“Huh?!” I exclaimed in pure surprise. “Why are you so shocked? We’re in a kitchen, there’s a bunch of ingredients and cooking tools, and you can cook. Cook us some lunch, little girl,” he said as if it was really the most obvious solution to our problem. “Can you not call me a little girl…” I said softly before I could stop myself. “You don’t like it? I think it’s rather cute. What about little maid instead?” he suggested before he grinned playfully at me. “Nevermind…” I whispered in resignation. “A cute name suits a cute girl, no? I’m hungry…can you start cooking already?” the man said before he chuckled in pure amusement. “Umm…sure…” I replied while still confused at this sudden turn of events. It seemed like our quest for food ended up with me cooking for the both of us. Honestly, I didn’t mind cooking. It was something that I enjoyed and did very often when I lived at the orphanage. Just standing in this kitchen reminded me of home, the orphanage, along with all the girls there. I wonder how they are doing right now. “I can’t really cook but if there’s something that I can help out with then feel free to let me know,” the man offered. Now that he mentioned it, there was in fact something that I needed him to help out with. “What would you like for lunch?” I asked. “Oh, I get to put in a special request?” he asked teasingly. He smiled at me again and I could tell that he was pleased. I wasn’t surprised when my heart skipped a beat. Although I felt excited around him, it also felt like I had known him for a long time. Something about his voice sounded familiar; however, I knew that I was just imagining things. I’ve never met him before… “If I can make it, I’ll cook it for you,” I said before I returned his smile. “Sounds great but I’m not a picky eater. Just make something you’re good at,” he replied after a few seconds of thought. “Are you sure?” I asked. “Yes,” he replied without hesitation. With the ingredients and equipment that were available, I would have no trouble cooking anything that I wished and knew how to. Something that I was good at and that would be good for lunch… Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened and a man dressed in a standard chef uniform walked in. His eyes widened immediately when he saw us. “Oh hey, Daniel! I thought you weren’t at work today. Come with me for a bit…” the man called out loudly to the man who had just entered. Before Daniel could say anything in response, the man looped his arm around Daniel’s shoulders and ushered him out of the room. That left me feeling a little confused, but I figured that they wanted to have a private conversation. That suited me just fine because I could focus on my cooking. “Sorry about that!” the man said when he returned to the kitchen. “Oh!” I exclaimed in surprise. I was in the middle of putting in the chopped vegetables into the boiling soup when he suddenly came back into the kitchen. My surprise led me to drop the vegetables suddenly into the soup. I felt a searing pain on my left hand’s fingers from the hot water splashing upwards onto them and I cried out as I pulled my hand back. “Are you ok?” the man asked with clear concern. He was by my side immediately. It did hurt but it was nothing major; however, he took my hand in his and lifted it up to inspect my fingers with genuine worry. My heart leap in my chest at his closeness and the warmth of his comforting hand around mine. “I’m…Ah!” I said before a let out a small yelp. What is he doing?As suddenly as had appeared at my side, he lifted my fingers to his lips before his tongue emerged from between his beautiful lips. The wetness of the tip of his tongue grazed my finger gently as I watched in pure shock at the sight of him licking my injured fingers. “No…please…” I protested as embarrassment rushed into my chest. “Hold still,” he whispered with his eyes focused on my fingers. I gasp when my ring finger disappeared into the depth of his mouth. The warm wetness of his mouth enveloped my finger as he began sucking on it softly. I felt goosebumps form on my skin, and it felt like I was about to moan all the time as his lips and tongue continued paying attention to my finger. My body suddenly felt extremely sensitive, and a soft whimper escaped my lips. He let go out of ring finger just to engulf my other finger into his mouth. “Ahhh…” I let out an unintentional moan at the sensation of his mouth sucking on my finger. Why does it feel so…soothing? “It should be better now…” he mumbled softly after slipping my wet finger out of his mouth. Was this some medical technique common in this land that I wasn’t aware of? He turned to smiled at me before he slowly let go of my hand as if nothing had happened. I was speechless as I stared back at his handsome face. Did that really happen just now? I wasn’t sure if it was because of the shock that I felt about him licking and sucking on my fingers or because his treatment really worked, but the fingers had stopped hurting. Should I thank him…? “You need to be more careful and always pay attention to what is going on,” he reprimanded me although his tone wasn’t too stern. “Right…” I mumbled in agreement. “What are you making? It smells good…and looks good too…” he said as he looked over my shoulder down at the pot. “Some soup with a lot of vegetables and pork rib stock,” I announced quite proudly. After spending what felt like half an eternity convincing him that I was fine and that I didn’t need any help, the man gave up and sat down on a chair at the table in the kitchen as he waited for food to be served. I felt like I could concentrate on cooking again now that he wasn’t standing too close to me that our arms were practically touching. --To be continued…