Page 34 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
“I think it came out good, but I’m interested to see what you think,” Theo said, taking a bite out of his cookie. Crumbs fell onto his jacket, and he brushed them away.
“I’m sure I’ll love it, I love everything you make,” she said. “I’m very easy to please like that.”
“Still,” he replied, waiting anxiously. “Your opinion matters to me.”
“So if I said it was awful, you would throw it out and never make it again?” she joked.
“Yes,” he replied, completely serious.
“What? Why!” She shook her head. “You’re so silly! I don’t even know what I’m saying half the time. My opinion doesn’t matter that much.”
He looked at her like she was being absurd. “Your opinion is the only thing that matters.”
A current ran through her spine at the intensity with which he said those words, how earnest his brown eyes were.
She was touched. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. It was warm from holding his mug of chai, and he held onto her fingers. She felt all gooey inside.
Then, she broke the moment by kicking him under the table.
“Well, if you told me I sucked at my job, I certainly wouldn’t quit.”
The tension broke as he laughed. “Come on, try it already.”
She did, knowing that it would be delicious. She planned to act as if it was terrible, just to annoy him, but once she took a bite, she couldn’t.
“Oh my god,” she said, mouth full. “I’m in love.”
Ras malai was made of disks of chenna, which was a type of cheese like cottage cheese, then soaked in sweet milk flavored with cardamom, but in this version, the disks of chenna replaced the lady fingers of the traditional tiramisu in the middle layer, and the cardamom sweet milk was mixed with the coffee soak for the lady fingers. The combination was divine.
She was thoroughly impressed. “How do you even come up with stuff like this?” she asked, awed. She took another bite. He was pleased and sat back in his seat, relaxed. After having another bite, she passed the ras malai tiramisu his way, while he slid her half of the cookie.
He ate a spoonful of the tiramisu. “It really is good,” he said. They shared both desserts until they finished, then drank their chai, talking and people-watching, pointing out all the cute baby dragons. Then, Lavinia told him stories about Biter, and Theo told her the latest gossip between his coworkers at the Rolling Pin.
After some time had passed, Lavinia checked her phone to make sure she wasn’t running late for her pottery date. That was when she noticed she had a text from Calahan, from about an hour ago.
“Oh,” she said out loud, disappointed after reading his message.
Theo straightened. “What is it?”
“Calahan got roped into some last-minute tutoring session, so he can’t come tonight,” Lavinia said, frowning. “He’s really sorry.”
“Oh,” Theo said, though he didn’t look particularly crushed from the news. “Maybe you can go another time?” he said. His tone was bright. He was trying to be positive, which she appreciated.
“I might go anyway,” Lavinia said, nibbling on her lower lip. “He booked it in advance, so it’s already paid for, and I’ve wanted to go for so long. My parents went last month and loved it. They made the cutest little bowl!”
“I could go with you,” Theo said, and was she imagining it, or was there eagerness in his voice?
“Oh.” She hadn’t been expecting that. Nerves ran through her, though she didn’t know why. He was her best friend; they had done loads of activities together over the years. This would be no different.
She shouldn’t overthink it. “Okay, great!” She smiled.
Theo stood. “Shall we?” He offered her his arm, and she hooked her elbow with his. They left the Baby Dragon and walked over to the ceramics store, which was on Main Street and a short walk away. As they entered the store, Lavinia became excited all over again.
The front of the store had various clay products to purchase, such as dinnerware or vases and the like, and they went to the back, where a studio was set up for pottery classes. There were six stations, and most of them were already filled. There was one free in the middle, and Theo and Lavinia made their way over to the empty station.
All the attendees were couples: one old couple, two her parents’ age, and the rest in their twenties and thirties. While it was a class for couples, Lavinia was sure it wouldn’t be anything too intimate. Theo didn’t seem bothered, so there was no reason for her to get weird.
Lavinia and Theo sat down on the little stools. “Move your legs,” Lavinia said, bumping his knees with hers. His legs were so long, and he was practically smushed against her on their tiny seats.
