Chapter 42: Sizzling Conflicts

HELENA. In the living room, Luna sat on the couch, munching on some chips. I didn't see Aaron, but the faint clattering of pots gave away his location. I sighed, and dropped to the sofa. 'Are we gonna find out who's the winner now?" Luna asked, her mouth filled with crispy treats. 'Yes yes, I'm still in the mood for a celebration barbecue." Vee chipped in. 'I don't know guys, that was a lot of meat. What was going on between you two? I said just get us barbecue meat, not a feast." The entire meat outside would be enough to feed 50 people, or more. 'I wanna know who won." Aaron's low voice rumbled across the room. I snapped my head in his direction, and he met my gaze, his eyes intense. I looked away immediately. 'Of course he does. Luckily for you, my competitive spirit is just as high as yours." Luna smiled, getting off the couch and tossing the packet of chips into the bin. Then she walked towards the front door. 'You wish." Aaron snorted, and followed her. Me and Veronica exchanged glances. I helped Veronica out of the house, and four of us stood in front of the massive pile of flesh and bones. It made me nauseous. Luna separated the piles, the ones from her and those from Aaron. Aaron went to inspect them, making sure each of his kills were all in his pile. The two heaps were almost the same height, so we decided to call it a tie. Aaron wasn't having it. 'Let's measure the weight of each." He insisted, furrowing his brows. 'We don't have a scale here. Or anything at all to measure them." I muttered. 'We don't need one. Luna?" He nodded at her, crossing his arms. 'Why do you derive pleasure in stressing me out?" She whined, but her fingers got to work. She drew strange patterns in the air, and began muttering a few words. She was right when she said she was as competitive as he was. 'As if you don't like it." He smiled. The air around her fingers shimmered and distorted, a faint purple light glowing from them. A small wand appeared between her fingers, and she stopped chanting. She got up, and I stared at her in awe. I tried sneaking a glance at Aaron. His hands were crossed, his taut muscles tensed. His eyes were focused on Luna's movements. He didn't look back. Luna poked the wand into Aaron's heap. '35.7 kilos." She said, smiling a bit. She walked over to hers, and poked it. Her brows wavered for a second, before she exhaled and said, '34.9 kilos." 'That's right baby!" Aaron chuckled. He marched towards his pile, shaking his hips in a celebratory manner. It was cute as fuck. He smiled widely, spreading his arms and dancing around the meat. 'Alright! Who's ready for some barbecue?" 'Calm your horses. It's just a 0.8 kilo difference." Luna said, folding her arms. There was a glint in her eyes, instead of defeat. She looked…proud. 'The key word there is ‘difference', Luna. I win. You don't get to make fun of me ever again." He howled. 'Whatever you say, smarty pants." Luna chuckled, walking back to the house. We set up the barbecue stand directly in front of the yard. It was old, something we hadn't used since I probably left Henley. I had a lot of old unused stuff here. I really needed to check them out. The barbecue needed cleaning, so Aaron and Luna got to work. I sat down with Veronica on the porch. 'You don't think he'll start acting weird do you?" I asked, fiddling with my nails. He was standing over the barbecue, while Luna worked on scraping underneath the mantle. I watched as his muscles flexed and relaxed with each movement. His tattoos scattered across his chest and arms, and the faint scar on his left shoulder. His green eyes reflected the moonlight, glowing every one or two minutes. His hair was messy, and he kept running his fingers through it to keep it out of his face. He was….beautiful. 'He's a softie, but he'll come around. I like him." Vee said, kicking her feet. 'I don't want any problems between us." I hung my head low. 'Why don't you two just go out? Just the both of you. Take him on a tour or something. You guys have a lot to talk about." She was staring straight at me. 'Maybe you're right. But..he doesn't belong here. I…I don't know Vee. Sooner or later he's gonna have to leave." 'Look at him. Does he look like he wants to leave?" I turned towards him and Luna. Luna was scolding him about something, and he stared at her in amusement. She smacked his face, and he pretended to cry. She smacked him again. 'No, no he doesn't. But that's not his decision to make." The thoughts of it made me shudder, so I cast them aside. 'You guys! We're done!" Luna called. I stood up and pushed Vee closer to the grill. Luna hauled her heap of meat while Aaron dashed into the house to get some spices, and bowls of water. He began to wash the meat, skinning the animals and scraping off dirt. He was a natural at cooking, regardless of anything. Luna started the fire, and kept it warm enough. Soon, Aaron was down and he placed the tender pieces of calf and skin on the grill. It sizzled, then began cooking with a lovely aroma. 'Damn, this smells so good." The words slipped without consciousness. I wanted to dive right in. He shot me a glance, then smiled faintly. It was a small smile, heartfelt and emotional. My heart skipped several beats. Why did he smile? I thought he was mad at me? ‘Why would he be mad at you?' ‘Because you said he's not your boyfriend. The man is in love with you.' ‘Well he should make his intentions known. ‘Do you think that's easy?' ‘Y'all should just shut up.' The voices in my head went on rampage. I tuned them out eventually, and in a few minutes, the first batch of smoked barbecue was ready. My mouth watered. 'Let's dig in, everyone!" Vee said cheerfully. She loved barbecue. It was one reason she loved bacon as much as I did too. We all sat on the edge of the porch, savoring the juicy and flavorful taste of smoked meat. I looked up from my plate and found Aaron staring at me, his pupils fully dilated. Maybe it was the dark, but I could've sworn his eyes were thin slits. He smiled again, his eyes heavy with emotion. He wasn't mad, he was hurt. I sighed. Maybe the night wasn't too ruined after all.