Take the Cake (33 page)

~~~

Michael had been standing in the doorway scanning the dinner crowd when Paul’s whoop had caught his attention. Paul’s wave barely registered before Michael’s attention swung to Kate’s smiling face beside him. Walking over to the table, he stooped down to brush his lips against Kate’s before leaning over to shake Paul’s proffered hand.

“Good to see you again, Paul.” Michael smiled and then pulled out the spare seat beside Kate and sat down.

“Likewise.” Paul gave him a cordial grin. “It’s good to see the cause for Kate’s smiles lately.”

“Is that so?” Michael relaxed into his seat, grateful that he was going to be spared any conversation about his writing career.

Kate shot Paul a look that had her brother fumbling for the menu. “So,” he began in a slightly-too-jovial tone, “who’s for pizza?” Paul peered around the room for a waitress so that he could get their order placed as quickly as possible. Michael slipped his arm around Kate’s shoulders and drew her close.

“Smiles, huh?” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“That’s Bear for you,” Kate replied. “Either all protective or gooey matchmaker. When he’s this happy, there isn’t much middle ground.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Michael replied, watching as she bit her lip before smiling again. Michael looked into Kate’s warm brown eyes and thought again how much he needed her.

~~~

Kate looked at Michael and realized how much she had wanted to be with him this evening. She was about to answer when Paul directed a question to Michael about pepperoni and the two of them fell into discussion about the pros and cons of sausage pizza. She watched as Michael and Paul worked their way through the usual dance steps of conversation as they negotiated their way toward common ground. Of course, sports was the universal leveler, although they surprised each other with their mutual interest in books and music.

She smiled as she felt Michael’s hand rest on her back and begin to make lazy circles as he continued to converse with Paul. She leaned into his touch and felt content to simply watch him: his strong jaw line as he spoke, the way his eyes crinkled with amusement, and best of all, the way he glanced at her from time to time. The pizzas arrived and the conversation continued.

Kate licked some grease off her fingers, laughing as Paul told them a story about his day, and then happened to glance over at Michael. His eyes were watching her lips as they sucked and pulled at her fingertips one by one as she licked them clean. She licked her bottom lip slowly for good measure and watched his eyes grow darker still. Paul continued talking, and so she leaned back in her seat and rested her hand on Michael’s thigh and rubbed her thumb against the rough denim. She heard his breath hitch for a moment before he remembered himself and laughed on cue as Paul’s story reached its conclusion.

Kate could feel the heat of Michael’s body against hers. All she wanted to do was run her hand up under his shirt and across the hard planes of his chest as she pressed herself against him.

If she did that, he would touch her like only Michael could touch her. He knew all her sweet spots, the places on her body that made her sigh and arch against him, to find some release from the need that was spiraling up from her core. Somehow she was able to smile and keep talking, smiling as Paul kept getting distracted by the game on the wall mounted TV, all the while realizing she wanted nothing more than to feel Michael’s mouth on hers. She shifted a little in her seat, trying to ease the sudden ache.

“Don’t do that.” Michael’s words were a hot whisper against her ear, tickling her neck and making her give a delighted shudder. “Oh, God, don’t do that. I don’t think I can stand much more.”

Kate felt a rush of pleasure at his murmured plea.
I did that. I make him feel like that
.

She turned her attention back to Paul who, she realized with a guilty start, was gazing at her expectantly.

“Uh …” she stammered, “sorry, what were you saying?”

“Miles away, huh?” Paul asked with a knowing smile.

“Something like that,” Kate admitted, although the distance had been much closer than Paul had given her credit for. Michael was, after all, right beside her.

“I was saying that we ought to call it a night soon, given you and I both have early starts tomorrow.”

Kate nodded, sliding her hand further up Michael’s thigh and grinning as he clamped his hand over her wrist to stop her from going further still.

“Guess it’s easier for you creative types,” Paul said. “You can set your own hours so you can be your own boss.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Michael mused, “if the ideas aren’t coming, then there’s nothing to do, and nothing can be a lonely place if you’re relying on it for a living.”

