Matthias was getting really confused after getting played around by Heather. He never realized Heather was a picky eater until that point.
“What about Thai then?” he asked.
“Isn’t that Southeast Asian too?” she shot back.
Oh d*mn. He was feeling awkward. I was in too much of a hurry. “What about spicy food?” he asked patiently.
Heather only smiled, and it sent a chill down Matthias’ spine, for he had a feeling that he had done something wrong. A while later, Heather said, “You’ve eaten with me a few times before, but you don’t seem to notice my preferences.” She wanted to see how patient he would be with her, and if he would accept her unreasonable actions.
He gazed at her with a look of resignation, since he never did notice the details. Thus, Matthias tried to think back on the times he shared a meal with her, but it didn’t help. All he could recall was that the first time they had a meal date was at a Western restaurant.
Since that was his only lead, he decided to bet on it. “So, Western then?” He hoped she’d say yes, so he stared at her closely, trying to get an answer from her expression.
“I don’t really like to have Western food for lunch.” She refused him with a flimsy excuse, apparently being as picky as she could.
Matthias was frowning now. Wow, women are hard to handle when it comes to meals. No wonder they’re always called fussy. If it weren’t because she was the woman he liked, he would rather spend his time with his boys. After all, women were frustrating to handle. “What about some light food then?” Matthias was running out of ideas, and he was wondering why Heather was being so picky.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not filling at all.” Heather was laughing in secret when she noticed how confused Matthias was getting.
Matthias was still trying to come up with an idea, so he didn’t realize she was setting him up on purpose. Love could turn anyone into a fool, so the usually sharp Matthias was looking a bit dumb at that moment. “Do you have any ideas then?” Matthias didn’t want to give any suggestions anymore, since Heather would refuse it and insult him.
Heather shook her head, pretending to be as lost as Matthias was. “I have no idea. Why don’t you make the choice?” She kicked the ball back to his court again. Heather had decided that it would be his fault no matter what.
In response, Matthias stared at her hand, and he remembered how he held her hand back at the spaceship. The sensation riled his urge up, and he wanted to hold her hand in public too. A moment later, he went through with that idea, much to her surprise. He felt nervous holding her hand, but he pretended to be calm. In the beginning, Heather struggled, but she calmed down after that, letting him hold her hand.
“Since you have no idea what we should eat, then hotpot it is.” Matthias had made the decision directly. There was no time to waste, and he wasn’t accepting no for an answer. The sky was overcast, and the air was cold, so it was the perfect time for hotpots.
“I don’t like hotpots,” Heather said in refusal. She didn’t like the smell of hotpots, so she refused to go to a hotpot restaurant.
“But I do,” Matthias said aggressively, then he took her away.
In the meantime, Heather stared at her hand, feeling dismal. She never expected herself to end up like that. Matthias didn’t get mad with her, nor did he keep throwing out ideas until Heather said yes. Instead, he went straight for a hotpot, much to her chagrin and amusement. That wasn’t in her plan though.
The hotpot restaurant’s air was filled with the smell of seasonings and boiling soup. Heather never liked hotpot restaurants, since she didn’t want the smell to linger on her. No matter how classy a hotpot restaurant was, the smell would still linger in the air, and having that kind of smell wafting off a lady like her was unbecoming.
After they found a seat, Heather sat down across from Matthias. He was going to sit with her, but she chased him to the opposite side. “You actually like hotpots?” she asked in disbelief. Heather thought Matthias was just joking, since she thought there was no way he actually liked hotpots.
“Is that a problem?” Matthias then proceeded to order the side dishes without any hesitation, while Heather watched him.
“Don’t you think hotpots smell weird?” Heather asked. She could feel the smell starting to stick on her, and she had decided to dump the shirt she was wearing.
Matthias smiled. “My mother was a Clysedalean, so she brought me to hotpot restaurants all the time when I was a kid. I like spicy food.” That was the first time Matthias brought his late mother up, and Heather couldn’t say anything to that. She knew that his mother had passed a long time ago, so Matthias might see hotpots as a way to pay tribute to his mother. No wonder he likes hotpots.
“The Lockes forbade me from having any hotpots and forced me to acquire table manners. They wanted me to be a gentleman, and they saw hotpots as nothing but a pleasure for the lowly men. They think Western food is classier, but I beg to differ. Taste is a subjective thing,” he said seriously, and he had a good point. Thanks to that, Heather’s distaste for hotpots lessened, even though only by a bit.
