Into The Fire (35 page)

“Hmm…sounds good.”

I was notorious for my love of baking. We had
an oven at our house, but it wasn’t as nice as the one they had at
The Grind. I took advantage of it whenever I could. “It’s not super
sweet so at least it won’t give you diabetes.”

Marie popped a few breath mints into her
mouth to cover up the stench of smoke. “I’m not worried about
diabetes.”

“Just lung cancer?” It was a mean jab but I
didn’t care.

Marie rolled her eyes. “I smoke twice a
day…sometimes only once.”

“If it’s so seldom why do it at all?” I put
my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes on her face. I wasn’t a
judgmental person, but I wanted my best friend to be around as long
as possible.

“Shut up and keep baking.” She walked around
me and headed to the front of the café.

I rolled my eyes even though no one was
around to witness it. Then I set the timer on the oven.

***

“Damn, these are good.” Marie picked at the
muffin right at the counter. A few customers were sitting at tables
in the lobby, but no one was in line. Fortunately, our manager was
pretty lenient with all the crazy things we did. One time a
customer complained that Marie was on her phone, but our manager
didn’t seem to care.

“Thanks.”

“Are they made with real apples and
cherries?” She spoke with her mouth full.

“Yep. Natural is the only way to go.” I tried
not to eat everything I made otherwise I really would get
diabetes.

“We could probably sell these for two bucks a
pop.” She finished the muffin then sucked the filling off her
fingers.

“Two bucks?” I asked. “Maybe ninety nine
cents.”

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Our
chocolate croissant is $3.50.”

“Still sounds like a rip off to me.” I
noticed the crumbs around her mouth but I didn’t say anything
because I knew she would get there eventually. Right now, she was
focused on her fingers.

The bell over the door rang as someone walked
inside. That bell was a life savor when we were doing things we
shouldn’t be—like right now. I set the tray of muffins on the
counter then smoothed out my apron without checking who the
customer was.

“Oh my god.” Marie lowered her voice so only
I could hear her. “That’s him.”

“That’s who?”

“That super hot guy that comes in here all
the time. He works on homework or something. But he looks too old
to be in college…” She immediately straightened her hair then
checked her breath.

I peeked over the counter and saw the guy she
was talking about. She wasn’t exaggerating about his looks. He
really was hot. He had dark brown hair that was a little messy, but
it was clear he did it on purpose. It was full and thick, and it
was clear he ran his fingers through it when he was deep in
thought. He wore slacks and a collared shirt with a dark blue tie
down his chest. He had to be over six feet, and he filled out his
size well. Even in a sleeved shirt, the muscles of his arms were
obvious. His chest was wide and his stomach was tight. He stood at
the end of the line and stared up at the menu as he tried to decide
what he wanted.

He was definitely a looker.

“Ask him out,” I whispered to her.

“Are you crazy?” she snapped. “I’m not doing
that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s lame,” she said quickly. “Girls
don’t ask out guys.”

“Says who?” I demanded. “If he says no,
whatever. Move on. But if he says yes…take him out for a
drink.”

“I’m not doing that.” She raised her hand to
shut me up. Whenever she did that, I knew she really wanted me to
drop the subject.

“Don’t you think a guy finds that sexy?”

“What?” she asked.

“When a really hot girl asks him out?”

“I’ll just flirt a little and see where it
goes.”

The guy approached the counter like he was
about to order.

“Marie, wait.” I grabbed her arm and a
napkin.

“What?” she asked in irritation.

“You got muffin all over your face.” I handed
her the napkin.

“Oh my god.” She quickly wiped her mouth.
“Did I get it?”

“No.” I grabbed the napkin. “Let me do
it.”

Her eyes darted to the counter. “Shit, he’s
here.” Without another word she darted into the back.

I tossed the napkin into the garbage then
felt my heart rate pick up. Marie was missing her chance with Mr.
Handsome but I couldn’t let her face him when she had shit all over
her lips.

I approached the counter and pretended
nothing just happened. We didn’t talk about how hot he was. “Hi.
What can I get for you?” I looked him directly in the eye.

