NOTE: This chapter is pretty long, but I hope you enjoy it! Some of you are making predictions about what you think might happen and they only thing I can tell you is to keep reading. You may be surprised at what happens later as things will start kicking into high gear in the next two chapters. Let me know what you think of this chapter! Thank you for all the reviews!

Chapter 9: Kiss the Cook

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Shaundi stood in the hallway outside of Ethan's apartment, waiting patiently for him to open the door. This was to be her third 'date' with him and all they'd done so far was hold hands. She wondered if their conversation on the roof, where she'd spilled the details of her past to him, had made him afraid to make a move. The door opened and Shaundi smiled, seeing Ethan wearing a chef's apron.

"Hi," she said, softly. "What's with the apron? Are we not going out to eat?"

"Actually...there's been a slight change in plans," he said, before a little girl walked up to his side. She had soft blonde hair and pastel blue eyes with several freckles on her tiny cheeks. She didn't look over the age of six.

"Uncle Ethan, I thought we were going to make cookies?" said the girl, tugging on his hand. His body leaned to the side with each tug.

"We are, just give me a minute," said Ethan. "Go make sure we have everything ready."

"Okay," said the girl, before furrowing her brow at Shaundi. "Who are you?"

"Um," was all Shaundi could say before Ethan introduced her.

"This is Shaundi," said Ethan. "I told you about her remember?"

"Oh yeah. She's your giirrlllfriend," said the girl, in a teasing tone. Ethan blushed a little and smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"This is my niece Lily," he said, patting Lily's head. "My sister's sitter called in sick, so she asked me to look after her. She was supposed to pick Lily up an hour ago, but is running late. So, we're going make cookies."

"Oh, okay," said Shaundi, unsure of how to respond.

"Do you...want to make cookies with us?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah!" said Lily, excited about having another girl around. She didn't give Shaundi a chance to answer before pulling her inside by her hand. Once in the kitchen, Lily gave her an apron. "This is so you don't get dirty."

Shaundi smiled nervously and slowly wrapped the apron around her waist before feeling Ethan's hand on the small of her back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sensing her anxiety.

"I'm fine," she lied. She didn't have a lot of experience with kids and they tended to make her uneasy.

"C'mon! Let's go!" screamed Lily, standing on a stool by the counter. She hopped up and down, eager to get started.

"Okay, okay," said Ethan walking up to the counter. He felt around for the ingredients and felt Shaundi brush up against him. He smiled and leaned close to her, "Now's the time for me to impress you with my baking skills. Lily, hand me the butter."

He held out his hand as Lily gave him a softened stick of butter. It oozed between his fingers and fell with a SPLAT onto the counter. Lily giggled as Ethan made a funny face and shook his head.

"I meant for you to hand me the bowl with the butter in it," he said, wiping his hand on his apron.

"Oops," said Lily, still giggling.

"Never mind the butter. Shaundi, could you please hand me the eggs?"

He held out his hand as Shaundi gave him two eggs. He softly caressed her fingers as he took them from her and smiled. Taking an egg, he tossed it behind his back and caught it with the other hand before cracking it on the side of a big bowl. Shaundi and Lily clapped their hands as he did a small bow.

"Do it again!" Lily urged. Ethan grinned and tossed the other egg behind his back in the same fashion before cracking on the bowl. Shaundi and Lily clapped their hands again and he bowed, this time pretending to hit his head on the countertop causing Lily to giggle again. He straightened up and smiled, hearing her laughter.

As they continued to make the cookies, Shaundi couldn't help admiring how good Ethan was with Lily. Not a minute passed when he didn't make her laugh with his clumsy acting, often mocking the fact that he couldn't see. Lily would sometimes tap his shoulder in an effort to make him think it was Shaundi and he would act surprised every time, knowing it was her tiny finger that tapped him. Shaundi remained silent, watching the two of them, for the majority of the time it took to prepare the dough, but continued to hand Ethan ingredients when asked. Once the cookies were in the oven, Ethan wiped his hands on a dish towel and leaned against the counter.

"What goes well with cookies?" he asked, raising his brow.

"Ice cream!" Lily screamed, hopping up and down. Ethan smiled and felt next to him for Shaundi, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

"There's some vanilla ice cream in the freezer and a can of whipped cream in the fridge. Do you mind getting those while I get the other toppings?"

"Sure," said Shaundi. He smiled in appreciation before walking to the cabinet. He returned with an armful of ice cream toppings. Shaundi set the ice cream on the counter and started scooping it out into little bowls. Ethan gave Lilly a bottle of chocolate sauce to pour on her ice cream.

"Now, go easy on this," he told her, before she squirted it on her ice cream. He turned to Shaundi and felt for the sprinkles. "Shaundi, what do you want on y-"

Ethan didn't get a chance to finish before Lily smashed a chocolate covered hand on his cheek and ran it over his face, getting a little on his sunglasses. Her giggles filled the room and Shaundi let out a small snicker. Ethan turned toward the sound of Shaundi's snickering and waited patiently for her to stop.

"Do you think something is funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that, you look very delicious," said Shaundi, using her finger to wipe chocolate from his cheek. She continued to laugh as he turned away from her.

"Well, maybe you could use a little more flavoring," said Ethan, grabbing the can of whipped cream. He removed the lid and started to shake the can. Shaundi stopped laughing as he started to step closer to her.

"Don't you dare," said Shaundi, backing away from him. He smiled and continued to shake the can. "Ethan, I'm serious. Don't do it."

"Don't do what?" he asked, stopping in front of her, pinning her against the kitchen wall. He felt for her until he found the collar of her tank top. "Don't do this?"

