Love, Chocolate, and Beer

by Violet Duke

  What Luke and Derek didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right?

  When the finality of it all sank in, however, disappointment for her brother began blending confusingly with relief for Luke. Which made zero sense. She’d only known Luke for all of what, a few weeks? The realization that she cared enough about Luke to weigh his thoughts and feelings on the same scale with her brother’s was unsettling. She tried convincing her brain that the guilt over what she’d almost done to Luke’s business was the only reason for her split loyalties.

  But she’d never really been good at fooling herself.

  CHAPTER TWO

  DANI WAS STILL doing her best to forget about the whole winery idea and all her mixed feelings about it when Xoey returned to the office later that afternoon and fell into the corner chair, flip-topping her head back with a tired thud. Xoey coming back to hang out here on her day-off wasn’t all that unusual; her being this exhausted, however, was.

  Sympathetically, Dani sighed and suggested the unthinkable, “Xoey, you know you’re more valuable than gold here but I’d understand if you want to take more time off to focus on your pilates and dance classes.”

  That made Xoey drag her head up with a start. “Why would I go and do a thing like that? My students are ninety-nine percent female while my bar customers are seventy-five percent male.” Her expression said there was no competition. “Like I tell my accountant, it’s really all about the numbers.”

  Dani shook her head and chuckled. “Ah yes, I failed to do the math on that one.”

  “Besides, that’s not why I’m beat. Like a crazy lady, I stayed up till dawn designing those T-shirts and tank-tops I told you I’d make for this throwdown.” She tiger-yawned again. “I was going to finish up on my next day off, but after I saw Desert Confection’s little twitter contest this morning, I figured I’d better power through the silk-screening today.”

  Twitter? That was the second reference today. Wait, didn’t Luke mention something...

  Dani shot over to her computer and opened up her twitter feed immediately. Lo and behold, there had been a series of tweets from Luke this morning. Mentioning her. “Why that little—”

  He’d called her out.

  On Twitter. He’d actually gone and made the first public strike. Up until now, it was just town talk and playful answers to get the buzz building. This was a thrown gauntlet if ever there was one. He began with a twitter link to his shop blog that first gave a quick summary of how the throwdown came to be, explaining how Dani had called his ideas about Valentine’s Day “a load of fairytale bull born from antiquated views on romance, and parented by clichés.”

  Ouch, she had said that, hadn’t she?

  So chocolate wasn’t as fun or even as sexy as beer, he defended in the paragraph after, what it was instead was thoughtful, and sweet, and from the heart. The basis of romance, he maintained. Old school though it may be.

  Crap. She was in trouble.

  The man even made ‘old school’ sound charming.

  And though he was a newbie in town and not the neighborhood darling that Dani was, he continued—oh no, he didn’t…he played the sympathy card—he was still going to fight the good fight all the way until Valentine’s Day when the town votes would be tallied to see who reigned supreme in promoting more romance throughout this throwdown, chocolate or beer.

  So now the contest. In the spirit of bringing back some old school, and celebrating this throwdown, he invited folks to write the most creative limericks they could come up with on how and why chocolate was more old school romantic than beer in two successive tweets, both with the hashtag #chocnotbeer. He outright encouraged ruthless creativity—the punk. And the ten most heavily retweeted limericks would win a $50 box of their assorted premium chocolates at tomorrow’s official grand opening. Any out-of-state entries, which he welcomed warmly, would get their prizes mailed to them express mail.

  Dani felt her blood pressure rise even though a large part of her was grudgingly impressed that he wasn’t pulling his punches. Doing a search of the hashtag, not surprisingly, she found dozens and dozens of tweet entries from townies and out-of-towners alike, including one from a very familiar twitter avatar.

  “Xoey!” She swung a gaping glare at her friend. “You entered this?!”

  With a sheepish grin, Xoey shrugged. “Gotta give it to the guy—it was a fun idea.”

  She read Xoey’s frustratingly catchy entry. It had a lot of retweets. “Can’t you ever use your wordsmithing for good instead of evil?”