His blue eyes were a little startling at
first. I’d seen blue eyes before and on lots of people. Some were
brighter than others. Some had a mixture of green or gray. His were
unusually dark and sharp. They were so pretty they almost didn’t
look real. They contrasted well against his fair face. Every
individual feature was perfect, but combined together made him
deadly. I couldn’t detect a single flaw anywhere.

“Hi. How are you?” He held my gaze as he
spoke. Normally, people stared at the board or through the bakery
window when they talked to me. They didn’t give me any of their
attention. I was just the chick who handed them their coffee.

“Great,” I said with the pen held to the pad.
“What about you?”

“A little tired.” He rested one hand on the
counter, and a shiny watch was on his wrist. “Hence, why I’m in
here.” He had a laid-back nature to him, not snooty like I thought
he might be.

“You need more gas for your engine?” I gave
him a friendly smile.

“So to speak.” His eyes never left my
face.

“Then let’s get you some coffee. What would
you like?”

“I usually drink it black. Unless you have a
recommendation.”

I wasn’t prepared to be put on the spot but I
kept my cool. “We can always add a shot of espresso—maybe two. You
look like you need it.” I smiled so he knew I was joking.

A ghost of a smile stretched his lips.
Instead of raising the corners of his mouth, his eyes lightened in
color. They seemed to be the gateway to his thoughts. “I trust your
judgment.”

“Two shots of espresso it is.” I made the
mental note. “Anything else?”

His eyes left my face for the first time and
moved to the counter. “I’ll take one of those.”

I glanced behind my shoulder and saw the
apple cherry muffins I made. “Those?” I couldn’t keep the surprise
out of my voice.

“Yeah. They’re for sale, right?”

“Actually, I made those…for fun.”

That smile was there again. “Then I
definitely have to have one. I’ll even pay you for it.”

Accept money? That would be weird.
“It’s on the house. You look like you’ve had a bad day.” I grabbed
a tray and set the muffin on top.

“Wow. I’ve never gotten such good service
here.”

Unsure what to say, I gave him a quick smile
then prepared his coffee. Once it was ready, I set it on the tray
and rang him up.

He handed over the cash. “I’ve never seen you
here before.”

“I’ve been working here for a while.” I
handed him his change, and just touching his hand electrified me.
His skin was slightly coarse like he used his hands all the
time.

“I guess I’ll see you next time then.”

“And I hope when that happens you won’t be so
tired.”

This time he gave me a real smile. “That
makes two of us.” He grabbed his tray then sat in a booth near the
window. He pulled his laptop out of his satchel and set it on the
counter.

“You’re such a lucky bitch.”

I turned around and spotted Marie. Her face
was free of crumbs. “What?”

“He was totally flirting with you.”

“Was not,” I argued.

“He never spoke to me like that.” She crossed
her arms over her chest and eyed him in the lobby. She released a
quiet whistle under her breath. “That is one fine man.”

“He really is something…” My gaze moved to
his large hands. I wondered what he could do with them.

“Ask him out.”

I turned back to Marie so quickly my neck
hurt. “What?”

“What happened to asking a guy out?”

“Well, he’s
your
guy.” That was an
unspoken rule between us.

“No, he’s not,” she said with a laugh. “I
just said he was hot. I don’t have any claim on him. And it looks
like you have a serious chance with him.”

“Dude, I talked to him for, like, two
minutes.”

“Don’t
dude
me.” She raised her
finger. “Are you all talk?”

“No,” I said defensively. “But I don’t even
know him.”

“Who cares?” She put her hands on her hips.
“Is there much talking involved with sex?”

I rolled my eyes and walked away. “Now you’re
getting carried away.”

She grabbed a muffin and chucked it at my
back. “If he comes in here again, I’m going to bug you worse than a
fly that just won’t quit.”

“And I’m sure you’ll keep your word.”

***

A week went by and I didn’t see Mr. Handsome.
For days afterward, I thought about those expressive blue eyes. His
face was indecipherable, but if you looked into his eyes you could
find everything you were looking for.

