Chapter 121: Great cook

When Aria and Daniel were busy having their serious conversation, Ivy brought Noah and Joshua to the small dining room. The table had seating only for four people. So, she pulled a chair from her room.

Though the apartment was big, the dining room was within the kitchen. With five people now, it would become cramped with restricted access for movement. The two bedroom apartment was jointly bought by her parents after they had married. When the twins were growing up, the couple decided to move to a bigger house. The apartment was given on rent until the disaster struck the family three years back.

After their mother's demise, the twins could not stay in the huge house. So, they had moved back to their old home. It was quite comfortable when only the two of them were in the house. But now in the presence of three tall men, the kitchen suddenly became crowded.

"Guys, we can have dinner in the living room," Ivy suggested after pushing the chairs to make sure the five of them could sit comfortably.

"We are fine Ivy. We don't have a problem sitting here." Joshua replied and sat on one of the chairs.

"Are you sure?" Ivy asked skeptically.

"Yes," Noah answered this time and he sat beside Joshua.

"If you say so. I'll get the food."

Ivy picked up the dishes and placed them on the table. She had prepared four dishes in total and they looked delicious. Though the two men, not even Noah who was a good cook, could not recognize what they were, the smell was appetizing.

"Looks delicious." Noah praised, his eyes twinkling.

"Does it also taste good or is it only the looks that are praiseworthy?" Joshua commented, though he was in fact drooling. The food sure appeared delectable.

"I think its better that you watch us eat the food. Then maybe after everybody had finished it clean, you might want to reconsider your words." Ivy sassed while Joshua sulked. Noah did not miss the spark between the two of them. It was quite evident from the way the two interacted. He had never seen Joshua this way before.

It was always Joshua who had flirted with women and had taken the last standing. But with Ivy, it was completely different. She not only was not affected by his friend's charms but also had insulted and scolded him. However, it was more surprising that Joshua was not annoyed by it. It was clear that they made an awesome couple and he wanted to see what the future had for them.

"Oh please. I want to save my stomach. I don't want to suffer from food poisoning and I definitely don't want to die early. I still have a lot to do."

"Yeah, you still have lots of women to do," Ivy remarked softly, yet it was heard by the two men. Noah smirked. His sister-in-law was a spitfire. This would be fun.

"How did you know that? Do you keep tabs on me?" Joshua's lips raised up in the corners.

"You wish."

"I wish a lot of things, Ivy. Tell me yours. Wait a second."

Noah turned to look at Joshua to see what he was up to now.

"Is it your wish to be done by me?" Joshua raised his eyebrows, smiling devilishly.

"I do not have such a bad choice. I have certain standards and you," Ivy pointed at him, "are way below it."

"I am hurt." Joshua acted as if in pain.

"Good." Ivy deadpanned.

Just when Noah was about to think that Aria and Danny had gone to speak for a long time, the two came to the dining hall.

"Hey, guys. What's happening?" Aria chirped. She looked happy which Noah noticed.

'What could the two have spoken about that Aria is smiling brightly?' Noah pondered, his heart filled with jealousy. He was unsure why he was feeling that way though he knew there was nothing between the two. They were just good friends.

"We were discussing how good my food would taste." Ivy's innocent words were completely misunderstood by Joshua's perverted mind. Realizing what he was thinking, Noah kicked him under the table warning him to control himself. The girls were too innocent to know things of this kind. However, the little act did not go unnoticed by Danny.

"Shall we have dinner?" He coughed, changing the topic.

Aria sat in between Noah and Danny while Ivy took the only unoccupied seat.

"Help yourselves," Ivy said.

"What is this?" Noah asked looking at the delicacy nearest to him. It was reddish-orange in color which resembled pasta.

"That is tteokbokki, a South-Korean dish. It is made using rice cakes" And before they could ask about other dishes, she answered herself. "This is Biryani, chicken and that is Irish muffin."

"Did you prepare all of these in such short notice?" Danny asked perplexed. He knew how good a cook Ivy was but he was still dumbfounded to see that she had cooked that much food.

"No. I prepared biryani and tteokbokki today. The chicken is from yesterday. I reheated it."

"Wow."

