Page 80 of Silver Linings
I blush furiously. “So bold, Mr. Wells. I’ve been a bad influence on you.”
He harrumphs in my direction. “Come on, pretty girl. Finish that one off. We’ve got more stops to hit.”
The excitement that jolts through my body at his words is equivalent to being thrown into an electric fence. I don’t know if it’s the sugar high or Hendrix calling me pretty, but my body feels like a live wire. I may not have much experience in the dating department, but I can’t imagine it gets any better than this.
…
Three stops, one hazelnut crunch, one strawberry rhubarb, and one maple bacon donut later, we’re walking to our final stop on the Lower East Side. According to Hendrix, he saved the best for last, but if you ask me, each stop has been perfect, especially all the moments in between.
While waiting for a train in Times Square, we stumbled upon a performer who had dozens of electronic plushies scattered around him, dancing and gyrating to electric house music. Hendrix groaned when I grabbed his arm, forcing him to dancewith me and a harem of creepy stuffed animals, but judging by the carefree smile on his face, I’d wager he secretly liked it.
As we arrive at our final destination, I see him sneaking glances at me every few seconds. At first, I think it’s because he wants to look at me, but it’s happening more often than is normal. It’s almost…anticipatory.
“Do I have something on my f–” and then, I see it.
Our last stop on the Manhattan donut tour, in all its neon-signed splendor, is calledGlory Holes. A shop that specializes in donut holes. Their honest to God slogan is,‘put us in your hole”. It’s marketing genius at its finest.
“No way.” I start jumping up and down, cackling my excitement. “How did I not know this existed?”
Hendrix is laughing at my obvious joy over an inappropriately named bakery. “I think it’s fairly new.”
“This is the greatest day of my life.” I beam up at him.
I’m suddenly overcome by a feeling of absolute happiness. Hendrix has seen so many pieces of me and hasn’t balked. I’ve been so many different versions of myself in his presence—struggling business owner, fearless karaoke starlet, broken and traumatized, raunchy and irreverent, and he’s embraced each one, encouraged every facet of me and who I am, who I could be.
He smiles down at me softly, brushing a tendril of hair out of my face before leaning forward and whispering against my lips, “I’m glad, baby.” A shiver skates up my spine at the endearment. Leaning forward, he kisses me gently, like it’s the most natural thing in the world—and it feels like it might be.
“Can we go get some glory holes now?” I whisper against his mouth.
He laughs and places his hand on my lower back, pushing me towards the open door. It’s a small space, only big enough to hold maybe three to four people in line, with a counter top made of wood behind glass pastry cases. Inside the cases are variousflavors to choose from, and when we make it to the front of the line, we order one of each to try.
With a box of each hole in hand, we make our way to a small park nearby to sit on a bench and eat the last donuts I’ll be enjoying for a long while. And when I say long while, I mean three weeks maximum.
The mini spherical delights are delicious, and I even get Hendrix to have a couple with me as we discuss ratings and rankings.
“As much as I love the depraved marketing strategy of Glory Holes, Mimi’s is still hands down the best. I think I might have to move uptown just to be close to it,” I say.
“I’ll go get it for you whenever you want.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Hen. I think you’re underestimating how often I might want it.”
“I’m fully aware of your sweet tooth. I’ll go get you the donuts.”
“Mhmmm,” I moan as I bite into another one.
Hendrix is fiddling around in his jacket pocket for something as I polish off the last two pieces, a glimmer of gold catching in the street light.
“I almost forgot, but I have this for you.” He sounds nervous, and when I look over at what he’s holding, my breath catches.
Dangling from his hand is my gold necklace, not broken but whole. I set it on my entry table that night to take care of after handling the store renovations. Then, the plumbing repairs happened, and my necklace took a backseat. I hadn’t given it another thought, prioritizing everything else over my need to have it fixed.
“What—”
He stops me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took it to have it repaired. The jeweler was able to replace just a couple of thelinks on the chain, so it’s mostly still the same necklace your dad gifted to you.”
I am absolutely speechless, like I cannot get a single word out of my mouth. If I had any more glory holes left, you could fit at least five easily in my mouth by how far my jaw has unhinged.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped–oomph!”
