by Melinda Metz
Jamie scratched Mac under the chin and his purring got so loud, she could feel its vibrations. “Then I fed him a piece of candy. You might not know this, being a cat, but feeding a guy is a flirty move. It’s not like when I give you a Salmon Bite. Not at all. When a woman puts a treat directly into a guy’s mouth, that’s sending a signal. And I don’t want to be sending signals. Because I don’t want a boyfriend. And David, he doesn’t want a girlfriend. That’s the whole reason we went out in the first place.”
She sighed, Mac rising and falling with the deep breath. “Like I said, there’s something wrong with me. But you don’t care. And that’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
* * *
Mac rubbed his cheek against Jamie’s stomach. She smelled a lot less lonely tonight. There was a little anxiousness in her scent, but nothing that worried him. He was sure if he went to David’s house, David would smell better, too.
He’d done well. He was giving himself the night off. Tomorrow he’d get back to helping the other people who lived around him. There were so many who didn’t have the sense to figure out how to help themselves. But tonight, he was staying right here, with Jamie scratching that spot he loved under his chin. He hadn’t really been listening to her, but he’d heard the words “Salmon Bite.” That was an extra reason to stay where he was. He loved Salmon Bites.
CHAPTER 14
David smiled as he began adding black pawprints to the vanilla buttercream frosting on a batch of cupcakes. Jam cupcakes. He was planning to take them over to Jamie’s after work. Because if he was going to be a fake boyfriend, he was going to be a good fake boyfriend. He’d give Al and Marie a few cupcakes and make sure they knew he’d made them special for his Jam. He was sure Jamie would get a kick out of him being so devoted.
He heard steps on the stairs leading down to the bakery kitchen and looked over to see Lucy. Perfect. He could use the cupcakes to show her that he was really excited about going out with Jamie, and that would trickle down to Adam. It wasn’t that David never wanted to go on a real date again, but he was done with counterpart.com. And he was done with having his friends help him find somebody. Now that he was feeling ready to meet someone, he figured he’d keep noticing women more, picking up on cues like the girl at the vet flirting with him. It would happen when it happened.
“What’s up?” he asked Lucy as she headed over to him. As if he didn’t know. He was sure she wanted to know more about this woman David had decided to go out with.
“Dropped one off at kindergarten, one off at preschool. I now have a few brief precious hours to myself, and decided to start it off with sugar and caffeine,” Lucy told him. “Whatcha makin’? And can I have one?”
“Sure. They’re vanilla cupcakes filled with blueberry jam. I’m actually making them for Jamie, the woman I met in my housing complex. We went out last night, and I met her cat. I thought she’d like these.” He started creating another icing cat pawprint.
“Bringing out the big guns, huh? No woman can resist your cupcakes.” Lucy took one off the closest wire rack. “It’s almost unethical. Like using a love potion.”
“My cupcakes are good, but they aren’t that good,” David answered.
“They’re damn good.” Lucy licked a little frosting off her top lip. “We both know I want details. Give it up. How’d you meet? What’s she like? Where’d you go on your date?”
“Remember how I told you I talked to a woman in the pet store?” Lucy nodded. “Well, she was that woman. I didn’t know we were basically neighbors,” David continued. “Then we ended up at the same bar after I had the date with the scary pyramid-scheme lady. Jamie, her name’s Jamie, had just had a really bad date, too. We talked, had a drink. I still didn’t know she lived at Storybook Court. Until her cat went through my bathroom window and stole my jockstrap. Jamie was trying to catch the cat, because he’s not supposed to go outside. She gave me my jock back, and I ended up asking her out.”
Lucy gave a hoot of laughter. “I love it! And now I understand the pawprints.” She started to sing. “Tell me more, tell me more.”
David held up his hands. “No Grease before noon. She just moved out here from a little town in Pennsylvania. She was a teacher, but she wants to make a change and is trying to figure out what she wants to do next. She’s trying all kinds of things—surfing, acting, special-effects makeup.”
Lucy raised her eyebrows. “She sounds a little flaky.”
