Cooking Lessons

Dedicated to writergirl438

'So, you've graduated the classes boiling water, boiling eggs, frying eggs and bacon and pancakes from a box,' Eric grinned as he placed the grocery bags in Taylor's kitchen. 'Time for something more challenging, making pasta.'

'How hard can it be?' Taylor laughed. 'You boil the pasta and heat the sauce.'

'You're making the sauce from scratch,' Eric smirked at her, pulling two cans of peeled tomatoes from a bag followed by fresh herbs and vegetables.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. 'Is that why we're at my place tonight instead of yours? So I'm stuck with the mess of a burned down house?'

'No,' Eric rolled his eyes. 'We're here because you and your team are celebrating your victory over Master Orc tomorrow and we're celebrating tonight. So it's just easier to be in Turtle Cove tonight.'

Taylor let her arms drop and joined him in her kitchen as Eric finished unpacking everything.

'So, what first?' she asked.

'Two pans, one half filled with water, and a can opener,' Eric instructed. Taylor set to work following his instructions.

At every turn Eric was right there, hovering in her personal space and looking over her shoulder. When he reached around her and caught her hands to show her how to cut the vegetables just right, she had had enough.

'I do know how to use a knife,' Taylor snapped.

'Well, sorry,' Eric sounded offended as he held up his hands. 'I'll leave you to it then.'

Taylor fumed and watched Eric drop onto the couch after he stomped out of the kitchen area. She angrily chopped the vegetables and dropped them into the pan already containing the tomatoes, meat and herbs.

'What now?' she asked with an edge to her voice, but received no answer. 'Eric!'

'Why don't you figure it out yourself? You don't need my help,' Eric grunted, but there seemed to be a trace of hurt in his voice that he couldn't quite manage to filter out.

'No, I don't need you breathing down my neck. I am capable of doing things by myself.'

To her surprise Eric got up and grabbed his coat. Taylor moved quickly and threw herself against the front door as Eric reached to open it.

'Get out of my way,' he glared.

'Not until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you,' Taylor demanded.

'Since you're so capable of doing thing by yourself, you can just eat dinner by yourself too. I'm going home.'

'Why?!'

'Because at home I'm not being cock blocked and murdered by blue balls.'

'What do blue balls have to do with cooking?' Taylor asked, confused now. 'And who's cock blocking you?'

'You are.'

Taylor's mouth formed a perfect O. 'Were you flirting?' she asked astounded. Eric's cheeks and the tips of his ears turning red was all the answer she needed. He flushed further when Taylor started laughing. A hurt look crossed Eric's face and Taylor tried to reel in her laughter. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed close to him. 'I think we got our wires crossed,' she muttered before pulling him in for a searing kiss.

Eric resisted for a moment or two before giving in. Once they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers.

'Stay?' Taylor asked. 'I'll make it worth your while.'

'Fine, if you insist,' Eric smirked. 'Dinner?'

'Fuck!' Taylor cursed and pulled away to check on the pasta.

'I've been trying to,' Eric called after her.

'Do me a favour and stop trying to flirt. You're doing a much better job of it when you're not trying,' Taylor shot back. 'Help?'

'Am I allowed to touch you now?' Eric teased as he walked over.

'I guess,' Taylor made a show of sighing.

She finished dinner with Eric's help and when Eric's arms reached around her to help, she relaxed into his touch this time. Soon dinner was plated and they sat down across from each other at the small bistro table. After dinner Taylor placed the dirty plates in the sink and the left over sauce in the fridge. As she was closing the door she spotted the can of whipped cream from when Alyssa had come over a few night earlier with it, a tub of ice cream and a sappy rental movie for a girls night.

Taylor pulled it out with a smirk and turned to Eric. 'How about dessert?'

'Whipped cream?' Eric raised an eyebrow. 'With what?'

'Why don't you come and find out?' Taylor's smirk grew and she started making her way to her bedroom.

'That's going to make a mess,' Eric called after her, but he'd caught up before she even got to open her bedroom door.

Eric stomped up to his front door, barely managing to work up a smile and wave when he spotted Alice. Today had been a bad day and he just wanted to sit on his couch with a beer, order take out and then crawl into bed so the day would end.

When he opened the front door, the first thing he noticed was the dining table being set for two, opened beer bottles and all. A quick glance over his shoulder had him wonder how the hell he had missed Taylor's car parked at the curb. Eric closed the door behind him and kicked off his boots.

'Hey,' Taylor came over to greet him with a kiss.

'Hey,' he replied. 'I see those cooking lessons are starting to pay off for me.'

'It's nothing special,' Taylor warned. 'But it will be ready in five.'

'That'll give me time to get changed then,' Eric stole a kiss before pulling away and going to his bedroom.

When he returned, Taylor was setting a dish on the table. They sat down and Eric eyed the nachos appreciatively. Taylor caught his look and smiled.

'I made an attempt at guacamole too.'

Eric spotted the bowl of green mush. 'Looks okay to me. So what's the occasion?'

'Does there need to be one?' Taylor asked, scooping nachos onto her plate.

