by Holly Renee
“You are missing the point entirely. Brandon had to stick his big nose into my business then, then…” I was really getting riled up now. “He had the gall to insinuate to David that he had been over here at the bakery the night before.”
“Well, was he?”
“Yes, but that’s beside the point as well. He insinuated that he was here for reasons that he was most certainly not here for. Or he may have been here for them, but they definitely didn’t happen.”
“So, what did happen?” My mom looked far more interested in finding out what I did or didn’t do with Brandon versus how he may have ruined my life. Dramatic? Yes. But necessary.
“Nothing. He helped me decorate some cupcakes, and we got into a powdered sugar fight. I’m like eighty percent sure he tried to kiss me then we spent the next hour cleaning this place up.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She held up her hands to slow me down. “What do you mean that you are eighty percent sure that he tried to kiss you? How are you not one hundred percent?”
“He moved in toward me.” I moved my body similarly to the way he moved his.
“Then what happened?”
I shrugged my shoulders because it was a bit embarrassing to admit to my own mother how little game I had. “I, um, I shoved a cupcake in his face.”
My mom laughed so hard that I was a little worried that she might fall off the counter. It would serve her right though.
“You mean to tell me that a man that looks like that,” she motioned from the tip of her head to the bottom of her toes as if I should know what she meant, and unfortunately, I did. “Tried to kiss you after he helped you ice cupcakes and all you did was shove one in his face?”
“It sounds a little crazy when you say it like that, but…”
“I just repeated what you said. I just simplified it.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“But I have no business kissing him.”
“Well, why the heck not?” She finally pulled one of the muffins out of the pan, and I tried not to cringe at the blob of batter that didn’t even resemble a muffin.
“Because he’s a player.”
“You know him well enough to know that?” My mom looked up at me with a look that I knew far too well.
“I don’t have to know him that well to figure it out. Plus, his own friends said he is.”
My mom shook her head. “Charlie, I have taught you better than to judge someone off what others say about them. Friends or not.”
“So, what? You want me to kiss him and let him prove me right and get hurt?”
“No.” She shook her head again. “I just think you should give the guy a chance to prove you wrong.”
Then she took a bite of the muffin before I could stop her, and I couldn’t stop laughing as she spit the bite out almost instantly. “Plus, any man who can screw you up so badly that you bake like this is probably worth a bit of heartbreak.”
My mom, ladies and gentlemen.
CHAPTER 10
THE MUFFIN OF DEATH
Brandon
My hands were sweating. I had always heard rumors of redheads being feisty, but I had yet to really experience that from Charlie. I wasn’t sure that I was ready for it either.
But I knew she was mad. If everything Livy said was any indication, then I was probably better off running away as fast as I could, but she deserved an apology for last night.
I knocked on the front door to the bakery, but she didn’t answer. I knew she was there though because her car was parked out front. Unless she went on a lunch date with David. My hand tightened around the bag of Jolly Ranchers in my hand. I had to buy four different bags and sort through them to manage to fill one bag with only watermelon flavor.
If any of my friends found out about it, they would die. Hell, I would die.
I was pussy whipped, and the girl wasn’t even giving me the time of day.
I tested the door which opened easily, and the bakery was flooded with the sound of old-school country music. I made a mental note to make sure to tell Charlie how unsafe it was for her to leave the door unlocked while she was in the back baking. I might have to save that conversation for another day though.
I adjusted the daisies in my arm and gently pushed open the swinging door that led to her kitchen. I spotted her way before she noticed me and thank God I did. Because it was the most beautiful I had ever seen her.
Charlie was stirring something in a bowl that was almost as big as she was, and she shook her hips to the beat of the music that blared from the small speaker on the island. I watched her as she paused her stirring long enough to lift the spoon to her mouth and use it as a microphone.
Her singing was horrible. It was completely off key, and some parts even made me wince a bit, but damn, she was gorgeous.
I let the door slowly close and I stood with my back against the wall as she put on a show. I knew she was going to kill me when she finally saw me, but it was beyond worth it.
She dipped her finger into the batter before putting that same finger into her mouth and slowly licking it off.
My cock jumped to attention. I was starting to wonder if maybe she did know that I was there, and she was just trying to torture me.
But Charlie didn’t seem like that kind of girl.
I wanted her to be though.
I would take any kind of torture she was willing to give me.
Even if it meant I would be walking around with the worst case of blue balls of my life.
The radio began to pick up in tempo and so did Charlie. She swiveled her hips in a small circle then she spun in place as she belted out into the spoon. The moment her eyes met mine, it was like the light mood she had been instantly darkened.
She moved to the radio and shut down the music with the click of a button. “What are you doing here?” Her eyes went to the flowers in my hand for only a moment before she turned her back to me and went back to her mixing bowl.
“I came to apologize.”
She huffed without turning back toward me, and I had to stop myself from laughing at how cute she was.
“I wouldn’t think that Brandon Hudson did apologies.” She continued to stir, but she was now doing it with a lot more vigor.
