Stressed Spelled Backwards

by Ivanova, Svetlana

  "Azra, the cakes!" Karmen and Elise reminded me, but I was already pushed onto the stage.

  Spotlights flashed on my face. The music band was playing and people were clapping. For a second, I just froze there. The staff members urged me to start the walk.

  "Go, Azra, just go!" my two best friends mouthed to me. I nodded back in panic.

  The stage smoke swirled around my feet as I began to step forward. The floor of the catwalk lit up in colored LED lights. I tried not to look at the crowd so that I didn't get more nervous.

  But once I got to the middle, I saw Clarice walking back gracefully in my direction. Relief flooded through my chest the moment I saw her face. She didn't recognize me at first, but once she realized it was me, she froze. I smiled and gave her a little awkward wave.

  When I got closer to the blonde, my heel tripped and I reeled to the side. The audience gasped. I was only seconds away from chucking the cakes all over the front row people when a pair of hands grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back.

  Clarice's face came into my view. She twirled us around like two tango dancers on the stage. In that moment, I could tell that everyone's heart had stopped beating, including mine.

  The man I saw earlier looked like he was going to pass out.

  I righted myself again. The crowd erupted in cheer and applause. I tried to make up for the embarrassing moment by offering my desserts to a few middle-aged couples. They mechanically took the cakes with a dumbfounded look on their faces.

  Clarice winked at me and then she took my hand and walked me to the front of the stage. We did a few poses before we walked back again hand in hand. The people went wild. They kept cheering us on until we exited through the other door.

  When we were out of sight, Clarice burst out laughing. I was still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened. How did I get myself out there? I felt like I was sleepwalking, and sleepwalking on a runway fashion show no less!

  "Azra, I think you will have a lot to explain to everyone afterward," Clarice said, still sniffing.

  "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I need to explain it to myself too," I said. We both burst out laughing. When we stopped, Clarice took a look at me and smiled the brightest smile.

  "Wow, you're beautiful," she said, "more than I could've imagined."

  "What? You imagined me in lingerie?" I teased her. She didn't answer, but her eyes never left mine. I felt the heat creeping up my neck. Her gaze was like burning green fire.

  And boy, have you ever had the urge to grab someone's face and kiss them senseless? Because that was when that urge came to me. As if the blonde could read my mind, she pulled me to a dark corner behind the curtains with her.

  The next thing I knew, her mouth was hot on mine. I closed my eyes and let a moan slip through my throat. A rush of passion washed over us. My hands went up to her naked back, feeling her flawless skin. We kissed and kissed even I knew we had to stop kissing. Her lips tasted better than all the Azra's Secrets I'd ever made.

  "Girls?" a shocked voice cried out. I jumped up and pulled away from Clarice and her delicious mouth. We turned and saw Elise and Karmen looking at us. Their jaws were on the floor.

  Chapter Twenty

  The fight that never happened before happened. I would cut all the crazy parts and fast forward to us sitting at a table together during the after-party.

  The fashion show had ended in the weirdest way possible. I kind of expected to find security guards to come and escort us out of the place, but nothing happened.

  After being on the receiving end of Karmen's bewilderment and Elise's strange stoicism, Clarice insisted we all sit down and be civilized adults. Little did she know that being adults were our less favorite thing in the world.

  But I still thought it was a clever move since Karmen couldn't yell at me for stealing her girl in front of people, and Elise didn't want to be seen as the melodramatic one, so she remained calm and collected. Clarice was safe from being attacked for her faithlessness. But they had a curious-slash-pouty look on their faces the entire time.

  Elise was the first to break the ice.

  "So, you and Clarice?" she said calmly, looking at me and the blonde model. Clarice was sitting beside me. I tried not to glance at the Elven Princess, but I could feel her gaze on me.

  "Look," I said. "I know it is awkward, but I can explain it." Though, I actually had no explanation to give them whatsoever. "The thing is...Clarice and I...we...we..."

