Jason had a long day. He'd taken a new client, and while she was good looking--though not remotely as good looking as Lee--she was quite overbearing. Obsessive, always watching his every move, etc. While he understood the intentions of these....people...they didn't seem to realize that all this did was make his job harder. He'd finally gotten rid of her maybe an hour ago, finally convincing her to leave because he had plans. 

But gone or not, she still left him in a pretty sour mood. At least she paid well, but already he was wondering if it was worth it. He lay on the bed, turning up the radio, letting it blast in an attempt to cool his mood a little before Lee got there. 

Lee. She'd make him feel better. He was supposed to teach her to cook tonight, and he'd already had his fridge and pantry stocked with ingredients so they had plenty of options to work with. He closed his eyes, his keen ears still able to pick up on Lee coming in. Not that she needed to knock anymore. His phone gave a vibrate, and he opened his eyes to look at it. Seeing who it was, he scowled, tossing his phone nonchalantly onto the floor. 

Lee had been going over to Jason’s quite a bit lately. Virtually every day, before she would head to work in the evenings. And, to be honest, Lee was finding that she was quite happy with that fact. Though it hadn’t been long since that first night she had come home with Jason, really on a whim after hearing his accent, life seemed to be falling into a nice, comfortable, happy routine with him.

A routine that was so different than anything Lee thought she would ever have.

And that night he was supposed to teach her how to cook. Not that Lee was under any illusions that she would learn everything that night. No, in fact she really wasn’t expecting to learn a whole lot, but she still thought that it would be fun.

Another thing that Lee never really thought she’d have was someone who told her not to even knock before she came in. And so when Lee got to Jason’s apartment, in she walked, hanging her coat up and removing her boots as she looked around for Jason. ”Honey, I’m home!” She called, her voice playful and joking.

He turned the music down using the remote--which he'd finally found--when he heard the door open. Sitting up, he smiled, hearing Lee's joke, though he had to admit he really liked the sound of that. In fact....he couldn't wait until the day she said that earnestly. Standing up, he walked over and greeted her with a hug and a kiss.

"You ready to get started?" he said with a smirk. "And I hope you're ready to get dirty. Cooking is not all pretty and glamorous like it is on TV." He smiled, not yet telling her what they were cooking, but there was a dutch oven with fresh oil in it on the stove, and he made his way to the cabinets, pulling out the flour, salt, pepper, seasoning, milk, eggs, bread crumbs, and a block of Mozarella cheese. He put the bread crumbs and flour in separate bowls, and in a third bowl he mixed the milk and some eggs, adding the seasonings and mixing well.

"Okay, what I want you to do is take that block of cheese, and cut it into strips, like this," he said, demonstrating a few for her before handing her the knife. Then, you're going to soak the strips in the egg wash, then flour them, back in the egg, and then bread crumbs. Then, drop em in the fryer. When they float, they're done,[/color]" he explained, preparing to explain it again, and help her where needed.

It didn’t take long to see Jason, though she was a bit surprised to see that he had been laying down before she got there. That didn’t seem to matter, though, as he was up and moving over to her almost as soon as she was in the door. ”Of course I’m ready to get started,” Lee replied as she returned Jason’s hug and kiss.

Lee raised her eyebrow when Jason asked if she was ready to get dirty. She hadn’t agreed to that, he was supposed to be teaching her how to cook dinner. It wasn’t supposed to be that dirty. Sure, she didn’t actually have work to go to that night, but that wasn’t the point.

Quickly after that, Jason was in the kitchen pulling things out of the cupboards and getting them ready. Lee just stood back and watched him moving, working. But then he was telling her what he wanted her to do, so Lee stepped forward and watched. ”Alright,” she said softly, taking the knife from Jason. Then Lee started to slice the cheese how Jason had told her.

Once she had a number cut, Lee started dipping them in the egg, but then she paused. Flour or breadcrumbs first? Looking over her shoulder, Lee caught sight of Jason. ”What was next again?”

He watched her as she worked, though he would have to admit, he was watching more than just her hands; she was hard to keep his eyes off of, that was for damn sure. He snapped out of it when she spoke, and he smiled.

