Super Chick

by Amber R. Polk

  “That works.”

  She gave him her address and they said their goodbyes. When she hung up, Brandy stood next to her with her hands on her hips. “So?”

  “So, I have a date tomorrow night!” Megan giggled, then it hit her right between the eyes. “Um, do you know his name?”

  Brandy burst into laughter before pulling herself together. “Trevor. Trevor Gaines.”

  “That’s a great name. Rough and sexy,” she decided, wondering if her date would end up the way his name implied.

  “No kidding. He’s the kind of man you know is lying when he makes sweet promises, but as long as he’s whispering those lies in your ear, you don’t give a damn.” Brandy fanned herself with a hand. “I just remembered, we can’t go out Friday night.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re going to be baking cakes all night for the festival Saturday.” She smiled, knowing Megan forgot.

  “Oh, shit! I’ve had so much going on, I haven’t even thought about it. I’m so sorry. Maybe we can go out next weekend?” she asked, not wanting her feel like she was being put on the back burner again, but from the smile she was wearing, Megan didn’t mind. She was probably just loving the fact that Megan was actually going on a date with a man when she didn’t even know his name.

  “Oh, I’m sure. I just want all the juicy details on tomorrow night’s activities.”

  “I’m not sure there will be activities going on, but you got it.” Megan hoped there wouldn’t be any juicy details. She decided to go on the date to show Drew he wasn’t the end of the road for her. If anything, the idiot liberated her. Now she was free to sew her oats, so to speak.

  “Will you be okay by yourself for the rest of the day?” Megan inquired, hating to ask again. Brandy had pretty much handled the entire business by herself since Laura had been kidnapped.

  “Yeah, I got it. What do you have going?”

  “I have an appointment at ten and then I need to get my butt to the grocery store and buy all the crap to make those cakes.” Rolling her eyes, Megan ran a hand through her hair, thinking of all the things she needed to get done in such a short amount of time. Not including the fact she needed to run over to the senior citizen center and hand out free kissing booth tickets for Mrs. Webber.

  “You look stressed. Maybe you should go by that new bakery down on Main and pick up some cakes so you don’t have to make so many,” Brandy suggested while flipping through the order catalogue on the counter.

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Megan looked at her watch and it was already time for Drew and Lillie to show up. “It would save me a ton of time and a lot of headache. Plus, it would spare the taste buds of the winners.”

  “No joke,” Brandy muttered. Megan slapped at her lightly on the shoulder and laughed. She could cook when she had to, but she didn’t have the baker’s touch. If she could bake, there was no doubt in her mind she would be enormously obese.

  They spent the next few minutes picking out something new and sexy for Megan to wear on her date with Trevor and just as she was close to making a decision on shoes, Drew honked his horn from a parking space in the front. She wanted to go out and punch him in the face. The man couldn’t even come to the door anymore?

  “Okay, I have to head out. Call me if you need anything.” Megan picked up her bags of clothes and went to the back door. By the time she pulled her car around front, Lillie had her van parked behind Drew’s. She waved for them to follow and led them toward the rental.

  When they reached the rental, Dwayne was already there, waiting in front of the shop wearing his usual polyester slacks and short-sleeved, white button-up shirt. The poor man didn’t have a clue how unfashionable he looked.

  Megan got out of the car and looked at the building. It was old but nice. The storefront had a large bay window in the front which was currently covered in brown paper, but the window looked intact and without cracks. Dwayne had the brick cleaned and painted the awning a royal blue, making them pop in contrast. Lillie must have been impressed because she stood next to Megan with stars in her pretty blue eyes.

  Drew stayed back while the ladies moved to Dwayne, waiting until they were at the front door before leaving his car. As much as she wanted to turn around and flip him the bird, Megan chose to ignore his immaturity and pretend he wasn’t there.

  “Hi, Dwayne.”

  “Megan,” he said, but kept his small eyes on Lillie. Megan wanted to laugh. She didn’t have anything to worry about where Dwayne was concerned. Lillie, on the other hand… Megan was betting she would be getting a dinner invite by the time they left.

