Ram Priya One Shot Series-Sugar, Spice and Sweet Paradise
#5: Cookies and Cabernet
"And she got intoxicated after having a few sips of vodka!"
Ram and Sandy burst out laughing as Priya gaped at them in horror. He was recounting how Priya had been intoxicated after dinner at Vedika's.
"For your information, the Paneer allergy and the medicines caused the drowsiness. "
"That doesn't even make sense," Sandy said, chuckling behind her palm.
"You don't make sense!" Priya snapped like a child.
Ram couldn't help but cover his laughter and looked at his wife. How could someone be like a kid in a moment and take on the Chandi roop in the very next second was beyond him, but only his wife was capable of that, and when she did that, it seemed completely natural.
"Anyway, I need to get back to the kitchen. Sandy, take the counter. I need to start working on the cookies. Mrs. Shah will be here in two hours to collect them," Priya said, trying to change the topic, but Ram and Sandy saw through it and nodded their heads in mock seriousness. Sandy went to the counter, and Ram went back to working on a presentation.
Priya had just finished cooling the batter when Ram came into the kitchen.
"You know, maybe I should redo those cookies."
"You mean the Cookieburra?" Priya said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"For your information, Meera Maa has been teaching me how to bake, and last week, she said I was getting good at it!"
"You stay away from my mother and stop stealing her!" Priya said and raised the spatula threateningly at Ram.
"Shant, Gadhadhari Bheem. Also, accept it, Meera Maa loves me and my cookies more than she loves you!"
"Sure she does! And I am Miss India!" Priya scoffed.
Ram placed an invisible crown over Priya’s head and grinned.
"Oh yeah. Listen, I’m going to bake my cookies now and if they are anything better than yours, you will take a sip of the Cabernet that Shashi gifted us last week!"
"You know I don't drink."
"Running away from a challenge is the classic sign of a loser, Mrs. Priya Sood Kapoor," Ram smirked at Priya, knowing very well that saying "challenge" and her full name was enough to get her to do anything.
"Fine, but you cannot bake now. I need the kitchen for the next hour."
"Thank God." Ram sighed, relieved. Priya raised her eyebrows at him
"I mean, you should thank God that Mrs. Shah and her order saved you. In a few hours, you will be eating the world's best cookies and your words!"
He covered up and walked out of the kitchen haughtily.
At night, Priya entered her bedroom to see Ram sitting on the bed with a box filled with cookies and a bottle of Cabernet.
"Are you serious?"
"No, I am Ram Kapoor, master chef. Come on, try these amazing cookies! I bet you will be licking your fingers, begging for more!"
He offered them to her.
Priya rolled her eyes and took a cookie from him, her heart skipping a beat as their fingers brushed.
She looked at the perfect shape and then bit into it, and inadvertently, a moan escaped her mouth. She covered her mouth, embarrassed, and looked at Ram, who shifted uncomfortably. The moaning had almost made his heart lurch and his belly flip uncomfortably.
"That good, huh?" He smirked to cover the turmoil that raging hormones were causing in his head, all because his wife had let out one tiny moan.
"This is amazing!" Priya smiled blissfully as she finished off the cookie.
"I told you, I am the best! Gordon Ramsey got nothing on me!" he said, smugly. But he knew he owed his coup to Meera Ma who had helped him after he had burnt the first batch of cookies. But of course he wasn’t going to tell his wife that! He was going to enjoy this small, but rare victory over her.
"And now for a sip of this Cabernet!" He pushed the bottle towards her. She looked at him angrily for a few seconds and then sighed.
He poured a small amount in a shot glass and gave it to her. Then, he poured a generous amount for himself.
She almost gagged and then covered her mouth as she pushed the bitter drink down her throat. She then grabbed another cookie.
"Wait a minute, this tastes like Ma's cookies," she said, raising her eyebrows suspiciously and he gave her a deeply wounded look.
"But I like them because you made them for me," she said and leaned in, her breath fanning his lips. He struggled to breathe, shocked at the closeness. He wanted to bridge that little gap between their lips. Instead, he pulled away, replacing the wine bottle and glasses.
He looked longingly at his wife, who had crashed on the bed, mumbling in her sleep about how the cookies reminded her of home.
Yup, there was no doubt - his wife's alcohol tolerance was as weak as his baking skills and his knees right now.
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Thanks to LizzieBennet,for beta reading and giving me this prompt. Credits to the book cover to Haal-E-Dil.
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