Bake Me Crazy

by Skylar Dawn

  My blood boiled.

  "Are you sure you don't want to sit down with your friend?" Mr. Wong brought me my tea.

  "Absolutely," I took a sip. "And you didn't tell him I'm here, did you?"

  Mr. Wong shook his head.

  "They're having a serious talk, I'm not going to interrupt. Your friend is upset."

  "Is it?" I asked, feigning indifference. "I didn't noticed it."

  "A little bit," Mr. Wong tapped the pen on his notepad, "but the girl is good for him. She made him laugh."

  "That's a good thing then."

  Mr. Wong drove me crazy. I didn't want to know what they were talking about. All right, I wanted to, but I didn't need details. It was obvious that it she was good for him, otherwise he would have gone home. The way she looked at him also explained a lot to me. If Noah's problem was competition, it had become clear that I would never be able to compete with Jesse. It was better this way, because I knew that Noah would compare the two of us. It was way too much pressure for me to handle. I would never be able to match those standards.

  After a while, they stood up and I hid behind the menu on my table, peeking through the spiral hole. If Jesse was already wonderful sitting down, standing and walking was a whole different level. The whole restaurant was watching her slide between the tables to the door. The two of them matched, they were both very tall and very good looking.

  "Your person is not coming?" Mr. Wong brought me another tea refill.

  "It's canceled."

  I made a mental note to order food again only on the phone, as Mr. Wong was getting on my nerves. I waited for about fifteen minutes to avoid running into them on my way out, and then I asked for the check and left.

  I walked to a mini-square and sat on a bench to think about what I was going to do with my life from now on. I didn't want to accept the nightclub proposal, I liked my job at Lou's. Okay, I was also a fan of water aerobics with the girls and Mrs. Dunn's lessons, but these things didn't have to change, it could be fitness only.

  I knew that after all, my relationship with Noah was going to change. Maybe one day it would be possible to have the same friendship as before, but the way things ended, we barely had dialogue. I hoped that the spirits would calm down and we could at least talk to each other.

  I decided not to think of Noah in the middle of the street, after all, I was terrified to become one of those girls who sit alone, lost in tears in the middle of a children's playground. My wounded ego wouldn't be able to withstand another blow.

  I also didn't want to go home right away. I walked without a set direction in my mind. How ironic, everything in my life was aimless, and I knew I had to change that. Maybe I should go back to Boston, stay close to Mia and try to establish my life again, but would I be able to handle so much change at once? I couldn't tell if it was going to hurt me more to see Noah every day, or not to see him at all. The two things were terrible. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to exclude him out of my life, although if it was to improve my situation, pulling the band-aid at once would be wiser.

  CHAPTER fourteen

  Viral Love

  I decided to walk back and cool my head a little. Actually I was avoiding going back to the apartment because I had seen more than enough of them together. Problem is, it was late, I had to feed Ham and he was probably hiding under my bed afraid of the dark. There was no one there to turn on the lamp for him.

  I didn't even want to look at Noah's door. I knew he was home because the light in the room was leaking from under the door. Of course, everything would have worked out on the date. He was a sweet guy, and she was staying with him. If I hadn't been stubborn with the silly idea of becoming an exotic dancer, it wouldn't hurt so much through that corridor.

  "I'm home Ham" I said in a sigh and put the key on the sideboard. Then I noticed the lights on and my heart skipped a beat. Deep down I wanted to believe that Noah was waiting for me, that everything was a misunderstanding and that he wanted to stay with me.

  "It's me. I found the key under the rug," Mia hugged me, "I thought you needed a friend."

  "Thank God you're here," tears ran down my face and I hugged her back. Ham Solo got tangled in my legs and was whining softly, "I screwed up Mia."

  “Oh Emma…”

  "As always," I sobbed, "I don't do anything right."

  "That's not true," she smiled.

  Mia pushed my laptop, still open, and sat on the couch. I settled on the cushions on the floor in front of her, Ham in my lap.

  "This little piggy is much cooler than the old one," she said with tender eyes.