  “This is Lillie Franks. She’s the one needing a place to rent.”

  They shook hands, her pulling hers from him before he unlocked the door and held it open for the three of them to enter. Drew slid in at the last minute.

  “The floors are gorgeous,” Lillie said, looking at the charcoal-colored, herringbone-patterned tile. It was impressive. “The whole place is great.”

  Everywhere Lillie walked, Dwayne wasn’t far behind. She turned to speak to him and nearly collided with him. She took a few steps to the side before she asked, “Why isn’t it rented yet?”

  “Well, I just got finished with it, really. It hasn’t been on the market long.” Dwayne scratched behind his ear, his face turning pink.

  “Why don’t you show her the apartment upstairs?” Megan suggested, and Lillie whipped her head around and glared at her.

  Megan smiled sweetly and thought loudly in her mind, Payback is a bitch.

  “Oh, yes, yes. Great idea. Follow me,” he said, walking toward the back of the shop. Lillie waited until Dwayne was out of sight before turning to Megan and whispering loudly, “I’m going to kill you in your sleep.”

  Laughing, Megan gave her a thumbs up and waved her away with a hand. Immediately, she realized she was alone with Drew and it was uncomfortably silent. She didn’t want to be left alone with him as much as he didn’t want to be left alone with her.

  After a few minutes of the awkward silence, Megan spoke. “I have to go to the grocery store after this and get things for the cake walk.”

  “I’ll go with you,” he told her, but by his tone he didn’t want to.

  “Then I’m going home afterwards, so you might as well just go back to work. I don’t need a babysitter.” Megan rocked back on her heels and crossed her hands beneath her chest. Holding her breath, she waited for his reply. Why did she want him to argue with her? She didn’t want him to tag along, but she also didn’t want him to let her go alone.

  “Sure, call me if anything happens,” he smirked, “but I’m guessing between you and Lillie you don’t need me, do you?”

  “Right, whatever,” she said, putting a finger to her twitching eyebrow.

  Lillie came through the back and glared at Drew before smiling at Megan and announced, “I’ll take it!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Megan cursed Drew all the way into the grocery store. Of course, she did so silently since he was ten steps behind her. The asshole was waiting for her as soon as she got out of her car in the parking lot. He’d changed his mind, he said, not giving anymore explanation even though she’d asked him.

  Adjusting the coat on her shoulders, Megan wanted to scream at the employees to turn down the heat in this place. She was angry. Angry because thoughts of the night before were infiltrating her head, and she was forgetting everything on her shopping list. Sugar and flour weren’t going to surpass the images of hard muscles and the feel of Drew’s breath on her skin.

  Turning the basket hard to the left, it ran into an end cap of canned corn, sending them flying all over the aisle. “Shit!”

  Customers turned her way—she even heard gasps—and so she glared in return, daring someone to say something to her. No way was she going to apologize for her outburst. They were lucky “shit” was the only thing that came out of her mouth.

  Bending down, Megan started picking up the mess and Drew bent over,
picking up cans and stacking them beside her.

  “I don’t need your help¸” she told him, slamming the cans back in place on the display.

  “No, but we’ll get out of here a whole lot quicker if I help,” he said, picking up another and putting it away.

  “Asshole,” she muttered.

  “I’m not an asshole. If anything, you’re the asshole for keeping that shit secret from me.”

  Megan jumped up, but Drew came up much slower, staring down at her. She took a step closer until she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said sarcastically, “I don’t just announce that sort of thing to just anyone.”

  “Just anyone?” he bit out. “Just anyone? I’ve been sleeping in your bed for a week and I would think me being inside you last night put me in a different category, don’t you?”

  “You piece of shit.” She put a finger in his face. “You scummy piece of shit! Get the hell away from me!”

  “Uhm,” a voice said from the side. Neither Drew nor Megan turned from their stare down.

  “What?!” they yelled in unison.

  “I’m sorry, but the manager wanted me to tell y’all if you can’t keep it down, you’re gonna have to leave the store.”

