Hot in the Kitchen

by Burke, Olivia

  “Uh huh.” Tom’s skeptical look only made Seth dig deeper.

  “Actually, maybe I should do that anyway.”

  His best friend snorted into his beer. “I one-hundred-percent-guarantee you that Katie and Aubrey have already taken care of that.”

  Seth sat back in his chair. “Good point. Then my job here is done.”

  “Dude, you’ve gotta win her back,” Tom said, lowering his voice.

  “I didn’t lose her, she left,” Seth snapped. He caught himself before the others overheard, shaking his head. “We were on two totally different paths. Still are.”

  “‘Different paths.’ Lamest excuse I ever heard in my life,” Tom muttered into his beer bottle. He finished his drink, setting the glass back on the table. He eyed Seth. “Are we getting another round?”

  Natalie returned from the back, taking a seat next to Aubrey. Seth eyed her for a second before removing his wallet from his back pocket.

  “Yeah, one more and we’ll head back,” Seth said. He waved a few dollars at his roommate. “My treat.”

  “Better be,” Tom shot back, but Seth paid him no mind.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter slip into the empty seat next to Natalie. He leaned to say something; Natalie laughed, clearly playing hard to get but enjoying the attention all the same. Seth knew he had to intervene before it went too far. Obviously Natalie wasn’t listening to the girls. But she had to understand. Seth didn’t want to get back together with her, but he didn’t want to see her be another notch on the bartender’s bedpost.

  He only had a couple days to prove to Natalie that Hunter would hurt her.

  He pushed down the one thought that threatened to overtake him: that he had a couple days to prove he was the one for her. He couldn’t think like that. Not now, not ever. But he could at least protect Natalie from Hunter Stone’s player ways.

  Despite the previous evening’s late night, Natalie had no trouble getting to the restaurant early for Sunday brunch hours. Daniel greeted her as she clocked in, while Hunter and Aubrey were at their usual places, preparing for a busy brunch. Mason jars lined one side of the bar, each with a celery stick and two olives on a toothpick balanced carefully across the top. Glass flutes lined the other side, at the ready for morning mimosas; Hunter stocked prosecco in the fridge to chill, while Aubrey juiced oranges and grapefruits in the corner.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Adam muttered as he shuffled in. “I’ll give myself bathroom duty.”

  Natalie didn’t miss Rachel’s silent cheer, or the way she sped into the service station to take over stocking duties so Adam couldn’t change his mind.

  “Did you even go to bed?” Natalie asked him.

  “I might’ve met up with a friend after we left the bar,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “God, brunch is for a-holes.”

  Natalie laughed, pouring him a cup of coffee. He accepted it from her with thanks, sipping blissfully on the scalding liquid as if it were his life force.

  “Are you a morning person, Nat?” Adam looked alarmed at the thought.

  “I’m used to weird hours,” she responded, not adding anything else. It wasn’t an outright lie; between her father’s doctor appointments and the cancer having him up and down at all hours of the day and night, Natalie was used to springing out of bed at a moment’s notice.

  “Y’all still coming over tonight?” Katie asked.

  “What’s tonight?” Natalie asked.

  “We’re closed on Mondays, so Sunday nights are our night out,” Aubrey explained. “It’s Katie’s night to host the neighborhood party.”

  “You should come over,” Hunter said to Natalie. A wolfish grin appeared on his face.

  “Yeah, come over,” Adam urged.

  “I thought you went out on Saturdays,” Natalie said.

  “We do,” Aubrey replied. “But this is better because we don’t work doubles beforehand.”

  “Is this like an ‘any excuse to drink thing’ or…?” Natalie quirked a brow at them. “I mean, not that I’m judging or anything.”

  “For some of us, sure,” Adam said bluntly, “but I need the release. Grad school is kicking my butt.”

  Daniel bounded upstairs, glancing down either end of the hallway. He went to the left, opening the bathroom doors. “Have these floors been cleaned?”

  Adam grimaced, speeding off to handle his late-arrival chore. “I’m on it.”

  After brunch shift ended, Natalie went home to relax for a few hours. Standing in her room, she stared at her reflection, wondering if she should do something different with her makeup. Or hair. Or outfit that hung on her closet door.

