A Raincheck & Rose Swirls

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~ A Raincheck & Rose Swirls ~

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

Our project was a success and Mrs. Cordier agreed. She gave us an approving nod and the hint of a smile on her ruby lips. Theo hadn't received either from her before, so he was in an especially good mood.

The other students were mixed about which was better, but the majority voted for the unhealthy versions of their meals. Theo and I, along with a few others, voted for the healthy, homemade versions.

"A job well done, partner," I grinned brightly at Theo when class was over. I couldn't believe those words were coming out of my mouth.

"You too, as always," He smirked when he added, "Partner."

We stopped by our lockers on our way out, but didn't speak again until we were outside and away from the noisy crowd of students ready to go home.

"We should celebrate," Theo said, picking up the conversation as we walked to Eli's car.

They gave me another ride to school in the morning. Unlike yesterday, I was ready to go when they pulled into the driveway. They were also taking me to the bakery, since Theo was getting dropped off there anyway.

"Oh," I stumbled a step and hoped he didn't notice.

Is he asking me out?

"I have plans with Yvee and Jarod tonight." That just sounded like I was turning him down, whether it was a date invitation or not. "Raincheck?" I asked. "Because I would love to go out, um, celebrating with you."

"It's okay to say no, Abby."

"No!" I shouted so abruptly that it made him jolt.

He glanced curiously at me for having such a weird reaction.

And I was being very weird all of a sudden.

"I mean, it's not a no. I just can't tonight." I explained as we reached the car and opened our doors, "My friends and I have a tradition every Friday night. I don't want to cancel on them after they suffered through that party for me."

Theo paused before getting in and smiled, "Raincheck then."

Eli honked his horn. "Get in, T. Or I'll make you sit in the back and Abby can sit up front with me."

Theo scoffed, even as he slid into the front seat. "You can't make me do anything."

"I just did, didn't I?" He winked at me from the rearview mirror after I got in behind Theo. "Ow!"

While Eli rubbed his arm where Theo punched him, a thought occurred to me. It was only a couple of days spent with them, but I would miss the car rides together. I enjoyed the short trip to Stressed and all of their bickering along the way.

After Eli dropped us off, he left to go buy the parts needed for my car. It took Theo's help to get him to take my money, but all he had to do was tell Eli that he would make him lunch on Monday.

Theo's bad cooking always seemed to do the trick. 'Nifty' was the word I used, which earned me a funny look from him.

Walking into Stressed after two days away felt like home. We were ahead of the Friday rush, so the quiet and sweet smelling bakery was going to be peaceful for a little while longer.

Or so I thought.

"Theo!" My mom yelled the moment she spotted us.

He shouted back like it happened every day, "Mrs. Hensley!"

It was a good thing there wasn't anyone around other than a few regulars. Thankfully, they were used to the craziness around here.

"Do you think you can handle working alone out here? We're closing early today, so," she checked the clock on the wall, "it would only be for about an hour."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"Great! Abby, I need your help with decorating a three tier cake. It's getting picked up when we close."

We didn't typically do large cakes, much to the dismay of our customers. My mom wasn't passionate about it like she was about making other desserts and pastries. Although, she did know decorating techniques because she used them on cupcakes and other things.

"Why are we doing such a big cake and on such short notice?"

"It was an emergency," my mom explained to me. "An older couple is celebrating their anniversary tonight and their daughter forgot to order a cake. So we are going to save her butt and that party!"

It was safe to assume that we knew the daughter or parents personally, because it was unusual for her to be so fired up.

She didn't wait for me, so I followed after her into the kitchen. "What's the design?"

"Rose swirls. The top tier is more complicated, so I'll be working on that one while you do the others. The cakes have been cooling for a while," she said while mixing the frosting. "I need to finish this up and make the filling."

"Breathe, mom," I said while washing my hands at the sink. "Just pretend you're on one of the many baking challenges we watch all the time. It'll be a piece of cake."

I laughed when she pointed a utensil covered in frosting at me for making a pun. It doubled as a warning to shut up and get to work. I was about to when Theo popped his head in to see what we were doing with the cakes.

My mom didn't look up from the almost perfect frosting, but I did while prepping the piping bags with the tips we would need for the roses.

Maybe we should have Theo taste it, I thought when another idea came to me. "Want to trade places, Theo?"

The looks they both gave me were identical. They thought I was crazy.

"He's good," I told my mom. "He can pipe cupcakes better than me."

"Abby, dear," she stopped to taste the frosting. "That's a little different."

"More almond," Theo suggested to her. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the door. He kept glancing behind him to make sure there were no customers coming up to the counter.

She snapped her fingers, "That's it!"

My mom seemed thoughtful as she took Theo's advice to include a few more drops of almond extract.

"So?" I asked her impatiently. "What do you think?"

She sighed, "I don't know, Abby. You really think he can do it? We won't have time for mistakes."

"What she said," Theo readily agreed.

"Yes, I do," I answered her. "Give him a chance. I really think he can do a good job. And if he's bad, you can blame it on me."

Their disapproving gazes shot at me like lasers, so I dropped my gaze to the floor. Fine, blame him then.

"Theo," my mom addressed him as she set aside the bowl of frosting and started on the filling. "Grab a piping bag."

Theo extended his arm to hold the door open for me. Before I walked under his arm, he whispered in my ear, "Somebody's being sugary sweet today."

I smiled as I stepped through, "Screw up and I'll be nothing but bitter."

