Aspen Holiday

Chapter 5 - Sweet Treat

In terms of baked goods, my brother doesn't really mind anything, like he'll eat it all if he has to. He just won't choose to or get super excited like I do when I see a baked good. That applies to everything besides gingerbread. Ace loves gingerbread and will eat all of it in one sitting if no one is watching. I have a secret spot in the pantry — at home — where I stash gingerbread away from my brother when it's that time of the year so it won't just all be gone by the time I get home from school.

Caleb is the opposite. He loves candy and all baked goods — except for gingerbread. It's funny how Ace and Caleb are such good friends, yet they are polar opposites in practically everything.

"Why the fuck?" Ace said, gesturing to Caleb's apron and then his own.

Ace got a nice brown and obnoxious gingerbread apron that is so obviously a women gingerbread and way too small and Cal just got a simple red apron that clearly is for a guy per how it is made.

"Hey!" Caleb cried with Ace's hand and tried to swoop the back of his apron to untie it, jumping out of the way. "Don't shoot the messenger. I just grabbed and gave — no forethought."

"Bull." Ace declared.

"Easy. Little ears here, little-innocent ears." Caleb said, placing both of his hands over my ears.

I rolled my eyes, scoffing at the hypocritical nature of my brother's best friend, before pulling away from his grasp. "Please, Cal, you need a swear jar you curse so much."

"Oh I see how it is; time to gang up on Cal isn't it? Do I need to change my last name to Chamber's or something to get into this contract?"

"Just ... start." Ace muttered, placing a hand on the bridge of his nose in annoyance. But he clearly wasn't that annoyed as he got up from his chair at the table and walked over so he was ready to help in the kitchen.

I looked from both of the men in the house who were staring with blank expressions on their faces.

"Okay..." I started, trying to get anything into their brains before I quickly realized this was up to me. "We're going to need a mixer, the measuring tools — Cal you go get that." I was forced to choose one of them as they both continued to stand there. "Then we'll at least need flour, powdered sugar, butter, eggs, chocolate chips — Ace you go get all of those." I ordered the second one who nodded and walked off into the pantry. "And I'll look up a recipe online." I muttered to myself.

In just a few short moments and some really stupid questions from both of them I had everything I had asked for right in front of me — not quite everything I needed but I also hadn't found my favorite recipe yet.

"Which kind should we do first? Chocolate chip or gingerbread?"

"Chocolate chip!" Caleb yelled.

"Gingerbread." Ace muttered, ever so calm.

The pair turned to each other, glares fixated on their faces.

"I said it louder," The blonde-haired one argued.

"Don't care." The black-haired one responded, bluntly.

"Okay..." I started again, waving my hand in front of their faces to pull them back to my attention. "Why don't we do the gingerbread first" — I attempted to drown out Caleb's childish whining that came from his mouth and the stomping of his foot on the ground — "So that we can make the chocolate chip cookies when we're cutting the gingerbread and they can both go in the oven at the same time."

"Fine." Caleb grumbled.

"Great." I deadpanned, much like my brother and then pulled my phone back up so I could list off the next couple of ingredients we would be needing that I didn't already know when I sent Caleb and Ace into the fridge and pantry for the first time.