Chapter2

The sweet smelling odor of cookies filled his nostrils as he moved to the center of the sitting room. She turned and gestured for him to sit on one of the couch wordlessly.   He nodded in acknowledgement as she disappeared into the kitchen. A rumble of noise followed, pan clashing against pan and he imagined the chaos that may be her kitchen. He thought to help but decided against it. He whipped out his cell phone and went through his playlist.   He shuffled through some songs and when he finally decided on the one to play, she returned carrying a tray on which sat a bowl of her home made cookies and two glasses of milk.   Derek adjusted nervously when she marched to him and dropped the tray on the table grinning. She fetched one of the glasses and handed it to him.   "Here's yours" she said, "and this is mine" She took the other and sat beside him to relax as though some prior familiarity had passed between them of which he had been no wiser. The intense atmosphere which they shared m