Page 19 of Semi Sweet
I meant every word. No judgement. No stuffy dinners. No treating me like I was an ignorant child whose life hadn't started yet. I also wanted to mention I'd been going to these parties before I was of the legal drinking age and probably before they were hired, but I figured it was pointless to argue.
"I want to believe you," Meg said, "but how can I? I mean, you share a bed with a Quittero. You are practically the enemy."
I felt my hackles rise, but never had a chance to bite back because someone cleared their throat behind me. I blushed when I realized someone had been standing at my counter without me realizing it.
It was Sean, without his hat or white work coat, holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand. Typically one of his clerks would walk over to the front end to ask for change. Had he been in one of the offices? Why was he currently standing in my territory? I continued to be rattled by his presence. I found it interesting how my pulse quickened at the sight of him.
He was wearing a white tee shirt with the logo of a well-known DJ underneath his open dress shirt. I wondered if he was into techno music if he liked the shirt enough to wear it at work.
"Need change?" I asked, voice catching.
"Yeah," he said with a curt nod.
I took the money and opened my drawer with a few taps to my touch screen, willing myself to have steady hands so the girls didn’t notice my nerves.
"Nice shirt." I was desperate to talk to anyone that wasn't judging me for a nanosecond.
Sean smiled, not a smirk, but a full-fledged grin that spread to his entire face. It added to the mischievous sparkle that was usually in his eyes. It was like he was radiating the sun and I needed that warmth around me more.
"Thanks."
I wanted to ask him more, like if he had seen them live or who else he liked, but Meg started talking and snapped me back to reality.
"Hey bakery guy," she called and I watched his smile turn to a glower.
"He has a name, you know," I said as I handed him an assortment of change for the bakery's register. I put my arm out to introduce him. "His name is Sean."
Meg heaved a sigh, apparently thinking this information was unnecessary. "Okay, Sean the bakery guy. Are you going to the disco masquerade?"
"Oh, that's right, this is the store that throws a rager every time the Quitteros go on a business trip."
"See!" I exclaimed. "If he knows that and came from another store, then I won't ruin anything!"
"Right," Meg answered, not really paying attention. "Well, are you going? The old manager, Paul, was ancient and didn't do anything fun. You are young enough to still be cool."
Sean had a look on his face like he regretted coming up to the front end and should have sent one of his employees instead.
"Tough call," he mused. "See a bunch of dingbat girls and my employees get stupid drunk or stay home and watch TV with my dog?" He started to walk away. "Hmm..."
"Dingbats?" Meg said. "How rude."
"Nah, I heard the serious thing with him is all an act," Ariana contested. "I'm friends with one of the cleaning guys and he told me Sean has it bad for someone that works here. They overheard him asking his clerks about a girl's relationship status. Apparently someone up front."
The pair began to guess who it could possibly be and gossiped about Sean further. They ultimately decided he had a handsome face, but he was far too tall to be hot. I watched him walk back to his department and my face was warm as I tried to process things. I couldn't picture him mixing business with pleasure. I couldn't imagine him putting himself in a vulnerable situation by telling someone that he had feelings for a girl. I tried to tell myself that Sean probably wasn't the pining or flirting type. But then again, maybe I didn't know him. He'd only been at the store for a couple of months.
***
I saw my name on the bakery box before anyone called out to me. I was anxious as I walked over, thinking of what I'd written, wondering if this was when the person I had been corresponding with finally gave up because it was too risky or weird or something.
I shouldn’t have been okay with this. I was nearly twenty-five, after all. Evan told me almost everyday I was too old for games and life wasn't like the stories I wrote. Despite this, my heart was beating twice as fast as it had been talking about Sean as I waited for today's clerk to see me and figure out why I was standing there. Then I was moving to my booth and collecting myself as I tried to think of what my mystery person would have to say.
Today's cupcake was simple. It was the biggest one I’d received yet, with tasty white buttercream that I enjoyed after I snapped a photo. I captioned itsweet and simplebefore I posted it to mySemi Sweetaccount. Sure enough, there was another note folded inside. I noticed that it was written by hand this time. The handwriting was sloppy and hard to read, just as it had been with the first gift, and I tried to decipher the words.
I'll keep it simple.
I hope that's okay.
Do me a favor:
