章 21: Pleasure

A stick of meat slowly spins above a hearty fire, a beautiful orange crust encasing it. Oil seemed to slide down the side of the meat, dripping into the fire and making a sizzling noise. The group looked on with hungry eyes, eyeing the piece of meat. Drool dripped from the cheek of Lukas, waking him up from the stupor.

"Is it done yet?" He asked the group. The men all looked at Grace, the one with the most know-how of how to cook in the wild. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Should be just about" She says in a non-caring voice. Swallowing tightly, Steve walks closer to the fire and pulls the meat out of it, causing a gorgeous smell to fill the air. Stabbing the stick into the ground, he rummages in his robes and pulls out a knife to cut the meat.

"Lukas, come here. You'll have the first bite" Lukas smiles in happiness and leaps over to Steve's side. Cutting a piece of meat off, Steve gives it to Lukas who almost burns his fingers from the heat. The group laughs as the child juggles the meat like a circus clown, slowly cooling it down. Grace rolled her eyes at the commotion from her position by the fire.

He looked on with eager eyes as the meat cooled down enough for him to have a taste.

"Finally" He murmured, his mouth had already closed in enough to take a bite by the time the last syllable hit. A chewy texture met his teeth in resistance, before utterly giving up to the force. Juices flowed from each and every bite, hitting his taste buds in a tingle of different flavors. Tingles climbed along his jaw in unmistakable pleasure, it kept traveling along his jaw towards his eyes… Wait. His eyes opened wide as the world around him became clearer, colors just a little more vibrant, unnoticeable details coming to the forefront. He'd never noticed how Steve had a little stubble lacking in some places… but now it was so easy to see. He could see the twitches of his muscles as they moved into a frown.

"Are you alright there buddy?" Steve asked the boy. Nodding profusely, Lukas swallowed the meat and replied.

"Yeah! It's just my first time eating meat, I didn't know it was so good! Can I have some more? Please?" He begged Steve. Everyone laughed at that, it was good to see some innocent happiness after all the tragedy.

"Of course, here you go" This time Steve handed him a huge piece of meat pierced by a stick. Lukas looked at it with wide eyes, wondering if he could eat it all. Determination filled his eyes. He would be damned before he let any go to waste.