  Xoey beamed. “You’re going to love me for those very skills when you see my finished masterpieces,” she sang out excitedly as she rushed over to the boxes stacked outside of the door. “Though I might have gone a little overboard...”

  Curious, Dani went over to peer into the boxes Xoey was shoving into the office with her feet. A little overboard? Incredulous, Dani looked through the stacks of novelty t-shirts and tank-tops that Xoey must’ve spent the entire day printing. “You aiming for a promotion, Xo?”

  “God, no. I just figured we had to do something. After reading Luke’s article, I looked up the added counterpart holiday to Valentine’s Day in Japan he wrote about. Did you know that this ‘White Day’ on March 14th is a huge holiday there? Apparently, white chocolate is sold by like the fleet in the country on that day. And they celebrate the two linked holidays in Korea and China too. I’m telling you, this Feb 14th / March 14th holiday combo he’s wanting to import here is totally going to take off. He may say he’s old school, but his whole pitch about trying out their unique two-part holiday trend here—the one-way gifts between couples, one in February and the reciprocation in March—is freakin’ new school genius. If he manages to tie all that in to the throwdown, we’re going to have to watch our backs.”

  Agreed. Dani had thought the same thing when he’d first told her about his White Chocolate Day marketing plan the other week.

  Beyond impressed with Xoey’s work ethic and creative drive, she attempted her offer again, seriously this time, “Xo, I mean it about the promotion. I’ve been thinking I need a GM around here, and you’ve got the skills for it.”

  Xoey shuddered. “Don’t even joke about that! As you well remember, the only reason why I’m your assistant manager now is because I lost that frickin’ bet to you.” She shook her head woefully. “How could I have forgotten your freakish tolerance to tequila?”

  Dani smiled at the memory, one of her more deviously genius moves to ensure the strongest management team for Ocotillos. With Xoey looking ready to cut and run at the mere mention of the bad p-word again, Dani put a pin in their promotion discussion and instead, bent over to pull a few shirts out of the box. Immediately, she fell in love with how Xoey put ‘I VOTE BEER’ across the backs. “I gotta tell you, Xo, I know I teased you about your drunken three a.m. infomercial purchase when you bought that home silk-screening kit but that little machine has paid for itself a hundred times over in publicity the last few years for both Ocotillos and your classes.”

  Flipping the shirts around, she saw they had fun gender-specific slogans printed on the fronts. Classic Xoey. Grinning, Dani read a few of the men’s t-shirts out loud.

  AFTER A HARD DAY, THE ONLY THING AN ICE COLD CHOCOLATE WOULD CURE IS PMS.

  Oh, that was so wrong. She could think of at least a dozen guys who’d wear it.

  Xoey fished out some racerback tank-tops with the slogans strategically placed across the front, about boob high. “And for our college crowd...”

  IT’S TRUE. BEER MAKES YOU SMART.

  Ah yes, one of Xoey’s more popular sales pitches from behind the bar. No doubt those tank tops were going to sell like hotcakes. Especially since the other side of the tank-top had a smaller tattoo-style design between the shoulder blades that read:

  THE MORE I DRINK, THE SMARTER YOU GET.

  Dani chuckled. “Don’t tell me, this entire clothing line is made up of Xoey-isms.”

  “Pretty much.” With a wicked grin, Xo
ey straightened up and peeled back her jacket to reveal the spaghetti-strap tank she had on for work today. “And the pièce de résistance.”

  THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS CHOCOLATE GOGGLES. I VOTE BEER.

  Dani burst out laughing.

  Xoey’s eyes glinted with a playful sparkle. “Hey, if you like that one, what do you think about me kicking it up with a racier set of slogans? Of the borderline-inappropriate variety?”

  “Uh, that would be a no. I draw the line a good distance away from your borderline.”

  Xoey pouted. “Spoilsport. C’mon. I wouldn’t come up anything terrible. Just funny ones like: When I eat chocolate, my butt gets bigger. When I drink beer, your—”

  “Oh hell no.” Clearly, Xoey couldn’t even see where that line was.