"You prepared tteokbokki." Aria was exhilarated.

"Yes, hog on." Before Ivy could complete her sentence, Aria took a spoonful from the bowl, filled her plate, and helped herself to it. She moaned in delight. It was her favorite dish and she couldn't help but devour it like a hungry pig.

"Sorry about that. This is her favorite and she cannot stop herself whenever she sees it." Ivy was suddenly embarrassed by her sister's behavior.

Everybody started to eat, other than Noah. Nobody saw the drop of sweat trickling down his face. Aria's moans had ignited a fire within him. It became too stressful to just sit and do nothing. It was also not helping that the woman he loved was sitting right beside him when he was in this state. He looked down and sighed. His little brother had become hard just listening to Aria's pleasing sounds.

Taking deep breaths, he tried to cool himself and diverted his mind to stare at his friend.

Danny had tasted Ivy's delicious food before. So, he started eating without any further ado while Joshua's gaze was fixed at the dish on his plate.

"Take a bite. You won't die, I promise." Ivy urged.

Listening to her, Joshua took a spoonful of biryani and ate in reluctantly. He was expecting it to be mediocre in taste. But to his surprise, it was mindblowing. The rice was cooked perfectly, the different spices blended with each other giving it a flavorful taste. His taste buds exploded in happiness; he had never tasted anything like that before. He immediately picked up another spoon.

"So?" Ivy fixed her eyes a him expectantly.

"It's okay." He said, teasing her.

Ivy scoffed, without giving him any reply. Not getting any counter-attack from the other party, Joshua looked up and stopped eating. Ivy was eating silently occasionally answering to Danny's questions.

After tasting all three dishes, except the one which was Aria's favorite, Joshua realized that Ivy was really good at cooking. Yet, he did not give her any compliments trying to pull her leg a little more. He went to have the spicy rice cakes. Before Noah could warn him about its spiciness, he had put it in his mouth.

Joshua hissed immediately, making his friend sigh. It was known among his friends that Jo could not handle spicy food. It was not his cup of tea. He spat the food and gulped a glass of water. Taking short breaths from his mouth, he tried to calm his burning tongue.

"What happened?" Aria asked watching the man behaving like a child.

"He cannot tolerate spicy food."

"Oh," Aria replied not knowing what to say. Meanwhile, Ivy had run to the kitchen to return immediately.

"Here. Have this." She handed him a spoon full of honey and held it in front of his mouth. Joshua swallowed it without wasting time. It took him a few minutes for the burning sensation to stop.

"Are you alright?" Ivy asked concerned.

"Were you worried about me?"

"Seeing that you are back to your original self, your tongue must have cooled down."

He gave her a toothy grin. Everybody resumed eating with Jo not even giving a glimpse towards the spicy rice cakes. It was around half-past nine when they finished dinner.

"We still have a box to finish. What shall we do?" Noah questioned, sitting on the sofa. His little brother had calmed down much to his relief. They were now in the living room, discussing the next course of events.

"What is this about?" Danny was ignorant of what was happening though he had seen the boxes as soon as he had arrived. Aria explained to him what they were doing and how Noah and Joshua were helping in their search.

"Do you want to stay?" Aria pulled the third box towards the center.

"I would have loved to, but I have a case hearing tomorrow morning. So, I'll have to leave." He stood up and took his car keys.

"That's okay. I'll inform you if we find anything."

Aria accompanied Danny till the door and came back to sit beside Noah. Meanwhile, Ivy was still in the kitchen. Noticing her absence, Joshua stood up.

"I'll get some water to drink. My tongue is still burning."

"I'll get it for you." Aria proceeded to stand up but he stopped her.

"It's okay Aria. I'll get it."

Without waiting for her reply, he went to the kitchen to see Ivy packing the leftovers in a box. He saw her walking around the kitchen without noticing his presence. Slowly, he took a step until he was standing right behind her. He observed her for a while until she turned around to bump right into him.

"What are you doing here? Do you need something?"

"I came to tell you something."

"What?" Ivy raised her eyebrows.

"You sure are a great cook. I would definitely like to try it once again." With that, he walked out of the kitchen, with a small smile plastered on his face.