Kassie sighed and threw herself on her bed. She ached, her feet were pounding, and she smelled like pie. She could not keep this up. She and her best friend, Mel, with her brother's help, opened a bakery and bookstore about a year ago. Then it had seemed like a good idea. She heavily regrets the decision now.
She felt the bed dip and a hand pat her calf.
"Hey, there, stranger!" her brother said in his stupid, cheerful voice.
She wanted to kill him.
"Did you know you smell like pie?" He continued.
Yup, definitely wanted to murder him. She groaned as she felt the bed move as Clarke lay down beside her. She sluggishly rolled her head to face him. His hazel eyes were filled with their usual mirth, but his face was tight.
"You can't keep working like this. You need to hire more people."
She hated it, but he was right. Right now, Buzzy Bee Books and Bakery only has three employees. Her co-owner and best friend, Melody, who did most of the baking, Abraham stoically worked at the bookend, and she ran around handling everything else.
When they opened B's 14 months ago, they severely underestimated the energy it took to keep both stores open. The first month, Mel and Kassie worked nonstop. They went in at 4 to start baking, opened at 8, and closed at 5. It was obvious after the first day that they could not hold down the fort with only two people. The store was near the college, and the rent was steep, but they quickly became popular. Kassie had the great idea to order textbooks online cheaply and sell them at lower prices than the campus store. They had Wi-fi, comfortable couches, and plenty of places to do homework. It was a blessing and a curse to be popular. Kassie ran the bookend while Mel almost killed herself working in the bakery. At the end of the month, they were tired and had a huge stack of resumes from students seeking the convenience of working near campus.
Neither of them had hired anyone before. So, they did what any sleep-deprived, overworked girl would do. Picked one at random. A horrible decision-making process, but it turned out to be a wonderful one. The next morning, they called in Abraham. He was a tall, quiet, dark-haired, dark-skinned doctoral student. He gratefully worked full or half days around his class schedule, and Kassie and Mel got a little reprieve from the workload. Three workers were still not enough, but B's was their life. Abraham was quickly adopted into the little family, and the three were reluctant to bring in any strangers.
She gave her brother a pitiful look. "I know, but I don't want someone who ends up burning the place down or something."
"Then hire someone you know. Between the three of you, I'm sure you can find a few people who need work. "
"That's actually a good idea." Maybe she won't kill him.
"Of course, it is, lil' sis. All my ideas are gold," he said as he jumped off the bed. "It's your turn to cook dinner. Wash the smell of pie and depression off and cook me some food."
With that said, he mussed up her hair and left the room.
Eh, maybe not.
After showering and cooking a fast dinner of pasta, Kassie propped herself up on her bed with her laptop. She signed in to Facebook to snoop around, on the off chance one of her friends had posted they needed work.
She messed around for an hour, writing to some old high school and college friends to see if any were unemployed. She quickly became distracted by a profile in the "People You May Know" section. Aaron Adams. His profile picture was of a man, looking away from the camera, with black, messy hair and noticeable bone structure. He was very cute.
Kassie quickly clicked on his profile. There wasn't much going on. He hadn't posted anything in a while. He had a small circle of friends and a handful of pictures uploaded several years ago. The first was his profile picture; the other was with him and a small, red-haired girl. Both of them were smiling.
He had blue eyes, Kassie noted. They were striking. In all the pictures but the last, his black hair was windblown. The last picture, though, was cut very short. It was a posed picture, with him in a uniform, maybe army, Kassie couldn't tell. His face was serious, and his blue eyes were focused on the camera. Very attractive. She barely even thought about it before sending him a friend request.
The next day, she talked to Mel and Abraham about hiring someone they knew. Both of them had several people in mind.
"I'm going to give Meg a call. We worked well together in class. She, uh, is not very good with people. But she makes amazing desserts."
On top of Meg, Mel agreed to call several other people she went to pastry school with.
Abraham promised to talk to a few of his friends at school.