Ethan pressed the nozzle sprayed whipped cream on the inside of her tank. Shaundi let out a short scream and her jaw dropped as he emptied the can down her shirt. Once it was empty, he smiled and stepped away from her, hearing Lily giggling in the background. Shaundi wiped the whipped cream escaping through her cleavage and shook her hand clean.

"You...are a dead man," she said, grabbing a handful of ice cream.

"Let's get her, Li-" Ethan screamed before feeling a cold sensation, smelling a lot like vanilla, being pressed against face. He then felt tiny bits of candy rain down on him as Lily poured a spoonful of sprinkles on his head.

"Yeah!" said Shaundi, giving Lily a high five. Lily smiled as Ethan shook his head causing the sprinkles to fly all over the room.

"Okay, I get it. The women have to stick together," he said, picking up the bottle of chocolate sauce. Without another word he squirted it in Shaundi's direction, getting a little in her face. Shaundi screamed before her and Lily started to fling ice cream at him. Outnumbered, Ethan took off toward the living room with Shaundi and Lily on his tail. On the way, he tripped on the leg of a chair and fell to the ground. Shaundi covered her mouth and put down a jar of cherries she's planned to dump on his head.

"Oh my God, Ethan are you okay?" she asked, rushing over to him. He rolled over on his back and held out his hand for her to help him up. Once she grabbed it, he smiled and pulled her down on top of him.

"I am now," he said, feeling her chest against his. Shaundi let out a light chuckle before feeling his hand run up her arm to her shoulder. He continued upward, finally resting his chocolate covered hand on her cheek, tenderly caressing her skin with his thumb.

Shaundi's expression turned soft as she rested her hands on his chest, feeling his hand slowly run up her back. She could feel herself leaning in to him, unsure if he was pulling her closer, or if it was of her own doing. Never the less, she closed her eyes and parted her lips, inching closer and closer to his mouth, preparing herself for a kiss.

The sound of the oven timer broke their trance. Shaundi opened her eyes as Ethan took a deep breath, "The cookies are done."

Shaundi dropped her towel and grabbed Ethan's shirt laying next to the sink. She'd used his guest bathroom to wash off the remnants from the food fight and, her clothes being in the washing machine, had to borrow some of Ethan's pajamas. She slipped on a pair of flannel pants and opened the door, the cold air hitting her face as steam from the hot bathroom poured into the hallway. The faint sound of music echoed down the hall from the living room. She walked toward the music, her feet making light thumps on the wood floor.

Ethan walked into the room, hearing her footsteps and holding two cups of hot tea.

"Do you like Bruce Springsteen?" he asked in reference to the music playing. He held a cup of tea out for her to grab.

Shaundi turned around to see him standing shirtless, wearing a similar pair of flannel pajama pants. They drooped down in the front making his v-line muscle very noticeable as it plummeted into the elastic of his underwear. His abs, though defined, were soft under the light patch of hair covering them.

"You still there?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"Yes, I am," she replied, realizing she'd been staring. She took her cup from him and looked at his face. His short-wet hair hung a little over his sunglasses. "Do you sleep in those things?"

"What?"

"You're glasses."

"Oh, no," he said with a shy smile. "My eyes tend to make people uncomfortable, especially Lily, so I like to keep them on."

"Where is Lily?" asked Shaundi, looking around for her.

"She had a bath and fell asleep in the guest room. Her mom called while you were in the shower, she'll be here soon," He stepped closer to her and smiled, "Thank you for staying. I know this wasn't what you expected when I asked you out."

"It's fine, really. I had a great time."

"I'm glad. But, the date doesn't have to be over." he said, setting his cup on the end table next to him. He felt for her hand and gently took her cup away before putting it down, narrowly missing the edge of the table. Stepping closer to her, he placed his hands on her waist as the song Secret Garden started to play. He pulled her to him until their chests touched and slowly swayed to the music, following the smooth rhythm of the song.

Shaundi ran her hands along his arms up to his shoulders as he leaned close to her. She felt his hands trail up her back, to her neck, and into her hair. His touch was warm and tender as he trailed her jaw line with his fingertips, following it up to her cheeks. She closed her eyes when his fingers softly brushed over her lips and she let out a staggered breath, unable to control the desire welling up inside of her. She did her best to remain still as he continued to explore her face, trying to form a mental picture.

"You're beautiful," he said, tenderly.

She opened her eyes to see her reflection in his sunglasses. Slowly reaching up, she mimicked his caress and traced his jaw line until she reached his cheek. Without a word, she gently removed his glasses to reveal his eyes. They were ghostly gray and they took her off guard. She looked into them, but they looked right past her. She furrowed her brow, troubled by how he said his eyes made others uncomfortable. Though they took her by surprise, she was nowhere near uncomfortable. She warmly placed a hand on his cheek, sensing his body grow tense from worry.

"So are you," she said, softly.

The song was nearing its end as Ethan leaned in to her. Shaundi stared at him through sensual eyes as her breathing grew faster, waiting for him to make a move. She felt his hand travel around to her neck before pulling her toward him, his other hand resting on the small of her back. She closed her eyes, ready to finally kiss his lips, her heart beating hard and fast.

"Uncle Ethan!" screamed Lily from down the hall. Ethan and Shaundi paused, lips almost touching. "Uncle Ethan! Where are you?"

"I...uh...better go check on her," said Ethan, putting his glasses back on.

"Yeah," said Shaundi, breathing a breath disappointment.

They separated and Ethan walked down the hallway to check on Lily. Shaundi took a deep breath and placed her hand on her forehead, wishing the interruption had come a few seconds later.

"Lily, you're cute," she said to herself. "But, you have terrible timing."