"You got the wash right, now it goes into the flour. Then back into the egg, then bread crumbs," he said, arranging the bowls so the bread crumbs were on the left, the flour on the right, and the egg and milk in the middle. "So, you start in the middle. Then you go left, middle, right," he said nicely. "I had to do it that way for awhile at first, but it's second nature by now."

He chuckled lightly, looking over at her. He really was enjoying this. Across the room, his phone started vibrating again.

"Just ignore that. Annoying client." His voice was a little annoyed as he shot a spectacled glare across the room at the phone.

Lee listened to Jason as he explained what to do after putting the cheese into the egg wash, and watched as he rearranged the bowls for her. That did make things easier, Lee thought as she got to work again. Though, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to be making something else as well. Because though deep fried cheese sticks were good, she had come over expecting to be making, and then eating, dinner.

Lee was just about to start putting the sticks of cheese into the hot oil when she heard Jason’s phone. Hesitating, she looked over her shoulder at him. ”You’re sure?” Lee asked before turning her eyes back to the task at hand. She didn’t want to burn herself, after all, and she was liable to do that if she wasn’t watching what her hands were doing. ”I mean, if it’s work…”

He enjoyed watching her learn; the way she was really serious about doing this. It made him smile, especially seeing how much easier he made it by rearranging the bowls. When she looked at him, he shook his head. "New client. Took her on yesterday morning. She pays well, but...they don't make enough aspirin in the world..." he said with a grumble. He really didn't want to deal with that.

"You're doing good though. When you get done, I'll pull out the hamburger meat. I've already seasoned it, so all we're doing there is actually cooking the burgers. And that's going to be our dinner." He smiled over at her; he'd been looking forward to this all day, and he didn't care how many times the new client called. Time with Lee was more important.

After she had put the cheese sticks in the oil, Lee looked over at Jason again. ”As long as you're sure,” Lee said, then leaned over to give Jason a quick kiss before turning her attention back to the cooking food. ”Though, I do prefer the idea of not being interrupted.”

Seeing a couple of cheese sticks start to float, Lee grabbed the tongs to pull them out as she listened to Jason. A smile growing on her face. ”That sounds good, actually,” Lee said with another smile over her shoulder. Turning back to the stove, Lee plucked out another couple cheese sticks. ”Especially since you're here to stop me from burning everything.”

"I'm sure. I'm also pretty sure this woman would interrupt her own funeral," he grumbled. "I mean, dear GOD if she wasn't paying double my normal rate..." He took a breath, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it's all about timing and time management, really," he explained as she pulled out more cheese sticks. She was almost done, so he grabbed another pan and put it on the stove, turning the eye on. He rolled out a couple of patties and put a couple on the pan after it got hot enough. "I'm going to start these for you, but note how I'm doing it," he explained, letting her get a look at how he did it.

Also, he was going to have to give her time to wash her hands as well.

Lee nodded as she listened to Jason talk about this client that was apparently calling. He really didn’t seem happy to be working for this particular woman at all. But she kept her eyes forward, watching the food that she was cooking.

”Why in the world would she be paying that much?” She asked, truly curious but not wanting to risk looking away from the stove at the moment. At this point, Lee thought that that might be dangerous. At least at risk of burning food.

But then Jason was moving away for a few moments before returning to the stove. And placing another pan on top. Lee risked moving her eyes to watch Jason as the last few cheese sticks finished cooking. And he was going to start the burgers for her. Lee nodded as she watched Jason work, only turning back to her pot to pull the last sticks out after a minute.

Those done, Lee was going to ask what she was supposed to do next with the burgers when she realized her hands were still covered in flour and breadcrumbs. So instead of moving to the burgers, Lee stepped over to the sink to wash her hands before turning to look over at Jason again. ”Alright, what now?”

Jason gave a shrug. "You'd be surprised. Some people are just that desperate. Besides....as annoying as she is I'd have charged her that much anyway," he said, mostly joking. Mostly. He looked over as she finished the cheese sticks, and then washed her hands.

"Well, now you can take over the burgers," he said as he put the two finished ones on a plate. There's enough there for two more, just separate em out like I showed you, and give 'em a few minutes on each side, but make sure they're done,[/color]" he explained.

