The dinner table was full that compared to the previous one. Much of the talk that took place was very much the same as it had been the first two nights - something or other about family, vague work conversation, or asking Samuel what his plans were for the future or what he thought about something or other.
This night though, Lena was particularly quiet while she ate. It concerned Samuel at first, but he was the only who seemed bothered by her quiet behavior. Her main focus seemed to be on eating the food that was in front of her and paying attention to how much everyone else had eaten. Was this because she was waiting for dessert? If so, Samuel hoped that she wouldn't end up feeling disappointed when the time to eat it came around.
If he had cooked it on his own, he fairly sure it wouldn't have turned out the way that he wanted it to. It was only with Ryan's expert experience as a chef that the dessert turned out at all. The little queen didn't have to know though that it took over two tries to get the dessert mixed and set properly. Ryan had been willing to help him, but he made him do most of the work himself while he stood over his shoulder and gave him advice where he needed it.
He claimed that Lena would be happier knowing all the effort he had put into trying to make it taste as good as possible for her than she would if she knew he hardly had a hand in making it and let Ryan do all the work for him just to take credit for it later.
Samuel's other relief was at the fact that Zane hadn't asked about the picture while they were eating. He had asked if she enjoyed her day off, but much to the other's dismay, she had given her father a non-committal answer to this question. The only positive thing that she had said was that it was more interesting than she had thought it was going to be, though no one was enough of a challenge for her.
"So, Sam, what did you think about riding with Lena though?" Leo had been the one to ask this question. He seemed intent to hear the answer by the way that he leaned forward at the dinner table, a ghost of a smile on his lips most likely because he was expecting the other boy to tell him how scary it was riding with her. Instead, Samuel just shrugged his shoulders as he replied.
"The first time it took me a bit by surprise, but she's a good driver honestly. I can see where some might be scared by how fast she goes, but I rather enjoyed it. I could even get used to driving like that every now and again." It was an honestly reply. He liked the feeling of the thrill and the wind against his body even if his face couldn't feel it because of the helmet that he wore.
"The both of you must be crazy." Was all Leo had to say as he shook his head at the reply. "I tried countless times to get used to the way she rides. Even when I told her to slow down though, she'd only go faster. I swear she was trying to kill me."
"If I really wanted to kill you, there are much easier ways to go about it then that. I just figured you'd get less scared if you knew that I wasn't going as fast as I possible could while riding with you. Instead, you just continued to be a baby about." The little queen retorted. "Which is why I refuse to let you ride with me anymore. If you don't trust me, I can't have you riding with me because it's too much of a risk."
"Of course I trust my dear older sister." Leo confirmed. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to find certain things scary even if I do trust." Lena just rolled her eyes as it as she continued to eat.
"Maybe you'd change your mind if you tried riding with her again now. You might not find it to be as scary as you used to think." Samuel's suggestion was met with a nervous laugh.
"I think not after this conversation. If I tried, she'd purposely ride fast just to scare me." he looked over at the little queen to see if this was true. She didn't say anything however so he could only assume the younger brother was right.
"Guess it's a privilege I'll just get to enjoy." He mused. This thought was short lived however when Lena nudged him in the side a little roughly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I said you could ride with me only if you're well behaved and deserve it." Samuel huffed in response to this and shot her a displeased look.
"Maybe I should say that to you when it comes to dessert." The look that passed over Lena's face followed by the smirk let him know that he made a joke out of something he probably out not have.
"Sammy-boy, I would be careful what you tease about." She didn't say anymore than that, but it was enough to let him know that he might want to make watching that joke in the future or even following through on it if he desired to not get on her bad side.
Part of the reason for her reaction he figured was due to the fact that she was still waiting on dessert to be served that night. Such a threat while she was feeling impatient most likely only added fuel to the fire. Especially since it was directed at taking away the one thing that she had been waiting all evening for.
When dessert was finally served, Samuel was surprised to see only the little queen and himself had been served the dessert that he made. Was this a specific request by her or something Ryan had done on purpose? He wasn't sure either way. His primary concern was watching her facial expression to see if she liked the food or not.
Part of this was because he wanted her to admit that it was a fair agreement that they had so that he wouldn't have to owe her anything else. The other part was that he actually honestly did want to make something that she would enjoy eating. If they were going to be getting married and he would in charge of food most of the time, he had to at least know how to cook well enough that she wasn't going to complain.
Lena didn't dig into the dessert right away however. She actually stared at it intently for a moment or two before poking it with her spoon. Not hard enough to break it's form, but just enough to see how well it had set. It jiggled but surprisingly the dessert's form held. This was a more a interest in aesthetics for her than something that would impact the taste. Plus, she was quite well aware of the fact that Samuel was watching her and waiting intently for her verdict as to whether the dessert was good enough or not. Thus, she decided she'd hold out for a little while longer just to make him uncomfortable and perhaps question how well he did in terms of making the dessert.
Lena took a small bite first. She wanted to not only savor the dessert, but also make sure that what she was getting ready to eat did actually taste as good as it looked. She stared at it while she gave her mouth a chance to go through the different layers of flavor before coming a conclusion on how good the quality was.
Even after she had determined it was far better than she had expected, she didn't tell Samuel this and instead continued to eat slowly yet steadily without breathing one word to him as to what she thought about. He didn't seem to like this, but she didn't care. The goal was to make him uncomfortable.
"Does it taste alright?" Samuel finally asked once it became apparent to him that the princess wasn't going to give him an answer to his question of her own free will. Aside from her father, there was no one else sitting at the table who was really interested in finding out one way or another as to how she felt about the dessert.
She didn't reply right away however as she was still too focused on eating the rest of the dessert in front of her. She decided she would wait until she had finished all of it to relieve him of the torture of waiting for the verdict.
"You shouldn't so impatient Sammy-boy. Your nervousness is going to end up making your own dessert taste bad." She chided him as she pushed away the plate that was in front of her.
"I wouldn't sitting her so nervous if you just let me know what you think about the dessert." He replied back, anxiety evident in his voice. He really did seem to worry about what the consequences might be if she didn't like the dessert. That was a good thing in her book.
"The way you're going about it isn't going to make anyone give you the answer that you're looking for. But if I had to tell you what I thought about it. Hmm.." She trailed off as she stared back down at her plate. The intention to make him more nervous did work as he waited with baited breath to hear what her response was going to be. "My finally verdict is that despite my initial doubts, the dessert made it worth it." Samuel couldn't actually believe what he had heard as he stared at Lena uncertain as to how he should react to her response.
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