1.04 – The day after

Chapter tune: Bon Jovi – Bed of roses

Rose woke up dizzy, her head felt like it was ready to explode.

What happened last night?… Her mouth felt numb and suddenly she remembered her locking lips with Jared, leading to what appeared to be a one night stand. Oh no, did I sleep with him last night? Way to go Rose, you slept with someone for the first time ever, who is also the man involved with your boss and you don’t even remember it!… She felt really angry with herself. Good thing she were home and did not have to do the dreaded walk of shame.

After a couple of painkillers, she finally felt like she wasn’t going to faint during work. She couldn’t afford to have days off, not yet.

Madison and Emma had left the bar before any of this happened so they had no idea. Rose wouldn’t tell them of course, at least tonight. She felt too embarrassed to even deal with her thoughts, let alone someone else’s. As for Jared, he acted like nothing happened. That made Rose both sad and angry, but she wouldn’t show it. She couldn’t even bring herself to meet his eyes, although she died to.

When they finished work, Rose was standing outside waiting for her cab not noticing that Jared was dangerously near.

“Hey” he said casually. Oh no, he’s talking to me. Say something idiot, Rose thought to herself -but then became furious again. How dare he, he thinks I’m one of his conquests and now he’ll act like nothing happened.

“Hey to you too” she said coldly. 

“Wow, way to say thank you” Jared seemed surprised. 

“Wait, what do you mean?” Rose asked. 

“You were nearly passed out last night, who knows what would have happened at that bar if I hadn’t taken you home” he said playfully. 

“Did we…um..you know..did anything else happen last night?” Rose asked anxiously.

“You mean sleep together? You really think I’m the kinda guy that would take advantage of a situation like that?” Jared pretended to be insulted, but he couln’t hide his slight amusement with Rose’s lack of memory. “Anyway, I called our friend Emma to ask her where you live and she took over. So don’t worry, I didn’t see you naked or anything.” Jared’s amusement now was way more profound than before.

“She didn’t tell me anything though” Rose said skeptically, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks had turned bright red. 

“I asked her to, I imagined you would want to be left alone tonight. Last night was intense. You can hold your liquor though babe, I’ll give you that” Jared laughed.

“I’m not your babe” Rose spat. She immediately regretted it and added awkwardly “Anyway, thanks for last night, see you tomorrow”

Jared watched her as she left the bistro.

She is an interesting one. She scares easily, that’s for sure. Better be careful not to push her away, I would love to find out what’s she’s like in bed.

His phone interrupted him from some, let’s say, not so pure thoughts: “Baby, I missed you tonight…So, you’re coming, n’est-ce pas? Sandi’s father took her for the weekend so I’m all yours” Molly purred from the other side of the line.

“Yeah, I guess. Don’t think that I forgot the stunt you pulled last night. I’ll make sure you pay for what you did” Jared said with a grin on his face as he took off.

–

The next days were easier for Rose. The incident was almost forgotten, though Emma and Madison were still teasing her from time to time. She hadn’t set foot to the bar since that night and she had focused all her energy to her cooking skills. She had gotten better at it but still, she couldn’t help but think that there was room for improvement, which Madison’s old book couldn’t offer.

One night, during a break, Jared and Rose wound up talking about work.

“So, how are you coping?” Jared asked.

“I’m not sure I have what it takes yet” Rose replied sadly “I have been studying and practicing, but I can’t find any inspiration to really get better. I’m so afraid that I’ll wind up scrubbing pans for the rest of my days” she joked, but Jared could tell that a part of her believed it.

“You know what” he said “a couple of weeks back I took some classes, really unique stuff. They may not be applied here at the bistro of course, not everything at least, but they do change your perspective on cooking. I could show you what I learned sometime. Don’t worry kiddo, I can spot talent when I see it, and I can tell you that you most certainly will not be scrubbing pans for much longer”

He must really love his job, Rose thought. She had never seen someone so excited, not even Madison who would enthuse about literally anything. “I’ll accept your offer on one condition” she smiled “-never call me kiddo again”. “You got it kiddo” Jared said playfully, knowing somehow that deep down she loved it.

As they headed back inside through the back door, they didn’t notice Molly who, this whole time, was standing there hearing everything. And she was not happy.