The Chrysalis Project - Chapter 33

Hayden Whitehall is literally a professional chef.

I sat speechless on a bar stool in front of the kitchen island as he effortlessly chopped onions like a professional. I know that I was supposed to be helping him out in the first place, but I honestly just couldn’t find an opening to actually help him. I couldn’t fathom how he tolerated the tear-inducing aroma around him while operating at such speed. In fact, the already diced onions were perfectly cut and were neatly piled in a bowl next to the chopping board while he chopped the other half. Just behind him was an open flame range that contained a heated pan on one of the stovetops, along with an already boiling open-lid pasta pot that should probably be attended to. In no time, he managed to finish chopping the rest of the onions, threw them into the same bowl, and turned around to saut the ingredient. As the strong sizzling sound and particular aroma of onions reached my nose, I couldn’t help but get off my butt to approach the cooking area.

“What are you making exactly?” I asked curiously as I walked towards Hayden.

“Since we obviously don’t have half a day to marinate and really make the sauce and pasta noodles, I’m making a quick Rag alla Bolognese,” he casually said as he flipped the onion bits inside pan a couple of times.

“Repeat that in English?” I asked self-consciously, knowing that I’m probably illiterate compared to him.

“Sorry, I mean Bolognese sauce,” he said while preoccupied, “I’m making a quick sauce for the Tagliatelle noodles I am cooking.”

“I get the sauce part, but I’m not exactly an avid pasta expert.”

“Right, it’s the flat ribbon-like noodles, it’s kinda like a Fettuccine noodle but it’s not as thick in texture I don’t think. They’re not available dried so I just got the chef downstairs to make some a couple days ago, and he delivered this yesterday.”

“You got freshly made noodles just for today?” I asked with concern.

“Really,” Hayden eyed, “I wanted to eat some since last week, and you’re just here for the free food.”

“Well, you’ve let the noodles to boil alone for too long,” I said while I stirred the pot with a wooden spoon, “I’ll just make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom of the pot.”

“You cook?” Hayden asked casually.

“Sometimes,” I admitted, “but I didn’t know you cooked either, you look like you’re a professional.”

“Hmm,” he responded, still focused on his pan as he added fresh ground beef into the onions, “it’s probably because I am one.”

“Really?” I asked out of surprise.

“Yeah, I’m a certified chef, but I won’t ever be a chef so it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It’s a pretty big deal, and a useful skill to have,” I added as I kept stirring the pot, “I think these are ready.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t take so long to cook fresh pasta, the strainer is to my right next to the sink,” Hayden quickly responded, completely ignoring what I had to say about his chef skills.

I turned the cold tap on in order to let the piping hot pasta water pass through the drains without having to possibly burst. As most of the pasta water drained out from the strainer, Hayden had already poured tomato sauce into the pan from a mason jar and began stirring the sauce around. The pleasant aroma had my stomach growling and demanding to be filled, but I knew it wasn’t time yet.

“What do you want me to do with the pasta?” I asked as I lifted the strainer up, a cloud of hot steam coming into contact with my face.

“You can just leave it there actually, I can handle it from here,” he responded.

“Okay then,” I said relieved, walking back slowly to the bar stool and sitting back up at the island counter, staring directly at Hayden’s back.

I began to wonder if I had overstayed my welcome. Since Hayden had woken up, he wasn’t very talkative nor was he really into the fact that I was trying to help just now. Perhaps I’m just being a nuisance for still being here at this time of the day, but if he wanted me to leave, he should tell me about it sooner rather than later.

“Am I annoying you?” I asked honestly, not holding back this time.

“Why do you ask?” Hayden asked, not addressing me or even bother turning back.

“You’ve been kind of distant just now, did I do something wrong?” I questioned further, playing with my fingernails out of anxiety.

“No, I’m just focused on this right now.”

“If I’m being a bother just tell me, I can go home right now if you want.”

“What, and waste an extra plate of food that I specifically made for you?” Hayden questioned rhetorically.

“Well I’m just saying, plus I don’t think my sis knows I’m here,” I rolled my eyes knowing he can’t see me.

“I called them while you were snoring ever so loudly on my bed,” he said chuckling between sentences, “they know you might be here for a while.”

“Wow,” I scoffed, “really dude?”

“Really,” he finally turned around for a quick second, smirking at me, “so rest assured, you’re not being annoying and I’m just focused, that’s all.”

“The pasta better be fucking delicious,” I responded aggressively.

“It is because I’m done,” Hayden said confidently, placing two ready pasta dishes in front of me along with utensils, “now what will we have to drink?”

“Something nice and sweet,” I responded almost drooling, focusing on the delicious plate of food.

“Sweet huh, I guess it doesn’t have to pair with the food but I do have Sangria in the fridge,” he muttered to himself as he walked towards the refrigerator, taking out a giant fancy pitcher full of fruit infused red sangria.

“Oh that looks good,” I said excitedly.

Hayden laughed as he took two wine glasses from the cupboard and placed them both on the counter. Lifting the rather large pitcher full of cooled sangria, he began pouring its contents into the glasses, making sure that there were some fruits pieces that also came out of the pitcher.

“Get your butt here and let’s eat, I’m so hungry,” I complained.

“Alright, I’m here,” he said as he approached with two generous glasses of sangria, “one for you.”

“Thanks, good sir,” I thank politely as I took a glass from his hands.

As Hayden sat down on the bar stool next to me, I began to twist the pasta noodles on my fork. Hayden watched closely as I finally took a bite into the hot and absolutely delicious bite of pasta I have ever possibly tried in my entire life. My eyes widened in surprise, as I could not comprehend my tastebuds and emotions at the moment. So instead of saying anything, I just stared at Hayden in absolute bewilderment.

“Why do you ever doubt me?” Hayden asked rhetorically as he smiled.

—–

A/N: Had a bit of a mix up with my schedule updates, sorry about that! The pre-publish timer isn’t in my time zone so it is confusing, I ended up skipping days by accident. Schedule is still messed atm but I’ll try to fix it tomorrow.

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