He carried himself with confidence, but he
spoke politely. Instead of treating me like a mule as most
customers did, he actually looked into my eyes as he spoke. Maybe
he was in sales. He was undoubtedly good at selling anything, even
broken radios.

When the week had come and gone, I started to
forget about him. He was one of the most attractive men I’d ever
seen, but maybe I just exaggerated his features once he was gone.
Could a guy really be that hot? Sometimes the memory of something
was better than the actual thing.

Fortunately, Marie didn’t bring it up again.
She probably forgot too. We had too much on our minds right now
with school. I had a few exams that week and a lab report. I loved
going out and dating, but I didn’t have a lot of time to do it.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when the bell rang
overhead. Whenever I heard that sound, I turned to the door in the
hope of seeing Mr. Handsome. But it was never him. Today, I didn’t
even bother looking because I finally stopped thinking about
him.

“Now you’re the one who looks tired.”

I looked up and saw the eyes I hadn’t
forgotten about. His presence caught me off guard but I acted like
I knew he was there the entire time. “I guess we’ve switched
places.”

He stood at the counter wearing his typical
office clothes. I wondered what he did for a living but I didn’t
ask. “I guess I should have brought you a cup of coffee.” That
amused expression was in his eyes. He had a smooth tongue like he
did this often.

“I have too much caffeine as it is.” I
positioned myself at the register. “What can I get you today?”

“For starters, I want another one of those
muffins.”

The ones I made?
“You liked it?”

His lips stretched into a true smile. “I ate
it in ten seconds. Does that answer your question?”

I tried not to blush. I tended to do that
when someone truly flattered me. “I’m glad you liked it. Baking is
a hobby of mine.”

“Maybe you should make it into a career and
put this place out of business.”

Opening my own bakery was my dream. The only
reason I was in college was to prepare myself for opening a
shop…and also for the event that I didn’t succeed and needed to
find another job. “I’ll think about it.”

He stared at me without speaking. His look
wasn’t invasive or uncomfortable. Only someone like him could pull
that off. If someone else did it, it would just be creepy.

“Another espresso?”

“Black coffee, please. I’m not that tired
today.”

“Got a good night’s sleep?”

“Something like that.” The corners of his
lips stretched into a smile.

I wasn’t sure what his comment meant. Was he
implying he got laid last night? Or were my own thoughts running
wild? The idea of seeing him naked and being the girl in his bed
made my hair stand on end. I shook the thought away because it was
too perverse. “Anything else?”

“Have any of those muffins back there?”

“No, unfortunately.”

He shrugged. “Maybe next time.”

“Yeah…” His confident vibe made me feel warm
and cold at the same time. Sometimes when he was close enough, I
smelled his cologne. It was light and not overbearing. I thought I
could detect his natural smell, like body soap. “Your total is
$2.15.”

He opened his wallet and handed me a
five.

Once I took it and grazed his fingers, I felt
the electricity again. My attraction was obvious. I just hoped it
wasn’t as obvious to him. “Here’s your change.” I handed the cash
back along with the receipt. Then I stared at him as I felt my
heart hammer in my chest. He was making me nervous, which was
unusual. No one ever made me nervous.

He shoved the cash into his wallet. “What’s
your name?”

My heart moved into my throat with
anticipation. In the back of my mind I hoped he was going to ask me
out. Sitting across from him at a restaurant and talking about
music made my stomach do a few somersaults. I didn’t know anything
about him but I knew I wanted to know more. And I wouldn’t mind a
goodnight kiss either. “Francesca. But everyone calls me
Frankie.”

“Frankie.” He grinned wide this time. “I like
that.”

“What’s yours?”

“Hawke.”

Hawke
? I’d never heard of a name like
that before. But it seemed to suit him…in an unusual way.

He caught onto my confusion. “It’s my middle
name but that’s what everyone calls me.”

“Oh…it’s nice.” I wanted to ask what his
first name was but he would have told me if he wanted me to
know.

He grabbed his coffee then stepped away.
“I’ll see you around, Frankie.”