“Well, that just shows that you don’t really know me that well.”
She swiveled toward me and pointed her wooden spoon in my direction. “I know you well enough to know you’re an ass.”
“Fair enough.” I shrugged my shoulders which caused her attention to jump to the bag of Jolly Ranchers in my hand.
“Did you talk to my mom?” She narrowed her eyes on that hand.
“Huh?” I acted completely clueless.
“Don’t act like you just guessed that Jolly Ranchers and daisies are my favorites.” She was still shaking that damn wooden spoon at me, and I swear that I could barely think about anything other than kissing her. I had never wanted to kiss her more than in that moment.
“These aren’t for you.” I lifted the candy and the flowers. Her cheeks turned red, and I instantly regretted embarrassing her even though that blush on her cheeks just made me want to kiss her more. “I’m just kidding.” I took a step closer to her. “Of course, these are for you.” I set the flowers and candy on the island in front of her.
She took the handle of the wooden spoon she was holding and lifted the open edge of the Jolly Rancher bag before her eyes flew up to mine.
“You picked out all the watermelon ones for me?”
“They are your favorite, right?” God, if her mom set me up and told me the wrong flavor, I would never forgive her. Actually, she seemed pretty hard to stay mad at, but I would be pissed. It took me forever to pick out all those little pink candies.
“I’m going to kill my mom,” Charlie said more to herself than to me.
“So, do you forgive me?” I smiled at her, and she narrowed her eyes farther.
“I’m not just going to forgive you because you convinced my mother to tell you my
favorite candy and flowers.”
I didn’t want to tell her that it didn’t take much convincing on my part. “Then what will it take?” I stuck my lip out in a pout, and I knew she didn’t want me to, but I saw the corner of her mouth curve up in a smile before she quickly recovered.
“I’ll tell you what.” She finally set the wooden spoon down and crossed her arms. “If you eat one of my lemon muffins, I’ll forgive you.”
I was confused.
Like really fucking confused.
“All I have to do is eat a muffin?” I asked skeptically.
“That’s it.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“What’s the catch?” There had to be a catch.
“There’s no catch.”
I looked her over then looked at the delicious looking muffins that were cooling off on a rack behind her. I didn’t know what the hell eating a muffin would do for her to forgive me, but I’d eat them all if she needed me to.
“Fine. Do I get to pick the muffin, or do you want that pleasure?” I grinned at her.
“Oh.” She rubbed her hands together, and I suddenly got really damn scared. “I already have the perfect one picked out.”
She walked over to the trashcan. Yes, you heard me right. The trashcan. Then she plucked a disgusting looking blob off the top of the overflowing pile of muffins and set it down in front of me. I looked up at her smiling face then back down at the muffin.
It wasn’t so much that I was opposed to the fact that it came out of the trashcan. Don’t get me wrong, that wasn’t exactly appetizing, but in all honesty, I had probably done worse. But it looked deflated.
It didn’t look anything like the muffins that rested behind her with steam rolling off them. It didn’t smell like them either.
I poked my finger against the “muffin” and I swear it bounced back from my touch.
“What the hell is this?” I asked seriously. I knew I was an asshole, but I didn’t deserve to die. I wasn’t that big of an asshole.
At least I didn’t think so.
“It’s a muffin.”
I looked down at the muffin in question then back up at her. I opened my mouth to tell her that it was definitely not like any muffin that I had ever seen, but then I realized that offended her baking skills when she was about to open a bakery probably wasn’t my smartest idea.
“Do you not like my muffin, Brandon?” She cocked one of her perfect red eyebrows at me, and I knew that she was fucking with me. She didn’t think I would do it. She didn’t think that I had the balls.
But she was wrong.
I picked the “muffin” up and held it to my nose. It smelled muffiny enough.
Her smile got bigger the closer the muffin got to my mouth. When I took the first bite, I saw her eyes light up while she waited for my reaction.
It tasted horrible, fucking horrid, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her know that. So, I forced myself to swallow the bite.
“Yum.” I moaned as I brought the muffin to my mouth for a second bite.
Charlie put her hand on my arm to stop me. “It’s good?” She looked genuinely confused.
“Delicious,” I lied, and I prayed she couldn’t tell. I pulled my arm away from hers and took another bite.
I almost gagged.
But I held it together as I swallowed.
Charlie looked at the muffin with a perplexed look on her face before she pulled it out of my hand and sniffed it. She made a face, but it didn’t stop her from sinking her teeth into the muffin where I had just bitten. I almost felt bad that she was gullible enough to believe that this thing she called a muffin was delicious, but in reality, she deserved it for making me eat it.
I counted to three before I saw her face change and her eyes narrowed into slits. Then she spit the muffin into her hand.
“You liar.” She threw the muffin in the trash then turned back toward me.
“I didn’t lie exactly. I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” I smiled and hoped she found that charming.
“What if I took your word for it and served those muffins to paying customers?”
“I wouldn’t have let you do that.”