  "He's the best," I hugged him. "There's no need to cry Ham, you'll come home with me, we'll be fine."

  "Are you leaving?" Mia narrowed her eyes, staring at me. Her mouth formed a single line, but this time she wasn't criticizing my behavior.

  The walk after dinner opened my eyes. It was already decided, there was no reason to stay in Vegas, and I couldn't bear to see Noah every day and know that I had everything I ever wanted and decided to throw away because of a childish whim. He deserved someone who could love him the right way, not some clumsy lunatic like me.

  "Yes," I took a deep breath. "It's decided. You were right Mia, this whole coming to Vegas thing was crazy. It's time to go back to real life."

  Ham, the videos and memories would go with me, and this time I wasn't sure if I would recover. There was no crazy plan or idea to focus on. Right now I couldn't even eat a slice of cheesecake without thinking about Noah.

  The more I sobbed, the more Ham grunted and I cried. The poor thing was already covered in tears.

  "Don't cry," I looked him in the eye, "It's my fault. I'm the one who decided to go to the damn audition, to consider accepting the stupid job, to insist on revenge. I screwed up and now we’re here without him."

  "But you passed the audition," Mia added.

  "I passed, but I won't accept the job." I looked down to Ham, "We're leaving, right Ham?" I patted his head and he let out a sad cry. "We don't have to stay here."

  "I thought you wanted to be a stripper," she put my laptop on her lap and made some space on the couch. I didn't move an inch. I felt too heavy, too tired and too wrong.

  "I thought I did... I thought I wanted to make Brett regret it. But I don't give a damn about him. And other than that, I have no reason to go on with this."

  Ham groaned in a loud tone because of his deviated septum and my tears didn't stop. It was hard to know who was in worse shape, myself or the pig.

  "Noah is on a date, the girl is beautiful and nice, she will be a lot better for him than me." I squeezed Ham harder and whispered, "I ended up messing up everything with the guy I love."

  I stroked the little pig's nose and pulled out one of the pillows to improvise a bed for him. I couldn't allow myself to get into this spiral of sadness, let alone dragging Ham with me. I tried to wipe my face, but I couldn't stop crying.

  Mia removed the laptop from her lap, picked up another pillow, and sat down beside me, putting her arm around my shoulders.

  "So you love Noah?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "I do," I lowered my head and stared at the rug. I couldn’t see the flowers shapes on it, "I love him more than anything."

  "Why don't you tell him that?" She squeezed me trying to encourage me.

  "No," I denied it with my head. "I want him to be happy, even if it's not with me."

  "That's not possible," a familiar voice echoed from the hall of my apartment.

  "Noah?" I turned to the door, my heart pounding like crazy. "What are you doing here?"

  He walked towards me and I got up exasperated, not knowing exactly what to do.

  "I won't let you and Solo leave." He wiped a stream of stubborn tears from my cheeks. "I don't know how to make this video thing by myself," he smiled.

  "You can handle it," I spoke quietly, almost without a voice.

  Noah put my hair behind my ear and held my face.

  "Who's going to steal the cream? My s
ister? She doesn't eat sugar ever since she left her crib," he smiled.

  "That celestial being is your sister?" I looked away.

  "Since I was born," he lifted my chin.

  A humorous voice sounded from outside, "I like her! Are you going to kiss her or do I have to go there and make it happen?”

  I smiled, feeling my cheeks burning.

  "You look beautiful embarrassed," Noah approached and a good shiver ran through my whole body.

  "So much winding," Mia huffed, "Come on Ham Solo, let's go to the apartment that has food," she said crossing the door. Ham hopped after her.

  "I love you, cream thief."

  "I love you too, naked baker."

  His lips touched mine and I lost my breath. Noah wrapped me in an urgent hug and an explosion of feelings took over. I was dying for that warm kiss, the warmth of his arms, his scent and his taste.

  We finished the kiss, panting and Noah looked at me with serious eyes. "It's time to end this broadcast."

