Chapter 5 With You

An hour later, Esther was utterly drained emotionally more than physically. If she had been in the comfort of her own home, she might have already done anything to vent the excessive frustration that now consumed her. Gaara Maxwell had not been joking when he declared that his knowledge in the culinary arts was a complete and utter zero.

It began with something as simple as cracking an egg; instead of splitting it neatly, he mercilessly crushed it into a mess. Esther was certain she had warned him beforehand to add exactly two spoonfuls of baking soda into their mixture. Yet, somehow, he had decided to toss it in at his own whim, ignoring every ounce of instruction. And as if the chaos he had already caused wasn’t enough, Gaara was now complaining about the shape of the cake they were supposed to make.

“The theme is Easter, Gaara. So of course, we need to make it in the shape of a rabbit to match the occasion,” Esther explained wearily. She had already spent more energy than she could afford just cleaning up the countless disasters Gaara had caused throughout the cooking process.

“You must be joking. Do you actually believe in the Easter Bunny? That’s just something the church made up ages ago. Instead of a rabbit, we should make a raccoon.”

Too tired to argue with the young master any further, Esther eventually gave in. She prepared two separate pans. One shaped like a rabbit, in keeping with the theme, and the other shaped like a raccoon, simply because Gaara refused to be negotiated with on that matter.

But of course, chaos found its way back through Gaara’s hands. The raccoon shape he attempted collapsed into a complete disaster, forcing them both to redo the batter three separate times. Fortunately, Esther possessed a patience thick enough to balance out Gaara’s stubborn streak.

“At last, it’s finally done,” Gaara sighed in relief as he looked at the fourth batch of chocolate cookie dough resting in the bowl in his hands.

“Let me shape it!” Esther quickly interjected, snatching the bowl away from him before he could do anything reckless. She immediately set to work, carefully molding the dough into little rabbits and raccoons. Seeing the precision in her effort, Gaara didn’t interfere this time. He knew better than to invite another round of chaos like before.

“If I’m not allowed to shape them, then what exactly am I supposed to do?” he asked innocently, his tone almost childlike.

“Just preheat the oven for me,” Esther replied, not even glancing up from her task.

He obeyed without protest, then settled himself into a chair by the kitchen table. From there, he watched her finish arranging the dough on two baking trays. True enough, her creations looked adorable and perfectly formed unlike his earlier, tragic attempts. Gaara took the trays once she was finished and slid them carefully into the oven.

“All we have to do now,” he said, almost proudly, “is wait.”

Silence followed Gaara’s words. Esther, unable to bear the sight of a mess lingering before her eyes, decided to tidy up the chaos Gaara had left behind.

“Hey! You don’t need to do that. I pay the maids for this sort of thing,” Gaara remarked when he noticed Esther crouching to wipe away the spilled dough on the floor.

“We should take responsibility for what we’ve started until it’s finished,” Esther countered, ignoring him as she continued scrubbing at the stain that would surely cling stubbornly to the tiles if left any longer.

Gaara, displeased at being disregarded, exhaled sharply in frustration. He finally moved closer, crouching down beside her. “I didn’t realize you were this stubborn,” he murmured, his voice carrying both annoyance and a strange amusement. Without waiting for her reaction, he pulled Esther up to her feet, snatched the rag from her hand, and tossed it carelessly across the room so she couldn’t reach it again.

“But unfortunately for you,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I’m far more stubborn than you’ll ever be.”

Esther could only gape at Gaara’s behavior, utterly lost for words especially when he gently pushed her onto a chair and made her sit. Gaara then positioned himself beside her, close enough that the air between them seemed to grow warmer. In that moment, Esther didn’t dare meet his gaze. Instead, she busied herself by stirring what little cookie dough remained in the bowl on the kitchen table, pretending to be entirely absorbed in the task.

Gaara studied every small movement she made, his sharp eyes catching details she wished he wouldn’t. He noticed the way her fingers fidgeted, the restless rhythm of her stirring. She was uneasy, he could sense it as plainly as the flour still dusting her apron. And he knew, with a flicker of self-satisfaction, that he was the very reason for her unease.

It wasn’t difficult to guess. Esther didn’t strike him as the sort of girl accustomed to receiving much attention from men. So when it was suddenly directed at her. She seemed utterly at a loss, unsure of how to respond.

Something had happened the night before. Gaara was certain of it. Because now, every time their skin brushed, however lightly, Esther’s composure faltered. She grew flustered without fail, as though her body betrayed her even when her mind tried to resist.