  Drew was the first to break eye contact, and Megan found people looking around corners, sneaking peeks from behind cereal boxes, and others were flat-out openly gawking at them. She brushed her fallen hair out of her eyes, stuck out her chin, and took hold of the basket. She made her way down the aisle, pushing fallen cans of corn out of her way. Let Drew clean up the mess, she thought.

  Ignoring everyone around her, Megan picked up the rest of the items she needed and checked out. Drew was nowhere in sight as she loaded the car, so she hurried to the driver’s seat and sped home. Taking the groceries inside, she tossed them on the table. First things first, she went to the cabinet above the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of vodka that was old enough to have a layer of dust coating it. She pulled a glass out of the cabinet, poured it half full, and filled the rest with orange juice.

  Taking a long drink, she almost choked on the fire going down her throat. Capping it off with more orange juice, Megan took another drink—this one going down much easier—then pulled up recipes for cakes on her phone.

  Two hours later, she was covered in flour. Egg shells littered the counter along with every other ingredient known to the baking world. At least she had two cakes in the oven and three on the cooling rack. Staring down at them with one eye closed so she could see them clearly, Megan wondered if they were supposed to sink in the middle like they were. She wasn’t so sure. Taking a small bite, she immediately spit it out. It tasted more like a sour sponge than it did a chocolate cake. Making sure it wasn’t a fluke, she took a small bite of the other two and tossed the fork into the sink.

  Nope, not a fluke. They sucked.

  Leaning against the counter, Megan tapped her fingers against her thigh. She swiped the vodka from beside her and took a long swallow, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She needed to get to the bakery to fix the cake dilemma. She also needed to do something about Laura. The longer she was gone, the less chance would make it back home safely. Plus, she had this new invisibility thing to think about, not to mention she was in love with a complete and total asshole.

  Whoa! In love with him? No way. I am not in love with him. I couldn’t be. Nope, I won’t permit it.

  Pulling out a chair from the kitchen table, she plopped herself down and rested her hands in her hair. Shit! I am in love with him.

  “Well, duh,” Lillie said, causing her to jump and knock over one of the cakes which landed on the floor like a brick. Lillie surveyed the room and picked up the half empty both of liquor. Yes, half empty, she was in a pessimistic kind of mood. “You’re drunk.”

  “No,” Megan declared, rolling her eyes, but that made her dizzy and she grabbed hold of the table for support. “Well, maybe a little.”

  “Looks like you’ve been cooking.” Lillie took a bite of one of the cakes and her eyes squinted and her lips puckered. “Or at least trying to.”

  “How did everything in my life manage to get so screwed up?” Megan slouched in the chair, letting her arms drop limply to her sides.

  “Stop whining.” Lillie pulled a chair out and took a seat next to her. “Start small and work your way up.”

  “What?” Is it the alcohol or is Lillie not making much sense? Megan wondered.

  “Fix what you can and leave the rest for when you can fix those, too.” Lillie pulled out her ponytail, letting her long, blonde hair fall over her shoulders and down her back.

  The timer on the stove dinged and Lillie pulled two bubbling liquids out of the oven and set them on the stovetop. Megan sighed. “Can you take me to the bakery?”

  “Sure can, but do you mind changing your clothes first? And… maybe running a brush through your hair?” Her nose crinkled up. “You do have a reputation to uphold.”

  Looking down at her shirt, Megan found it covered in food remnants. After the scene with Drew at the grocery store, she doubted her name was on everyone’s lips in town. Her reputation had taken enough hits for the day. “Give me a minute.”

  Stumbling to the bathroom, she quickly changed out of her jeans into a much more comfortable pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt.

  Once Lillie gave her the okay, they loaded up in Lillie’s van and started toward town. “Where’s the bakery?”

  “Town Square, a block from my place. They just opened a month or so ago.” Megan’s head was beginning to pound, so she popped a couple of pain relievers and drank the bottle of water Lillie kept pushing toward her, both hoping she would sober soon.