  "Broadcast?" I asked confused. Only then I noticed the laptop open and the camera on. Until then I thought my walls were thin.

  "You're welcome!" Mia's voice echoed outside.

  Without letting go of me, Noah closed the laptop, took the battery out of the camera and turned off everything that was on.

  "It's only the two of us now."

  #

  I woke up with a kiss on my neck and a wonderful musky scent surrounding me. I wasn't going to get up at all. I was going to get involved in that hug between the sheets. Then I heard loud snoring.

  "I thought Ham was with Mia," I joked, "Good morning." I turned my body to face Noah. I ran my fingers into his disarranged hair and he smiled with tight eyes.

  "Excellent day," he kissed me, "I'm starving."

  "It's no use saying that to me," I poked his chest, "you're the cook."

  Noah kissed me as if time were all ours. "It's not that kind of hunger," he said in a whisper.

  I completely eliminated the distance between us and kissed his neck, "and what is the kind of hunger?" I whispered in his ear.

  "Of you."

  No, we wouldn't stay there long, not that I didn't want to, but one thing was Noah hungry, another one completely different was my trumpets of the apocalypse announcing the judgement day. The doorbell rang and Noah left me alone for a moment. Can you believe that? After criticizing so much , there I was starring in my own fairy tale, and let me tell you, it was so much better than anything I could imagine.

  "It's from Lou," he showed the huge breakfast basket when he returned. Sitting in bed I could smell cinnamon bread and croissant, "we're off today," he laughed and handed me a card that said:

  Crying rivers until now, I'll send you my botox check later. Enjoy the day and don't forget to wash your hands before eating.

  Lou.

  "You mean we don't have to go out today?" I laid down again.

  "Not if you don't want to," Noah sat on the bed and grabbed a piece of cinnamon bread.

  "I'm fine," I chuckled, "now give me the bread, i'm starving."

  Noah laughed, "Lou told you to wash your hands."

  I rolled my eyes and got up, I had to use the bathroom anyway. Noah's gaze followed me all the way.

  "What are you looking at?" I winked.

  "I'm enjoying my girlfriend, excuse me?!"

  "Girlfriend?" I smiled back, twisting a lock of hair.

  "I won't take no for an answer."

  Seriously! Inside I was screaming like a teenager. I was now someone's girlfriend, handsome Noah's girlfriend. Prince Charming may not even exist, and honestly, to the hell with princes! I was super happy with my naked baker.

  I went back to my room and dove into a cheese croissant. Today was not the day to think about working out and dieting.

  "Emma," Noah held my hands and kissed me, pulling me for a hug, "I've been thinking. You should take the job."

  “What?” I raised an eyebrow.

  "Ever since I met you, you've been talking about being an exotic dancer. If that's what you want, I don't think it's fair to stop you. "

  "But..."

  "I'm serious," he interrupted me, "It's all right. I'll be there on every show, on duty, taking care of security. "

  "They have security guards for dancers," I smiled.

  "Who said it was for you?" He laughed, "I'm going to make sure no one wants to take over my job, security is for me!"

  "Don't be silly," I kissed him.

  Noah smiled.

  "I'm serious. It's all right. "

  "Um," I bit my lips, "My only reason for doing all this was to get back at Brett, I never stopped to think there would be real people actually seeing my parts. I never stopped to think about what I want."

  It was true. I always had a crazy goal to do everything and I had never realized the fact that I did nothing for myself, something I wanted to do.

  "Think about it," he gave me a soft kiss, "I'll be with you."

  "I'll think about it," I smiled, "but for the time being, We should take a look at Mia, your sister and Ham."

  "They will survive," he laughed and hid his face under the pillow.

  "Now I know who Ham pulled that craze from," I chuckled, kissing the back of his neck.

  Shortly after ... who am I trying to fool?! We got back together right?! So, after a long time, we went to his apartment.

  "Jesse, are you watching the news?" Noah smirked, "what's up with that?"

  "Shut up," she scolded him and got up from the couch, hugging me, "I know everything about you," she winked at Mia.

