Page 66 of Feels Like Home

The boys look at each other, then down at their phones for thetime.

“Oh. Will it takelong?”

I look at the timer on the oven. “There’s only six minutes left of baking time, but then it usually takes a little while tocool.”

“What if we put it in thefridge?”

“Um, well, wecan,but it really only takes around fifteen minutes for it to cool. Are you in that big of a hurry to tryit?”

“Something like that,” Reece mumbles, and Aidan jabs him in thestomach.

“Not really. You made us put sour cream in the cake. It’s probably gonna turn outgross.”

“Yes. My goal is to spend time baking something disgusting with youguys.”

They pace around the kitchen while constantly checking their phones for the time. When the oven timer goes off, they rush to the oven. Reece hands Aidan the oven mitts to remove thecake.

“First, you have to check to make sure it’sdone.”

“It might not be done yet?” Reece criesout.

“Possibly. Stick a toothpick into the center, and if it comes out clean, it’sready.”

They both pull a face that has mechuckling.

“Why wouldn’t it beclean?”

“If it’s not done, the center will be gooey, the batter still runny. It would stick to thetoothpick.”

“Oookaay.”

“Just do it,already.”

They both reach for a toothpick out of the plastic container I have in my hand and poke it into the center of the chocolatecake.

When they come out clean, the boys fistbump.

“Okay, so like fifteen more minutes before we can frost it?” Aidan says, way tooloudly.

“I’m standing right here, kiddo. What’s wrong with youtwo?”

They’ve been acting shifty since we started mixing the batter for the cake. At first, I thought it was because they’d changed their minds, deciding it would have been more fun to be hanging out with Grady, who left with Andy and Bri shortly before we started making the cake. Grady said he needed Andy’s help withsomething.

I never asked what that was, and he never explainedfurther.

Aidan blushes, and Reece mumbles, “We’ll be right back.” Then he takes him by the arm and pulls him into the livingroom.

I hear loud whispering then, “Just try and act cool foronce.”

“Shutup!”

“Boys?”

“Yeah?” At the sametime.

More shuffling and an “oomph,” from one ofthem.

What in the heck is goingon?

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