“Well, preferences should be respected, but I’m not really interested in hotpots.” Instead of ‘dislike’, Heather was now ‘uninterested’.
“What would you like then?” Matthias was holding the menu while staring at her seriously, expecting her to come up with an idea of what she liked.
However, Heather didn’t have any idea, and she was getting nervous from being stared at. Furthermore, she was feeling guilty for playing him like a fiddle earlier. “Hotpot it is then,” she answered gently, since there was no need to argue with him.
At that, he smiled victoriously while asking, “Would you like it to be slightly spicy or moderately spicy?”
To his surprise, she answered, “I want it to be super spicy.” Heather put on a steely look, though her obstinance was part of her charm.
Matthias was surprised, so he tried to confirm with her once more. “Are you sure you want that?” He liked spicy food, and the hotpot was made in authentic Clysedale style, so it was really spicy. Thus, he was worried she wouldn’t be able to take it.
“Yeah. I can take spicy food,” she answered adamantly.
He nodded. “Sure. Super spicy it is then.” She can be a kid sometimes. Well, let’s see how she likes it then.
Their hotpot was served a short while later. In true Clysedale style, it was separated into nine parts. The soup was dark in color, and the smell was as spicy as it got, which made Heather sneeze. The smell was spicy enough, but Heather still tried to make herself look unfazed.
At the same time, Matthias was staring at her, waiting for the moment she would take her first bite, but Heather simply smiled at him nonchalantly. Then, she stared at the hotpot; she couldn’t handle spicy food.
Heather couldn’t understand why she would try to one up Matthias every time. Every time they met, she’d act like a child, losing her usual cool. Because of that, she set herself up for a torture session this time.
Also, Heather was averse toward mutton, for she hated the strong scent, so Matthias only dunked the mutton in one space, leaving the others clean. “This place’s mutton is nice though.” He spoke as he munched on the mutton.
“No. I hate the smell and its texture.” She stood her ground. There was a line she wouldn’t cross, so she wouldn’t even give any mutton a chance.
“Oh, have more beef then.” Matthias then put the beef in another space. He wanted Heather to have more meat, but she waved him down.
“I don’t want any meat. I’ll just have the greens,” she replied. Even though Matthias was enjoying the meat, Heather thought it was viscerally disgusting to see him eat. The smell alone was spicy enough to make her stomach hurt, so she couldn’t even work up an appetite. Quietly, she dunked some greens into the hotpot, thinking that it wouldn’t be too spicy.
Matthias smirked. She’s cute when she’s not honest with herself. Heather was eating her greens bit by bit, while Matthias was already working up a sweat, so he took his sweater off.
As the spiciness started bursting in her mouth, Heather was struck by an urge to cry, but she stayed calm. D*mn. I shouldn’t have pushed myself if I knew this was going to happen. That’s it. No hotpots from now on.
They only ordered the side dishes, so there were no drinks around. “Alcohol or juice?” Matthias asked after noticing that Heather’s face had turned scarlet from the spiciness.
He used to think she was too fair, so she was cute when she turned scarlet, not to mention alluring. By now, Heather looked like a ripe peach ready for the picking, and Matthias wanted to pick it.
Having alcohol would just make it worse, and Heather didn’t want to torture herself further, so this time, she chose to be honest. “Lemon water, please.” Some sour drinks should lessen the spiciness, she thought.
Matthias tried his hardest not to laugh at her. She was just too adorable, and he wanted to record her, but she might think it was rude and get upset.
After the waiter came with the warm lemon water, Heather gulped one big glass down in an instant. The warmth was soothing, though it only alleviated the spiciness by a bit. The hotpot was too hot for her to go on, and she had forgotten all about her hunger.
Since all she did was drink, Matthias took some beef for her, which made her shoot him a glare. “I told you I’m not having any meat.” So why are you still giving me meat? I thought I told you I don’t want them. Her face turned redder, though part of it was because of Matthias.
“All you had was some veggies. That’s not enough. You need your protein,” Matthias said, insisting on her having the meat. He couldn’t understand why some people choose to be vegetarians, though he knew Heather wasn’t one. Heather finished a whole steak the last time they had Western food.
“No. I don’t feel like eating.” She frowned, feeling something burning in her stomach, and she knew her condition would blow up if she kept it up.
That was when Matthias put his cutlery down. “Right, I’m stopping now then.” He grinned at her, much to her confusion.
What is he thinking?