“Yeah, I can see how it would seem that way. But it’s not like she’s thinking she’s going to make a career out of any of those things. She just exploring. It’s pretty cool,” David said. He really admired the way she just flung herself into things.
“So, is she pretty?” Lucy asked.
David thought of the different times he’d seen her. In her bare feet wearing only her sleep tee, hair mussed. As the fifties-style Hollywood starlet she’d turned herself into to go to the movie. In her regular clothes at the pet store. “Yeah, very pretty.”
“This jam filling is amazing,” Lucy said. “Keep talking. I want to know everything.”
“Got the jam at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. It’s from Forbidden Fruits Orchard. Their berries have an especially long ripening time, because the east-west mountains—”
Lucy punched him in the arm. “You know I wasn’t talking about the jam. Where’d you take her?”
“We went to see The Parson’s Widow. She’d never seen a silent movie before, and she was curious,” David answered.
“Wait. Just wait. You took her to the Silent Movie Theatre on your first date? What about that thing where you might ruin your favorite place if you took a woman there and you ended up hating each other? That’s what you said when I suggested it,” Lucy reminded him.
David shrugged. “She’s just not someone I see myself hating. Even if at some point we stop going out, I can see us as friends.” Since friends was actually what they were.
“When do Adam and I get to meet this woman whom you decided was Silent Movie–worthy, whom you’re already making cupcakes for?” Lucy demanded.
“Let me at least go out with her a few more times before she has to face the inquisition,” David answered.
“I’m not an inquisitor. I’m just interested in people,” Lucy protested. “And I want to make sure she’s good enough for you.”
“She’s good enough for me,” he told her. “But you can meet her at some point.”
“At some point,” Lucy repeated. “That sounds like a long time from now. But I guess you aren’t really quite at the meet-my-friends stage.” She picked up a flat bakery box and started to fold it. “You know I’ll be taking a few.”
“Just no more of the cat-paw ones. Try the coffee ones with the mini donut toppers.” He nodded toward the tray.
“A cupcake topped with a donut. You are evil. And that’s why I like you so much,” Lucy loaded up the box. “I’m glad you had a good date, sweetie. You deserved one.” She hurried back up the stairs.
A few hours later, he was walking toward his place, carrying a box with the cupcakes he’d made for Jamie. When he spotted Zachary on his front steps with Diogee at his side, David felt a spurt of disappointment. He’d been looking forward to getting over to Jamie’s, and it was clear Zachary needed to talk.
“Hey, Zachary. Hey, Diogee.”
“She thinks I’m a perv,” Zachary announced, voice flat.
“What?” he asked, staggering back a few steps as Diogee leaped on him in greeting.
“I did what we talked about. I put the bra in a bag and asked Addison if she knew whose it was. She looked at it, called me a perv, and slammed the door in my face,” the boy explained. “It’s not fair. When she gave me my T-shirt, I just said thanks.”
“She’ll get over it,” David said, silently adding “probably.” “You know her. She has a short fuse.” He ruffled Diogee’s ears, then scratched his belly when the dog flopped down onto his back.
“It’s just when we were talk
ing about Adventure Time and Ms. Marvel and everything . . .” Zachary let his words trail off.
“Yeah. You don’t expect to have a decent conversation one day and get the door slammed in your face the next,” David said. “But you read”—he decided to give the kid a break—“a few pages of Addison’s diary. You know she’s emotional. She’ll get over it.”
Zachary looked a little hopeful. “Maybe because her boyfriend is such a jerk, she just assumes all guys are jerks. But she’ll realize I’m not. If I ever get to talk to her again.”
“So, you want to talk to her again?” David asked. He was curious to hear whether Zachary would admit it.
“Well, we’re like neighbors. And we like some of the same stuff. It would be cool to have someone around here to hang out with sometimes.” A guilty expression flashed across his face. “You and Diogee are great. I didn’t mean that.”