  She snickered. “Fine. I’ll scratch that one.” Still chuckling, Xoey hopped up to head to the bar for a drink. “Give me an hour to think up a few more tastefully naughty ones.”

  Dani’s brain staggered, knowing her imagination couldn’t even fathom whatever Xoey would likely be coming up with in terms of dirty chocolate/beer ads. There really was only one way to stamp that kind of rampant creative energy. “Wow, Xoey. Keep up all this hard work and you’ll be getting that promotion in no time,” promised Dani sweetly.

  Aghast, Xoey dropped the box of shirts like it was on fire and dashed out of the office, running right past Rylan, who jumped to the side as she bulldozed past him. His eyebrows sprung up. “Do I want to know how you managed to get that one scared?”

  “I just made it clear that there was no glass ceiling for her here.”

  “Ah right, that’ll do it. Pity. If she wanted, that woman could be running her own bar.”

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t want it. Not yet, anyway.” Dani leaned over and gave Rylan a peck on the cheek. “What’s up, handsome?”

  Rylan pulled out his smartphone and showed Dani what he and the rest of the band members had cooked up. A Facebook fan page flashed on the screen. “What do you think? Since you’ve done so much for me and the guys, we wanted to show our allegiance in this war between you and the chocolate shop guy with a three-night concert before, during, and after Valentine’s Day. I know we didn’t clear it with you first but we’ve already talked to a few other bands. Two were in nearby states for tours, and that last one is a local band that’s been killing it in venues across Arizona. None of ‘em have ever been asked to perform on Valentine’s so they’re stoked.”

  Dumbstruck, Dani stared at the vibrant ‘WE VOTE BEER’ fan page before her.

  “The concert won’t be anything fancy so don’t worry. You can just pay them our normal rate. And of course, load ‘em up with beer.” When she started to protest paying any of them that little for a full-blown concert, he held her head in his hands to stop it from shaking right off her shoulders. “Sweets, these guys are my friends. Besides, they’re not really doing it for the money. They just want to hang out, have a good time, and jam a little.” Oh so casually, he then snuck in a quick, “By the way, our band is going to play for free all three nights.”

  Her look shot down that ridiculous idea. “I’m not going to not pay you guys!”

  He not-so-subtly ignored her. “Hey look, the concert already has a few hundred ‘likes.’”

  She slugged him lightly in the gut before hugging him tight. “You didn’t have to do all this. You do know you’re getting too big to play in my lil’ ole brewpub, right? You all should be on the road touring or something, not helping me with this crazy wager.”

  “Aw, you know that’s not us. We all have good jobs, and the half of us who’re not already living the family life are trying real hard to get there. This is just what we do for fun.” He kissed the top of her head. “So yes, we did have to do ‘all this’ because you’ve been with us from the start, allowing us to live out our rock star fantasies and have that fun.”

  The rest of the band members trotted in shortly after. “Well babycakes, what do you think?” asked Aidan. “Did we overstep or are we all booked here for the concert?”

  She ran over and hugged each of them. “Of course you’re booked here; don’t be silly!” Dani stood back, teary-eyed as she lovingly pouted at each of the men who’d become brothers to her. “Ohmigod, you guys are too much. I’m about to gush and chick-cry,” she warned.

  The guys immediately pivoted and made for the door. She laughed and gave them each one last peck on the cheek as they exited. “I’m paying you all double for this concert!”

  The guys murmured and nodded in a way that assured her if she did, she’d find her checks ‘accidentally’ left behind in her rubbish bin.

  Rylan popped his head back in after the guys cleared the doorway. “Hey, we’re all rooting for you, so kick his ass, doll.” He waggled his eyebrows. “No holding back just because you’re head over heels for the guy now.” He gave her a knowing wink and then ran after the guys before she could so much as stammer a response.

  Dammit, were her growing feelings about Luke that transparent?

  * * * * *

  IN THE HUSH of the pre-dawn morning, Luke pulled out a couverture dark chocolate block from one of his top chocolate makers and carefully chopped it into thin slivers, all the while savoring its deep aroma as he did a great cup of coffee.

