watched Xavier carefully as he took the first bite.

"Dad likes to put a bunch of ingredients in his sauce. I hope it's alright," she said nervously. It was a special type of spaghetti— one that did not have a name because every time her dad would make it, he would add different ingredients, testing them out to see what worked. This time, he had added a variety of sliced sausages, minced beef, mushrooms, and scrambled eggs.

Although it looked and seemed quite odd, it worked and was pleasantly delicious.

"I've never had eggs scrambled into my spaghetti before," He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It's pretty delicious though."

Aurora's eyes lit up at the compliment. Although it wasn't directed at her, there was a sense of pride.

Smiling, Aurora began to dig in, letting out a satisfying sound at the deliciousness. "I don't get it. My parents are amazing cooks and my brother can cook pretty well. What happened to me?"

He chuckled amusingly as he thought back to what had happened just merely 20 minutes ago. "I don't understand how anyone can make noodles catch on fire when they were in the water."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "It's called talent Mr. Knight."

"Only you, sweetheart," He shook his head amusingly. Leaning over, he wordlessly wiped the corner of her lip with his finger and continued to speak. "How did you manage to not burn the noodles before?"

Aurora's eyes widened at how casual his actions were. Was this normal? Either way, her heart skipped a beat.

"Oh, funny story. I don't usually eat this with noodles," She watched as his head slightly tilted to the right in confusion. He wouldn't be the only one. "I put it over rice and place it in the oven to bake with cheese."

"And you don't burn that?"

"Xavier!"

She threw her napkin at him as he threw his head back and laughed. The rest of dinner was filled with his teasing and her sulking. He couldn't help it. She was cute when she was pouting, often unable to react fast enough to tease him back.

Aurora found herself walking back into the kitchen 30 minutes later. Xavier was bent down on the ground wiping down the puddle on the floor. She had gone to change out of her soaked t-shirt after an impromptu water fight, which he had started. But of course, she ended up being the one entirely soaked while he was only slightly damp.

All because of her slow reflexes.

"Wine?" She walked over to a cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of rose wine. It was a gift from Maddie that she would occasionally indulge in.

"Trying to get me drunk so I can't drive home, love?"

She set to glasses on the counter as she looked up at him mischievously.

"Something like that."

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Happy Friday my loves! Another Friday, another update^^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter and again, thank you so much for reading my story! I would like to admit that I got the idea of burning noodles from my own personal experience...I'm not the world's best cook and I don't know exactly how but one minute I'm attempting to boil noodles and the next they're on fire. I've had so many experiences burning food I'm actually surprised I haven't burned down my kitchen yet.

Let me know what you think so far! Anyways, have a wonderful Friday and remember to stay safe!