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27

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As they entered the kitchen, Ed stood by the doorway while Nadia walked past him to the counter and stood with her back to him, as she was busy preparing something.

"What's for dinner tonight?" Ed asked in the somewhat flat tone, staring down at his shoes.

Nadia turned her head and smiled at him. "Spaghetti."

Ed nodded slowly. "I hope it doesn't get all ruined when you have you way with me like last time's dinner," Ed said coldly.

Nadia raised an eyebrow at him. "Who said that's why I wanted you here? Did you ever stop and think that maybe I actually wanted you to help me prepare dinner?"

Ed stopped looking at his shoes, raised his head and looked at her. "Well... I just thought because the way you've been acting, what with last week and then the phone call and then..."

"You've explained to me that you're not interested, so I have no choice but to cease and desist. I'm not that mean you know."

"You aren't?" Ed cleared his throat. "Umm I mean yeah. You aren't."

"Okay. Now that we've got everything all cleared up, how about you hand me that bowl of chopped beef for the meatsauce?"

"Huh?" Ed looked confused.

"You're here to help, remember?"

"Oh! Oh. Yeah." He moved away from the doorway finally and grabbed the bowl that sat on the table. As he was making his way over to Nadia at the counter area, he stepped on an unsightly spoon that carelessly happened to be lying right in the middle of the floor for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Ed tripped and fell flat, the bowl coming loose from his grip and falling over onto the floor right in front of his nose. Ed, sore but not paralyzed as before, scrambled to sit up and looked at the mess he had made. He turned to Nadia and gave her a look of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ed began.

Nadia walked over to Ed and stood behind his kneeling figure, placed a hand on his shoulder. She surveyed the mess. "You only spilled a little bit. It's okay. The bowl's not even broken." She grabbed a roll of paper towel from the table and kneeled down next to him on the floor.

Ed took the paper towel roll from her. "I made the mess, I'll clean it up. Okay?"

Nadia shrugged and Ed ripped off some paper towel and began cleaning up his mess. As he was hunched over, Nadia couldn't help but stay kneeled next to him, watching him move. He was so... Uhhhh! She wanted to reach out and...

She hardly even noticed it, but her hand slowly reached out and found it's way to Ed's back. She gently began to rub his back in a soft, circular pattern. A dazed smile formed on her face.

As Ed was hunched over, wiping up the spilled meat as quickly as he could, he suddenly could swear he felt something very delicate and very... nice... touching him. He slowly turned his head and looked behind him to find Nadia caressing him from behind.

Nadia didn't really realize what she was doing. She was just so... caught up in her thoughts. Howard... he was like Jell-O. But Ed... Now this was a real man. A firm man.

Ed looked at Nadia. She looked at him; they looked at eachother.

He gulped and the paper towel and roll fell from his hands but he didn't notice either one. He didn't know what was happening. He didn't know why Nadia was looking at him with that strange gleam he could observe glowing in her eye.

Nadia slowly began to lean in closer and closer to Ed on the floor. Soon, they were only inches apart.

Ed's lower lip began to quiver. "M-M-Mrs. Brinkley?" He asked nervously.

Nadia ignored him and tugged hard on his tie.

"Mrs. Brinkley?" Ed whispered almost inaudibly, a painstruck expression over his face.

Nadia pulled him forward and they fell into a long, passionate kiss. But when the oven timer began to ring, Nadia broke away, got to her feet, and went to attend dinner as though nothing had happened.

Ed was left alone, kneeling on the floor, the almost-cleaned mess behind him. His expression was a mix of both uncertainty and confusion with a hint of daze for extra flavor. Boy, this was going to be a good dinner.