  The perfect start to their grand opening day.

  Not that he was treating today any different from any other day. It certainly didn’t feel any different. Because of the one-week delay in getting the front of the shop done, coupled with the fact that they’d been working out of the back for the past month with the corporate gifts, continued distribution orders across the county, and all their internet and phone gift box sales, today’s grand opening wasn’t nearly as exciting as their first grand opening back in Mesa. True, the town was looking forward to it, but honestly, he knew that most of them had tasted a lot of the samples they’d been giving out in the town square and varied town events so really, the thing they were the most excited about was the official launch to the chocolate vs. beer throwdown.

  He didn’t blame them; that had been a primary focus on his mind the past few weeks, too. Damn near since the moment Dani threw down the challenge.

  Putting his knife away for the time being, he tempered the newly serrated slivers in a steel bowl, gradually mixing it to a slow, rich melt and then leaving it to sit for a bit once he got it up to the right temperature and consistency.

  As his set timer ticked away, he wandered over to the pantry, figuring today was as good a day as any to try out a new flavor. “What the hell,” he shrugged, grabbing a few dried Mulato, Guajillo, and Aji Panca chiles, the best matches with chocolate. After grinding the chiles down to a powder with his mortar and pestle, he threw in some jasmine tea leaves from a local grower and steeped the finished concoction in a cup of hot chocolate made from the couverture slivers.

  Huh, not bad. The taste was a little on the subtle side for his palate, but layered just right, it could work. He made a few notes and logged it as a win to perfect later. All in all, another successful experiment in the uncommon and unlikely. The secret to his best creations. Truth be told, without his intrepid palate, his first shop probably wouldn’t have thrived the way it had. Not only did his novelty samples draw in customers, dreaming them up allowed him a regular outlet to be inspired by nontraditional chocolatiering ingredients. From yuzu to flavored salts, unexpected flavors with their own unique kick were unquestionably his trademark.

  He liked the dauntless and unexpected.

  Which would explain his intense attraction to Dani.

  Shaking his head wryly at how much the woman was invading his thoughts lately, he retrieved the bowl of melted chocolate and began seeding it—gradually stirring more of the couverture slivers into the heated batch to both cool it down and meld the liquid and solid forms to crystallize the cocoa butter acids into a richer, smoother chocolate. Operating as he always did by sense and sight over measurements and thermometers, he was meticulous, wanti
ng a very specific sheen, snap, and mouth feel for this batch.

  As he worked, his thoughts of course drifted back to Dani. Christ, she was addictive. Pushing her buttons to get all that passion to flare was now his new favorite past time. And judging by the past few weeks, the feeling was clearly mutual. He still couldn’t believe she’d issued a throwdown. Hands-down one of the sexiest things a woman had ever done to him.

  While finishing the final step of reheating the chocolate once more, Luke considered all the different ways he could truly enjoy this challenge Dani had issued. There were just so many possibilities. Oh, the limerick contest had been fun and all, but he knew he could do better. He aspired for greater.

  Swiping the tempered chocolate onto parchment paper to check its gloss and texture, satisfied that it was keeping its temper, he went to grab the refrigerated chocolate squares he’d made yesterday for hand dipping today as giveaway samples for this morning’s grand opening.

  As he quickly worked his way through the first hundred, he pushed his imagination to dig deeper—what would Dani least expect him to do? That was the question. He pondered that as he did a simple dip of the squares in the newly tempered chocolate and then stencil-sifted the ground chile and jasmine tea leaf mix on top.

  Pausing after a few, he thought about switching things up by layering the powdered layer under the tempered coating instead of over. The surprise factor of that would likely create a new—

  That’s when it hit him.

  The perfect angle for the video ad they’d been planning to do for their campaign. It would also serve as a grand throwdown strike as well. Two birds, one stone.

  Plus, it was so nail-gratingly aggravating, he was sure it’d drive Dani nuts.

  He could hardly wait.