'No,' Eric shrugged.

They ate in silence for a few moments.

'I'm going to need your key to my apartment back,' Taylor finally admitted.

'Oh,' Eric answered., taking a few sips of his beer. 'Why?'

'I'm cancelling the lease on my apartment,' Taylor shrugged.

'Where are you going to keep your stuff?'

'Here. It makes no sense for me to keep paying rent if I'm either at the base or here most of the time anyway.'

'Oh.'

After doing the dished they spend a quiet evening on the couch channel surfing and barely speaking a word. Eventually Eric turned off the TV to go to bed and Taylor reached for her shoes. She stopped when she caught Eric's frown.

'What?'

'You're not coming to bed?' he asked.

'I thought you were mad at me.'

'For cancelling your lease? It makes sense. Now are you coming to bed or not?'

Taylor dropped her shoes again and followed Eric to his bedroom.

Ezra sat at the dining table in the kitchen. Brayden sat across from him. They were both doing their homework while Eric and Taylor were moving around the kitchen preparing dinner for everyone coming over later. Ezra looked up from his physics book and watched the graceful dance that was happening around the stove.

Eric and Taylor were working together flawlessly to prepare the food. When one needed something, the other was already handing it to them. Taylor was turning over the pieces of chicken in the frying pan and Eric came to stand behind her. His left hand rested on her hips as her reached past her to taste the sauce that was bubbling happily in its pot. He offered Taylor a taste too while she was leaning into his touch.

'Needs a bit more seasoning,' Taylor commented.

'Yeah, thought so too,' Eric agreed, returning the spoon to the pot before adding a hand of herbs and pinch of salt from the bowls on the counter, steering them in.

He turned to check on the bread in the oven when he spotted Ezra watching them. 'See something more interesting than your homework?'

Brayden looked up now too.

'Relationship goals,' Ezra shrugged.

Brayden snorted and Eric laughed.

'You've been dating Jade for what? A month, now?' Eric asked, pulling open the oven. 'Bit early to start planning a future.'

'Doesn't mean I can't set goals,' Ezra crossed his arms.

'Not to burst your bubble, but your father and I were vastly different people when we were sixteen. My boyfriend then couldn't have been more different from your father and I'm not sure I would've even spared him a second glance if we had met back then. And even when we did meet, neither of us wanted marriage and children.'

'Who said anything about marriage and children?' Ezra demanded.

'And you had better keep it that way until you graduated college,' Taylor turned around and pointed the sharp knife she was holding to cut up some vegetables at her eldest. 'Or else.'

'You wouldn't!' Ezra stared at the knife.

'Watch me,' Taylor smirked.

'Dad!'

'I'm with your mom on this one. If you're not adult enough to keep it wrapped, you're not adult enough to be having sex,' Eric shrugged.

'But you never went to college either,' Brayden pointed out.

'We didn't have a home, the finances or any kind of support system for it either,' Eric replied. 'We enlisted out of high school because it was the easiest way to start building a life for ourselves and to get some kind of structure to support it.'

'And we're not saying going to college will make you successful in life or that you need a degree to be, but it does open up a lot more options of what you could be. But it's your life and your choice and we'll support whatever you decide,' Taylor agreed. 'Just no babies until you're at least twenty-five.'

Just then the doorbell rang and Brayden jumped up. 'I'll get it.'

A minute later Jen, Brook and Michael walked in followed more slowly by Wes, Alan and Brayden. Wes pulled a chair out for his elderly father to sit on, but Alan shot him a look.

'I'm not sitting down until I've congratulated my birthday boy,' he told his son pointedly and turned to Eric.

Eric allowed a quick hug before he helped Alan to the chair. Brooked and Michael gave a wave as Jen stepped up to press a kiss to Eric's cheek. 'Happy birthday. Iris sends her love to her favourite uncle.'

Wes pulled Eric into a hug when Jen stepped back. 'How does it feel to be half a century old now?' he teased.

'You tell me, you've already got about a month experience already,' Eric laughed.

'Hey, uncle Wes, did you go to college?' Ezra asked.

'Yeah, I majored in business with a minor in biology. Basically grooming me for when I took over management of the BioLab from dad. Why? Are you already looking into it?'

'No, we were talking about how mom will cut off our dicks if we get anyone pregnant before we're twenty-five,' Brayden supplied.

Wes held up his hands. 'I don't even want to know how you weirdoes manage to function as a family.'

'Ezra, where's that shiny new drivers' license I've heard about?' Alan asked.

Ezra grabbed his and Brayden's homework and ran upstairs to retrieve the license he'd gotten earlier this week.

Half an hour later everyone was sitting around the garden for Eric's birthday dinner. Cole and Alyssa, Max, Danny and their families and Leisa and David had arrived too. Eric sat in his chair with a beer in his hand watching his friends and family have a good time and enjoy the food.

'I have to say, Eric, with everything you've done in your life. I think your greatest achievement would be teaching Taylor how to cook. I never thought I'd see the day,' Max joked.

Everyone laughed and Eric smirked at Taylor. 'But not without getting burned a few times.