Cheese... (Josh Anderson)
A/N Requested by Anon. Prompt in bold. Hope you enjoy 😊
I knew moving from Columbus to Montreal was going to be an adjustment. When I first started dating Josh, I understood there was always a chance of him being traded and we'd have to pick up our lives and move at a moment's notice. When Josh first got the news of the trade, we immediately started getting ready to move. Moving was hell but moving during a pandemic was the worst.
Once we had fully moved in, we spent a lot of time together when the league decided to shut down. We did some walking around Montreal, deciding to try and familiarize ourselves with our new home. It didn't take long before we found a cafe we liked, a perfect date night restaurant, and the best way to get to the arena.
When the league opened up again, we made sure we stayed as safe as possible. We would get our groceries delivered, we stayed in and wore masks whenever we had to go out. As much as Josh and I were missing Columbus, Montreal was quickly growing on us.
It was a Friday and Josh did not have a game that night. We hadn't had time for a date night in a few weeks so I decided to take it upon myself to make us a nice dinner and Josh set up the dining room. With my apron on, I started by making homemade pizza. I had gone grocery shopping earlier and got everything I would need to make Josh and I's favourites. However, something threw a wrench in our plans. I unwrapped the cheese and saw some mould growing on the bottom.
"You've gotta be kidding me," I whined, throwing it out.
"What's up?" Josh asked, poking his head into the kitchen.
"I need to go get some more mozzarella," I said, putting my coat and scarf on.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"You don't have to. I won't be long. Just don't let the oven burn down the house." I smiled, giving him a kiss on my cheek.
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you." I grabbed my purse and keys and made my way out the door.
I readjusted my scarf against the bitter wind and rushed to the car. It was long before I was in the warmth of the driver's seat. I made the short run to the store. Mask on, I rushed in and straight to the cheese section. I had a bad habit of buying unnecessary things when I went to the grocery store. I grabbed the mozzarella and quickly made my way to the cash.
Walking out with a block of cheese in my hand, I quickly got back into the car and turned the heat up. I zoomed home and hopped out of the car. What I didn't notice was the large sheet of ice on the other side of our entrance walkway. I was so focused on getting in the house and back into the warmth when I slipped, I didn't feel the damage I had done immediately. It hit me when I tried to stand up, feeling a shooting pain in my left ankle.
"Josh!" I called out, hoping he would be able to hear me and I wouldn't have to crawl to the door with the little dignity I had left. Luckily, I heard footsteps getting closer to the door the second I had called out.
"Babe? What happened?" He asked, running over to me and picking me up in his arms. "You're freezing."
"I think I twisted my ankle..." I frowned as he sat me in front of the heater.
"Oh, baby. Here." He said, placing a pillow under my ankle and going to the kitchen for an ice pack.
"Of course the one night we decide to do this, I go and hurt myself. Stupid cheese." I shook my head, looking down at my hands.
"Hey, it's okay. You got all the hard work done so I'll finish the pizza and then we can watch some movies. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great."
"Perfect. I'll be back soon. Pick something while I'm gone." He smiled, kissing my forehead before making my way back into the kitchen. Before I could grab the remote, I saw Josh heading back outside.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm pretty sure the mozzarella is still out there. I was too worried about you that I didn't grab it earlier." He walked out and quickly made his way back it. "So what should I do first?"
"I already cut the toppings up and the oven is preheated. All you have to do is roll out the dough and spoon the sauce over it. Then grate the cheese and put the toppings on."
"You got it, boss." He saluted and ran back to the kitchen.
As I sat on the couch with my ankle perched on a tower of pillows, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to have Josh with me.
Once the pizzas were ready, he was running back and forth between the kitchen and the living room with another ice pack, both pizzas, two wine glasses, our favourite bottle, and a plate of cheese in the shape of a heart.
"The cheese still loves you... and so do I."
God, I love this man, cheese and all...
