Even Though I Loved You First

“All that should be left is the espresso powder and the apple cider vinegar, right?” I asked.

“Hm. I checked before my kitchen, and it seems that’s the last thing we need to buy. It’s a small cake, so a small bottle should do.” Arisa said as she walked beside me.

Summer vacation was almost ending, and as promised, we were buying leftover ingredients to bake a cake between the two of us. For today’s dessert, I agreed on a single layer chocolate cake (obviously).

“I brought some of the coffee Ichirou sold me. It will make a good compliment with the cake after we’re done. I brought enough for your parents to also try a cup or two.” (Kei)

“That’s sweet of you! As expected of Kei!” (Arisa)

We were planning on baking at Arisa’s house; what brought upon us this conclusion was simply that her house will be empty for the day. Contrary to mine in which there were my sisters and even my mother. It would be kind of a pain to do all this with them watching…they would tease me relentlessly about it later.

So we thought it’d be better to do it at Arisa’s.

“That’s all, I believe.” (Kei)

“Let me see… Yes, that’s it. Shall we go?” (Arisa)

“Hm. Let’s go.” (Kei)

↤⨳↦

Kamihate Household

“Are you… done…?” I asked.

“No, no. Not yet! Give me another one!” Arisa said as she went around me, the clicking of the camera clearly visible. We were at her house making the necessary preparations for our home date (baking edition).

One such preparation was, of course… aprons. Which brought us to the present, Arisa was going around me like a moth went around a light…

Wait… that’s not a good analogy to use for my girlfriend, is it?

Anyways, the reason as to why she was going around me was that she was taking some pictures of me wearing an apron… for some reason. For the record, I’ve used an apron in front of her one time, which was when I made her a homemade meal as a form of gratitude.

However, this was surprisingly the first time since we started dating that I’ve used one… is it really such a big thing? Hah…

“Come here…” I said as I pulled her by the arm.

“Eh?!” Arisa yelped in surprise. As I caught her in my arms into a tight embrace, I clicked the camera of my phone as I saw her red face being pressed against my cheek, due to our similarity in height.

“There, this is a million times better than a photo of only me, isn’t it?” I said as I pulled her away.

“……yes……” Arisa meekly looked down.

“Then, let’s start shall we?” I said as I tightened the knot on my apron.

↤⨳↦

“I already started preheating the oven, how are things in your end?” (Kei)

“I finished with the baking soda, now everything’s inside. Should I start mixing it gently?” She said as he held the bowl with one hand and the whisker on another.

“Yes, do it slowly in a clockwise direction.” I directed her as I went beside her. After whisking the dry ingredients, I took out the wet ones and one by one poured them into the mix in Arisa’s arms.

After pouring the vinegar, Arisa mixed them once again. As the mix became foamy, Arisa stopped once the mix was combined and no lumps were left.

“Did you place the parchment paper on the pan, Kei?” (Arisa)

“Unn. I did. Thank God you thought of using the paper to enable the cake to come out cleanly.” I said.

“I don’t know much, but I think this was common sense.” Arisa said, as she poured the batter into the pan. We placed the pan inside the oven, and decided to wait for around thirty minutes.

“So, what’s next?” (Arisa)
“Let’s see… While we’re waiting for it to finish, let’s go on with the ganache.” (Kei)

“Roger that!” Arisa brought up her hands in a salute.

“Cute.” (Kei)

↤⨳↦

“Alright, take it out. It’s bubbling already.” (Kei)

“That’s what she said.” As Arisa took out the heavy cream, I received the cup with a towel so as to not burn myself. “Is the chocolate ready?” (Kei)

“Yes, go on.” (Arisa)

“Roger!” I said as I poured the hot heavy cream down on the chopped chocolate. I let it stand for about 30 seconds, in the meantime, Arisa wrapped her hands around me as I leaned on the counter.

“It’s warm…” She said in a soft, low voice.