Meg came in around noon to talk about the job. She brought in a few things that she baked. She did make an amazing pie, but Mel was right, she was a little rough. She was short and fit, with black, cropped hair. During the interview, she cursed and insulted the shop's furniture. Mel was excited to get someone else in the kitchen. Kassie really couldn't say no to her, so after agreeing never to talk to customers, Meg filled out the paperwork and said she'd start in the morning.
Mel was in a cheerful mood as they cleaned up.
"I don't know what you're so happy about. I'm pretty sure we just hired the devil. "
Mel snorted. "She's not so bad".
She shot her an indignant look. "She said our store looked like Goodwill took a shit on it".
She laughed. "Well, we did get a lot of this stuff from Goodwill".
Mel was right. The comfortable couches and chairs were bought from the Goodwill and thrift stores around town. One side of the bakery had high counters and tall chairs, while the other side had plush chairs and couches. There were a few tables by the windows, but for the most part, it was used furniture. The chairs and couches in the bakery were reupholstered with bright floral patterns that complemented the bakery's "spring" look. The furniture in the bookstore was tweed and generally gave off the English professor vibe.
"Yeah, well, she can stay if she shuts up and makes pies".
They were both laughing as they finished cleaning.
When she was home, Kassie got back on her laptop to kill time. She checked her Facebook messages and was shocked to see one from Aaron. She felt little butterflies in her stomach when she thought about his blue eyes.
Aaron Adams: Hello, have we met?
Well, that was straight to the point. She quickly responded.
Kassie Harris: No, sorry. I saw you on the suggestions and added you.
She didn't have to wait very long for the reply.
Aaron Adams: There is no need to apologize. I was just curious. What made you want to add me?
Kassie chewed her lip. What should she say? I thought you were super-hot, so I added you. I may be a little in love with your eyes? I want to lick your face.
Flirty, she could be flirty. Maybe. It was the internet that made everyone a little more confident. She took a deep breath and sent a quick response.
Kassie Harris: Well…your really cute ☺
Did she really just send this handsome, maybe, Army guy a smiley face? She might be the lamest person in the world.
Aaron Adams: Why, thank you, Kassie. I find you to be quite cute as well.
Kassie blushed. He flirted back. Very formally. Before she had a chance to write a reply, she got another message.
Aaron Adams: If I may be bold, I find your green eyes to be quite captivating.
She smiled. The butterflies were going wild. She felt incredibly happy that this handsome stranger liked her eyes. She should probably worry about how desperate she was for attention, but now was not the time.
Kassie Harris: I like your eyes, too. They're gorgeous. And you can be as bold as you want.
What was she doing? This was unlike her. She's not one to flirt with people, much less handsome, older strangers on the internet. She wondered if she was making a fool of herself, if she was so lonely that she was looking for validation online.
Aaron Adams: Thank you, Kassie. You are very kind. I enjoyed your profile; it was very entertaining. What is it that you do? You seem to post many pictures with desserts.
Uh, embarrassing. She never thought about how her profile might seem to someone new. Oh, gosh. All those cat videos, nerdy posts, and selfies! He must think she's an idiot. She thought back to earlier today, when she posted a picture of herself and Mel, their cheeks bulging with cupcakes.
Kassie Harris: Oh, ha, you must think I'm pretty stupid.
Aaron Adams: The word stupid didn't even cross my mind. Beautiful, funny, intelligent, and lively are just a few of the words that crossed my mind. Kassie, you seem like a wonderful girl; there is no need for you to think so negatively about yourself.
Wow, was this guy serious? Who talked like that, especially on the internet? She was so embarrassed, but those stupid butterflies were still fluttering around. He said intelligent. It's been a long time since someone called her that. She chewed on her lip. She could write back, but what would she say? Sorry, my natural instinct is to be self-deprecating. I may-or-may not have too much emotional baggage to casually flirt with strangers? She could not write back. She could delete them and him and go back to her routine of waking, working, sleeping, where no one called her pretty or smart.
She didn't have long to spiral before she got another message.