“Guess I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Paul commented. “Is that the voice of experience?”

“Oh, yeah,” Michael sighed. “There’s nothing worse than waking up and realizing that you’re living in an inspiration wasteland.” Releasing Kate’s wrist with a warning look, he settled his arm around Kate’s shoulders in a bid to shift his attention away from the warmth of her hand resting on his thigh.

“Everyone’s their own worst critic,” Kate added. “And being your own boss can be a different kind of pressure in itself.”

“C’mon, Kat, you love your store,” Paul commented as he finished his drink.

“Oh, sure, I do now, but those first couple of years were hard.”

“Were they?” Michael looked at her, curious. She hadn’t told him much about the early days of the bakery, and however tired the day made her, she still managed to make it look easy.

Kate shot him a tired smile. “There were months when Cup o’ Noodles for dinner was considered haute cuisine. When the business was still getting off the ground, money was pretty tight.”

Michael felt a twinge of guilt at how his career and financial success had all but dropped in his lap.

“But you kept at it,” Paul commented, giving his sister a proud look before looking at Michael. “Man, I wish you could have seen it. That store was a roach hotel when Kate found it. Hey, Kat,” he went on as his face lit up with remembered amusement, “remember the shouting match we had when you said you’d found the venue?”

“You guys fought?” Michael looked surprised.

“Definitely.” Kate nodded, although the smile on her face belied her words. “Paul was still deep in business school territory then, so he crunched the numbers and was sure I was headed for financial Armageddon.”

“Michael,” Paul sighed, “let me just give you a tip right now. You might think you know stubborn, but that woman you’ve got there redefines the word.”

Kate scoffed at that, making both men laugh.

“Seriously, we had some knock-down fights about the store, but she would
not
budge.”

“I just knew I was right,” Kate commented in a serene tone. “So all I had to do was get you on my side and I couldn’t possibly fail.”

“You must have been pretty determined,” Michael commented.

“Oh, she was.” Paul nodded. “You know,” he went on in a doleful tone, “sometimes she wasn’t happy until she’d made me cry.”

The table erupted into laughter at the notion of the diminutive Kate towering over the enormous, jovial man, Paul included.

“All right, so she broke me down using her power of persuasion,” Paul added, “and more sweat and elbow grease than I would’ve thought possible.”

“It wasn’t
that
bad,” Kate chided in a gentle tone.

Michael watched the interplay between brother and sister, noticing how they were both smiling as they recounted the story for his benefit. Although the period had obviously been one of high stress, they were both genuinely pleased with its eventual success.

“No, but you have to admit it wasn’t that great either,” Paul replied. Then turning to Michael, he said, “The place was a tiny Asian food store. Great concept, but it just didn’t seem to fit where it was. The lease was up and the owners decided to move on, which is where our girl stepped in.” Paul relaxed in his chair, watching the memories flicker across Kate’s face.

“What got your bakery idea across the line with the owners?” Michael asked, reaching up to twine a strand of hair around his index finger. He was soaking up the story, filing it away for future reference.

“Babycake pitched some woo,” Paul said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, there was a whole lotta woo goin’ on,” Kate agreed.

“Kat started sending cupcakes to the leasing agent and the owners. She got someone to draw up some concept boards of what she wanted the store to look like. You name it, she pretty much did it.” Paul shook his head at Michael.

“It seems to have worked,” Michael commented, releasing the strand of hair and combing his fingers through the silken lengths. “They must have been happy with your vision.”

“They’re still happy.” Kate smiled. “Remember that high tea you saw in the store weeks ago?”

Michael sifted through his memories, flicking through scents, sounds, and images. “Balloons and little girls?”

“That’s the one.” Kate was pleased at his recollection. “The birthday girl was the grand-daughter of the owner.”

“You’ve got that kind of relationship with them?” Michael was surprised at this.

“We don’t get in each other’s way,” Kate clarified, “but when the store opened after the renovations, I sent them some cakes and a letter expressing my appreciation. They stop in once or twice a year to see how things are going.”