“It really is…” I said with my eyes closed. It was quiet, only the sound of a pendulum slowly swinging and the soft sound of our breathing… everything was so peaceful as if time was frozen in place.

Soon enough, we pulled away from each other, satisfied. Then, as Arisa checked the ganache, I checked the cake. “How is it?” (Arisa)

“…Hm, it needs a little more, about less than four minutes, I think.” (Kei)

“Alrighty, I’m gonna whisk the mixture as per the recipe then.” (Arisa)

“Unn. Please do so,” I said as I stared at the oven, deep in thought. As I pondered by myself, as I looked back on our actions until now, I couldn’t help but giggle. Naturally, this wouldn’t be missed by Arisa.

“What are you laughing about?” She asked as she whisked the ganache a little more. “No, it’s just… we look like newlyweds, don’t you think?” I said.

I had all intentions of sharing this with her, to let her know that it really felt as if the two of us were on a day off, cooking together for a change. Not while dating, but during the early days of our (future) marriage.

Arisa seemed to be caught up in this, since with a happy smile on her face, she nodded and also giggled. “You’re right. Feels weird, doesn’t it?” (Arisa)

“It does, but I don’t mind it.” I said as I opened the oven and carefully took out the cake itself, which smelled extremely nice. “Oh God, my mouth is watering!” Arisa said with a look of hunger.

“Let’s spread the ganache and let it sit for a while, thereafter we can cut it and eat some. In the meantime, I’ll start with the coffee.” (Kei)

“Yay! I can’t wait!” (Arisa)

↤⨳↦

After both the ganache and the cake itself were both done, I proceeded to spread the former across the latter. In addition, we decorated the cake with some extras that the two of us bought.

We both decorated half of the cake and from a bird’s eye’s view, I think I can confidently say that it is quite easy to tell who decorated which half.

As my half of the cake was decorated in a more orderly manner (because I’m a weirdo), you could feel the excitement rushing through her from decoration alone.

“It’s done!” (Kei)

“Yay!” (Arisa)

The two of us, proud of our creation, hugged each other in celebration. The cake was already out of the pan, so there was no problem in that regard, everything that was left was to cut the cake.

“Then, it’s time to cut the cake!” Arisa exclaimed, but in the blink of an eye all her previous excitement vanished. “…Kei…” (Arisa)

“Hm? W-what’s with the serious face?” I asked.

“How did I cut a cake again?” She said, a face that didn’t seem to be joking. “…excuse me…?” (Kei)

“N-no, it’s just… I don’t really know how to properly cut a cake…” Arisa stated, her eyes watering.

“Wait, how come?! Don’t you usually cut your cakes on birthdays and such?!” Could it be that I’ve been living in some sort of different culture?! One where cutting a cake isn’t done?!

“I-I mean, if anything… The cake’s already cut by the time I got to see it. And lately, I haven’t really eaten a cake that needed to be cut!” (Arisa)

“…” I was impressed, not in a good way… I mean, come on, I never thought that there would be someone out there that couldn’t cut a cake properly…

I went behind her and grabbed both hands, Arisa seemed surprised due to her cute yelp. However, I’ve been wanting to try this for a while now. As I gently placed the knife in her hands, with mine on top of her’s of course, I gently went on about the way I usually cut the cake.

“Start with a circle in the middle, try and make it the most centered possible……Yes, that’s it.” I said as Arisa slowly cut the cake’s middle in a circle.

“Now, the slices will be sliced one by one. Make a cute, from the outer edge into the inner edge.” (Kei)

“I think I have this one!” (Arisa)

After Arisa cut the cake and placed them into two different containers, I briefly hugged her and, not containing myself anymore, I gave her a slight kiss on the cheek before I went ahead and prepared our drinks.

We placed the cake in the refrigerator and with our plates and coffee in hand, we both went to Arisa’s room to try them out while we chatted. Soon enough, it started raining.