Artificial Mates - Chapter 11

I couldn’t keep a straight face when I gazed up at Demos. I burst out in uncontrollable laughter, making him fumed with contained rage. Grant had his mocking smirk on; it didn’t help ease the tension.

“That’s just unfair!” he raised his clenched fist at us. I tossed my head back and rubbed a tear from the corner of my eyes. He was hilarious. I never thought I’ll find Demos funny. It inadvertently made him more attractive, somehow.

“Ok,” I threw my arms up in surrender. “I give in,” they both shifted to me, eyes wide with shock.

“Really?” they questioned at the same time. I lifted my index finger to get their attention.

“Only… if dinner is ready and you let me take a shower first, then we can sit to watch the movie. I’ll give you both equal attention,” Demos relaxed and Grant got to his feet ready to take up the challenge.

“I’ll get the dinner ready in no time,” he rushed to pick up the grocery bag that Demos had dropped earlier.

“I’ll help,” added Demos, it was not up for discussion. They both moved to the kitchen in perfect harmony. I watched as they stirred alongside like a well-choreographed ballet. I couldn’t get rid of that stupid smile dancing on my lips. I was a terrible person to use blackmail to get what I wanted.

“Well, I’m off to the bathroom,” I announced as I dragged my feet to my room.

“Ok,” they replied. I should help them in the kitchen they made it look like fun. I’m sure I’ll set the house on fire if I try. However, that’s another excuse to remain in my comfort zone.

My room was peaceful, there was a new bed cover on, stretched to perfection. A nice lavender scent floated in the air. I gathered my toiletry and went to the bathroom. The tiles on the floor were sparkling. I gasped at the mirror, it was spotless. Grant did miracles. Was he a house elf or something?

I took a quick shower, but decided to take care of my dull hair. The episode involving Grant’s hair contributed greatly. My hair products were shoved in the bottom drawer of the cupboard by the door. I got it shampooed and slapped on some hair mask. Then went full mode with face scrub and all. When it was done, I was humming while blow drying my hair. I had no idea how long I stayed in the bathroom. Soon a light knock pulled me from my beauty routine. I let my hair down before opening the door. Grant greeted me with a smile.

“Dinner is ready… Demos is getting the movie ready,” he tipped his chin in the direction of the living room. He paused. “By the way, you smell fabulous, Liliane,” I dropped my eyes to the floor my cheeks flaming. “Come! I hope you don’t mind eating in front of the screen,” he pulled on my arm towards the blue couch then went to the kitchen.

“Thanks, guys,” they nodded in my direction. “So what’s for dinner?” I rubbed my hands together. My stomach growled in anticipation.

“Pasta with meatballs and lots of sauce,” announced Grant with a hint of pride from the kitchen. I smiled that sounded tasty.

“But, I’m curious. How do you cook if you can’t taste it? I mean, you don’t eat, right?” I settled on the blue couch, Demos was on the darker one playing with the remote. He browsed through the different movies, then choose one.

“We don’t eat. However, there are very accurate recipes on the web. They are geared towards artificial with measurement to the nearest milligrams. If you follow the instruction, there’s no way to fail a dish,” answered Demos without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Oh!” I exclaimed I was impressed. Since my cooking ability was lacking it was amazing someone could even do it without tasting it. Grant came back with a steaming plate of delicious looking pasta with extra grated cheese. The serving was huge.

“Oh my god, I’m going to get so fat if you are spoiling me like that,” I laughed. He handed me a towel to place on my lap, then gave me my dinner.

“If you want we can train together,” offered Demos.

“She doesn’t need to train, she’s perfect,” Grant winked at me. Was he bribing me? Cause it totally felt like it. Demos and Grant shared one of their wordless conversations, then Grant looked up at me.

“Save some space for the cake,” he announced with glee.

“Thank you, guys. I’m really… happy having both of you here,” I finally said it aloud. I quickly looked away, feeling kind of dumb. They eyed me for a moment. The tension grew heavy. I cleared my throat wanting to change the subject. “It’s weird to be the only one eating,” I looked up at Grant and noticed a sauce stain on the front of his T-shirt.

“I’ll have to get that corny ‘KISS THE COOK’ apron for you,” he followed my gaze and saw the stain.

