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The sound of heels clacking against the floor interrupted the staff meeting. Everyone lifted their heads, eyes trained on the kitchen doors.
Elide bursted through the doors, saying, “I’m not late, I’m not late, I’m not late!”
A chuckle rippled through the room as she disappeared into the break room to put her belongings down. Quickly after the distraction, the meeting continued with little affair. Elide emerged a minute or so later, her outfit for the night crisp and clean. She’d smoothed her hair back into a high ponytail. She settled between Aelin and Luca, the newest busser. “Shut up,” she muttered preemptively.
Aelin flicked her arm, “We haven’t said a word.” Unseen by Elide, she and Luca exchanged wicked looks over her head. Aelin leaned in close, whispering in Elide’s ear, “I sure hope that you can make it up at your boyfriend later.”
Luca chuckled over Elide’s indignant gasp and nudged the blushing brunette with his elbow. “Yeah, hope he’s not too hard on ya.”
“Gods, he’s not-” she lowered her voice to a sharp whisper, “he is not my boyfriend. And neither of you are funny.” Her eyes flicked up to the back of Lorcan’s head, eternally grateful that he hadn’t heard any of their comments. “We don’t like each other.”
“Oh, no, no, you just,” Aelin ticked off a list on her fingers, “flirt constantly, have weird, couple-y inside jokes, he calls you ‘sweetheart’ and has a nickname for you, and you both turn down anyone that shows interest and—”
“Aelin, I swear, you need to shut—”
“Lochan,” announced a deep voice, making Elide freeze. “Am I boring you?”
Her head snapped up, cheeks heating, “Hmm?”
Lorcan turned to face her with one brow cocked, “Oh, ‘m pretty sure you heard me.”
Elide pushed her shoulders down, determined not to let him get the upper hand. “Well, to answer your question, you are boring me. It’s shocking, I know.”
His eyes were bright as he lifted his hand to his heart like she’d shot him. “Ouch. Hope the boss doesn’t hear such divisionary words comin’ outcha mouth.” He shook his head in a false scolding. “Tsk, tsk, Miss ‘Employee of the Month’.”
She chuckled, crossing her arms beneath her chest. “Lor, are you still jealous that I’m better than you? I sure hope it’s not still affecting your sleep.”
He grinned cockily, “Woman, if you’re really that concerned with how I sleep, you should come and see for yourself.”
Just as Elide inhaled to retort, someone spoke. Rowan’s voice was tired and clearly the man was unimpressed. “Not that this isn’t riveting, but might we return to the menu? Dinner starts in three hours and we’re not halfway through.”
Elide bit her tongue and shared a look with Lorcan, looking at him through her lashes. A grin ghosted over his lips, gone the very next second. He schooled his features into neutrality before he started the meeting again. Elide glanced at Aelin, ignoring the heat simmering in her gut. “What?” she asked, frowning at Aelin’s pointed stare. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
Since the start of the dinner rush, Elide hadn’t set foot in the kitchen. That was until someone hollered her name, sounding urgent. Urgent enough that she couldn’t ignore it, at least.
She excused herself from where she’d been speaking to some hostesses and quickly walked to the kitchen.
Rowan saw her first and jerked his head to the back of the kitchen. “He’s done it again,” he told her, barely pausing as he brutally deconstructed a lamb into neat portions.
Elide grimaced, “Again?” She continued to the back of the kitchen, to where the last station was tucked away. Lorcan was the head chef and absolutely refused to use any other position. He might like it, but it made it virtually impossible for any customers to give their compliments to the chef.
When she’d brought this up to him, he’d just laughed and told her that that was the point. Stupid, agoraphobic, misanthropic bastard, she thought bitterly. Elide turned the corner, her eyes landing on Fenrys’ back. He was hovering over Lorcan, blocking her view.
Fenrys spun towards her, his eyes wide. “It’s really bad this time.”
Elide finally saw Lorcan. He had his left hand cradled to his chest with his right. Even in the shadows of shelves, she could see the lines of red running over his wrist and forearm. She gasped in fear, quickly moving towards him, “Lor, what did you do ?”
He perked up, seemingly oblivious to the gash slicing his palm. “Sweetheart, you’re a long way from the hostess stand.”
“And you’re way too close to the area in which you prepare food for people with that mess,” she snapped back, unable to help herself. “Gods, what happened?”
Lorcan gestured towards the strainer filled with chunks of potato, “I was peeling one and the knife slipped. No biggie, ‘lide.”
She muttered something about his idiocy. “Come with me. I’ll take care of you.” The tips of her ears turned bright red in embarrassment and she hoped he didn’t pay too much attention to her words. To suggest she was taking care of him rather than the wound felt too intimate. You’re here because someone cut themselves. Not just ‘cause it’s Lorcan, she told herself.