  Natalie didn’t know why she cared so much. It was just a casual gathering. True, maybe she hadn’t been to one recently, but she’d been to a million of them. Well, not really, but this isn’t some college kegger. As she showered and did her hair, she ignored the voice in the back of her head that whispered on and on about how Seth might be there. She didn’t want to care. Instead, she tried to hope Hunter would be in attendance.

  “I’m not looking for anything serious,” Natalie told herself in the mirror. She stuck earrings through her earlobes as she talked. “Just some good fun.”

  Her mother appeared in the doorway.

  “You’re going out on a school night?” Her mom’s eyebrows shot up. At Natalie’s nod, she smiled. “Good.”

  Natalie chuckled as she tossed a long silver chain around her neck. The V-shaped pendant brushed across her bare skin, settling above her cleavage. Goosebumps broke out from the cold metal. She met her mother’s eyes in their reflections. “I’ll be quiet coming back in.”

  To Natalie’s surprise, her mother waved her off. “Never mind that, I’m going to try and stay up so I can hear all about it.”

  Natalie burst into laughter. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It might be more like very early morning.”

  “If you’re lucky,” her mother said, eyebrows waggling.

  “Mom.” Natalie ducked her head behind a wave of short, dark curls. “I can’t even with that kind of talk from you.”

  “What?” Her mom shrugged, knowing full well and enjoying how much she embarrassed her adult daughter. “I can’t joke about you finally getting some—”

  “Nope, stop,” Natalie commanded, bracelets jangling as she put her hand up. “Absolutely not.”

  Her mother leaned against the door frame to watch Natalie put her berry shade of lipstick on. Natalie shot her mom a strange look.

  “What?”

  Her mom shrugged. “I guess it’s just nice seeing you get ready. Doing something for yourself.”

  “It’s just a party, Mom. ”

  “You deserve a bit of fun after these last couple years, Nat.”

  Natalie shrugged as she fixed a curl. “I don’t know about ‘deserve,’ but hopefully it’ll be fun for a few hours.”

  Her mom said nothing, just watched her in the mirror. Natalie’s movements paused as she took in her mother’s tired eyes and pallid skin. She’d known, of course, that Dad’s illness had taken a toll on the family, but her mother had the worst of it. Dealing with all of this, the doctors, the sickness, knowing she was about to lose her partner of nearly thirty years … as far as Natalie was concerned, her mother was the strongest person on earth.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Natalie asked, sinking onto her bed.

  “Of course I am,” her mom replied. “I’m looking forward for the new year.”

  The “new year” meant the new school year. Her mother adored her job as a high school librarian and had in fact been at the same school for nearly two decades.

  “I guess I meant about Dad…” Natalie trailed off, still unsure as how to broach this subject.

  “We’re not talking about this before you head out to your party,” her mom replied. “Go see your father before you go, you know how he worries.”

  “At least he doesn’t try to talk to me about ‘getting some,’” Natalie muttered.r />
  Her mother let out a peal of laughter, heading to the kitchen while Natalie went to her parents’ room. Her dad was in bed, eyes closed as he laid back against a stack of pillows. She didn’t want to wake him, and debated on slipping away just as he opened his eyes, smiling at her.

  “Hey, Dad.” Natalie moved closer to put a hand on his thin forearm. His skin felt paper-thin, his veins sticking out like blue and purple lines across his pale arm.

  Despite his frail appearance, her father brightened at her appearance. “Hey, Natty.”

  Natalie smiled; for years, they’d been “Daddy and Natty” and it was only in these last few months that he’d brought back her nickname. She tried very hard not to think about why he had such need for nostalgia.

  “How are you feeling?” Natalie asked, reminding herself not to use those sympathetic, hushed tones. Her father hated it.

  “Oh, fine,” he replied, clearly putting on a brave face. “Your mother says you’re headed out to a party with your new friends from work.”

  “I am, but I’ll try not to be out too late. You have an appointment in the morning.”

  “You don’t have a curfew anymore, Natty.”