“No worries. We aren’t offended,” David told him. “Hey, you want to make a few bucks and walk Big D for me? I need to deliver some cupcakes, and if I try to walk him and keep the box upright, it could go badly.”
“Go get your leash, Diogee,” Zachary said, and the dog scrambled through the dog door. “You don’t have to pay me.”
“I’d pay a dog walker, so I should pay you. It’s always good to have a little extra cash, right?” He gave Zachary a twenty.
“This is too much,” Zachary protested.
“Tire him out and you’ll have earned it,” David said. It took a lot to tire the beast.
Diogee slammed back through the dog door, and Zachary clipped on his saliva-dampened leash. “See you later,” he called as Diogee pulled him toward the gate.
David went inside. Baking could be surprisingly sweaty work. He wanted to grab a shower before he went over to Jamie’s.
* * *
Jamie couldn’t stop grinning as she parked her car. She’d been grinning the whole drive home. Her jaws actually ached, but she just couldn’t stop. She’d spent hours in an actual video arcade. She hadn’t been in a video arcade since she was thirteen and used to go to the one near her middle school with her first-ever boyfriend, Bobby Martin.
Wonder what he ended up doing? she thought as she walked toward her little Snow White cottage. He’d moved when they were near the end of seventh grade. Heartbreaking. She spotted David heading away from the house when she turned onto her street. “Hey! Hi! Were you looking for me?”
He turned and waved. “I was. I am,” he answered. “I made you some cupcakes.”
“You did? Really? That’s so sweet of you,” Jamie said when she reached him.
Al gave a grunt. He was planting bulbs in his little garden.
“I brought a couple extra for you and Marie,” David told him.
Al put down his bulb-planting thingie—Jamie wasn’t sure what it was called—and hollered, “Marie!”
A few moments later, Marie opened the door. “What?”
“He brought us cupcakes.” Al jerked his chin toward David.
“I’m glad to see you don’t have that dog with you,” Marie said. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how close it got to pooping on my lawn a while back.”
“But he didn’t,” David answered. He held up a bakery box tied with string. “I made some cupcakes for Jamie and thought I’d bring you and Al a few, too. Do you have something I can put them on?”
Without a word, Marie disappeared back into the house. David looked at Jamie. “Do you think that means she has no interest in cupcakes, or that—”
“She’ll be back,” Al said, pushing himself up to his feet. He wiped his hands on the knees of his jeans. A moment later, the door opened and Marie came out with a glass platter. She set it on the porch rail.
David walked over and transferred four of the cupcakes. “They have jam in the center. Jam for my Jam.” He looked over his shoulder and winked at Jamie.
Jam for my Jam. She couldn’t believe he’d said that. He’d really committed to convincing Marie that Jamie didn’t need any more matchmaking. David put another two cupcakes on the platter. “For Helen. I know she has a sweet tooth.” He hadn’t forgotten that the two of them needed to show Helen they were going out, Jamie thought.
“Helen, cupcakes!” Al yelled.
“She doesn’t need any cupcakes,” Marie said. “She and Nessie are twins. There’s no reason Helen couldn’t be just as slim and attractive.” Helen opened her door. “You don’t need any cupcakes, but David brought you some.”
David returned to Jamie’s side, and she kissed his cheek. She knew it was because if she was his real girlfriend, that’s what he would have done. Her body didn’t seem to have gotten the memo that she and David were just faking it. A little jolt of heat zapped through her.
“I put pawprints on them, in honor of Mac,” he said. He opened the box to show her.
“I love them. You want to come in and have some with me?” Jamie asked.
“Sure,” David said. “Hope you enjoy them,” he called to Al, Marie, and Helen, who had joined the Defranciscos on their porch.
“They’re going to have to stop matchmaking now,” Jamie told them as they walked into her house. “You’ve proven you’re the best boyfriend ever. Thanks for making such a big effort.”
“You’re welcome,” David answered. Mac fell into step behind him and Jamie as they headed to the kitchen. “I’m probably going to need some payback.”
“Payback?” Jamie asked.
