Cooking Classes Ch. 01

And the most Jacob had ever made in it himself was the occasional plate of bacon and eggs.

Now, though, he thought as he watched Sam moving through the room, he would always see him here. Sam cooed over the copper pots and the pans and sighed deeply when first opened the nearly empty butler's pantry.

"We're using button mushrooms because they are the most common. You can find it easily in any grocery store and they add just enough flavour to any dish to give it a hint of something...more."

"More fungus. Great." Jacob shook his head, reminded himself that he wasn't here to enjoy himself—or Sam. He had set this up as a way of paying back a friend for the kind of betrayal that Jacob never forgave. Sam wasn't a date. He was a tool.

"I brought enough supplies with me for tonight's lesson," Sam said, "because this was all so sudden I figured you wouldn't have the right ingredients."

"Good call," Jacob said.

"But it's just a crime that you have this amazing kitchen and nothing in it," Sam said with a long sigh. Shaking his head, looked around the room as if studying an abandoned puppy and wondering how to find it a good home. "I'm going to leave a list of supplies for you to pick up. With a well stocked pantry and refrigerator, you'll always have options."

Jacob lifted his head to look at Sam, and their eyes locked. A second or two pulsing tension passed before Jacob said, "Until I learn how to cook, being well stocked really isn't necessary, is it?"

Sam slopped one hand on his hip. "How am I going to teach you how to cook?"

"Good point again," Jacob muttered, then rallied. "Okay, leave your list. I'll have my secretary take care of it."

"Your secretary."

Jacob frowned. "Something wrong with that?"

"Oh no" Sam said, "Just typical, that's all."

"Typical of what?"

"Men like you and Ryan."

"Excuse me?" he stiffened. "I'm nothing like your brother; let's get that straight right now."

Now it was Sam's turn to stiffen up, and Jacob noted the flash of emotion in his eyes. "Look, I know you and Ryan don't speak anymore—"

"That's right, we don't," Jacob said, cutting him off.

It was good that Sam had brought him up, though. Good to reinforce the fact that Sam was the brother of his enemy. The only reason Sam was standing here, driving him insane with his soft sent of lemons, was that Jacob was going to use Sam to get back to the man who had betrayed him. Revenge. Pure. Simple.

Sweet.

"All I meant was that men like you most often delegate work to your secretaries even when it's not part of their job description."

"My secretary's job description includes pretty much whatever I say it does."

"Uh-huh. Even grocery shopping?"

"There's something wrong with that?"

Sam leaned both his hands on the cooking island's cool granite surface. His skin looked even paler against the gleaming black stone. Jacob noticed his long wavy hair falling on his beautiful mesmerising eyes, he craved to touch it and then those shorts Sam was wearing they hugged his butt so wonderfully, he was going mush inside.

Sam shook his head, "Maybe I should be giving your secretary the lessons."

Okay, that was a little insulting. "Fine," Jacob said. "I'll get the groceries. Make a list, and I'll take care of it before tomorrow night."

Smiling, Sam said, "How about we do it together tomorrow? We'll call it part of the lesson. I'll show how to choose."

Jacob nodded, and Sam smiled even wider. Grocery shopping. Not exactly a high end kind of date, he told himself, but then he wasn't dating Sam either. This was a planned seduction. What he wanted to do was get Sam off guard and keep him there. Then, when relaxed enough, he'd tumble him into bed. Once that was done, Jacob would tell his brother just how good he had been and he'd have the kind of revenge that would tear at Ryan Parker for the rest of his life.

"But for now," Sam was saying, "you finish slicing the mushrooms, and then I want you to chop three tablespoons of fresh parsley."

Jacob paused and frowned. "Isn't parsley the decoration on plates that no one ever eats?"

"Some of us actually eat it."

"Amazing"

In a few minutes, they were working together amiably and Jacob was actually enjoying himself.

And that wasn't part of the plan.

~*~*~*~

"So," Sam asked an hour later, "what do you think?"

