"I don't mind," he answered immediately. She brought it three dishes, balancing them perfectly and setting them in front of everyone.

  "I add a little more kick to original recipes," she told him.

  Laurence's eyes sparkled. "Are you sure you are not trying to kill me? I love spicy food, as well. And it looks so good…… I can't wait." He theatrically sighed. He couldn't keep his eyes off the food.

  "Let's dig in, then!" she announced with the clap of her hands. No one needed further invitation or instruction from Katherine. He stabbed his plate to take a spoonful of food and easily took a bit.

  "This tastes better than it looks," he m.o.a.ned. "To think that you eat such delicious food everyday. It hurts my heart."

  She tried to keep in her laughter from escaping. Hearing him make little noises in reaction to her food was hilarious. "You're not saying that my food will cause you heart burn, right?" she teased as she sliced through a piece of shrimp and popping it into her mouth. She relished the taste for a moment and nodded in approval. It was cooked perfectly.

  "It would be worth it!" he called, taking another bite. Katherine guessed that she was a decent cook. Recently, having Cage in her life made her want to cook more often. They could look after their bodies and still eat delicious food. Until they could go out into public areas, that was.

  "How did you get so good at cooking?" Laurence asked as he took a break to wipe his lips. "Did you study culinary?"

  Katherine shook her head. "I went to art school and specialized in digital art. So, I am a ill.u.s.trator slash graphic designer."

  "Oh, so you must be good at drawing!" He seemed delighted. "I can Photoshop a little," he snickered.

  "I've seen you Photoshop pictures for your followers before, so I know." She paused and looked at Angelina. "I went to university with her. She ended up becoming a model and I stayed back and took my art style somewhere it was actually needed."

  Laurence looked at them thoughtfully. "So, you are a gamer, master chef, and ill.u.s.trator. Is there anything that you aren't good at?" His pitch increased as he looked at her with a wide-eye.

  Katherine made a show of thinking about it before shaking her head. "I'm pretty perfect," she noted with pride.

  Lily scoffed from beside her and earned a glare. "She isn't intelligent, that is her vice." Katherine smacked her lips and looked at her friend with a blank look.

  "I'm secure in my life. I don't need extra perks to be on top," she said in a low and bored voice. Well, she wasn't going to call the MENSA and ask to be admitted in the club but she wasn't too dumb either. They could suck it up to her average temperament and intelligence. She scored a successful career and love life being average, so who cared.

  "What about you? What were you planning on doing before you joined the platform?" Katherine asked Lauren with interest. He bit his lips as he laughed.

  "I actually studied Computer Science at university," he shrugged. "I was a gamer since childhood, so I wanted to design games. I started making videos when I was in high school. I was making videos for a couple of years and got into the job market. Soon realized that game design wasn't for me and I just wanted to play." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

  "Your career must have taken off by then. As long as you love what you do, an unexpected change in career path is nothing," Katherine informed him. "How did you juggle college with making videos, though? That must have sucked the life out of you," she wondered softly. She was dying a little with her job and she wondered how he had done it consistently for so long.

  "It wasn't as bad as you think, actually. I just stuck to my schedule and everything worked out. The first year is the hardest. It gets a lot easier after that." His words were meant to be encouraging. Katherine stared at him and wondered if she would last ten more months. Well, she would but it would be rough.

  "I'll take your word into consideration," she said with a cursory bow. "I have a question, though. How did you find my video?" she asked. She knew that this man rarely watched content from other creators.

  Laurence pointed at Ian. "Actually, he found your content. He helps me out at times and I have been feeling uninspired. He found your video and thought it would get me going. I really liked your video and ended up watching every video on your channel." Katherine sat stunned as LazerBoi gave his side of the stories. "Moreover, I never thought that you could bring in another aspect of your life into your channel and have it blend so seamlessly into your content. Ingenious."

  "Thank you for your high praise!" she replied, flabbergasted. "I'm just trying to make food interesting for my friend who is dieting," she informed him. "So, not all the dishes I cook are polished. Some don't taste that good, but I have those, too."

  "You must really love your friends," he commented with awe.

  "That I do," she retorted slyly as her friends shook their head.

  "I'll have to slide into your friend circle, then. Now that I have tasted this food, I can't go back to eating takeout all the time."

  Ian scoffed. "You don't have the patience to cook. I'll see how long you last."

  The group chuckled and continued to finish the the dishes. Thankfully, everyone was full by the time they finished and the conversation flowed without any awkward pauses. Angelina's crush on Laurence Mitch had increased by the end of dinner and continued on as he told stories about his childhood.

  As they cleaned up the kitchen and the table, Laurence recalled little anecdotes from his life. About how his sister sneaked into the bathroom while he was taking a shower and found him sleeping in hot water. Apparently, when he woke up, he found the water cold and a half eaten banana on the side of the tub.