  "You what? Accidentally fell on each other's mouth?" Karmen exploded, which made me flinch. "I can't believe you did this to me, Azra! You of all people! I thought Elise was the only villain in my love story, but now you too?"

  "Hey, stop being a drama queen for once and listen to them," Elise said to her. Karmen glared back, but then she was distracted when a waiter walked by with a tray of Champagne.

  "Oh, free drinks!" she said and grabbed the waiter by the shoulder then took two glasses. "Alright, now you may proceed."

  If it were an actual trail, Karmen would be the sassiest judge we'd ever had the misfortune to meet. I stole a glance at Clarice. She didn't seem particularly guilty or nervous as I did, which made me wonder what she was thinking.

  "Well," I started, but I was interrupted by the same man who mistakenly put me on the catwalk. He showed up at our table with a look that said 'Gotcha!'

  "Is that the dessert girl we've been looking for? I found your flyer," he said, pulling out the flyer from his jacket and eyeing me. "Everyone kept asking if it was part of my new design theme. Who would have thought lingerie goes well with tiny cakes? I thought I would have to grow like an onion with my head in the ground."

  We looked at each other. I was thinking that was it. We were going to end up in jail. I stood and put my hands up as if I was being caught by the police.

  But luckily, Clarice came to my rescue. With her simple logic, she had straightened the things out in a way no one else had thought of. She explained that we were a small start-up business looking for an opportunity. We understood that it wasn't permissible to use someone's platform to advertise our products, but she hoped the man had a kind heart and would understand our desperation.

  We looked on, impressed with her eloquence and grace.

  "Wow, this girl can really talk down a lion," Karmen whispered to me.

  At last, the man smiled.

  "No problem, darling," he said and turned to us. "I'm happy to help. There is no need to be nervous about. In fact, you've got yourselves quite a fan base here. They were asking who the dessert princess was."

  Soon, people surrounded our table. The same couples I gave my cakes to during the show turned out to be real pastry enthusiasts and magazine editors. They told me they had tasted heaven, and they would love to write a review on our deli. I couldn't be more overjoyed.

  After everyone left, we sat down again.

  "Wow, we did!" Elise squealed.

  "Yeah, thanks to Clarice," I said with a smile and looked at the blonde, who smiled back.

  "All right," said Karmen, looking seriously at us again, "you've dodged us for a while now. It's time to tell us what you did behind the scene."

  "Oh, Karmen," I said. "It's complicated."

  "We just want you to tell the truth, Azra," Elise reassured. "Whoever Clarice picks, we couldn't care less. Right, Karmen?"

  "Right," Karmen confirmed. "Nothing but the truth."

  I frowned as I looked at my two best friends. They were strangely in sync with each other, which surprised me and also made me nervous.

  "Well...it...it was just a kiss," I said. "What's the big deal?"

  But after I said that, Clarice snapped her head to me. I looked back at her and realized that was probably the dumbest thing to say in front of a girl you secretly like.

  "Was it?" she asked.

  "Er...yeah," I said later. "It was just a kiss, right?"

  Clarice's face crumbled with hurt. Her crystalline emerald eyes glistened with tears.

  "I cho
ose you, Azra!" she burst. My mouth formed an idiotic O at her outburst.

  Did she just choose me? This was the girl who went out with everyone except me? My eyes were glazing over. I started having lightning flashes— Clarice at the supermarket, casserole day, the baking lessons, and coming to help with the deli and even tonight. Sure, she'd always run off at the end with either Karmen or Elise, but that was probably to get my attention. Come to think of it, for a girl with not one but two girlfriends, she'd hung around me a lot. She must have been trying to get close to me! But I was too busy being so jealous and resentful that everything she'd said or done went over my head.

  Clarice Kingsley stood up from the table.

  "Well, it was nice meeting you girls," she said and wiped her eyes. "I wish you success with the opening day tomorrow."

  "Clarice," I stood up, too. Her eyes were fixed on me for a moment before she turned her face away and walked out.

  "Clarice!" Karmen and Elise called at the same time. The blonde model kept walking away and weaving between tables.