“Lucy is already pushing to meet you. She wants to make sure you’re good enough for me,” he explained. He sat down and Mac immediately jumped into his lap.
“I don’t think I am,” Jamie said. “I definitely can’t compete with a gift of cat-paw-decorated jam-filled cupcakes. I don’t even have a cute little nickname for you.”
“And thanks for that,” David said, scratching Mac between the ears.
“You want coffee?” Jamie asked. “I love coffee, but I have to have milk with cupcakes. Or I have juice or beer.”
“Coffee would be great,” David told her. “What have you been up to? You looked especially happy when I saw you coming down the street.”
“You’ll never guess in a million years,” Jamie teased.
“I’m intrigued,” David said. “Cave diving?”
“Close. It was even more exciting and dangerous.” She started the coffee. “I was playing Mortal Kombat II, Crazy Taxi, and Skee Ball.”
“You found a time machine?” David asked.
Jamie thought of the arcade, and her grin reappeared “Close. I found the Royce Arcade Warehouse.”
“Seriously? You went there?” David shook his head. “Adam and I are always saying we’re going to go, and you’ve been here two minutes and you’ve gone?”
“And it was so cool. It really is like a garage, with a big rollup door. All the machines are crammed together. Dads and grampas, with a few moms and grandmas, hanging out, teaching kids what it was like back in the day,” Jamie told him. “And I met Mr. Royce! Well, that’s what people call him. Royce is his first name. Royce D’Orazio. He started the business in his actual garage. Actually, before even that, he was collecting arcade games. Then he started repairing arcade games and renting them. He still does that, plus, like, you know, opening up the place on Saturdays. I played for hours for just the three bucks it took to get in. It’s the first time I didn’t have to worry about how many quarters I had left.”
“I’m jealous,” David told her.
“Next time I go, I’ll take you,” Jamie promised. Yikes. Was that too much? They didn’t have an audience in the kitchen, and she’d just sounded like a non-fake girlfriend. Or maybe just like a friend. She and David were becoming friends.
“Any time,” David said. He wasn’t acting like she’d overstepped. Good.
Jamie handed him coffee, and sat down with her glass of milk. After the first bite of cupcake, she closed her eyes with pleasure. “And I thought nothing could top the arcade.”
Mac stood up on Da
vid’s lap and gave an aggrieved meow. “Oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness.” She looked at David. “He doesn’t approve of me having milk if I don’t give him some first.” She got a saucer, poured in a little milk, and set it on the floor for Mac. He jumped down and started lapping it up. “When I got him, I didn’t know most cats couldn’t digest milk well. But he loves it, and he’s never gotten sick, so he’s one of the minority of cats that are lactose-tolerant.”
“He’s unique in many ways,” David commented.
Jamie snorted. “Yeah. That’s one way to put it. Where’s your beastie? I meant it when I said you could bring him whenever,” she added.
“Zachary’s walking him again. He needed something to do. I found him sitting on my porch looking like he was waiting for the world to end,” David answered.
“What was wrong?”
“Remember how I told you he found Addison’s diary, then his shirt got left on her doormat?” David asked.
“Yeah, and they ended up having a good conversation about the show that was on the shirt,” Jamie answered. She took another bite of the cupcake letting the buttercream frosting melt on her tongue. David was seriously talented.
“Right. But then Zachary found a bra he was pretty sure was Addison’s on the doormat,” David continued.
“He recognized her bra?” Jamie asked.
“He said he was pretty sure it was hers. Maybe her bra strap was showing once and he saw it. When you’re fourteen, seeing the bra strap of a girl you have a crush on can set your imagination going, especially if it had a cheetah print, which this one did,” David said. “Anyway, Zachary decided to try to return it—in a paper bag so it wouldn’t be embarrassing. But Addison called him a perv and slammed the door in his face.”
“Oh no. Poor guy. Do you think there’s a chance she might like him, too? Door slamming and name calling don’t necessarily mean she doesn’t. It might actually mean she does. Teenage girls are hard to decode sometimes.”
“I’m not sure they completely grow out of it,” David said.
