The man in front of me turned, his shoulder nearly crashing into me, and stormed out of the store. Confused, I watched as the majority of the crowd closer to the back groaned and began to leave as well.
What’s going on?
Then I saw the cause of the fuss. The cakes and pastries that were supposed to be lining the inside of the glass counters were missing. I shook my head to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
“How can theyallbe gone?” I muttered.
A frazzled-looking woman on her way out stopped next to me and huffed. “Apparently they were giving out free samples earlier and one of the numbskull employees thought it applied toalltheir products.”
Just as she left the building, I heard the angry tone of someone yelling - presumably at the mentioned employee - at the back of the store.
With nothing but my own frustration, I left empty handed.
“Now what am I supposed to do?” I moaned. “Victor’s gonna be home any minute.”
I paced back and forth across the sidewalk, weighing my options. I could go home cakeless. No, that wasn’t an option. If I couldn’t find a cake, I could go home with something… cake-like.
That’s it!
Twisting on my heel, I dashed up the street. There was a tiny hole-in-the-wall cupcake shop that always caught my eye. My heart raced when I saw the familiar bubbly pink sign.
Then it sank when I read the wordsCLOSED.
I groaned loudly and rested my head against the brick wall. I sighed. This was just another hurdle. There must have been somewhere else I hadn’t checked yet.
Behind me, I heard the familiarbleepsound of a checkout line.
I whirled around.
“Of course!” I gasped. The supermarket was right behind me!
Less than twenty minutes before Victor would come home.
I ran inside, slowing down only to avoid crashing into people, and headed straight for the bakery section. Ignoring the - admittedly heavenly - scent of fresh bread, I focused on my sole target: finding Victor a damn birthday cake.
At last the glass counter that held the sweet baked goods came into view. My gaze flitted from the colourful array of cakes, designer candies and macarons to make eye contact with the employee standing behind the counter.
Except he wasn’t looking at me, because he was already helping another customer - one who was choosing a birthday cake.
Not again!”
I made a break for the glass counter, desperate to get my claws on at leastsomethingthat resembled a cake for my mate’s birthday. I was almost there when the customer at the counter before me turned around and I ran smack dab into the middle of his chest.
“Oh my God, I’m so, so sorry - ”
“Liam?”
I stopped as the familiar voice reached my ears. A warm, comforting scent flooded my nose and instantly I wanted to sink into it. Then I realized what the hell I was doing and backed off.
But the stranger in front of me wasn’t a stranger at all.
“Victor?” I yelped. “What are you doing here?”
Victor cocked a brow and looked me over. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I was - well, it’s kind of a long story,” I mumbled.
Victor smirked. “I’ve got time.”
