Emma smiled and replied, “I’m starving, and I love steak. I’m definitely a carnivore.”
Duke gave her his crooked grin and asked, “How do you like your meat?”
Chapter Four
Gage’s cock hardened further behind his zipper as Emma moaned again. He loved watching a woman enjoy her meal, and Emma was clearly enjoying the steak Duke had grilled for her. Gage sometimes wondered if Duke had missed his calling as a chef because the guy could cook. And the ecstatic sounds Emma kept making as she ate were beginning to get to him. He kept imagining her making those sounds as she took something besides a bite of food into her mouth. He glanced at his cousin and found Duke watching Emma eat her medium-rare sirloin with something bordering on fascination.
“Duke, this is so good.” She sat on the couch with them as they watched the third movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. Duke sat on one side angled slightly toward her with a knee resting on the couch cushion, and Gage mirrored his posture on her other side. This way they could see each other and her.
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll cook for you anytime you want. I enjoy it.”
“You would spoil me rotten. I’m used to eating cold food and lots of takeout.”
Gage asked, “You don’t like to cook?”
Emma scrunched up her nose as she finished chewing and smiled at him. “Cooking is not one of my natural skills. I’m great with a sandwich or cracking open a container of yogurt but unfortunately I’m not much good with a stove.”
Gage took the plate from her when she was done, and they quickly became engrossed in the movie which had been on, playing in the background, since she got there. Duke smiled as he reached out and stroked the top of her hand where it lay on the couch cushion.
Emma slipped her colorful clogs off and pulled her feet up in front of her, with her knees pressed to her chest. Gage grinned when he saw that she wore cheery, striped toe socks with little smiley faces on the top of each toe.
“I hate this part,” she said with a giggle as she put her parted fingers over her eyes then looked through them.
On the television screen, the deep, guttural voice of the Mouth of Sauron spoke. “The halfling was dear to thee, I see. Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host.”
Gage smiled when she whispered on with the dialogue. She looked up at him and smiled, a twinkle in her eyes, as he and Duke both inched a little closer.
Emma peeked at the screen and whispered, “Come on, Aragorn. Cut off his head.” She shuddered as the hideous masked character grinned perniciously. Gage had to hold back a chuckle, she was so cute.
Because she was so into the movie, Gage and Duke let her watch to the end without distraction.
While the credits rolled, Emma asked, “Do you ever feel like you missed the adventure in your life?” Her voice was soft, and Gage could tell that her mood had mellowed from earlier.
They’d spent time with her Friday evening, but this was the first time she’d ever seemed introspective. Emma hummed softly for a second and said, “Like you’ve missed the chances you were supposed to take?” She hugged her knees as she looked from one to the other of them.
Duke replied, “Yeah, I think I know exactly what you mean.”
Gage wondered what Duke was getting at but held his tongue to see where the conversation went.
Gage noted that Emma spoke with her hands, communicating a lot about her emotions, as she said, “I graduated from high school early. I went straight into college and then medical school and finished early with my degree. I set up my medical practice and opened the clinic while many of my high school classmates were still in those years where they had the freedom to party and be social with few responsibilities. Don’t get me wrong, I consciously chose that course and I’m happy and proud of where I am today. I just wonder sometimes about what I missed.”
Gage noticed that her hands were trembling as she said, “I sometimes feel geeky and…socially awkward and I wonder…” When she paused, Gage kept silent because he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes and wanted to let her finish her thought. “It’s my own fault that people know me only as Doctor Emma. In social settings that’s who I am.”
Gage could relate to what she was saying. He and Duke weren’t exactly the suave and debonair types either. They were more comfortable playing Call of Duty online with their friends or going to the movies.
One little elderly lady in their apartment complex had even mistaken them for a gay couple because they usually did everything together. Since they’d corrected the misunderstanding, she’d been trying to set them up with her granddaughters. After finding out that the granddaughters liked to go dancing, they’d been making excuses. Neither of them knew how to dance.