Sam didn't usually stay after lesson and join his students for the meal they had created, but Jacob had insisted and frankly, he hadn't wanted to leave. Probably not a good idea to get attached, but then he always had a soft spot for Jacob Knight. He couldn't explain it. It just...was.

Sam still didn't know Jacob even after cooking for two hours better than once he had, two years ago. Jacob seemed friendly enough, but he had always been a little closed off. That's what had drawn him towards Jacob in the first place.

Meeting him had been like brushing up against a gorgeous mystery. His almost unreadable expressions tempted Sam to delve deeper and his quiet self assurance had been a welcome difference from Ryan.

Jacob had attracted him with his quiet thoughtfulness and apparently, that hadn't changed.

"Earth to Sam," Jacob said snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"Sorry, what?"

"You zoned out. Was it the food or sparkling conversation?"

"The food is done well. Not bad at all for a first try."

"So the conversation put you to sleep?"

"No, but the lack of it might. You haven't said much in the last hour or so, Jacob."

"Cooking takes concentration," Jacob said with a shrug.

"Is that all it is?"

"What else would it be?"

"I don't know, maybe you are regretting hiring me. After the way you and Ryan left things, I'm still not sure why you hired me in the first place."

Jacob stiffened at the mention of Ryan's name.

"Ryan's got nothing to do with this. You teach cooking, I need to learn, end of story."

"If you say so" Sam didn't believe him. There was more here and he'd eventually get to the bottom of it. But for now, he was willing to let it go.

"So what do you think of the meal?" Jacob asked.

"The first meal you cooked turned out pretty well."

"Better than Katie Thompson's?"

"Why are you so competitive?"

"It's a gift." Jacob grinned like a kid. "So?"

"Yes, I don't really like to talk about my clients, but yours was way better."

"Hope she kept the name of the last caterer she used."

Laughing, Sam said, "That was just mean. She's going to get hang of it."

Jacob studied him for so long; Sam began to shift uneasily in his chair. "What?"

"Nothing, but you really are positive, glass-is-half-full kind of guy aren't you?"

Sam tensed briefly. For most of his life, he had much been the Pollyanna type. He looked for the good around him and generally found it. Until, of course, his ex-boyfriend had not only snatched off his rose-colored glasses, but also ground them to dust under his heels.

After that, he'd to fight to regain his sense of well being. He'd had to force himself to smile until, eventually, it had become real. And now, he wasn't going back to the dark side again. He wasn't going to apologize because he liked rainbows and puppies and laughing children.

"Seeing the empty half doesn't make you more mature or more intelligent, it only means you're looking for what you don't have. How is that a good thing?" Sam asked softly with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I didn't mean—"

"It's okay, I like a half-full glass. And if yours is half-empty, then I'm sorry." Sam said folding his napkin and standing up.

Jacob stiffened as if he'd hit a sore spot.

"My glass is just fine, thanks," Jacob said his voice hardly more than a low rumble of sound.

"Glad to hear it." Sam looked at him, and in spite of knowing that he should just keep his mouth shut and protect this very well paying job, he just had to say, "Maybe your glass is full, but if it's holding the wrong things, what difference does it make?"

"What?"

"Never mind. Dumb analogy anyway. Look, why don't I help you clean this up? Then we'll make out a menu and a grocery list for tomorrow."

Sam left him sitting at the table and even though he didn't look around, he knew Jacob was still watching him when he started loading the dishwasher.

~*~*~*~

Jacob hung up the phone, he was still furious by the events that had taken place at one of the construction sites they were working on, but almost grateful for the shift in his thoughts. If it was not for Walt's ineptitude, one of the construction crew, who was in charge at the site, he'd have nothing on his mind but Sam Parker. And he'd already done nothing but think about him since the night before.

Sam had haunted his dreams, making sleep nearly impossible, and then this morning over his cup of coffee, he'd smelled him in his kitchen. It was as if Sam was imprinting himself on his consciousness.