Suddenly there was a frantic knock on the door, and Jason gave a sigh. "Who in the hell...." he mumbled as he made his way to the door. "Give me a second." Walking over to the door, he opened it, and a woman barged inside. She stood about 5'7, with strawberry blonde hair, piercing green eyes, and a full figure. She was dressed rather suggestively in a red top that showed off her midsection and was low cut, a short skirt, and a pair of boots. She had a jacket thrown on top of the shirt, but it wasn't zipped.

"You can't just barge into my--"
"You're supposed to be helping me find my brother!"
"I told you, this isn't an overnight process."
"It would be if you didn't have people like...her over instead of working," she hissed, making her way to the desk and sitting in the chair across from it.

Throwing his hands up, Jason made his way back to the kitchen area, shutting the apartment door and putting his attention back to Lee and the burgers. Maybe if they ignored her, she'd just leave.

Now she could take over doing the burgers. And not simply cook them, Jason was expecting her to form the burgers into patties before cooking them. Lee just stood there and stared at Jason for a moment before turning to the meat. At least she only had to make two burgers, she didn’t have to try and save some to make more. So Lee divided the meat into two and formed them into patties, though Lee was sure that they didn’t look nearly as good as the ones Jason had made.

And then there was a knock on the door just as Lee was starting her second patty, and she frowned over her shoulder at Jason as he grumbled his way to the door.

But at the moment, Lee was a little too occupied to be able to continue looking toward the door, she had to get her burgers in the pan and she really wanted to wash her hands.

Then Lee heard the verbal exchange between Jason and the person at the door. Turning, the water still running into the sink from washing her hands, Lee saw a woman striding into the apartment. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, then she heard the woman’s last words, complaining about the fact that she was there with Jason, and Lee’s eyebrows shot up. She had expected Jason to be alone?

”What, am I not supposed to be here or something?” Lee asked softly as Jason returned to the kitchen, having all but forgotten about the burgers sizzling away on the stove.

Jay sighed. "You are. This is my apartment, and we're on MY time," he said firmly, eyes locked on the redhead.

"I'm not paying you to cook with that--"
"Hey! All I got right now is the deposit. You're not paying me til the job is finished, now I suggest you get out, and I'll work with you during the scheduled time. And if you don't, I'll have you escorted out."

The lady got the message, slamming the door on her way out, but not without giving a look that said 'This isn't over.'

Jay sighed. "See what I mean?" he said quietly. "I'm so sorry about that, Babe..."

And then he looked over to see what used to be the burgers in the pan, and he turned them off. "Well ****" he muttered.

Jason didn’t even look at her when he answered her question about being there. His eyes were on the other woman who was sitting in front of his desk, and despite the fact that his words were saying in no uncertain terms that she was supposed to be there that night, Lee frowned slightly.

A frown that only deepened when she heard the woman’s next comment. Whoever this woman was, she clearly didn’t seem to like Lee at all. Not that Lee liked her, what with her barging in like this. Standing taller than she did even with her boots, with her strawberry blond hair and green eyes. When Lee had really looked for company at the bar, she had always had more trouble finding someone when there were women that looked like her there.

But Jason took control, and Lee didn’t think that she had seen him ever be this authoritative before. Her eyes moved over to look at Jason, the frown turning into a small smile as the woman finally got the message and left. Lee had to admit, despite the situation, seeing Jason like this was pretty sexy.

When Jason apologized, all Lee had time to do was nod before Jason was reaching past her. To turn off the stove, which had burnt the two burgers she was supposed to be cooking. ”Didn’t I warn you I was a horrible cook?” Lee asked Jason as she frowned at the blackened burgers in the pan.

Then she turned to look at Jason once more. ”You were right, she is annoying,” Lee said after a few moments. ”Though I didn’t expect her to dislike me so much.”

Jason heaved a sigh of relief when she was finally gone, adjusting his glasses and rubbing his temples. "You did fine, you were just distracted. Hell...so was I," he muttered as he scraped the burger-shaped ashes into the trash can. Then, Lee spoke again and their eyes met.

"I know she's looking for someone she loves and all, but...she's a little heavy handed. Doesn't consider anyone else. Like, she doesn't realize--or maybe she doesn't care--that I actually have a life." He shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah...I don't know what the deal is there." After a moment, he sighed again.

"Remember when we met, and I made like my job was awesome and bad ass?" he said with a weaker than usual smile, "I kinda exaggerated a bit."