“That’s great, Babydoll,” Kingston told me with a smile, him and Jesse having come over while I was explaining. “Come on, it’s cold out here.” When we walked in, my brows knitted together as I looked around the front hall. It was quiet and seemingly empty. “My parents are out on a date, and Kill’s staying at a friend’s for the night. They said we were good to be here as long as we behave.”
“Lame,” Reid playfully whined. “Who wants to behave? Boooring,” he teased, drawing out the word.
“Oh, shush,” I said with a laugh, hanging my coat up in the closet and taking off my boots near the door. “So... what are the plans?”
They didn’t have to tell me, because when I walked down the hall and into the kitchen eat-in area, I found the island filled with baking items. There was a bag each of flour and sugar, measuring cups and spoons, cookie sheets, two stand mixers, and more ingredients lined up on top of the marble countertop. A smile spread across my face when I got closer and found heart-shaped cookie cutters, red and pink sprinkles, and Valentine’s Day-themed cupcake wrappers.
“Baking?” I asked excitedly. “I love to bake!”
“Figured we could put on some music, make some delicious treats, and then curl up on the couch and watch a movie while we binge on all of the sugar,” Reid explained, shuffling back and forth as if suddenly nervous about their plans.
“We wanted you to be able to relax and enjoy yourself,” Jesse tacked on quietly. His hands were tucked behind him oddly, but Kingston started talking before I could question his strange behavior.
“There will always be dinner and movies and fancy dates,” Kingston stated with a small shrug, “but we know how much you enjoy making memories and being able to scrapbook them. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Jesse shifted at the end of the sentiment, both he and Reid echoing it as he held out a gift. It was a small box, wrapped in sparkly wrapping paper and no less than three bows somehow squeezed on top. Taking it, I carefully plucked each bow off and stuck it to the boy I thought had picked it out. Brightly colored and extravagant with lots of little curly-q ribbons for Reid, a giant bow that was almost three times the size of the others for Kingston, and finally, a simple yet sparkly bow for Jesse.
“How’d you know?” Reid questioned.
“Because she knows us,” Jesse said with a grin.
“Go on, Babydoll, open it,” Kingston urged happily. I made quick work of ripping off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside sat an instant printer, one that would connect to my phone and could print out photos whenever I felt like. A cute valentine sat next to it, a sweet ‘we love you’ scribbled on the red paper heart.
“It’s perfect. Thank you, guys!” I squealed, putting it down on the counter and rushing into them for a group hug. “I have gifts for you three too!”
It was similar to their Christmas presents, something they could each get use out of. Another graphic t-shirt for Reid, this one with a statement of ‘guess what’ with an arrow pointing to a chicken’s butt. It was silly and made me shake my head when I saw it, but it was a joke my sweet clown would find funny. For Kingston, a few more pairs of fuzzy socks since I’d noticed several of his Christmas ones were already getting holes from being worn so much. Lastly was Jesse, who had been watching the others open theirs. I’d gotten him a new set of drawing pencils and sketch pad since the last time I saw his current ones I noted they were nearly used up.
“This shirt is probably one of my favorites. Thanks, Cali girl.” Reid laughed as he held the shirt for the others to see.
“I love these! I can never have too many socks,” Kingston exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he smiled at the pairs in his hands.
“How’d you know I was almost out of paper?” Jesse asked softly.
“Saw it by accident last time we had our study session. Besides, even if you weren’t, I had hoped you’d use them eventually,” I explained with a smile.
“Thank you, Em,” Jess whispered, putting the lid back on the box and setting it on the table. The rest of us followed suit, my stomach growling with the very thought of baking.
“Now, who’s ready to make some yummy snacks?” Clapping, I practically skipped over to the counter. “What exactly do we have ingredients for?”
“Tarts, cookies, brownies, cake, basically whatever you want,” Kingston laid out for me, pulling out a binder nearly exploding with laminated recipes. He handed me the cookbook and we all flipped through it, each of us working on claiming our own dessert. Kingston and Reid got started, picking their desserts quickly, leaving Jesse and me to continue perusing the pages.
“What are you thinking about making, Em?” Jess murmured, his arms curling around my waist so he could hold me against his muscled body. The sensation of his taut planes pressing against me was slightly distracting, so to save myself from doing something embarrassing, I picked the recipe the book was open on.
“Tarts.” My voice was breathy as his fingers started to trace my sides. Goosebumps flared over my skin at his touch, the beat of my heart thudding more rapidly in my ears. “Did you know the first valentine ever was written from prison?” Jesse’s laughter was soft, his breath shifting my hair, but he stopped his teasing at my rambled fact.
“I didn’t know that, but I’m excited to see your tarts, Love,” he told me sweetly, as if he hadn’t just purposely tried to wind me up. Jesse gave me a soft peck on the cheek and made his way over to the baking ingredients. Since the guys had chosen to make cookies, brownies, and cupcakes, I went to the refrigerator and started picking through the fruits lining the shelves and bins, deciding on strawberry, cherry, and apricot.
We worked without much talking, letting the music playing through Kingston’s house speakers fill the kitchen with noise. As I got started on the crust, I glanced around, taking in each guy as they took turns working with the stand mixers, oven, and stove. Reid was rolling his cookie dough in between his hands before plopping them onto his baking sheet. His curls flopped into his eyes, requiring him to rub his forearm over his face in an attempt to sweep the hair away.
Kingston was using the whisk to add in his brownie ingredients, his head tilting as he inspected inside the bowl. A small grin spread across my face as he snatched up the recipe. His eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure something out. After a few moments, his expression smoothed into understanding, and he grabbed the next ingredient. Jesse was ahead of all of us, sticking his cupcake tins into the oven before stepping over to the decorating items. It was cute to watch him take his time picking out what color frosting and sprinkles he wanted.
We continued to all work in comfortable silence for another half hour in the single space without issue—much to my surprise. It probably helped that Kingston’s family had a kitchen that would make any at-home chef drool—two wall ovens, an oversized fridge and freezer, and a giant oven stove combination. Those, along with the copious amounts of countertops, allowed us to work in peace, though the roominess certainly didn’t stop them from rubbing up against me or crowding into my space whenever they got a chance.
Not that I mind, of course, I thought when Kingston leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of my head as he poured his brownie batter into the pan. I nearly reached out to dip my finger into it, the chocolatey goodness already looking yummy, but I stopped myself.