Joan found herself unable to peel her eyes away from Larry, whose focused comportment made him even more dashing.
The twinkling, bright eyes that adorned his chiseled visage complimented his arched nose and slightly pursed lips. At that moment, she felt like she would do anything and everything for that man.
“Don’t just stand there. Come have a seat.”
Larry barely gave her any time to daydream and called out to her.
“Coming!”
Having said that, she hurriedly washed her hands and walked to the dinner table. Then, she sized the dishes up.
Upon her first glance at the table, she gulped nervously.
Larry, who was ever so thoughtful, had prepared four different dishes and a soup for her. This should be… pumpkin soup, right? Yeah… I think so. Although its color looked odd, Joan was sure it was pumpkin soup.
Hmm… I guess the plate of sauteed mushrooms looks rather appetizing. And this must be… mashed potatoes? The color looks a little funny though… Now, this is… mac and cheese with bacon bits? Or is that beef?
Joan was unable to determine the ingredients of that dish.
Wait! What the hell is this? Why is it all dark and burnt?
Joan briefly scanned the table and weighed her options.
It seemed like the sauteed mushrooms were the only dish that was edible, while the others looked rather venomous.
Nah… The worst thing that could happen is that the food tastes bad. I’m sure it’s not poisonous…
“Quick. Try them. This is my first time cooking, so I hope you don’t mind.”
Larry looked up at her in anticipation.
With the sacrifices Larry had made for her, Joan found it difficult to reject him.
She plucked up the courage and slowly reached out for the sauteed mushrooms.
Gasp!
Joan picked up a piece of mushroom and put it in her mouth. After the first bite, she sneezed. These mushrooms are nice, just way too salty…
“How’s it? Good?”
Larry questioned enthusiastically like a child.
“Yep, it’s great. Just a tad salty.”
Joan said with a smile as her eyes twinkled in amusement.
“That’s great. I will improve the next round. Try this.”
Larry pointed at the plate with a black mass.
The dish looked all dark and sticky. Worried, Joan hesitantly put a small serving into her mouth.
“Mm? It tastes fine!”
She originally thought she was doomed after ingesting the dish that looked inedible, but to her surprise, it turned out fine.
“This egg tastes quite delicious,” Joan quickly praised Larry.
“That’s not egg! That’s salmon.”
Larry gave her a puzzled look.
“Oh, I see… They’re quite similar anyway. Hehe.”
She eked out an awkward smile and carried on scooping a tiny serving of mac and cheese.
Upon putting it into her mouth, she realized that the bacon bits weren’t even fully cooked.
She contemplated spitting it back out. However, she feared upsetting Larry.
Larry was quick to notice that she paused after taking a bite. Confused, he fed himself a spoonful of the dish.
“Ugh…”
He barely took a bite before spitting it all out. Now, he finally understood why Joan had that odd expression.
After that, he quickly tasted the other dishes, but they all tasted funny, to his dismay.
“You should tell me if the food tastes bad! Why are you pretending like they’re scrumptious?”
He felt a tinge of guilt and uttered, “I didn’t know I was so bad at cooking.”
“It was your first time! Don’t beat yourself up over it. When I first started cooking, I was nowhere near your standard.”
Joan hurriedly tried to console him.