They walked to his office, which was in this cramped room, shoved all the way in the back next to the walk-in. There were much nicer offices – hers being one of them – but Lorcan had always maintained that he was perfectly comfortable in his little cave.
Elide opened the door and held it for him. “Go, sit in the chair,” she instructed him, following Lorcan in.
The old desk chair creaked when Lorcan all but collapsed in it, his long legs stretched out. “Did you come all the way out here to check on me, Lee? It’s sweet, really.”
She laughed humourlessly as she pulled the first aid kit down. “You bellowed for me.”
“That was Fenrys,” Lorcan corrected, watching her closely.
Elide crossed the office and put the kit down on the desk. She dragged an extra stool over and perched on it, giving her a momentary height advantage. “Well, at least someone’s concerned with cleanliness.” Elide laid a clean towel over her thighs and took his hand, gently resting it in her lap. Next came the saline, alcohol pads, and bandages.
He frowned at her, blinking a couple times. “I would’ve taken care of it.”
She clicked her tongue at him, “Just shush and let me do this.”
He kicked the ground petulantly, picking at his thumbnail. “Why’re you always so difficult?” he muttered, letting his hand fall limp against her leg. Lorcan looked up at her and Elide’s breath caught. She hadn’t realised how much the change of height dynamics would affect her. His eyes were more brown than black and the light cast shadows of his lashes against the tops of his high cheekbones.
She swallowed uncertainty. Her hand reached for the saline and a pad of gauze. Elide sprayed the saline to start cleaning his wound. “You like me difficult,” she said airily, wiping blood away.
“You’re damn right I like you.”
Immediately, Elide paused. Again, she clicked her tongue, keeping her tone brusque, “No, you don’t.” She was dismissive like she always was when Lorcan tried to tell her how he felt. Elide wasn’t ready for that yet. Besides, she knew his type. He wouldn’t be the first chef she’d been involved with. Cocky and arrogant, yet attractive and talented enough to get away with it. To people like him, Elide was a challenge. She was the target they hunted for, then lofted like a trophy only to discard when they got bored.
It hurt more than it normally did, her own… feelings tucked away. Elide pushed past the ache.
Unlike usual, Lorcan didn’t argue back. He seemed tired, if she was being honest. Lorcan propped his elbow up on the desk and rested his jaw in his hand. He just watched her work, hardly saying a thing. After she cleaned away the last of the blood, Elide picked up the antiseptic wipes. “This is gonna sting a bit, ‘kay?”
He hummed, his eyelids sloped shut.
Elide opened the packaging and pulled the wipe out. Her teeth worried the soft flesh of her inner cheek as she touched the cut with the wipe. Each hiss and flinch that came from him had her teeth sinking in deeper. “Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t gotta be sorry.”
She looked at him and sighed, tossing the dirtied pads away. “Are you really pouting ‘cause I said you didn’t like me?
“I’m a grown-ass man, I’m not pouting,” Lorcan bit out. “I like you, Elide.”
Elide shook her head, opening the bandage. “Lorcan, this really isn’t the time.”
“Then tell me when the time is.”
“I… I need you to stop,” Elide told him. Her hands were shaking and she tried her hardest to keep them still enough to press the bandage on. Once it was secure, she moved his hand off her lap and stood up. “Like, it’s just cruel at this point.”
He sat up straight. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
She steeled herself, “Lorcan, this- this whole thing, where we flirt and that? I know it’s a joke. And that’s fine- well, it was fine. I just can’t handle this anymore.”
Again, he was stunned silent. He repeated himself, “What?”
“You don’t like me.” She paused, readying herself. “And if you really do, you’ll be done with it.”
Sighing through his nose, he shoved the chair back as he stood up. “This is bullshit, Elide. Stop telling me what I like or don’t. It’s not your call.”
She didn’t say a word, her vision of him growing blurry.
“Why can’t I like you?”
“Because you don’t ,” Elide whispered. “You like the challenge, alright? It’s amusing to you that I’ve never given you what you want.”
Lorcan paused.
She straightened her ponytail and fixed her eye make-up carefully. “I’ve been away too long, I need to get back.” Elide couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she said bye and quickly made to exit.
He hadn’t registered that she’d even moved until the door opened. Lorcan took a quick step, reaching out to wrap his hand around her elbow. His touch was as gentle as it could be and he dropped his hand the moment she took pause. “Lee, I… it’s nothing like that, I promise. I’m crazy about you, and that’s it. I know I make dumbass jokes a lot and flirt really, really terribly and immaturely with you, but I mean it. I mean everything.” He paused, like he was waiting for a reaction. His voice softened, “Lochan, you mean so fucking much to me. You’ve no idea.”
