Chapter 138: True Foodie
** Eli **
Harper clearly meant what she said. Curling up cozily against the cushions, she made herself at home on the sofa and showed no intention of ever leaving. "Should we order some snacks for dinner while we’re at it?" she mused when her eyes landed on the room service ipad sitting on the end table beside them. "I’ve always wondered what kind of specialty goodies come with a presidential suite."
Eli was still grappling with the protective brother situation when she merrily reached over him, snatching the tablet. "Oh, they have chocolate lava cakes! And frozen strawberry lemonade! Hmm ... How about a fried calamari too, and a loaded nachos?"
"... Very Hawaiian," Eli couldn’t help but remark drily. The call with Tyler was still affecting him with a snarky mood.
Harper laughed. "Hey, don’t ever underestimate the power of good old sugar and unhealthy finger food. They are essential for your soul, especially when you’re battling an existential crisis where your best friend suddenly became your girlfriend’s angry brother." She proceeded to place the order, though she paused then with a thoughtful look. "Hmm ... What if you give it a try to impress Tyler with some good food? I think there’s a high chance that he’ll let anything and everything slide, if you cook him a dinner half as amazing as the one you made for me the first time I went to your place."
Oh dear God.
Eli almost groaned out loud at the suggestion. Tyler was a true foodie — hopefully a little less so now, after all the miserable years being trained by a college cafeteria and quick-grab work lunches — but when they were younger, he was always the one who demanded weekend trips to the newest eateries in town, and always the one who had the strongest opinion on which dishes were most worth the price. Harper was probably right in her suggestion, because there were arguably few things in this world that could buy an easy pass from Tyler as effectively as an impressive meal.
But for a guy to make dinner for a guy ... kind of felt uninviting to one’s male pride? Not to mention that, depending on how pissed Tyler would end up being, the act of cooking might just inspire him to chop up a certain body part of his host and roast it for breakfast.
Eli shuddered at the thought. "I think I’d prefer to keep the cooking as a special treat only for you," he hugged Harper closer and replied with the best excuse he could think of. It was also an honest statement though. "Besides, what if it ends up serving the wrong purpose and makes him think I seduced you with that dinner?"
Harper glanced up at him. A slow smile curved her lips. "What if there’s some truth to that in the first place?" She batted her pretty lashes. "It was one of the best dinners I’ve had in my life, and I thought it was romantic ... even at the time."
... For the second time this evening, Eli gaped, but for a completely different reason. Did she just say that she had been having romantic thoughts ... since as early as the dinner from a month ago? What could she possibly be suggesting by that casual confession?