"Gnocchi and Beef Ragu, huh?" Tiana muttered, though I detected something in her voice.
"Spit it out, T, I don't need the only other pair of hands in here afraid to speak up," I encouraged, while dropping the gnocchi into an ice bath to stop them from overcooking.
"Well, I was just wondering, " Tiana started a bit hesitantly, "If something so simple is good enough to win the competition. I mean not to say that your cooking is bad; it's amazing, but the judges might be looking for something more advanced."
I paused and realized that Tiana had a point, "What gives you that impression?"
"Colette's whole personality," Tiana muttered with a twinge of resentment, "Very bold and proud, she'll want to show off just how advanced her skills are. I just know her three dishes are going to be very over-the-top and unnecessarily complex. Probably with all types of vegetable broth pearls, caviar, and foam reductions. Stuff that barely looks like food."
"So you think I should try and match her?" I asked with a joking attitude, "I may be good, but I think learning molecular gastronomy in a week is a bit beyond my scope."
Tiana smirked, "Far from it, if you show up to this competition trying to copy her, then you won't really be cooking your food, will you?"
I nodded in appreciation of Tiana's wisdom, "Couldn't have said it better myself."
"It's something my Grandma Odie would have said," Tiana replied with a melancholic smile, "God rest her soul."
"Did you lose her recently?" I asked sensitively, hearing the hint of rawness in Tiana's voice.
"Recent enough," Tiana replied with a soft sigh, "She was part of the reason that I moved up here."
"Wait, I thought you said that it was malicious spirits that chased you out of New Orleans?"
Tiana hesitated for a moment before clarifying, "They did, but it was Grandma Odie who stopped them from chasing after me. She was a witch, a powerful one at that, but old. Fending them off took the last of her strength."
I was quiet for a second before speaking up, "I'm sorry that you had to experience something like that, T. I can tell that she meant a lot to you."
Tiana sniffed once before clearing her throat, "She did, but I know she wouldn't want me crying over her anymore. And nothing would make her happier than seeing me live out my dream, so how about we get back to cooking?"
"Fine by me," I agreed as I turned back to my Gnocchi, "After all, I've got to figure out how I'm going to make something good enough to beat out caviar."
"Is it really that good?" Tiana asked, making me pause and remember the one time I had tried it when taking a high-end client out to an expensive dinner, "No, it really isn't."
"Huh, what did it taste like?"
"Exactly what you expect fish eggs to taste like," I muttered with a disapproving shake of my head, "There's a reason they had to make up a new name to sell it to people."
--[3rd Person]--
There was a purpose in Pacfica's stride as she marched through the mall dressed in a bedazzled satin tracksuit with rhinestone lettering across her breasts and ass. Ignoring all the stares and prolonged glances sent her way, Pacifica didn't even feel the usual surge of joy she normally felt when being the center of attention.
There was only one person Pacifica wanted to impress right now, and she was determined to make an impression. 'After the pictures I'm going to send him, he won't be able to look at anyone else.'
Making her way over to Victoria's Secret, Pacifica walked through the doors and right up to the nearest clerk she could find, "You there, I'm going to need your nicest changing room, and everything from the new catalogue, but nothing under a hundred dollars."
"I-I'm sorry, I don't think-" The clerk started to respond before Pacifica reached into her bra and pulled out a stack of hundreds, "There's another tip waiting for you if I leave this satisfied with my experience."
The money was gone from Pacifica's hands before she could blink. "Please, right this way to the changing rooms, Miss, and if you give me a minute, I'll have our best pieces brought to you."
"Hmm, that's more like it," Pacifica muttered as she walked towards the back of the store, 'everyone has an attitude until you throw a couple of bucks their way.'
Less than ten minutes later, Pacifica was alone in a spacious changing room, large enough to hold several racks of skimpy nightwear that came in every color and fabric imaginable.
Scanning over the metal racks, Pacifica smiled, "It's been a while since I went on a shopping spree this big. So many things to try on…but first."
Pacifica stripped until she stood completely naked and then made her way over to her handbag, where she pulled out a small silver butt plug with a bright pink heart on the bottom and a small bottle of lube.
Pacifica's cheeks flushed as she stared at the sex toy, 'He'd better appreciate that I'm doing this for him!'
Walking over to the floor-length mirror, Pacifica turned around and looked back over her shoulder, staring at her ass in the reflection. Realizing that her ass was in the way, Pacifica reached around with her left hand and pulled her cheek to the side, revealing her tight balloon knot.
With a nervous flutter of her heart, Pacifica squeezed out a glob of the rather viscous lube and watched as she landed at the top of her crack and slowly dripped down between her cheeks.
'Here goes nothing,' Pacifica let out a nervous sigh as she pressed the tip of the plug to her asshole, only to flinch and clench when the cold, lubricated metal touched her sensitive entrance. Letting out a forceful exhale, Pacifica relaxed her body and loosened before pushing once more.
At first, nothing happened, but then slowly, Pacifica felt the tapered end penetrate her virgin ass. Pacifica's jaw dropped in a soundless cry, and her eyes fluttered as a burning pain flared through her lower half, 'H-holy s-shit!'
Pushing past the pain, Pacifica didn't let up, forcing the metal deeper and deeper into her ass even as the plug flared, growing wider and wider. The pain intensified, but Pacifica found her tolerance growing even more, and before she realized it, a pleasurable heat had joined the burning pain.
'N-no wonder m-mother reacted so strongly,' Pacifica thought as she felt her legs trembled and her breath grow hot and heavy, 'I-I didn't think it would feel..ngh..this good.'
Pushing a bit harder, Pacifica suddenly let out an audible gasp as the butt plug slid inside of her, leaving just the flared heart-shaped base sticking out from her back door.
Looking back in the mirror pacifica stared at the pink gem, 'Oh my god its in…and I don't actually hate how it looks…it's kinda cute…in a really naughty way.'
A smile spread across Pacifica's lips as she grabbed her phone and took a picture, already imagining how Ramon would react to her little surprise, 'He's probably gonna have to take a break from whatever he's doing just to focus on me.'
Pacifica's cheeks then turned bright red as she thought about what Ramon might be planning to do with the photos he sent her, 'Why do I want to watch him do it so badly?'
Shaking her head, Pacifica forcefully cleared her mind and focused on what mattered. Turning around, Pacifica stared at the racks of lingerie, 'So many options, where do I even start?'
---
"Hmmm, thanks for the cream," Tricia muttered as she stood back up while licking her lips and staring at Ramon with hooded eyes.
"I don't think I really had a choice, seeing as you dragged me into the bathroom," Ramon muttered as he finished putting on his belt.
"Well, maybe you should invite Summer and me back to your place sometime soon. You can't make me walk sideways for two days afterwards and expect me to just forget about such a wonderful experience," Tricia argued as she pressed herself against my chest.
"Don't worry I have something in the works, I just need you to wait until this-"
Before I could finish, my phone suddenly buzzed several times in a row, catching my attention.
"Expecting someone?" Tricia asked with a raised brow, but before I could answer, there was a loud knock on the door, "I know you're in there, Tricia. I need you to unwrap your lips from around Ramon's cock and come help me finish prep. We open in an hour!"
Tricia rolled her eyes as Summer's voice came through the door, but after a second, she just sighed, "Fine, I'm coming. See you later, handsome."
Tricia kissed me on the cheek before slipping out of the bathroom, leaving me alone to check who was texting me, though I already had a sneaking suspicion who it was.