  Karmen and Elise turned to stare at me. I was rooted to the spot, watching Clarice disappear into the sea of people. In that moment, I just wanted to throw myself to the floor, kicking and screaming.

  Clarice picked me! All this time, she'd been trying to get through to me. I'd missed what was right in front of my nose! I realized I had created a masterpiece of stupidity. It was best summed up in three words: I blew it.

  They must have caught a glimpse of the look on my face, because suddenly, Karmen shoved me forward.

  "What are you standing here for, you silly girl?" she said. "If you run after her, you can still catch her."

  Elise pushed me, too.

  "Go get her, Azra," she said with a giggle. "She's all yours."

  I blinked a few times at my two best friends, but when I understood, I ran like crazy.

  I found Clarice again at the front building. It was drizzling gently outside. Cars whizzed around the streets of New York City. People had dispersed, taking shelter in the nearby shops and restaurants. Clarice was trying to flag down a cab.

  "Clarice!" I called out to her. She turned around. Her blonde hair was swiped by the wind. I ran up to her and didn't wait for a second before I lunged at her lips. The pedestrians glanced at us as they walked by. After she recovered from her surprise, Clarice melted into my arms. Her heart rate matched with my own. I had put everything into our kiss, every emotion, every unspoken word, trying to tell her that what we had was always more.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  "Tell me," I said to Clarice. "When did you start to notice I exist?"

  "Hmmm, is that a tone of sarcasm I hear?" she said.

  I pursed my lips.

  "Well, this was the girl who went out of her way to date everybody I knew except me!"

  "Azra, I can't believe you're still mad about it even now we're in bed?" she said with a disapproving look. "Can we talk about it in the morning? We have other important things to do."

  She went to kiss my lips and collarbones again. We hadn't even turned on the light yet, and we were both in Clarice's apartment. I had to take a moment to soak it up. Actually, I had to take a lot of moments to soak it up. After we left the fashion show, Clarice had brought me to her place, and I thought I was probably in a coma and was making all this in my head.

  We started to remove our clothes. I had to open my mouth and say something just to drown out the pounding in my ears.

  "Are you sure you picked me? Are you sure?" I asked. Clarice frowned back at me.

  "Do I need to say that you can send shivers through my skin, just by brushing your elbow against mine on accident?" she said.

  "I'm trying to figure out why," I said.

  "Because you're you, Azra," she said.

  "Give me some pictures. I don't really get it."

  "Okay, well, I love that you follow your passion," she said. "You're hardworking and dangerously cute. I saw what you did for Celia and the deli and how much you care about your friends. It just made me fall for you even more."

  "Even more?" I said with an arched brow. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you go out with Karmen and Elise instead?"

  Her blonde hair fell as she removed the pins. I brushed it from her face and ran my fingers through those silky strands.

  "Azra, I did try to tell you all the time!" she said and kissed my neck again and again. "I went out with the other two, because they asked me out, and you didn't. The first time I saw you, you didn't even look at me longer than two seconds. I thought you weren't interested in me."

  "What?" I blinked.

  I had to admit that was true. I never once mustered the courage to ask her out. For someone obsessed with being loved, I did literally nothing to make me lovable. Every time we met, I either tried to shoo her away or laughed at her.

  "So what went wrong with them? Aren't Karmen and Elise good enough?" I said. Clarice sighed and pinched my cheeks then she kissed each of them.

  "I never knew you're such a girl!" she said. "Well, I think they can be great friends to have, but I felt like I was a competition for them win each other. You're the only one who looks at me like I'm the real prize."

  Then she smiled and I smiled back. Our eyes entwined.

  "Alright, case closed. No further questions," I said.

  Clarice let out a girly giggle as I grabbed the blanket, shielding us from the spying moon outside the window.

  ~*~

  The next morning, I woke up with a start. I looked at the time and gasped.

  "Oh my god! We're late!" I said. I got out of bed and tried to find all my clothes. "Clarice! We're late. Get up!"

