by Skylar Dawn
I began to eat the fruit of my labor. This time I made it! It was good! There was no eggshell lost in the middle, the flavor was right. Then I noticed Noah staring at me.
"What did I do?"
He stuck a mouthful in his mouth and answered me still chewing.
"It's very good."
I shook my head laughing at his statement.
"Since you've eaten the salty cake I stopped listening to you about the way I cook."
He laughed, almost choking on his eggs.
"But I liked the cake."
"You were out of your mind."
He leaned towards me and rested his elbows on the counter.
"No. I liked it. No one had ever made a cake for me. I'm usually the one doing it for others."
I felt my cheeks burning out of embarrassment. And then he added. “But today it’s excellent.”
"So that means the other time it sucked." I got him by his word.
He was amused.
"Let's say it was exotic."
I laughed. Exotic was the last thing that cake was. We finished eating and he offered to do the dishes.
"Now, while I do the dishes you tell me what your plan for world domination is."
I sat down on the stool again.
"It's pretty aggressive, but you'll like it. I mean if you have an open mind."
He turned to me and gave me a curious look.
"How aggressive?"
I raised my index finger to my chin, searching for the right words.
"It has to do with why you got fired."
He dropped the dishcloth and came over to where I was.
"I'm listening."
"Well, I thought we could do your kitchen channel on the internet. I have the name and everything."
He shot me a funny look.
"What name?"
"The Naked Baker."
Noah burst into laughter.
"I don't cook naked," he tried to control his laughter. "Maybe on my underwear when the air conditioning fails, but in that case I always wear my apron."
"I know," I affirmed. "That's about it. There's no need to be so extreme."
He raised his eyebrows.
"In what way?"
"You cook your wonderful recipes, wearing your apron, shirtless. I film everything and we create your channel on the internet."
He was laughing non-stop.
"I thought you were going to help me get another job instead of killing all my chances of having one."
I threw him a serious look.
"The thing is, since we made that video I get messages from people wanting to order your stuff. Not to mention the flood of women who wants you in their kitchen."
He sighed and shook his head.
"I don't want to end up in anybody's kitchen."
"No need," I pondered. "But didn't say you wanted to have the autonomy to do your own thing? It's a start. You may end up with an empire bigger than what Lou wants to build with his detox juices."
He thought for a second.
"It's such a crazy idea that it may actually work."
"That's the spirit."
"You know what," he hit the counter excited. "Let's do it."
I hugged him, excited. I didn't think he'd agree to my idea so fast. In fact, I didn't think he would agree to participate to begin with.
The plan was already drawn, we could record at his house, after all he had a lot more kitchen utensils than I did. I was going to do what I do best, shoot, edit and do my magic on social networks. I was glad he agreed to it and I was also feeling a little less guilty about making him lose his job.
"It won't make you rich overnight, but it can help you until you decide what you want out of life."
He was enthusiastic.
"If we get orders, it may help."
"And I'll sample everything."
He gave me a crooked smile.
"Don't you do that already?"
"Not always," I shook my head. "You stop me sometimes."
"Me?" He made such an exaggerated gesture that I just burst out laughing.
"Yes, you!" I pressed his chest. "At least now with an official position you are forbidden from stopping me."
"So, is this going to be your job?!"
I put my hand on my waist.
"One of many. So? Do we have a deal?"
“Deal!”
I gave him a quick hug and put my hand on his chest. He gripped my waist.
"From now on you are officially The Naked Baker."
He laughed and hugged me again.
"That sounds very wrong."
"It's marketing," I said, hugging him back. "There are things that work, even though they aren’t one hundred percent true."
He laughed, releasing me.
"You're always full of ideas."
I nodded in agreement.
"They aren't always good, but this one has a huge potential for great success."
"Or disaster," he finished. "A great disaster."
"Do you want to start today?"
He shook his shoulders.
“I’m free.”
I liked the initiative to start right away. And of course that way I was going to have gourmet lunch! I didn't have a better plan for a Sunday than this. The fact is that I also enjoyed spending time with Noah, so much so, that when we finished the day, I felt a little sad for having to come home.
When his phone buzzed, I knew it was Jesse. It was my cue to leave. He answered and signaled for me to wait, but I said I was tired and I waved through the door. I didn't like when she called, didn't like his expression on the phone when he was talking to her, and definitely didn't like him ever mentioning anything about them. I hated not knowing what was going on between the two. And I hated being jealous.
This omission was already making our conversations completely superficial. And of course I wasn't going to beg to know anything about her. I was balancing myself on a very thin line between wanting to know more and completely ignoring the subject.
I went home and threw myself on my bed, irritated. I tried to ignore all the signs and ended up wandering around in the process. I had no doubt: I was completely in love with Noah, though I didn't want to admit it to myself. And that would bring a lot of trouble, so the same way I fell in love with him, I had to try to fall out of love just as fast.
#
Two videos and three days later, Mia crossed my doorstep talking about Noah, and everything I was hoping to ignore.