Elide couldn’t help but turn, her eyes wide and round.
Someone called his name and Lorcan looked conflicted, giving her an imploring glance. “Just tell me you’ll think about it?” he asked as he lingered by her.
Even though Elide nodded, he still got that sinking feeling in his stomach.
When she passed him a few moments later, he pretended like he didn’t watch her go.
His hand stopped hurting some time ago, in the haze of the dinner rush, but it was nowhere near its usual dexterity and Lorcan fell behind because of it. Over the course of the night, his mood steadily grew worse and worse.
Fenrys had taken to avoiding him. Lorcan noticed and only frowned harder. He had thought that he’d be fine no matter how Elide answered, but he was quickly being disproved. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her anything and just lived with little glimpses of a relationship with her. Just a taste, never enough to fully satisfy him, yet enough to take the edge off.
It would be better to stop whatever it was that they were now than to live forever, always wondering.
He worked under a mental fog, his movements more mechanical than they usually were, lacking finesse and raw talent.
Halfway through dinner, a certain blonde bar manager came storming through the kitchen like a wildfire. She marched up to Lorcan, who had been oblivious to her approach, and backed him into the corner. “What,” Aelin seethed, forcing Lorcan to meet her eye, “the fuck did you do to Elide?”
“Get outta my fuckin’ face,” he told her, though he stayed where he was.
Aelin didn’t move an inch either. “Tell me what you did.”
Lorcan’s nostrils flared and he glared down at Aelin, “I did nothing, ‘kay? I told her that I liked her, and she didn’t believe me.”
She blinked, furrowing her brow. “What? You told her you like her?”
“Uh, yeah , that’s what I just said.”
Her hand shot out and she viciously poked his side for the back-talk. Lorcan hissed, bending over reactively. “Don’t be smart,” Aelin hissed. “You’ll have to pardon my surprise, beastie , I was convinced you’d never get the words out.”
He just frowned harder.
“Well, it just doesn’t make sense!” Aelin proclaimed, giving him a confused look.
Lorcan didn’t say anything.
Aelin rolled her eyes, punching his shoulder, “Because she likes you. Lorcan, Elide is crazy about you.”
He shook his head, sidling past her, “No offence, Ae, but I really don’t care what you have to say about this. I want to know what she thinks and I don’t want to hear it from anyone but her, alright?”
“ Fine,” Aelin conceded, giving him a murderous look.
Lorcan nodded once and Aelin huffed as she walked back out, strutting like always. He started working again and tried as best he could to focus on anything else.
At some point, the dinner service ended and the last customers had left. In the dining area, servers and bussers were clearing the tables and putting up chairs. Lorcan tidied his own station and checked on his hand, deciding to change the bandage. It was a slight challenge, doing it himself, but he made do.
Once the dishwashers had shut down the kitchen, he met with Rowan and Fenrys to exchange notes about the upcoming menus. Lorcan was only half-listening and his friends saw it. They wrapped up the meeting quickly after that and left Lorcan to himself, sitting in the office.
No one else was in the restaurant. Except for Elide.
He sighed before he pushed himself up, stepping back into the kitchen. Lorcan glanced down the centre aisle and looked through the doors. Someone had propped them open, and he could see Elide pacing in the lobby, twisting her hands. His treacherous heart fluttered and quickly, Lorcan ducked back to his station while averting his gaze.
Lorcan braced his hands against the stainless-steel counter. He had no idea what she was thinking about, and he could feel himself becoming half-mad over it.
Without thinking too hard about it, Lorcan started gathering some items to make a simple pasta. He put them all next to the cutting board he’d pulled out.
In a copper pan, the sauce came together quickly while the pasta boiled in a pot on the next burner. He took two pasta bowls down before finishing everything and mixing the sauce in with the pasta. Lorcan cut the stove before plating the two dishes.
He sliced a stack of basil up into thin slivers, garnishing the bowls with a frown. After he was done, Lorcan cleaned his station and put everything he’d used into the dishwasher. The steaming dishes sat untouched on his station.
His shoulders tensed when he heard Elide’s shoes clicking smartly against the tile of the kitchen floor. Sure, she hadn’t rebuked him yet, but he wasn’t at all optimistic despite what Aelin said. Only Elide knew her own mind.
Lorcan resumed his leaning against the counter as Elide came into his periphery. She rested her hand against the countertop, exuding confidence. It seemed to be a mask to him. “Hey, Salvaterre.”
He grunted like a fucking caveman in response.