  They pulled up to The Black Sheep Bakery and Megan was stunned at all the work that had been done to the building in such a short amount of time. She was sure she had come this way a month ago and it didn’t look like this. Now, it had that old world feel with deep, rich wood columns on the outside and black trim around tinted windows. She was glad someone bought it and turned it into something useful instead of it rotting away like a lot of the owners did around there. Namely, Joseph Griffin, the owner of the majority of Hope’s vacant buildings.

  “Great name,” Lillie said, getting out of the van and pulling on her coat.

  A cold went blew straight through her sweatshirt and bit into her bones. Earlier that day, it had been sunny and nice, now the clouds filled the sky and it was far from warm.

  Walking in side by side, they both halted just inside the shop. The aroma was swoon worthy. Megan’s senses came back and her eyes widened in delight. It was a junk food junkie’s dream come true. “Pinch me. I think I may have died and gone to heaven.”

  The counters were all rounded glass, displaying every assortment of desserts imaginable. As if she floated to the counters, Megan’s face was inches away from the glass inspecting each and every morsel while Lillie was telling the teenage boy they wanted a mocha, chai latte and cheesecake, stat. The kid had dyed black hair which was gelled into a decorative fauxhawk that swayed as he nodded.

  Coffee would do Megan good, but the cheesecake would do her even better, she thought.

  Finding a seat at a mahogany table, she sat with a menu while Lillie retrieved the goodies and sat across from her. Megan spoke without looking up. “This place has everything.”

  “No shit. I guess at least one of your life screw-ups is fixed,” Lillie said playfully.

  Megan laughed. “No kidding. I’m going to gain so much freaking weight. Maybe I should just live in yoga pants from now on so no one could notice if I put on an extra twenty or thirty pounds.” It wasn’t like she was going to be getting naked for anyone ever again, so who would really notice? On that depressing note, Megan took a large bite of the New York cheesecake and groaned. She closed her eyes and reveled in its greatness. If she could have this every day, she could live without a man in her life.

  “Oh, stop it already. Drew will come around e
ventually, but you’re right, this is absolutely amazing.” Lillie closed her eyes as she took a bite and moaned her enjoyment.

  Megan understood. Eating this was an orgasmic sensation.

  Ignoring the Drew part of the conversation, Megan looked at the menu again. She left Lillie to some privacy and went to the counter. The nice looking, if not rebelling, teenager—probably sixteen or seventeen—watched her expectantly.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, scratching his neck and looking off through the windows, undoubtedly not really wanting to help and would probably much rather be out doing things teenagers did.

  “I would like to order fifty different cakes, pies, and cupcakes by Saturday morning. Would that be possible?” Megan asked, thinking her credit cards were going to take a big hit, but it was worth not poisoning the population of Hope.

  The boy looked at her with confusion. “Whoa. Did you say fifty?”

  “Yes, fifty. Is that possible?”

  The kid scratched behind his ear and looked around in a lazy panic. Megan didn’t even know there was such a thing until she witnessed him perform it. “I don’t know, man. That’s like, a lot. You’ll have to talk to my sister.”

  She stood waiting, but he didn’t move, he just watched her. “So, can you get her?”

  “Nope. She’s not here. Don’t know when she’ll be back.” He shrugged. His sister must have left as soon as he got out of school. Megan looked at her watch and it was almost four o’clock.

  Talking to this kid was like pulling teeth. “Can I leave you my number to give to her?”

  “Sure,” he shrugged again.

  Pulling a card from her purse, she wrote her cell number on the back. Megan held it out and when he took hold of it, she held tight until he looked at her and she knew she had his full attention. “Now, this is very important, so please make sure she gets it, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll give it to her,” he said, nodding his head, causing his fauxhawk to bobble back and forth again. “Can I help you with anything else?”

  Licking her lips, Megan looked through the display again and ordered two more pieces of cheesecake and a dozen white chocolate, macadamia nut cookies to go. The way the kid looked at her in disbelief, she figured he thought she was crazy. First asking for fifty cakes then getting more to take home. Maybe she was a little crazy, but sweets were a crazy remedy in her book.