  I came to shake her shoulder. She turned around, her naked body was wrapped in the sheet, and I nearly wished I could reschedule the opening day. I meant, yes, we did the thing last night, but Clarice waking up in such an ungodly early morning, looking like that must be witchcraft.

  "Geez, I know you're beautiful, but seriously? Even in the morning?" I muttered to myself.

  "What is it, Azra?" she said with a yawn then reached her hands out to pull me back to bed again. It took everything I had not to give in and join her. I told her we had to get to the deli and get ready for the event, or we wouldn't be able to catch the worms. She agreed to leave the bed only after I promised to make her the yummiest dessert in the world.

  Ms. McHugh wasn't so happy to see me. She said we had bailed on her to enjoy the night away, and she had to sleep in Celia's place and guard the deli like a hawk all night. I knew that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I still had to apologize to her.

  "I hate to think what would happen if that Monica woman released three monkeys in our deli again," she said.

  "Did the police say it was her?" Clarice asked. "Did she actually use monkeys to destroy Celia's business?"

  "No, but it might as well be true," I told her. "But let's not get carried away. We need to start working."

  Now, I had to find my two monkeys. Karmen and Elise were supposed to help me out today. Clarice and I went back to my apartment.

  "Hey, girls! Get your lazy bums over here!" I said. "We've got work to do!"

  I went to Elise's room, but she wasn't there.

  "Where is she?" I said. "Elise!"

  I turned to Karmen's room instead and Clarice followed me. Karmen was still asleep when we walked in. I went to the foot of her bed and tugged on the edge of her blanket.

  "Karmen, wake up! Wake up!" I yelled.

  She stirred to life with a groan. As she stretched her body, the blanket on her right side also moved like there was a puppy underneath, except it was a puppy but my other best friend Elise. I realized they were both naked, and I almost rubbed my eyes to see if that really was what I saw.

  "Oh. My. God," I breathed.

  Karmen's eyes finally snapped open and found us standing there. Elise blushed and covered herself, looking equally surprised to see us.

  "Damn it," Karmen muttered to herself then turned to
her bedmate. "I blame that bottle of wine last night."

  "Well, I blame you!" Elise said. "What were you thinking stealing it from the party?"

  "Hey, you also shared half of it!" Karmen protested.

  "Er...girls," I said to get their attention. "I guess I've got to go back and...uh...open...You two take your time. No problem."

  There was still some banter going on with those two even as we were leaving. Clarice and I went back to the deli.

  "I knew they had a thing for each other," Clarice said afterward.

  "Really? How could you tell?"

  "Every time they went out with me all they talked about was how annoying the other one was," she said. "I just knew."

  "I must be the last girl on earth to get their crazy chemistry," I said. Clarice laughed.

  "You're too innocent sometimes," she said.

  "Oh am I?" I arched my eyebrow at her. "I would like to prove you otherwise once we're done for today."

  "Hmmm...at least take me on a date first," she said, and we laughed.

  I tried not the think of what we just saw in Karmen's bedroom and put ourselves to work.

  When Karmen and Elise came down to the deli, we pretended that nothing had happened. We didn't talk or discuss it. They just complained about the hangover. I made them some chicken soup with ginger tea. But they didn't seem as grumpy as I expected. How could I have missed this development? Now that I thought of it, I hadn't heard Karmen and Elise fight lately. What do you know? While I'd been busy carving and icing cakes, Karmen and Elise had developed a bond! I doubted they were that wasted last night, and they were just putting on an act. These two rascals.

  Luckily, I had prepared most of the things the night before, so there wasn't much to arrange. At eight, we were ready to open the restaurant. The grand opening still made me both nervous and excited.

  We waited, but no one showed up yet. Half an hour later, we saw our regular customers coming for their breakfast. Then at about nine, it happened.

  My Azra's Secrets fans showed up in force. They were young, trendy and hip. They saw our ad and were interested to try something new in town. We catered to silk suited people, leather and chains, and neon minis. Long hair, short hair, facial hair, pink hair, blue hair, and no hair were all welcome.