  "Don't worry," Mia smiled, "I even told her about your dental issue on fourth-grade."

  I smirked, "thanks a lot."

  "And I love Ham Solo!" Jesse jumped enthusiastically, walked back to Mia's side, and put the little pig on her lap.

  I sat on my usual stool and Noah went to the stove for a second. He scratched his head, puzzled. "where did the cookie dough go?" Mia and Jesse looked at each other, embarrassed.

  "I ate," Mia grinned. "And what are you doing here? Go love each other," she laughed. "But take Ham, he wants his pillow."

  "Talking about him," Jesse said, "yesterday's broadcast is booming on the internet."

  "What do you mean by booming?" I asked.

  "It has over a million views," she laughed, "I don't even know how many times it was shared. And Ham is a success."

  "I'll check," I replied. "I don't know why anyone would want to see that."

  "It was beautiful," Jesse smiled.

  I went home and got my laptop. In fact, my video was packed with comments of every kind. It even had messages for Ham.

  "Let me see," Noah asked for the laptop.

  "As you watch, I'm going to drop Mia's things at your place," I grabbed her bag and dragged around the room, "I'll be right back."

  On the same foot as I went, I came back, embarrassed by the activities I had accidentally witnessed.

  "Uh, wasn't you going to drop Mia's stuff at my place?" Noah tilted his head in curiosity.

  “I was,” I shook my head, laughing, “but I don’t think she’s going to need them anyway.”

  He shot me a confused look.

  “Why not?”

  "Um," I bit my lip, not knowing how to explain it, "because it's unnecessary."

  Noah scratched his head even more confused.

  "Okay," he smiled, "Can you get me some clothes? I thought I'd stay here for the weekend if you want me to."

  "You won’t need your clothes," I winked at him. “It’s unnecessary.”

  “Oh wait,” he leaned back on the couch, laughing. Finally getting what I meant about Mia and his sister. “Got it. Unnecessary.”

  #

  "You should combine your channels into one." Lou had an epiphany. "Take advantage of the fact Saint Cabernet filled the love broadcast of views and find a way to capitalize on it."

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Noah raised an eyebrow. “I cook and you keep doing what you do best.
”

  I threw him a curious look.

  “Eat?”

  Both Lou and Noah burst into laughing.

  “That too,” Noah added. “But I meant stealing the cream, or talking.”

  I narrowed my eyes on them.

  The bell on the door of the Caffé announced the arrival of Mrs. Dunn and the girls. They were celebrating Mrs. Wilson's victory on the slot machines. While I was enjoying my moment with Noah over the weekend, my girlfriends enjoyed the opening of Mrs. Davis' grand-niece's nightclub. They said it was quite a party.

  "Amelia performed and everything." Mrs. Davis made a proud face. "It was intense."

  Lou widened his eyes.

  "I believe you. And I want to see that."

  Mrs. Dunn shook her hands in the air.

  "Oh, dear, whenever you wish. There are things we never lose practice."

  Noah took the batch of hazelnut cookies to their table and I took the trays with the frappes. Afterwards we served cheesecake and coffee.

  "We'll need to double the exercise in the water," Mrs. Davis concluded.

  I agreed.

  "It is true. Soon Mrs. Dunn will say we're all full of sagging skin."

  She laughed and winked at me.

  "You are. But some sagging is definitely worth it."

  The mood at Lou's Caffé was back to normal, and the place was crowded after the love broadcast. Of course there were women who only wanted to see the naked baker, but there were people who wanted to see us together. Lou enjoyed the attention the most, the way he loved to gossip, that bunch of people at the Caffé was his version of paradise. He would end up with a hoarse voice. And rich.

  When Mia and Jesse came to visit us at the Caffé, Noah was able to fully understand the situation between the two, the seriousness of it. Also if he didn't I would have to draw with pastry cream in the kitchen, because the way they looked and touched each other's faces made it clear they were dating for real. It wasn't a weekend thing.

  He gave me a funny look as he was storing the naked cakes on the display and shook his head in surprise at his naivety.