The Audition – Chapter 7

Zoey, still speechless with tears streaming down her face, couldn't make her mouth work right to thank Loren. The ring was beautiful, and she loved, but the words just wouldn't come to her right now. She did the only thing she could think of. She closed the short distance between their bodies, and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. Loren followed Zoey's lead and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back in the same manner. The heat of the kiss made them both feel as though the room were ablaze. Zoey, despite not wanting to break the kiss, remembered that dinner still hadn't been made.

"Thank you for the ring Loren. It is beautiful. Now how about some dinner?" she said after she broke their kiss.

Realizing now how hungry he was, Loren agreed that dinner would be great. Zoey walked into the kitchen with Loren hot on her heels, offering his help. Zoey started pulling the necessary ingredients for dinner from the fridge.

"Could you please get the large blue glass bowl above the sink and the glass baking dish under the cabinet beside the stove?" asked Zoey as she waved her hand in the general direction of the sink.

"Oh, and the colander too, you're going to need it to wash the lettuce and vegetables." she added in an afterthought.

Loren washed the vegetables, while Zoey put together the chicken and rice. Loren finished washing the vegetables and Zoey put the chicken and rice into the oven at the same moment. Washing her hands, she turned back to the island counter, got out a small cutting board and a knife for chopping the salad ingredients, and placed the salad bowl next to the cutting board. While Loren drained the vegetables, Zoey got out her large stainless steel mixing bowl, the beaters for her hand mixer and the cream from the fridge and put them all in the freezer so they could chill while she chopped the salad ingredients. As she worked, Loren couldn't help noticing the curve of Zoey's back while she stood chopping the vegetables. Suddenly he felt the urge to move behind her and place kisses on her neck and shoulders. He couldn't help rubbing his hands over her curvaceous hips and ass as she worked. Despite the added attention, Zoey managed to finish the salad.

Even though she would have rather let Loren continue his "work", she broke away to put the finished salad in the fridge. While getting the chilled bowl, beaters and cream from the freezer, Zoey asked Loren if he could get the peeler from the silverware drawer by the sink and peel some strips of parmesan from the wedge she had set on the counter. When the cream was finished, she got the chocolate mousse from the fridge and got 2 martini glasses from the rack on the counter and spooned a serving of the mousse into each glass and topped it with the sweetened cream and a few raspberries.

Satisfied with dessert, Zoey put it in the fridge and turned her attention to the orange sauce that would go over the chicken and rice. While it simmered away, she began finding the necessary dishes and silverware for setting the table. As Zoey set the items on the island counter, Loren took them and began setting the small Parisian Bistro style table with the square sapphire blue plates, blue wine glasses, and silverware with deep blue colored handles. Loren chuckled lightly at all the sapphire colored tableware.

"What's funny?" Zoey asked when Loren chuckled.

"It's just that I always thought your favorite color was purple, and yet you have several things that are sapphire colored rather than purple." Loren replied.

"Well, it's hard to find everything in shades of purple, so I went with the next best thing." said Zoey.

"Oh, well I guess you're right. Things don't always come in shades of purple, and blue is a very close second. I hadn't really thought about that." said Loren with a smile as he lit the tall silver taper candles on the table.

As if it were taking a cue from the pause in the conversation, the timer beeped to let them know that the chicken and rice was ready. Zoey stopped the timer's beeping, and grabbed two hot pads from over the stove before getting the chicken and rice from the oven. Loren took the wooden trivet from the wall above the stove and placed it on the counter and Zoey put the piping hot baking dish on it. Loren got the salad and dressing from the fridge, while Zoey went to the cupboard and got a small earthenware pitcher, poured the sauce into it, and they placed them on the counter.

Loren went to the table and grabbed both plates and brought them to the counter while Zoey got the blood-laced red wine from the wine rack in the fridge. While Loren put food on the plates, Zoey took the wine to the table. Before heading back to the counter, she slipped one of Enya's Only Time – The Collection CDs into the player on the shelf by the table. While the music flowed quietly through the speakers around the room, they made their way to the table with their plates. After pouring the wine, they ate mostly in silence while their eyes did the talking.

Each lost in their own thoughts and contented staring at the other, they sat enjoying their meal when Zoey's phone rang. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw the time. In all that had happened in the last two days she had totally forgotten that she always talked to Grandma Redbird around 7pm each week on Wednesday. Zoey excused herself from the table and half ran to answer the cordless phone which was on the small table by the kitchen door in the hall. Seeing the caller ID, Zoey had been right. It was indeed Grandma Redbird.

"Hi Grandma!" said Zoey excitedly.

"Hello Zoeybird. You sound happy this evening." said Grandma Redbird.

""Well Grandma I have some exciting news, but right now I am in the middle of dinner with an old friend. Can I call you back tomorrow morning so I can tell you all about it then?" asked Zoey.

"That's fine dear. I will be here. Enjoy the rest of your dinner. I love you Zoeybird." said Grandma.

"I love you too Grandma. I promise I will call you tomorrow!" said Zoey before she hung up.

She put the phone back on the charger base and went back to the table to finish her meal with Loren. They quickly finished what was left of their meal and while Loren cleared the table, Zoey got the dessert from the fridge. Placing a glass in front of each of them, Zoey sat back down and they talked about their plans for tomorrow as they ate their dessert.