"So," she squeezed her lips into the most hideous duckface I had ever seen. "You and Noah."
"What about us? He's my neighbor."
Mia shook her hair and pulled her suitcase up to the edge of the couch, sitting down at once and crossing her legs impatient.
"And I'm Madonna's cousin," she rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Spit it out, Emma, I know there's something going on."
I sat down beside her, leaning my back against the couch.
"He cooks and I help him record the videos, that's what's going on."
Mia leaned towards me and put her finger right on my nose, defying me to spill the beans.
"I know you, Emma Woods. You're falling for him."
"Are you crazy? Of course not."
"I know you. You're showing me your dog face. The poor little thing who fell off the truck."
"Oh shut up," I interrupted her. "You're seeing too much. There's nothing going on between the two of us."
Mia leaned back and laughed. She looked at me, not convinced.
"The only thing I'm not seeing is kissing, making out, and sex, lots of it," she wrinkled her forehead. "Figuratively speaking, of course. But it won't take long until it happens."
I took the cushion and threw it on her face.
"Stop that," I giggled.
Mia took a deep breath and looked at me with those eyes of someone who was going to say something I wouldn't like, but deep down I knew it was all true. Hell, Mia was in Vegas for five minutes and she was already about to teach me
a moral lesson.
"Emma, the first thing you should do is to be honest with yourself. I understand that you might be afraid to be with him, or afraid of Noah being another idiot like the others, especially now, in a situation where you can get hurt. But I don't need to be an expert to know that there are sparks on both sides."
She was always right, but this time her sixth sense wasn't working. In fact, it was working partially.
“No, there’s not.”
Mia gave me a defiant look and sank down on the couch. I looked around the room, hoping to find the right words, but I let out a defeated sigh.
“Not on his side, that’s what I meant.” I stared at my friend for a second, but I couldn't bear to look at her without feeling defeated. I was hurt by what I was going to say next.
"He never said anything, but he has a girlfriend. There's a Jesse who always calls him."
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
I couldn't hold back the tears that had been piling up in the last few days, and they came crashing down right there.
"He never answers in front of me. Always leaves the room to talk to her."
Mia stroked my hair and said in a soft tone.
"You're rushing in on your judgment."
How could it be? I would have noticed if he had at least a small hint of feelings for me. I was the funny neighbor who stopped by his apartment to eat the things he cooked and helped him with technology, but that was it. Lately we haven't been talking so much, only shenanigans, nothing important. I knew it was my fault, because since that night at his house I couldn't digest the smile he was wearing on the phone with Jesse. I tried to fix things using The Naked Baker as an excuse, but it got weird and I had no way to fix it without first clearing up that story right. This time I didn't want to go chase after anyone, I had to change my attitude, and moving to Vegas was a big part ot it. I had to act different.
"It may be, I accept the fact that my judgment is not very good. But not now."
I went to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, getting two glasses. Since the conversation was getting heavy, I'd better open some wine. Ham settled on Mia's legs and stared at me with wide-eyed eyes. That pig knew more about things than all of us.
“Uh-oh,” Mia retorted, “things are getting serious now.”
I put the two glasses on the coffee table, but I chose to sit on the floor. Changing my perspective could help, even if it was only another physical position. I turned my eyes to Mia.
“You started.”
And I had never admitted to anyone but myself that I was feeling something for him, and strong enough that I couldn't hide my disappointment. It wasn't the same with the guys like Brett, where there was chemistry, but never that heat that Noah made me feel. To be in love, with a friend, who was in a relationship, complicated things a lot. I didn't want to risk the proximity that we already had, but I also couldn't disguise that between the two of us there was something wrong.
"It's complicated," I sipped the wine, "I've never felt anything like this before."
Mia grabbed her wine and took a sip, slipping to the floor with Ham.
"It's only complicated if you complicate things. Have you tried asking him out?"
I opened my eyes in disbelief, if I could barely talk to him, just imagine asking him out on a date.
"That's out of question. He'll think it's a friend thing."
"Not if you're direct."
“Have I ever been direct in my life before? Did I ever ask anyone out?"
She took another sip and held out my glass for me to do the same.
"Didn't you come here to reinvent yourself? Plus, didn't you say you liked the fake date?"
"No, I came here to get revenge on Brett," I argued.
"And of course this is working just fine. Brett knows where you are, right? He knows you still exist, doesn't he? You can't be so naive, Emma. By now he's been through five Valentinas or more."
I jumped up and fetched the bottle to refill the glasses. I ended up bringing an extra one to save miles on my indoor jogging. My eyelids trembled at every word of her. I hated it when Mia was right. And she had to be right ninety-nine percent of the time, of course.
"That's irrelevant," I teased.
"Only inside your head. If you really want revenge, he should at least know what you've been up to."
"That's it!" I interrupted her. "And you're going to help me."
Mia set the glass down on the coffee table. She stared at the bottle as if she was deciding whether she should drink more or break the bottle on my head. Eventually she gave in and poured wine until it almost overflowed. She looked at me and a smile formed on the corner of her mouth.