“That’s really … nice,” Michael said at last. “It’s something you don’t hear about much these days.”

“That’s Kate,” Paul answered.

Michael nodded. That was his girl.

~~~

Paul and Kate stood by the door watching as Michael settled the check. There had been a protracted argument over who was paying for dinner, which Michael had settled by simply picking up the check and strolling over to the register without another word. Paul had gaped at his retreating back for a moment before startling Kate with a face-splitting grin.

“I like him.”

“That’s all it takes?” Kate gazed at him in disbelief. “Whatever happened to overprotective Brother Bear that saw off the other guys I’ve dated?”

“None of them bought me pizza.” Paul shrugged.

“I never thought I’d see you become so easy,” Kate commented. “Throw some food into the equation, and you can’t even pretend to play hard to get.”

Paul ignored her sass. “None of them made you smile the way he does. Face it, Kat. You’re going to have to say it sooner or later.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Kate. “So are you going to?” he whispered into her ear.

“Yes,” she whispered back. “But not until I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Paul said, giving her a squeeze before stepping back. “Just don’t be scared. I’m with you.”

“I know.” Kate offered him a smile. “And it’s appreciated.”

Michael turned from the counter, stuffing some change into his pocket and reached for Kate’s hand with a smile. He drew her to his side, waving off Paul’s thanks for dinner with an easy grin as he ushered them outside.

“So …” Paul clapped his hands and rubbed them together briskly, smiling expansively at everyone. “This was good; let’s do it again.” He reached out and shook Michael’s hand. “Michael,” he said, “good to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Michael smiled. “And I agree. Let’s catch up soon.”

Kate managed to keep the surprise off her face. This was the first time Paul had volunteered to spend more time with someone she was dating. Even better, it seemed to be entirely mutual between the two men.

Kate snuggled into Michael’s side as they walked. The wind had picked up during the evening, and she was feeling the cold a little more than she cared to admit. She made a mental note to dig out some of her warmer coats to wear to work. Her arm was around Michael’s waist and so she felt the tremor of silent amusement.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.

“Just thinking about Paul’s turn of phrase,” he replied. “
Pitching woo
. I like it.” He thought about the large, gentle man who had watched him through fatherly eyes, and smiled again at Paul’s vernacular. Michael had listened and admired the sibling bond between the brother and sister all evening, and for the first time began to understand what it was he had missed out on by being an only child. Paying for dinner tonight had been a spontaneous gesture, one that he was well within his means to make, and yet he couldn’t help but feel that Kate and Paul were far richer. Words bubbled in the back of his mind.

By the time they reached Kate’s apartment block, the words were louder, and his fingers twitched. Michael knew from experience that the words would simply gather momentum until the sound became a roar, and he would get no rest until he had poured the words onto the page.

“Do you want to come up?” Kate turned to lean into his chest and he put both of his arms around her to hold her close.

“I’d like nothing more,” he admitted, “but I’ve got to do some work tonight.”

Kate nodded her head against his chest, and he dipped his head slightly so that he could inhale the fragrance of her hair. He had noticed her shivering a little on the walk home, and he held her to his chest: a combination of wanting to keep her close and just plain wanting her.

“Okay,” Kate said at last. He could hear the disappointment in her voice, and it stabbed through him, but he had to write. He didn’t want to lose his words again, not when he had at last found so much. “I’ll miss you in my bed.” She sighed.

For a moment, Michael forgot to breathe. He thought about persuading her to come back to his apartment, but decided against it. He would be poor company until he had gotten the latest vein of words out of his system.

“Not as much as I’ll miss you,” Michael said, tilting her head to give her a soft kiss.

He saw her to her door and waited until she had closed it with considerable reluctance. When he got back outside, he crossed to the other side of the street and looked up at her apartment. The words tumbled over themselves in his mind as he tried to keep the memories fresh, rejoicing in and resenting the rush of creativity all at once. He stood alone trying to think unexciting thoughts while his body ached for her, watching until at last he saw her bedroom light go out.