  “It’d be embarrassing if I did, I’m probably one of the oldest people there.” Natalie rolled her eyes while her dad chuckled.

  “Have a good time tonight.”

  Natalie walked over to Katie’s house, resisting the urge to smooth down her shirt or tug at her shorts for the fiftieth time. Music pumped from the front porch, where partygoers were scattered across the steps and plastic chairs. White lights were strewn across the porch ceiling, and people were careful not to knock any of Katie’s plants off the wide railings.

  Natalie greeted people as she walked in, nervously looking around for any of the LUSH crew. Unfortunately, Seth was the first person she saw from that group. Instead of ignoring her as she assumed, Seth nodded at her in greeting, surprising her.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  She glanced around behind and around her. “Oh, you mean me? I’m fine, just got here, thanks for asking.”

  Seth huffed. “You don’t have to act like I don’t acknowledge your existence. Believe me, I’m well aware whenever you’re near.”

  Natalie’s ears rang as she wondered what he meant by that. “Well, how am I supposed to know what the rules are? You’re hot, you’re cold … I don’t know what you want from me.”

  Natalie smoothed her shirt down again. Katie waved at Natalie from behind Seth’s shoulder and she moved towards the night’s hostess. “There’s Katie, I should go say hi.”

  “Wait–” He reached for her, but when his fingertips grazed her shoulder, she turned to snap at him.

  “What is it, Seth?”

  “Has anyone warned you about Stone?”

  Natalie’s right eyebrow went up. “Huh?”

  “Hunter,” Seth corrected, as if Natalie didn’t know the guy’s last name. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, about how he runs through women like it’s a marathon and he’s going for gold?”

  “Katie and Aubrey filled me in, sure,” Natalie responded coolly. She leaned against the doorframe to glare up at him. “So what?”

  “What do you mean, so what? So you shouldn’t get involved with him.” Seth scratched at his beard. “I mean, not that I care, it’s just–”

  “Are you telling me this as my boss or my ex?” Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Seth huffed. “Neither. I’m telling you as your–I don’t know, your friend, for lack of a better term.”

  “Oh, so we’re friends now.”

  He grimaced, staring hard somewhere over her shoulder. “I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “Well, friend, let me tell you something–you don’t get any say in who I date. Not now, not ever. For the record, yes, I’ve ‘been warned’ about the playboy bartender. And maybe I don’t care because I want–no, need–a little fun in my life. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a drink.”

  Natalie stormed off for a beverage, leaving Seth a little stunned behind her. He glanced around sheepishly, slinking off to find Tom. Natalie busied herself in the kitchen, helping Katie clean up a few bottles left around the counter. An hour went by as Natalie helped Katie, met new people, and gabbed with Adam and Rachel.

  New drink in hand, Natalie went to stand with Aubrey as she told an animated story to a few others. She looked at Seth standing there alone. Should she go talk to him? Natalie couldn’t help but think Seth’s concern stemmed from more than simple concern. Not even jealous, necessarily, but maybe Seth genuinely still cared for her. She didn’t know how she felt about that, if it were the case, but she grew warm at the thought.

  Until a gorgeous redhead swooped in next to them, wrapping her hands around Seth’s muscular upper arm.

  “Hey, Seth,” she purred, hardly even glancing Natalie’s way.

  Natalie didn’t miss the way Seth stiffened, or how his lips barely moved as he spoke. “Hey, Brenna.”

  So this was Brenna, Seth’s girlfriend. Any warmth in Natalie’s stomach instantly turned to ice. I am the biggest idiot on the planet.

  Natalie backed away quickly, but not before Seth looked up and met her eyes. Horror crossed his face, his posture quickly straightening as he leaned away from the girl.

  She didn’t know or care if Seth warned her as a jealous ex or as some faux friend. In any case, it certainly wasn’t because he wanted to be with her. And if she was being honest, the embarrassment and hint of jealousy made her want to do the exact opposite of his recommendation.

  “Hey, Hunter,” Natalie said, loud enough to carry across the room. “I’m up for that date if you are.”

  Hunter grinned. “Excellent. Prepare for a night you’ll never forget.”

  Adam snorted. “Use protection, Nat.”

