Page 35 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
“Move yours,” he replied, knocking his knees back. She laughed. There wasn’t much room for anyone to go.
The instructor was a white-bearded older man with a kind face, wearing a smock covered with dried clay streaks. He waited for the last couple to arrive, and for everyone to put on their smocks and settle down, then he stood at the front and the room quieted.
“Good evening, everyone, my name is Gabriel, and I’ll be leading the workshop,” he said, smiling. He continued to tellthem a bit about himself and his history with clay making, and then they got started.
“First, we will throw the clay onto the wheel,” Gabriel said. “You want it to be as close to the center as possible and firmly set.”
Gabriel had already cut blocks of clay and set them on each workstation, and Lavinia grabbed one. She threw it onto the wheel—and totally missed.
Theo snorted. “Nice one.”
“Shut up,” she replied, though she was biting back a laugh, too. The clay was only about six inches off. She pried it off the wheel, handing it to Theo. “How about you try?”
“You know what, I will.” He threw the clay, and it landed pretty perfectly in the center.
Her mouth fell open in shock. “No fair!”
“Once you’ve got your clay thrown, you want to center it,” Gabriel instructed. He explained how to dip their hands in water and spin the wheel, moving the clay until it was perfectly centered.
Theo went first, dipping his hands into the bucket of water, gently pressing on the pedal to get the wheel going. It spun, and he moved the clay until it was mostly centered. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Why are you so good at this?”
He gave her a smile. “I’m good with my hands.”
Heat flushed through her. She forced herself to get her mind out of the gutter.
“Here, you try,” Theo said, stopping the wheel and removing his hands, which were covered in gray slip. Lavinia rolled her shoulders, taking a deep breath. Theo bit back a laugh.
She dipped her hands in the water, then slowly pressed on the pedal. The wheel began spinning, and she brought her hands to the clay, trying to move it, which was much more difficult than expected.
“Why is this so hard?” she asked, muscles straining. She really had to push, and it was so slippery!
Theo laughed, and she looked over her shoulder to glare at him. “Don’t laugh!” she scolded. “You’re going to mess me up!”
She shouldn’t have taken her focus off the clay; it moved off center and slip splashed over her, splattering onto her face. Theo was further amused. She swiped her clay-covered finger over his cheek.
“Let me try again,” Theo said, elbowing her arms off the clay. She let him, but this time he got cocky and applied too much pressure. The entire clay block flew off the wheel. Lavinia bit back a squeal while Theo narrowly caught the clay. They both turned to each other, eyes wide.
At the same time, they burst into laughter.
“Oops,” Theo said, holding the mangled mess in his hands. Gabriel’s back was turned as he tended to another couple, so he didn’t see, and Lavinia gestured for Theo to put the clay back on the wheel.
“Quickly!” she said. It would be embarrassing for Gabriel to see the mess they’d made when everyone else’s was perfect. With haste, Theo threw and centered the clay again, fixing it just before Gabriel made his way over to check in on them.
Gabriel gave them an approving smile, then moved on, and Lavinia let out a breath.
“Phew.” Theo exhaled. They both giggled like kids who hadjust narrowly missed getting into trouble—something they did in fact spend a lot of time doing as children.
Gabriel explained the next step, which was to make a hole in the center with their thumbs, then mold the clay into either a mug or a bowl. For this part, they would work together.
“You want to make sure you have a good bit of water on your hands. Keep the wheel nice and slow, until you get into a steady rhythm together,” Gabriel explained.
Theo and Lavinia began, her left arm over his right, their hands interlinked.
“You must work in harmony,” Gabriel continued. “Apply pressure together.”
They sat closer, their thighs pressed together. The room quieted as everyone focused, and Lavinia felt his breath light on her neck, the warmth of his body behind hers. She inhaled the scent of sugar and dough from him. As they applied pressure, she could feel the muscles in his arms moving.