"Fine, I'll help."
This was too easy, if I knew my friend well, the counterpart wasn't going to be easy, especially regarding Brett, since they never liked each other.
“For real?”
"Yes," she shook her head. "But you're going to have to ask Noah out on a date."
"No way Mia," I retorted.
Mia stood up and pulled me by the arm, pushing me to the door of my apartment.
"Now."
I planted my two feet on the ground forcing my body back with all my strength. I couldn't do it now, I was going to need a whole preparation routine, rehearsed text, plan B, pray, and maybe voodoo to make it work. I tried to hold on to the door but it was hopeless. Mia pushed me out of the apartment with all her might. To my amazement, she rang Noah's doorbell and locked herself back in the house, leaving me completely panicked at the hallway..
"I'm behind the door," she threatened in a hoarse voice.
I swear I thought about running, but Noah opened the door so fast that even if I was The Flash I couldn't get out of there.
Noah leaned on his doorway and smiled.
“Emma, come in.”
I stepped back with my head spinning.
"I can’t right now. I stopped by to see if-you-want-to-get-something-to-eat-later?"
He frowned.
"Huh? What did you say?"
I looked down at the floor and the words disappeared from my mind. I leaned against his door, and sighed.
"It's just ... I want to know if you want to go out later, eat something."
"Oh, you want to take Mia out?"
"No, she needs to... shave," I mentally rolled my eyes at my ridiculous excuse. Only my brain would come up with the most random, unacceptable thing possible, "just you and me."
Noah's eyes widened, surprised and he smiled.
"Eight's good for you? I knock on your door."
I went back to my apartment and tried to turn the knob. I'm glad Mia had it open and I went in slow.
"Perfect," I said through the crack of the door.
Mia was waiting for me with folded arms, armed with a disapproving look. She rolled her eyes and walked to my room. She opened my wardrobe and tossed every single piece on my bed, looking for the perfect outfit. The pile of clothes was already the size of Everest when she finally opted for a silver dress with a huge v-neck.
"I will not wear this," I argued.
"Your speech was so weak that he didn’t noticed you were asking him out on a date, so we'll have to correct the message."
I threw myself back on the bed and pulled other options from the middle of the pile. She said no to all of them. We agreed on a pink floral dress and a cardigan.
"Better that way," I hung the option on the hanger and waited for Mia to organize my closet again.
"It's not good, but if we manage to fix your mane and retouch your weasel face, it might be aesthetically acceptable."
We had a laugh, it was like this since high school, when we jumped on my bed, picking thousands of clothes to go out with guys from school. We just missed playing Radiohead on my stereo and sing Creep. But one thing was certain, fashion evolved, but the guys remained the same.
We started the preparations around five in the afternoon, after all, taming my hair was not an easy task. I had gnaw
ed all the nail corners to Mia's despair, who glued band-Aid on every single one of my fingers to keep my nail polish intact. Of course I was super nervous, and not knowing if he knew it was a date, and especially not knowing how I was supposed to behave.
"Relax, Emma, you're making me nervous."
Mia wielded a huge can of spray and was slowly shaping the waves of my hair, until they all fell into the right place like she wanted to. When she thought it was good enough, she took a second look on my make-up and told me to go get dressed.
"I can't relax with that much spray on my head," I showed her a nervous smile, "My hair is stuck like this until my next life."
Mia laughed and walked away to admire her work.
"Looks good."
Two minutes later my doorbell rang. My stomach spun three times as Mia ran to open the door. My heart stopped when I saw Noah all handsome, with a long-sleeved graphite shirt folded up to his elbows and tighter pants than he usually used to wear. His hair was still messy, but it looked so good on him.
"You're Mia right?" Noah addressed her. "Nice to meet you, I'm Noah."
"Hey," she greeted him. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Are you sure you don't come with us?"
"Next time. Today I'm going to settle down right here and sleep with Ham."
The little piggy was hiding under my bed for half an hour. All this movement made him a little scared, but he listened to Noah's voice and showed up on the bedroom door. Like me. Noah had power over both of us.
"Let's go," I said getting my purse. I threw the spare keys to Mia.
Noah closed the door behind us as soon as I crossed my doorstep, and I had a hard time to control myself with that musky perfume surrounding me, so inviting. Or the dimples that appeared every time he smiled. He kept staring at me with his tight eyes as we walked up to his old Chevrolet.
“What?”
Noah scratched his head, embarrassed and opened the passenger door for me.
"You look beautiful." The compliment caught me unprepared and I looked down, blushing.
I got in the car and I closed my eyes for a second, absorbing everything that was going on. It was a date, and he knew, he had to know. It had been five minutes since we left the house, and the butterflies in my stomach were already going crazy. Breathe Emma, I told myself, because if I kept acting like this by the end of the night I would be completely in love with Noah, and things couldn't be like that, I couldn't give my heart away so fast.