The day is young - the sun barely reached past noon. Encroaching autumnal winds gave Thom a lick. The cold shivered him down to the bone even though he was wearing the thickest clothes he grabbed from his younger brother’s closet. He might as well be naked in this frigid cold.
Thom reached Hughie’s garage - the hangout and training grounds from the “Atomic Bombz,” their band’s name. Ryan Hodge, their guitarist/vocalist, was already there tuning his instrument. Thom looked around and didn’t see Dominic nor his stuff. He should be the early bird in this group.
Thom sat beside Ryan as he tuned his guitar. Ryan acknowledged his existence with a nod then returned to the strings. Ryan is a man of few words. Ironic since he is their vocalist. More so ironic when his boyfriend, Hughie Holland - Thom’s best friend and owner of this garage, is the biggest blabbermouth Thom has seen. He would talk for a fortnight and barely lose half his saliva and a quarter of his stories.
Thom left Ryan to his own devices and went inside the house. The house is rather large for some guy who only works as a barista. But the home seems smaller with all the random junk strewn everywhere. Before Thom could walk into the next room, he could smell a familiar scent. The smell takes Thom way back. Dominic is, by far, the best macaroni and cheese chef in the town. Thom doesn’t know how he does it, and he has no intention of sharing the secret. The macaroni and cheese blend into one explosion of fused tastes. It melts in your mouth, and the aftertaste leaves a caramelized tangy dream.