“You made pasta al limone,” Elide commented. She dared to move closer.
He glared at the floor. “So?”
She clasped her hands together, “You know it’s my favourite.”
“Yeah, and it’s ridiculously easy to make,” he told her.
Elide grinned, “And yet you do it so well.”
Lorcan let out a short sigh and folded his arms across his chest. “I figured ya didn’t have time to eat, so…”
“Thank you,” she said.
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re welcome.” He was still for a moment. “Lee, I can’t do this tonight.” Lorcan made to move around her, but Elide stepped in his way, lifting her hand. He looked down at it and she was careful not to make contact. “Move. Please.”
“Wha- you haven’t given me any time to talk,” Elide argued, standing her ground. “That’s not fair.”
Lorcan hesitated before stepping back. “What d’ya want to talk about?”
“About before,” she said. She wasn’t sure how to tell him. “About how… I like you. It’s- and I believe you. I’m sorry for not before, and it’s complicated. I, well, I have issues, which you clearly know and you- you kinda have issues too, which might work out for us.” Elide was rambling and she was conscious of it yet couldn’t stop herself. “We kinda understand each other, and it seems simple with you, if that- am I making any sense to you? It feels like I’m off topic. I do like you.” Her cheeks grew pink, highlighted some of her subtler freckles. "I'm kinda crazy about you."
He blinked, slowly digesting all that she’d said. Lorcan grinned softly at her, leaning his head to the side. “You’re making perfect sense to me, sweetheart.”
Elide blushed again and smiled, “Good. I was worried.” She wandered closer, so there was less than a foot of space between them. “I’ve been told I ramble when I’m nervous.”
He turned to face her, angling his body towards hers. Elide responded in kind, each movement bringing them closer together. “I hardly noticed.”
“Oh, you’re full of it.”
Lorcan laughed under his breath. “I can never get anything by ya, can I?”
The tip of her pink tongue poked through her teeth and she was bold, making the first move. She reached out, though she hardly had to reach, and slid her hand up his arm, then his shoulder. “‘m afraid not, Lor,” she said.
He rested a hand on the curve of her waist, tugging her in until their chests were flush. “Ah, I think I can live with that.” Lorcan bent his head, leaning his forehead against hers. Their lips were a hairsbreadth apart as they shared a breath. His eyes searched hers while a small, joyful grin slowly grew over his mouth. “What do you want from me, Elide Lochan?”
She tucked her bottom lip between her pearly-white teeth as she thought. “A committed relationship,” Elide finally told him. “Exclusivity. Honesty. And, you know, I do expect you to take me out on the town. I like being pampered.”
Lorcan smiled wider, “Anything else?”
Elide slid her arms further around his neck, bringing them closer together. She settled against his chest, offering a challenge. “A kiss.”
He hummed. A moment later, his lips were on hers. She gasped lightly, her eyes shutting. His kiss was gentle. They both smiled into it, too excited for it to be good or proper. Elide pulled away with a little laugh, blurting out, “That was weird.”
Lorcan nodded, “Yeah. We’ve never done that.”
“No, we haven’t,” she agreed, absentmindedly tracing her fingertips over his nape.
They fell silent, tension growing. Elide’s eyes dropped to his lips and she kissed him gently before drawing back.
“You’re not laughing.”
“It's not funny anymore,” she murmured.
He kissed her again, and it was different. His lips slotted against hers, forcing Elide to follow his lead. She parted her mouth in a gasp when he gripped her side, his hand hazardously close to her ass. Sharp teeth grazed her bottom lip before his tongue licked over hers.
Elide responded in kind, curling her hand around the back of his neck while the other slid down his bicep. A soft sigh escaped her, forcing Lorcan to grin and break their embrace. She looked up at him, grinning breathlessly. Elide stole another peck, then another.
Those two extras turned into another moment of a heated embrace and wandering, grasping hands. Well, except for his injured one. Soon, they both came to the realisation that nothing could happen here. Elide breathed out slowly as they drew back, putting space between them. Their hands gravitated to less risqué places, a picturesque snapshot of leisure.
Her stomach growled, interrupting their little peace. They both laughed a bit, and her eyes flicked to their forgotten meals. Lorcan smoothed his hand over the fine material of her black dress. “Why don’t I pack this up for us, and you get a nice bottle of wine, and then we go someplace that isn’t work to enjoy it?”
“Ok, yeah,” she smiled, her eyes brighter than he’d seen before.
He smiled too, unable to stop himself from kissing her once more. “Yeah, ok.”
Elide forced herself from his arms and left him with a grin tossed over her shoulder.
Lorcan watched her go, and it struck him that he hadn’t been quite so happy in quite some time.