Before the door closed, I heard him chuckle lowly and say, "There's the spice."

¤°*°*°*°¤

An hour later and they finally emerged with the tiered cake. I made it through the rush alone, and didn't have a single chance to peek at their progress. When they came out, I had already flipped the sign and was in the process of cleaning the tables.

The first face I saw was my mom's and her expression gave nothing away. Theo was behind her, carrying the cake. I hurried over to them, excited to see how it turned out.

When she moved aside, I gasped.

All three tiers were covered in white rose swirls and the smallest tier was topped with a large cluster of realistic red roses. Those were done by my mom and the white rose pattern was all Theo.

"It looks incredible," I got up close to the cake when Theo carefully put it down. Any mistakes he may have made were touched up and hard to discern among the blooms. He stood proudly beside it, admiring his own work.

"He proved you right, Abs," my mom said. "After a few tries."

A squeal sounded at the door and when I turned around, I couldn't tell if it was the baby or the mother cradling it. I put a hand on my hip and shook my head at her.

"It's amazing!" She rushed up to us and patted my head before turning her attention back to the cake. Having a baby gave her some strange habits. She looked at my mom, "Thank you so much, Bethany!"

"Thank Theo here. He did most of the work." Then she introduced them, "Theo, this is Jennifer. She helps me run the bakery when she's not having babies."

"It's just the one!" Jennifer bristled. Then she told Theo, "I might be out of the job if you keep this up, kid."

Theo's smile didn't reach his eyes at her words. We shared a glance at the reminder that his time at Stressed was only temporary. His smile fell and mine turned sad as we looked away from each other.

"Who knows? We might need a cake decorator if people see this," she looked between us and winked. "They'll be kicking our door down for wedding cakes."

I never thought I would see a bashful Theo, but that was exactly what I saw standing in front of me.

The bashful bad boy named Theoden in a pink cupcake apron.

I was tempted to take my phone out to capture the moment, but it was over when he noticed my cheeky grin. His eyes narrowed before his expression turned impassive bordering on sour.

My mom cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "Can you help us get this loaded into her car, Theo?"

"Sure."

He helped her pack it up first. They had to get creative with cardboard boxes, since we didn't have a cake box tall enough for it.

I held the door open for Theo as he carefully made his way over. Jennifer and her baby were out first, so she could open the back of her SUV.

Theo came out next, slowly moving forward and watching around both sides of the cardboard that blocked his vision.

He made it to the vehicle without any accidents and put the cake inside. "It should be fine, but take it easy on the brakes and turning."

I snorted at Theo giving driving advice, but I still thought it was sweet.

"You are just so cute," Jennifer cooed and pinched his cheek. It was then proceeded by a groan as she put her baby in the car seat. "Sorry, I don't get out much anymore. My wittwe Nina has been keeping mommy busy. Yes, she has!"

Nina made a happy gurgling sound at her mother. She waved her tiny arms around while kicking her legs. Jennifer and my mom were fawning over her, but I was distracted by Theo sidling up next to me.

Judging by his expression, he didn't quite know how to feel about what happened. Violated was definitely on the table though. He rubbed his cheek and stretched his jaw to soothe the pain.

"If you ask, she might kiss the booboo to make it better," I teased.

"And if I asked you to do it?"

"I'd tell you to suck it up, buttercup." Smiling at his wounded look, I said, "Then I would take pity on you and do it anyway."

Theo didn't get a chance to ask me though, because Elias with his perfect timing pulled over behind Jenny's SUV to pick him up. Since I would be riding home with my mom, I stayed with her. I did ask Eli how my car was looking.

"It's good. I should be able to finish it by tonight." He noticed Theo still standing where I left him. "What's up with T?"

"Let's just say I took a lesson from A.F Smooth."

He grinned, giving me a fist bump. "Just a fair warning, expect payback from him. If I were Theo, I wouldn't let my girl get away with it."

I shrugged, "Maybe after he recovers." As an afterthought, I pointed out, "And I'm not his girl."

I said my goodbyes to Eli, preventing him from arguing with me. Then I waved to Theo when he got into the passenger seat. They drove off right before Jenny left for her parents' party.

My plans involved a long night of comfy animal onesies and watching movies with my best friends.

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

Author: I'm still not entirely happy with this chapter, but... I updated on time AGAIN! *happy dance*

Theo: I finally got to show off some of my kitchen skills that don't involve destruction. Speaking of skills and kitchens, don't I get to show Abby a special skill of mine soon--

Author: SHH!

Abby: And you've proven that Jenny exists! You know, in case everyone forgot about my mom's best friend who works at the bakery but just recently had a baby.

Author: Yes. Jennifer. The one who Theo was hired to fill in for until she comes back. Yeah, rings a bell... *makes note for editing the first draft 'include more Jenny, that one character we never remember'*

~Theo's Cake: A Series of Gifs~

What Abby's mom (and you) probably expected:

I have no idea where this came from, but it just felt right when I saw it on Giphy. *Mortal Kombat theme song plays in background while Theo decorates*

How Theo really did:

#TeamTabby admiring Theo's Cake:

A/N: Not the best skit and a/n, but I'm really tired. Among other things, my puppy got a bad spider bite, so I've been worrying and taking care of him these past few days. Thankfully, he's doing better now.

I love you, Sweeties! See you next week with one of my favorite chapters~

¤°* Have a Pop Rockin' morning, afternoon, evening, or anything in between.*°¤

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