Dreams Lay On the Ground ((OPEN))

[james ryan holbrook]

James nodded to her when she complimented his kitchen. "Pasta it is then Miss Audrey." he shrugged as well before walking to the pantry. He tugged out a box of regular spaghetti, a few tomatoes, some spices and a couple green bell peppers. Going to the counter he started to chop up all the ingredients for the sauce and poured them into a huge pot. It was enough to make food for three or four so he would have enough for him and Molly tomorrow for lunch. It was usually a big secret that he had a daughter. It would be seen as a weakness and didn't tend to share that bit of information.

Once the sauce started to cook, he took out a pot smaller than the sauce one and started to break the needles in half. He only used a fourth of the box. It would be more than enough for them and the leftovers. After that was started, his mind remembered she asked a question about his cooking. He lightly shrugged as he washed his hands under the hot water and towel dried them. "I don't know why really. I probably figured I wasn't good enough to cook at a high ranked restaurant. When I was training to be an auror, I did a side job as a baker at some cake bakery." he smiled before walking to the wine cabinet. "White or red?"

[audrey claire robineaux]

"You could just call me Audrey." Audrey suggested with a shrug. She appreciated good manners as much as anyone, but in such a informal setting, there was really no need to call her anything other than her first name. They might not be friends, but it appeared it might be going that way, and Audrey didn't require anyone to call her miss anything.

She watched him cook curiously, staying out of the way. Audrey had very little time nor occasion to cook- it had always been something she assumed she would learn if she ever got married, but as that didn't look like it would be anytime soon, she hadn't worried overmuch about it. Magic was marvelous for cooking, but watching James do it by hand was something to see. "White, please." She said in response to his question about wine, before returning to the original topic, "I'm sure you are- you're already doing more than I could hope to do, but that's neither here nor there. It already smells great, though. Maybe when the war's over, perhaps you can try out your luck."

[james ryan holbrook]

James looked to her and shrugged. "Alright then Audrey. You can call me J or James. It's up to you." he says to her. He looked over his shoulder and noticed she was watching him cook the food. He smiled for a second as he added some of the spices into the cooking pot. Mixing the sauce around some so it wouldn't burn.

As he opened the wine cabinet, he took out one of his better white wines and set it onto the counter. Taking down two wine glasses along with the cork remover, he made the cork come off and poured the liquid in each glass half full. Once he was done with that, he handed one to Audrey and the other still in his hand. "Hm. To the end of this war in the ministry's favor." he said waiting to see if she wanted to toast anything specific. Though when she commented on his cooking he shrugged. "I might just keep it as a hobby. Who knows really."

[audrey claire robineaux]

"To..." She paused, turning the glass in her hand as she thought it over. She could toast to the end of dealing with Percy Weasley since that particular run in was still fresh in her mind, but that would require explanation she didn't feel like giving. There was also toasting to end the death eaters, but really, that was self explanatory. "Not being paranoid all the time." She finally settled, raising her glass. "Cheers."

She took a sip of the wine, rolling it over her tongue to take full advantage of the taste. It was well aged, and some of the best she had had in a while. "Not bad." She said with a smile.

"Hobbies are nice. A person needs a good hobby." She tilted her head, leaning back against the counter. "I particularly find reading to be peaceful."

[james ryan holbrook]

James raised his eyebrows before smiling at her toast suggestion. "Definitely. No paranoia all of the time. Especially with a beautiful woman." he said with a wink to her. Clinging the glasses together he took a sip of the wine. It was one of his favorites and he hoped she liked it as well. He glanced over to Audrey as she took a drink and said it wasn't bad. "Reading huh? Hm. I get to anxious just to sit there and read. I have to active." he said knowing the noodles weren't ready yet. "Active in many ways." James added as he walked to the girl and put his hands on either side of the counter so she was trapped between his arms. "You really are gorgeous love."

[audrey claire robineaux]

Audrey laughed, very sure he was teasing her, and took a sip of her wine. "It's usually the pretty ones that know the best hexes." She joked, swirling the wine in the glass. "If I don't sit still at some points, my head just might explode. At least if I read, I know that other people's problems have nicely mapped out resolutions. It might sound kind of strange, but it gives me hope." She shrugged, turning a little pink.

She glanced at each of his arms in turn, then met his eyes. Audrey wasn't an idiot by any means, and she was getting surprisingly used to bizarre romantic situations happening around her all of a sudden, particularly that meeting with Percy Weasley the other day. She didn't think there was anything different about her, but apparently something was. "Thank you." She said, her eyes large. She looked around, setting the wine glass on the counter. "Um... may I ask just what is going on?" It was pretty obvious, in fact, so obvious, but Audrey was cautious- she wasn't going to do something potentially embarrassing without knowing exactly what the other person was thinking.

[james ryan holbrook]

James laughed along with the woman before nodding faintly. "Very true. I know it's a fact. But I guess that means you know a lot of powerful hexes." he winked to her. "No, no. That's not too strange. Everyone has some kind of strange tendency. Don't worry about it. To me it proves you're normal." he said with a smile, but it was mostly at her blush. It was rather cute and adorable.

He smiled down to her as he tilted his head at her question. It seemed she was rather clueless with what he was doing. James in his eyes was being a bit bold right now with his flirting but obviously this woman must not be flirted with too often. "Well um. I was thinking of kissing you. If that's alright?" he asked with a smile. He didn't move his arms away or closer to her. He didn't want her to feel pressured or anything of the sort.