“I’ll love an apron… and the kiss,” he laughed, I laughed along with him. Demos didn’t like it one bit. I dug in my pasta; it was the best I’ve ever tasted. As my eating habits mostly included junk food, some home cooking tasted like a piece of heaven to me.

“Mmh, Grant this is amazing,” I said between mouthful.

“I’ll…” he stopped with his mouth opened. I looked up and saw Demos’ eyes flashing blue.

“What’s going on?” my eyes darted from each other. Grant closed his mouth, then nodded at Demos with a smirk. He averted his eyes and pretended he was busy with the remote.

“It’s a mate thing,” Grant added. I narrowed my eyes at both of them. They were hiding things…again.

The movie started the lights dimmed; Grant pulled a cushion, then settled on the floor on my right. As for Demos, he pulled the darker couch closer where he laid down with his head leaning on the armrest. I was surprised I finished everything on my plate it’s been ages since I’ve eaten this much.

“You’re plate,” Grant took it from me and placed it on the low coffee table in front of him. “Will you eat your cake now or later?” I shook my head and took the glass of water he handed to me.

“Thanks,” I whispered. Demos shot us dark looks. Sorry, I mouthed the words. I didn’t know he was into movies. Grant stuck his tongue out making me puffed with laughter.

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll start it all over again,” he warned. We both shifted uncomfortably, then focused our attention back on the screen. So far, the movie was about a heist turned bad. One of the thieves got killed while escaping. As it progressed the main protagonist was introduced, a veteran inspector and his younger partner were called to investigate. Something tugged at my hand I looked down at Grant.

“Please,” he whispered with pleading puppy eyes. I went back to the movie and patted his head. His soft curls helped me relax. The slow investigation suddenly went to a high-speed car chase with lots of explosions. In the dim light, I noticed Demos frowned at the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Demos scratched his chin.

“I don’t understand why humans would do something as reckless as robbery in the first place. One of their companions died in the process. And, there’s no logic in the inspector’s actions. He clearly is putting his partner in danger,” he complained. I chuckled at his analysis.

“It’s just a movie. It doesn’t reflect reality. The action ones usually have the worst plots ever,” he pressed his lips into a hard line not satisfied with my answer.

“You should try to write one, I’ll be interested in reading it,” he looked up at me a little intrigued.

“I was not programmed for writing,” Demos averted his eyes. Grant rested his head against my knee.

“But you like reading, It’s like creating our own story,” he didn’t answer and kept his focus on the movie. So, I didn’t insist.

When the movie ended, Grant got me a slice of cake. It was a chocolate cake. We went back to the living room. It tasted so good. We watched a second movie. They let me choose and I got a funny one. We laughed all through the movie. Sometimes they laughed when there were no jokes, which I found a little odd. Other times they looked offended at fart jokes. By the end of the movie, I was tired.

“Guys, I can’t take it anymore,” I yawned. I’ve been petting Grant all along. He groaned when I pulled my hand.

“But there are only five minutes left,” he protested. I gave him a weak smile. “Only if you carry me like a princess to bed,” his face brightened up. I extended my hand to pat his head when Demos caught my wrist.

“That’s enough,” he said between gritted teeth. I was shocked. I pulled my hand from him and rubbed my wrist.

“That hurts!” I glared at him. He lowered his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. The movie ended but no one was watching anymore. The atmosphere was ruined. I got to my feet Grant did the same.

“Ready to get swooped off your feet?” he joked, but I wasn’t in the mood anymore. I gave him a weak smile, then shook my head.

“It’s ok, I’m going to walk to my room,” I laughed nervously. He narrowed his eyes at my explanation. He then faced Demos with anger.

“Apologize now!” he shouted. Demos looked up with equal fury. His eyes flashing.

“I did!” his lips pushed back flashing his teeth at Grant. I took a step away from them.

“It’s ok guys, I had a rough day. I’m tired,” I waved. Grant lowered his eyes, his features softened.

“I’m sorry for monopolizing you, in the progress making Demos jealous…”

“Definitely not!” said Demos getting to his feet. What was that all about? Was it the petting thing? Shit! I promised to give them equal attention.

“Guys!” I squeezed the space between my eyes. A throbbing pain was spreading in my forehead. It was a bad idea to watch a second movie. “Come, I need to sleep. Just come to bed.”