My Dirty Affair

Chapter Seven

I didn't know why I came. I suppose I needed a friend, which is dumb considering I had plenty of friends I could call and spend the day with. It seemed unconscious that I found myself moving, walking to my car, and driving to the bakery. It was bustling for the middle of Wednesday and I had to wait in line before I made it to the register. A young woman, average height, blonde, and extremely attractive smiled at me. "Welcome, would you like to try our zeppole pastry this afternoon?"

I smiled back, my eyes wondering to her nametag that read Ashley. "Hi, Ashley, is Jon here?"

"No, not at the moment, but I think he's coming in later." She said.

"Thanks, I think I'll have one of those zeppoles now."

Ashley's smile broadened and she entered it in the system then read me the price. One of the things I loved about this bakery is that nothing was over priced and it turns out I actually liked the sugary goodness of the fried doughnut and the cherry on top. I found myself walking back up the register to order another one when the little bell at the top of the entrance door sounded signaling someone coming into the building and for some reason I turned and saw Jon walk through the door. Immediately I changed my direction and walked to him.

"Hey," he said, shock swimming in his green eyes. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"The zeppole was calling for me."

"Ah, I see you tried it." Out of nowhere he reached toward me and plucked a crumb from the corner of my mouth. "Were you going back for seconds?"

I shifted my face to the ground. "That's embarrassing."

"Not really, I love it when a woman stuffs her face."

I gasped. "I was not stuffing my face."

"Nothing to be ashamed of." He winked and started walking again and I followed. "Hey, Ash, how are you?"

Ashley tended to the customer in front of her and when that was over, she turned to Jon. Her smiled wider than ever. "I'm good."

"That's great. Have you met my friend Melinda?"

"Yeah." Ashley glanced my way then returned her gaze back to Jon. "She came in her asking for you earlier."

She did not just say that. I mentally replayed her words in my head and realized she did say that. Jon hadn't immediately responded to that, instead he looked to me and I saw something flicker in his eyes before holding his somber expression. "Ring her up for another zeppole—two—and put it on the house."

Ashley looked like that was not what she wanted me to do, but did it anyway. Then she moved to pack two of the pastries in a to-go box and handed them to me.

"Thank you." I said.

"Anytime."

Suddenly I questioned myself as to why I was here, standing in front of this man whom I've barely known for a week. Maybe I did know, but was too afraid to admit it. No! No! No! I am a married woman now, to feel anyway or want anything with anyone other than my husband was forbidden and unlawful. Perhaps I came her for just companionship in the friendly sense. Either way, I wasn't getting attention from the other man in my life and that made me feel alone. What was I doing here?

"Melinda?"

I'd forgotten that I was standing in front of the register again, in front of Jon and we were having a semi-conversation as he started his shift at work. "I probably should—"

"What's wrong?"

Ashley had walked away a long time ago to assist a customer, which meant we were alone and away from earshot. "Nothing."

A ghost of a smile curled his lips. "Liar." Before I could argue, he said, "Are you sure?"

No. My husband hasn't spent time with me other than when we were on our honeymoon. Paying me attention wasn't Ellis' strong suit after being with him for over five years and I thought it'd be different now that we were married. I have suspicions that he's hiding something but I won't act on it because I might be wrong. Other than that, I am perfectly fine. "Yeah, I just wanted something to snack on before I finished off my day. I've got a dinner to go to with my in-laws."

"Where's your husband?"

"He's . . ." I searched desperately for an excuse. "He's in the car waiting for me."

Jon looked like he honestly didn't believe that lie for a second, but he didn't push it. "You two have a nice rest of the day."

"Thank you." I hugged my box of zeppoles closer to my chest. "I'll see you around."

"How about tomorrow night? You and your husband can come by here and listen to the band that comes to play. It starts at seven, but before that it gets busy. It's great publicity for the guys playing and they're pretty good."

"Ellis, that's my husband's name. If you didn't know that already." After all he catered to our wedding. "I'll talk to it with him and maybe we'll swing by."

"Great, I'll see you then."

I couldn't help the smile that played on my lips. "You sound like I said yes. I said maybe."

"I know, but a man can be hopeful."

I turned quickly, hiding my blush before he saw.

Later that day I started to call Emily to come over to help me pick a dress for the dinner tonight with Robert, then I thought of calling Kaya, or Cassie, or Kimberly, actually all of my friends because I didn't want to be alone, but I couldn't bring myself to dial their numbers. Instead I listened to Ellis' voicemail.