Aaron Adams: I'm sorry, I've overstepped. I'm not very good at holding polite conversations, internet or otherwise. I've clearly made you uncomfortable. Again, I apologize and end our conversation.
Kassie stared at the words. Not good at conversations? The guy was like Shakespeare. Each word read as if it had been perfectly thought out, and it filled her with warmth. She didn't feel uncomfortable. She felt confused and a little embarrassed. Confused that she was feeling warm and tingling over some guy who only had five pictures that she knew nothing about. He was nice, easy to talk to, and handsome. Was there any harm in talking to him? That's what the internet is for, right? Meeting new people. She took a deep breath and wrote.
Kassie Harris: Hi, I'm Kassandra Harris. I'm 25 and dropped out of medical school to open a bakery/bookstore with my best friend. Which explains all the dessert pictures. My whole family, except one, thinks I'm a disappointment because I'm not a doctor. Which explains the self-deprecating. I like cat videos. They make me happy. I'm also a giant nerd. I live with the only family member who doesn't drive me insane. I'm pretty sure he's some sort of assassin. I'm incredibly awkward, you're incredibly cute, from what I can tell, and I think what I'm trying to say is that you didn't freak me out. I'd like to keep talking to you.
She took a deep breath, groaned, and buried her face in a pillow. Mel should be there. Mel stops her from saying or doing something stupid. Something stupid, like making metaphorical goo-goo eyes at someone she just "met". She was acting like a little girl from a rom-con. This was a new low. She peeked over the pillow to see a new message.
Aaron Adams: Hello, Kassandra. I'm Aaron, and I'm about to turn 31. I'm retired from the Army, and I work from home as a translator. The only family I have is my sister, who lives several states away. I, too, enjoy cat videos and cats in general. I have a sphinx named Cleo. I spend more time reading than I do interacting with people. I am also awkward and find myself attracted to you. Despite our daunting age difference.
Aaron Adams: I think it's very brave that you followed your dreams instead of someone else's.
Aaron Adams: I would also like to continue talking.
After a few minutes of extreme girly-ness, where she blushed dramatically, then screamed into a pillow, and then sighed and gazed at the ceiling in a dreamy gaze, she wrote him back. And they continued to talk. After the first hour, Kassie switched to her phone's Facebook app. While she ate dinner, she checked her phone and replied to messages. She talked to him when she was watching T.V with Clarke. She ignored his pointed stares and switched her attention from the T.V to the phone sporadically.
And when she was ready for bed, she curled up with her phone and let herself be wooed by Aaron Adams.
Kassie woke up to a message from Aaron.
Aaron Adams: Good morning, Kassandra. I hope you have a wonderful day.
She spent the rest of the morning grinning like
a fool.
Later, when she got to B's, she told Mel everything, unashamed. Mel was the one person she could trust not judge her. To her joy, Mel reacted just as she hoped. She squealed and demanded to see a picture. She showed her one, which she may have saved from his page, in a completely not-creepy way.
"Ooh, sexy!" She said, and she zoomed in and dragged it over the picture. "What did you guys talk about?"
"A little of everything. At first, it was a little weird. Like, what's your favorite color? And, what do you like to do in your spare time? But then, it got easier. He's a total nerd. But not like a geeky, fandom nerd like us, but like a crazy-smart nerd. He likes Star Trek, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones! We talked about growing up, our family, the bakery, Obama, freakin' everything. He talks like he just walked out of a dictionary, and he's charming and flirts like he's from the 18th century and–– what?"
Mel was staring at her with a wide smile. "You're smitten!"
She scoffed. "I'm so not".
She looked away from Mel and started putting the cupcakes in rows behind the display case.
"You so are!" she said, laughing.
"He's so charming and talks like Shakespearean porn, " she mocked in a high voice.
"I never said anything about porn!"
They spent the rest of the morning bickering and laughing. Abraham came in to open the bookstore a little later. The girls quieted down to wish him good morning before dissolving into giggles. He just shook his head and walked away.