I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 104: Peanut Butter Cookies

Another day, another shift at Starmaids, and finally, I had a day off.

Alisha still got up at the usual time and I unravelled myself as well and stumbled down the stairs to make coffee. A little while later, Alisha joined me and accepted a mug and put her usual almond milk in it. 

“Matteo and Lili will be around with you today so don't be afraid to ask them for a ride. Matteo will be running Lili through some low impact training since they're both pretty beat up still.”

“Okay,” I agreed. There was less discomfort for me around Matteo now. I wouldn't strike up a conversation with him but at least I didn't feel threatened by him. And not feeling threatened by a man twice my size and trained to kill and/or torture people was quite a feat.

We sipped our coffee in silence until I asked, “Do you have a lot to do today?”

She nodded. “But things are starting to settle. With Matteo back in the ring especially.”

“I'm glad. You work too hard. And Tye does too. I don't know how you handle pay but you should like give him a raise or something.”

She smirked a little. “I've been giving him time and a half for the moment. So when we are through this terrible period, he could go on a vacation or something. A nice one.”

“What about you?” I asked.

“We just went on a little vacation,” she said a bit dismissively. 

“I mean, yes, but you were still recovering from a near death experience. You deserve a proper one. With, you know, cocktails on the beach and jacuzzies and seafood.”

I saw her brain processing. “You want to go to the beach?” she asked.

“Yes… no. I don't know. I want you to get to relax for a bit. For real without worrying about bombs and drugs and someone trying to break into your house to shoot you in your sleep. That's all.”

She hesitated. “Could you relax on the beach? After everything that's happened?”

“...no… but I’d still want to try,” I explained. “Even if it was futile.”

She gazed thoughtfully into her coffee mug. “Okay,” she agreed. “After things have settled we can go somewhere and try.”

I nodded. She pulled my chair a bit closer to her, wrapped her arm around my shoulders and simply let us exist until Tye and Matteo and Lili arrived. Then she gave me a kiss on the lips, lingering a bit too long before leaving with Tye to start their work for the day.

I was left feeling warm inside, and missing her.

Matteo and Lili spent the morning in the gym-room, talking about stuff in calm but serious voices. I let them have their space and instead got to work in the kitchen. We were low on cookie dough now, just some chocolate chip left and while Alisha didn’t eat that many sweets she always seemed a little cheered up by them. So I was determined to make some more. After some searching I found a recipe for peanut butter cookies we had everything for, which was the main constraint. Right now wasn’t really the time for needless trips to the store. I got to work, creaming butter and sugar, and discovering the jar of peanut butter hadn’t even been opened and was expiring soon so I was actually kind of glad to do these. It was still annoying to measure the sticky paste and I’d never realized how strong of a smell the stuff had until this moment, but it was still not so bad, and I was quickly finding myself admiring the ease at which a fancy criss-cross pattern could be impressed into them with just a fork. I let out a breath as the first bath baked. I only made six that were about the diameter of a half dollar. The rest were rolled, then impressed with the tines of the fork and then allowed to freeze for several minutes before getting scraped into a plastic bag to be frozen long term. I sat at the table while the others finished baking, scrolling along on my phone. The smell of sugar and peanut butter was filling the kitchen.

Lili wandered in as I slid them out of the oven and I looked up a bit surprised. She’d been a bit sour toward me the last time she’d been in this house. I didn’t expect her to approach but she looked apprehensive and stared at the cookies.

“They’re still hot but you can have a couple if you want,” I told her and set the tray on top of the stove.

“They just smell like the ones my mom made,” she explained. “And look like them too.”

Matteo came to hover in the doorway as Lili looked over the cookies.

“Would you like a couple?” I asked him as well, but had already started reaching for some saucer-sized plates to divide them up. I couldn’t quite understand the unbreached mask Matteo still had when I handed him one and he at least took it, staring at it intently as Lili moved to lean against the counter and poke the still-soft cookie. I took my own plate, gingerly picked up the hot cookie and took a nibble.

The flavor was subtle. Mainly sweet, and I craved more salty nuttiness than they offered. Lili however seemed quite content and gave Matteo a nudge.

“They’re just like Mom’s,” she explained. “You’ll like them.”

It was a bit amusing to watch the giant Matteo continue to process the cookies in front of him like I’d handed him something strange or alien. The look on his face continued to be blank though now tinted with confusion.

And then he finally picked one of the cookies up and took a bite. I tried not to stare. I’d never seen him eat or drink. It seemed like that was one of those things body guards avoided doing in front of clients, even if they were primarily mob enforcers. Tye rarely partook in that kind of behavior either.

“Like Mom’s right?” Lili asked Matteo.

Matteo nodded, finished the cookies, and then simply stated, “bathroom,” and left.

Lili stared after him, then glanced back at me. “Should I not have brought that up?” she asked anxiously.

I shrugged. “I don’t know anything about your mom. Or Matteo.” I gathered the dishes together and set them in the dishwasher.

Lili was still shaken, and even though she was up and active, her posture was still awkward from her broken ribs and the bruising and contusions still shadowing her face.

It might’ve been that Matteo just wasn’t comfortable in front of me, I thought. But I didn’t want to state that to Lili. It didn’t feel right. 

Still, if peanut butter cookies made his mask crack a little, it was good to know. I’d avoid it in the future.

AN: I hate my job. Sorry for the delays/ short chapter. Ended up taking an emergency leave from work to protect my mental and physical health and it took three days for my brain to clear up enough I could write again. I apologize if the writing here is a little choppy/not quite my usual quality or quantity. I'm still recovering, still pissed, still offended, but will be reevaluating how to prevent work burnout because it is impacting my personal and writing life and that's not sustainable to me.

Either way, enjoy the chapter. <3