“I see what kind of friend you are.” She smiled, and I physically jolted at hearing her call me her friend.
I was being friend-zoned. I didn’t know how I hadn’t been able to see it before now.
“Is that what we are? Friends?” I asked while praying she said no then jumped on the table and begged me to kiss her.
Shit. I had been watching too many romance movies with Livy and Staci.
“It’s better than enemies, isn’t it?” She lifted her spoon off the island and went back to the batter she had been working on when I interrupted her.
“I feel like we’re jumping from one extreme to another.” I laughed, and she rolled her eyes.
“Take it or leave it, pretty boy.” She waved her spoon in the air like it didn’t matter one way or another to her. Like she would literally take it or leave it.
“Fine.” I huffed. “But do friends at least get some sort of benefit?” I flashed her a smile, and I saw the pulse pick up on her neck. She had no interest in being my friend either.
“The only benefit you are getting out of this friendship is that I don’t poison you.”
“Fair enough.” I walked up behind her and snatched one of the delicious looking muffins off the cooling rack before she could stop me. I ran toward the door to escape the wooden spoon that she swung to hit my hand. “See you later, friend!”
CHAPTER 11
GOOD WITH HIS HANDS
Charlie
I don’t know why I agreed to come to Livy’s tonight. I knew the girls would be grilling me about my date with David, but once I got here, I found that I really didn’t mind.
“Did you have fun?” Staci asked as she set a giant bowl of chips down on the table.
“Yeah. It was fun, but I haven’t heard from him since then.”
Part of me was worried that Brandon was the reason David hadn’t called or text me since our date, but an even bigger part of me was worried that it had nothing to do with him at all.
“He’s an idiot if he doesn’t call you.” Livy plopped down on the couch adjacent from me after setting three beers down on the table.
I wasn’t much of a drinker, but the beer was a welcome distraction. I held the cold bottle in my hand before forcing a drag down my throat.
Parker, Mason, and Brandon were outside on the back deck grilling hamburgers, and I knew I was going to need more than a soda to make it through this night.
It was their weekly Riverdale night. I almost felt like an intruder, but the girls were adamant that I come. I wasn’t sure that the guys would feel the same way. I hadn’t even been outside to see them since I got here.
I may have been avoiding it, but I was calling it taking a chance to catch up with the girls.
“I can’t believe Brandon was such an ass either. What a jealous jerk?” Staci popped a chip in her mouth before she snuggled into the same couch as Livy.
“He definitely wasn’t jealous.” I took another drink of my beer.
“Oh, he most certainly was.” Livy paused the TV before looking at me. “You think he just goes around stopping most people’s first kiss for shits and giggles?”
“I think he just doesn’t really like David.” I wasn’t sure how they couldn’t see that. I hadn’t seen him be anything more than civil to David.
“Right.” Staci looked at me like I was dense. “Because David is going on dates with you.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Sure, Brandon seemed a little cavemanish, but he definitely wasn’t into me for anything more than what he was apparently into most girls for. “I made it clear to Brandon that there were no benefits in this friendship. He knows that’s not going to happen.”
“Does he?” Livy cocked her head. “Who said he was only interested in benefits anyway?”
“You all did!” I practically
screeched.
“What?” Staci laughed.
“That day at the Mexican restaurant. I said that I thought you’d be with a guy like Brandon and you called him a manwhore.”
“Shit.” Staci laughed again. It was starting to get on my nerves.
“I don’t understand what’s so funny.” I gripped my beer harder in my hands.
“I just meant that Brandon didn’t do serious relationships very often. He’s not actually a whore. We just say shit like that to each other because we’re so close.”
I didn’t generally call my friends whores when they weren’t being one, but the more I thought about it, I didn’t really have anyone to call that if I wanted to.
“Brandon just hasn’t been in a serious relationship in a long time.” Livy was trying to help me take it all in. “Sure, he’s slept around some, but who hasn’t. That doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in something more with you.”
Hearing her say that Brandon had slept around at all made me irrationally angry, and I prayed they wouldn’t notice the blush I knew was forming on my skin.
“Are you interested in something more with him?” Staci asked the question so nonchalantly.
“No. I don’t know. I just…” What the heck was I even saying. “I don’t think I’m the kind of girl for a guy like Brandon.”
“Why not?” Livy asked almost angrily, and I had to quickly explain that it was all about me and nothing to do with him.
“Look at him.” I waved my hand out into oblivion. “He is so far out of my league that we shouldn’t even be discussing it.”
Staci scoffed, but I kept going.
“He’s all badass and a tattoo artist and a total bad boy, and I am not any of those things.”
“I would hope you’re not a bad boy.” Staci laughed, but I rolled my eyes and kept going.
“You know what I mean. I’m the total opposite of everything he is.”
“That’s not a bad thing.” Livy grabbed her beer off the table then settled back into the couch.
“Plus, you just said how experienced he is. I am… well…” I knew I was blushing now. “I am not.”