Now, Jacob thought back to how Ryan had always described his brother. Younger, softer, innocent, easily hurt and scared of his own shadow. He hadn't sounded all that appealing to him until the day he first met him. Then, his looks had bowled him over first and his laughter had hit him hard. There was something about a person who knew how to laugh, he thought now. Maybe it was because growing up; he'd never heard his own mother laugh at a damn thing. Whining on the other hand...she had been very good at that.

As soon as that thought entered his mind, Jacob deliberately shut it down. It had sounded bad—disloyal—even to him. His mom had done the best she could. She had been too...alone.

Hell. Memories from his childhood weren't going to make this situation any easier to deal with. Disgusted with himself and his lack of concentration, Jacob pushed aside all thoughts but those related to work. For most of his life, work had been his sanctuary. The place in the world where everything was as it should be. Where the rules were well defined and always followed. Here, he wasn't questioned, just obeyed. Here, he was—

"How'd it go last night?"

"What?" he looked up as Kyle strolled into his office and plopped himself down into one of the chairs in front of Jacob's desk.

Jacob sighed. "Is there a reason you are here?"

"Yep. Curiosity. How did it go last night? You know. With Sam?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Your secretary told my secretary, who told me and...Here I am. Seriously? Cooking lessons?"

Frowning, Jacob leafed through a pile of papers on his desk. He didn't want to talk about this with Kyle. Hadn't he just been focusing on not thinking about Sam? For all the good it had done him.

In spite of his best efforts, Sam kept popping back into his mind. His smile. The way light flashed on his long dark blonde hair. The sound of his laugh and the fresh, lemony sent of his. It was all right there whether he wanted it to be or not.

"Nothing to say?" Kyle whistled low and long. "Must be even more interesting than I figured."

Glaring at his brother, Jacob demanded, "Don't you have something to do?"

"In a sec." Kyle leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "So tell me."

"Tell you what?" he figured the fastest way to get rid of his brother was to answer his questions. "You already know I hired him."

Kyle laughed. "For cooking lessons."

"Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Seriously? You, cooking? I should have been more impressed with him. Blonde, cute and a miracle worker. Teaching you to cook? Does he get hazard pay?"

"I've cooked for you before and you're still breathing." Jacob snapped.

"Only because of my excellent digestive system. It can withstand all sorts of toxins."

"Get out, Ky."

"Going, Jake"

"Oh— there is trouble at one of the site." Jacob said.

"Walt again?"

"Yeah"

"We ought to get rid of him. We spend more time cleaning up after him than anything else. He's more trouble than he's worth."

"Agreed. We'll talk about it at the weekly meeting."

"Right. On the Sam front, I hope cooking lessons are all you're really up to."

"What?"

"I hope you're not still planning on using him for payback on Ryan. Because, my man, that way lays misery."

Jacob didn't say anything, just stared at his younger brother until Kyle shrugged and walked out. But long after he was gone, his words were still ringing in the air.

Was he right? Was Jacob just asking for trouble by using Sam to get back to Ryan?

Standing up, he stared out the windows at the world beyond the glass. Truth be told, he didn't much like the idea of using Sam, either, though he damned if he'd admit that to Kyle. But the bottom line was, Sam was the brother of a man who had cheated him. Lied to him. And Jacob couldn't let that slide.

Liars deserved what they got, he told himself as his hands fisted at his sides. Hadn't he grown up watching his mother's heart, broken again and again by the very men she had trusted to keep her safe? First, it was his father, Ben Knight—though to give Ben his due, he hadn't promised Jacob's mother any more than he had the mothers of any of his sons.

But Jacob's mother had pinned her hopes on love. Time and again, she'd gone searching for it, only to have whatever man she was pining over use her up and let her go. Her trust shaken, her heart shattered more times than he could even count, she'd finally given up. Destroyed by the very emotion she'd so longed to feel.

No, betrayal couldn't be forgiven. Or forgotten. And he'd do whatever he had to do to make sure that Ryan Parker finally understood that.

~*~*~*~