With Icing on Top - (BadBoyHalo x Baker)

Dreaming

"I want you to stay here...with me." He squeezes my hand quickly before letting go and I am left speechless. I don't know what to say. To be completely honest, I don't even really understand what he means.

"What?" I say dumbly, wanting to stand up from the patio table and run out. At this rate I am only getting three hours of sleep and I already feel like I could fall asleep in this chair. Everything is moving too fast for me even if the air surrounding me is at a complete standstill. Right now is the most calm today has been and I still feel overwhelmed.

"Everything's better with you here! The desserts are better and Hannah is baking the fastest she ever has. Not to mention I feel better when you are around." He says it all while looking at the ground except for the last three words. He says those while looking me in the eyes. Half of me feels flattered but I am also filled with some self righteous rage. He can't do this to me! I have my own bakery that has won awards and has a growing number of regulars. I refuse to stand under Damien, I already did that for four years in culinary school. He was destined to be the next big chef with the "little baker girl" at his side. Does he really think I am going to let that be a reality?

"Damien, I can't do that. I refuse to." I say this calmly even though my insides are withering around like a wasp in a jar. I quickly stand up from the patio table and look him in the eyes.

"I didn't sign up for a position. I am teaching Hannah and that is all." I go for the door as I pull my phone out to get an Uber. I silently pray that one is close. Before I can even open the app though a hand closes around my wrist. It isn't an intimate grab of the wrist like with Darryl, it's a desperate one and it hurts. I get spun quickly around and am met with large chocolate eyes.

"Can you please think about it." Damien says with a grin pulling at the edges of his mouth. He thinks he already knows the answer.

"No." I deadpan leaving the place behind not caring if I don't have this job tomorrow morning. When I am rested I may regret this decision but right now I am just happy to be away from Damien. I may be even happier to be away from the weird emotions he makes me feel. It is dreadfully obvious that I am still attracted to him but he is the exact same as he was in culinary school. He is still self-centered and stubborn. I leave The Etruscan Table and book an Uber. It is a five minute wait so I sit on the front steps, willing myself to stay awake. Tears threaten to seep out but I keep them contained. I am so tired. I check the time and it is 11:20pm when I do that I see that I have a multitude of unread messages. Many of them are from Darryl.

Muffin ❤️
Hey are you okay? You ran out really fast.
Can I help you with anything?
(Sent 2:00pm)

Are you busy tonight? Maybe we can do something, I promise I won't fall asleep again haha. ^_^
(Sent 5:00pm)

Goodnight Muffin
(Sent 10:00pm)

I feel like the biggest muffin head in the world as a black Uber rolls up to a stop in front of me. I think the person driving the Uber says something so I go "mmm" in response as I type out a response to Bad. I haven't done anything wrong but I feel like I have. The Uber driver gets the message and stops trying to make small talk with me. I feel slightly bad but then I zero in on typing a message out to Darryl and the guilt from being dismissive quickly leaves my mind.

Me
I'm sorry! I'm teaching a restaurant some of my baking recipes and I somehow got roped in to helping with orders. I wasn't ignoring you so please don't think I was. I would never ignore you. Goodnight Bad ❤️

I sigh and lay my head against the back of the seat. Feeling lighter as a little bit of tension leaves my body. I feel like one of those wind-up toys except the kid never stops winding. Even when it feels like the mechanism inside is about to break, the kid just keeps twisting the lever.