[Heath POV]
A date, the first I had ever been on. Well, excluding that prom date I was forced to go to because my father wanted me to date more as he worried I would die single, but that wasn't officially a date, so I don't count this.
Though it is my first, Fiona has been on more dates; she has been impressed by a lot of guys, and my attempt might just end up being underwhelming.
"Can you stop stressing already?" Lucas chimes, "I spoke to the ship's crew, and they will help you out."
"What if she hates it?"
"Then you will try again. I am sure Fiona is not the type to cut you off just because you planned one awful date," Lucas reasoned, but it didn't stop me from worrying. The Fiona Lucas I know is a different woman from the Fiona I know. The Fiona I know wouldn't stand for anything short of impressive.
And I wouldn't let her, I wouldn't let Fiona Lennon settle for less, because she should never, she should always get the best, because she deserves the best.
"Come on, tell me how you got Selby, maybe that would help Fiona," I chimed in.
"Well…..."
"Don't finish, considering Selby's personality, she probably bagged you, not the other way around," I say, "I will ask Gian."
Just a dinner at the sea aquarium wouldn't be bad, but then again, he is attempting to impress Fiona, and that might just be scratching the surface.
Gian doesn't give much advice either; all he says is 'just be yourself, Fiona would like you as long as you are your authentic self.'
"Sir, um… the chef is busy with the other cruise ship members' food, it will be impossible to cook for you and your date," one of the crew members chimes in.
I had given them a menu based on Fiona's likes, and it deviated a lot from the cruise's usual menu.
"Isn't there any other way? I didn't really want to disappoint Fiona." I tried to plead, How am I doing to impress her on a regular menu she has already seen?"
"I am sorry, unless you know another chef who can cook," the lady suggested.
This gives me another dumb idea, and a dumb idea I wouldn't mind trying. That is what Gian said: be my authentic self, and my authentic self is a risk taker.
"Can you please take me to an empty kitchen and the ingredients needed for the food on the menu?" I chime happily.
"You have a chef who would help you?"
"No, I will do it myself," I chime optimistically, but the lady is clearly not impressed at all. She looked at me, puzzled, hoping I would tell her it was a joke.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"Of course, I am," I say boastfully.
"Um…. Sir?"
"The sooner I start, the better. I don't want to disappoint Fiona," I say. She looks at me very concerned before sighing.
"Fine, I will have the other staff bring the ingredients," she says. She stops for a while before looking at me, "I will bring some of the staff who are on duty to see if we can assist you. Your lady deserves a good meal."
She smiles before running to get what I told her. I feel really hopeful. Maybe if Fiona sees me cooking for her, she will ask me to marry her that instant. Who doesn't love a man who can't cook but tries for his woman?
"Sir, please don't do that, you will cut yourself again," I hear the umpteenth scolding.
Okay, here's a thing: cooking is not hard, just follow the steps well, and you will be a pro, but that is where I come in. I don't really like following the steps.
This brings up the problem at hand, because I am bad at following steps. I have three cut fingers, twelve burnt dishes, and a date in two minutes.
"I messed up, sorry," I say. The staff looks at me in defeat and pity.
"It is okay, the fish and chips turned out fine," one of the staff chimes optimistically, but I already feel deflated.
"I can't feed Fiona my fish and chips; she will break up with me before we even date," I mumble, disappointed.
I heard a very amused laugh from the door, and there she was, the most beautiful woman to ever exist, chuckling away in my pain.
Her beautiful, fancy blue dress hugged her so wonderfully, with the lacey parts showing her toned skin. Her figure was phenomenal. Maybe mathematicians should quit trying to solve for x and find the equation that made Fiona's beautiful figure, because it should be studied for generations.
She wore navy blue heels, making her confident, sensual-dominating posture shine, and if I tell you the truth, those hips were telling me stories that made me want to be a feral wolf.
"You cooked for me?" she chimes seductively, her beautiful curls tied into a nice, messy bun, making that wonderful, dimpled face.
I nervously rush to her side before extending my cut hand to her. She looks at the bandages around my fingers.
She cutely took my hand, making sure she hadn't opened any of my wounds. "Let's see what you got, Duncan," she teased.
The rest of the staff were clearly cheering for me; they looked at us very enthusiastically. She looks over to the messy kitchen with all the burned food. I feel embarrassed. I had vowed to wow this woman, and now I am embarrassing her.
"You really tried your best. I am proud of you," she leans in before giving me a small kiss on my nose. I feel my whole body burning up with excitement.
"But the dishes got burned, sorry," I said, walking her to the nicely set table. I had made sure the most beautiful lily adorned her table; Clover had told me it was her favorite.
"Stop stressing your fool, you're no chef," he says, "Come on, bring the food."
The two girls and one guy who were helping me cook immediately started serving the fish and chips. She takes one bite and smiles, "Delicious!" she chimes, but her face tells a different story.
Did I mess up the fish and chips? With just one bite, I could stop coughing up, she chuckled happily, watching me wheeze.
"You said it was delicious," I yelled, reaching for the water.
"What you wanted me to taste your salty fish alone," she chimes before continuing to laugh hysterically.
I messed up, I was given a chance, and I messed up. I bowed my head, refusing to look at her, as I was extremely embarrassed.
"Sorry, I messed up," I say sadly. She looks at me, puzzled.
"What? You tried your best to impress me, and that's all that matters. You cut your cute fingers," she says, kissing my wounds. She looks at me with those gorgeous eyes, eyes I want to look at forever.
"And you even forgot to wear something nice," she scolded, "This is the best date ever though."
"Give me another chance," I say, determined.
"Come on, let's just order from the restaurant upstairs," she chimes.
"But I…."
"No protesting, Heath Duncan, we are ordering from the restaurant upstairs," she orders firmly, and the others gladly agree with her.
"I will get your order," the girl says.
They had gladly taken our orders before serving us the food from the chef upstairs. Fiona and I had watched the beautiful aquarium, talking about nothing and fraternizing a lot.
"Can I tell you a secret?" she whispers as we are cuddling on the couch, watching a movie.
"Yes, please," I reply like a schoolboy with a crush.
"I can't cook either," she says before laughing happily. I watch her laugh, already seeing us in our new kitchen, blowing everything up and laughing.
"What a match made in heaven," I say happily, before giving her a very enthusiastic kiss on her cute nose.
"Yes, we are," he agrees before cuddling closer.
I hug her tight, planning our next date. It better not be a disaster like this one. I will not be cooking until I learn how, because, face it, neither she nor I can cook, so one of us will have to learn what we are going to feed our kids if we cannot cook.