  Hunter lightly punched Adam’s arm, but chuckled with everyone else, while Natalie blushed. She very purposely did not look Seth’s way again, not even when she bid her goodbyes and left an hour later. The entire walk home, she tried to focus on being excited for her date with Hunter. In the back of her mind, however, she still couldn’t make thoughts of Seth go away.

  Seth was glad for Monday, needing time away from LUSH and its staff–specifically Natalie. He didn’t know what he’d expected when warning Natalie about Hunter, but her explosion had surprised him into speechlessness. He’d fumed about it all night–that is, until Brenna showed up and let Natalie see his hypocrisy. There he was, warning her about a playboy unable to commit, when his “friend with benefits” showed up and made Natalie think who-knew-what. Seth spent half his day off at the gym, working out his frustrations on the weight machines and treadmill.

  But Tuesday came, and it was his turn to open the restaurant. Weekday lunches were much slower than brunches or dinners, so Seth would at least have time to work on plenty of prep for the night. Tom would be in later to plan the rest of the menu.

  Hunter prepped bar while Natalie restocked a few items. Seth inwardly groaned when he saw the two of them at the bar. All the same, he absolutely eavesdropped on their conversation.

  “Just you and me for lunch today, huh?” Hunter asked Natalie.

  She laughed, jerking a thumb to the bathrooms. “Rachel’s here too, she’s just busy cleaning.”

  Hunter shook his head. “You’d think that task would make her more motivated to be on time.”

  They continued chatting about nothing in particular and Seth turned back to prep, looking over the lunch menu. He tried very hard not to focus on either of them, or the way Natalie laughed at Hunter’s whispered words. Jealousy seared through him and he grit his teeth, trying to stifle it.

  “I’ve gotta go change the keg, can you finish cutting these lemons for me?” Hunter asked.

  “Oh, uh, sure,” Natalie replied, hesitancy clear in her tone. But Hunter paid no mind, flashing her a smile before disappearing downstairs where the alcohol was kept.
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  Seth almost didn’t hear it at first, the cry from behind the bar. But when he glanced up, he couldn’t miss Natalie’s expression of pain, or the liquid red dripping between fingers clenching an injured hand. She looked up right as he saw her, meeting his gaze, and the panic in her eyes made him spring into action.

  “Nat, come here,” he urged, waving her into the kitchen. He moved quickly for the first-aid kit in a drawer.

  She came into the kitchen tentatively, clutching her hand close her chest. “I’m okay, it’s just a little cut–”

  Seth turned on the sink’s faucet, motioning to her. “Run cold water over it, wash the blood off.”

  She did as he said, biting her bottom lip. He pretended not to notice it, along with the tears in her eyes. Or the sinking feeling in his stomach at her pain, or the sudden need in him to help and protect her.

  When she’d finished, Seth took her hand in his, carefully examining her injury. “It doesn’t look too bad. You won’t need stitches, at least.”

  Natalie winced as he dabbed at it gently with paper towels; thankfully, not a lot of blood came off on them. They stood within a hairsbreadth of each other. His heart beat uncomfortably, a rushing sound in his ears. He could feel the warmth coming off her skin, the smell of her shampoo in his nose. All he had to do was close the few inches between them …

  Seth had to change the subject or risk kissing her right here in the kitchen. “So, uh, blood still make you faint?”

  He loosened his grip on her hand, moving to clean and bandage her finger.

  “Ha ha,” Natalie said, rolling her eyes. “No, I’ve managed to steel up a bit more since then.”

  “Good,” Seth said, smiling a little. “There are more than a few injuries in the kitchen from time to time.”

  “Oh yeah? Have you cut yourself before?”

  “Loads of times,” he answered honestly. He wrapped the band-aid gently, ignoring the way his brain buzzed when touching her soft skin. “I’m pretty sure I’ve burned my fingerprints off, too.”

  “It’d make committing crimes pretty easy.” The corner of her mouth quirked up.

  Seth shifted his feet, not wanting to accidentally flirt. “Be careful, Nat. It’ll happen again if you aren’t paying attention. No need in more blood-letting.”