Close Obsession (The Krinar Chronicles 2)

“That sounds good,” Mia said, realizing that she was starving.

He got up, pulling her out of bed as well. Before she could even ask for it, he handed her a brand-new outfit that he’d managed to create in a matter of seconds. It was another dress, similar in style to the one that was now lying torn on the bed. This one was pale yellow in color, and Mia gladly put it on, loving the feel of the soft material against her skin. Korum pulled on his shorts and shirt from earlier, which had somehow survived their sex session.

“Ready?” he asked, and Mia nodded. Taking her hand, he led her toward the kitchen.

Like the living room and bedroom, the kitchen was similar in appearance to the one in his TriBeCa apartment. Further evidence of Korum’s attempt to make her feel comfortable here, thought Mia. Walking over to one of the chairs, she sat down and looked at Korum eagerly. He was an amazing cook – part of his passion for making things – and even his most basic creations were more delicious than anything Mia could come up with herself.

“What would you like?” he asked her, walking toward the refrigerator.

Mia shrugged, uncertain how to answer that. “I don’t know. What do you have?”

He smiled. “Pretty much everything. Do you want to try some foods native to Krina or would you rather stick with familiar tastes for now?”

Her eyes widened. “You have foods from Krina here?”

“Well, they’re not imported from Krina – they’re grown right here, in Lenkarda and our other Centers – but we did bring the seeds from our planet.”

“I’d love to try them,” Mia said earnestly. She was an adventurous eater and loved to taste new things. Thanks to her Polish heritage, Mia had grown up eating foods that were not normally part of the standard American diet, and she now had an open mind when it came to enjoying different cuisines.

Korum grinned, looking pleased by her enthusiasm. Taking a few things out of the refrigerator, he quickly chopped up some strange-looking plants and roots and put everything in a pot to cook.

“How do you usually cook here?” she asked him, watching his actions with fascination. “I can’t imagine you use all these appliances normally . . .”

“You’re right, we don’t. In fact, we usually don’t cook,” Korum said, taking out some red leafy plants that vaguely resembled lettuce. “Remember when I told you that our homes are intelligent?”

Mia nodded.

“Well, one of their functions is to always keep us supplied with food and to prepare it in whichever way we like it.”

Mia gasped, unable to contain her excitement. “Seriously? Your house makes food for you whenever you want?”

He smiled, amused at her reaction. “I can see how that would be appealing to you.” Mia’s cooking abilities were nonexistent – a fact that her mom frequently lamented – but she loved to eat.

“Appealing? It’s amazing!” Why would anyone bother cooking when they could just have their house make food for them?

“It’s all right,” he said with a slight shrug. “It’s convenient and it definitely saves a lot of time, but sometimes I get the urge to make something on my own, to see if I can improve on the recipes the house has in its database.”

“Is that how you learned to cook so well? By tinkering with those recipes?”

Korum nodded, his hands now massaging the red leafy vegetables in a way that made an orange substance emerge from the leaves. “More or less. Cooking is a fairly recent hobby of mine – I’ve only gotten into it since coming to Earth. And it’s really only in the last few months that I’ve learned to use the human appliances instead of just programming the house to tweak the recipes it uses.”

Mia stared at her lover in disbelief. He had an intelligent house that could make whatever food he wanted, and he was wasting time learning how to use the oven? Chopping vegetables using knives instead of utilizing their fancy technolog

y? That was something she would never understand, Mia thought to herself. Not that she minded, of course; it was only because he had this strange hobby that she’d enjoyed so many delicious dishes back in New York.

He finished squeezing the orange liquid out of the red leaves, washed his hands, and took out a long yellow plant that looked a little like a zucchini with a shiny skin. Quickly cutting it up, he added it to the bowl where the red leaves were now swimming in the orange liquid, and then sprinkled some greenish powder over the entire dish. Placing the bowl in the middle of the table, he put a few spoonfuls of the bright-colored salad on Mia’s plate and a larger helping on his. The utensils that he used were unusual, resembling some type of tongs with one flat side and one curved side.

“Try it,” he invited, watching her expectantly.

A smaller version of the same utensils were lying next to Mia’s bowl. Mimicking his earlier actions, Mia grabbed some of the leaves with her tongs and took a bite. The flavor exploded on her tongue, a perfect combination of sweetness, saltiness, and a tangy bite of spiciness underneath. “Oh my God, this is so good. What is it?” she managed to say once she’d swallowed. Her mouth was almost tingling from the overabundance of sensations.

He smiled. “It’s a traditional dish from Rolert – the region of Krina where my family is from. It’s very easy to make, as you saw, but the trick is to squeeze the shari well – that’s the red plant – so it releases all the flavors and nutrients.”

Mia listened to his explanation while gobbling down the rest of her portion. As soon as she finished, she immediately reached for a second helping. He grinned and polished off the salad on his own plate.

“That was amazing. Thank you,” Mia said when the salad was completely gone.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Korum said, carrying away the dishes. Instead of putting them in the dishwasher, he simply held them near a wall. An opening appeared, and he placed them there. And just like that, the dirty dishes were gone.