Of Literature & Kisses (Forbidden Romance)

Chapter 15 - Dresses

Come Monday morning my perspective was becoming sunnier. Bran was coming home tomorrow night. The day went by moderately quickly, with a lengthy information session for seniors about college and the application process taking up much of the schedule. I had enjoyed myself every minute of it, with Phoenix dozing off beside me in twenty-minute intervals as I diligently took notes good enough for the both of us. When the last period of the day came I was already relaxed, a box of my milk chocolate and salted toffee cookies laying in my hands. I made it to class a few minutes earlier, hoping to give some to Mr. Gallagher as a form of thanks for his more than adequate help this weekend.

My heart resuming its normal quickening when I neared his classroom, I knocked three times before slowly inching the door forward. I peeped my head inside, "Mr. Gallagher?"

"Cece. Come in," he said, voice coming from behind his computer monitor.

I moved to him, standing in front of his desk. "Good afternoon," I began. "I have some cookies I thought you might like. I baked them. Thank you for your help this weekend."

He stood up from his chair, his muscled body towering over me and the monitor. I swallowed the lump that lodged itself in my throat at the sight of him, dressed in a form-fitting white button-up and black pants. His auburn hair must have gotten longer, wilder, in less than two days time.

"You don't have to whisper," he smiled. "No one can hear you."

"I hadn't noticed I was," I murmured, forcing my voice a little louder. "Here. They're supposed to be good." I handed him a small transparent baggie with three cookies from inside the box, wrapped tightly with a red ribbon. He retrieved it, fingers brushing with lightning speed against mine.

He started unwrapping the baggie, taking a single cookie from inside.

"You're leaving with Phoenix today?" He asked, piercing blue eyes calmly searching my face.

"Yes. There's no tutoring today, right?" My brows furrowed questioningly, since his arrangement was that he take me home on the days when tutoring made me stay late at school.

"No. Nothing's changed. Tuesday to Thursday. I just wanted to make sure Phoenix had returned from her trip."

"Oh, she has. I'll be spending the day with her and my older brother returns tomorrow night."

"Perfect," he said, bringing the dessert to his mouth. He took a bite, and I was going to turn away from him to set my books down on my desk when his eyes widened and his lips parted. "My God. What is in this, other than fairy dust and some sort of elixir?"

I laughed, the sound bubbling from my throat. He was smiling at me now, watching me.

"A baker never gives away her secrets."

He shook his head in disbelief. "This is amazing."

"Are you sure it's not just, 'not bad'?"

He took another bite as he rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't be as smart as I thought if you had believed me. You have a great talent here. You're a natural baker. Why don't you take my mother up on her offer and go to her bakery one day? You might learn some things from each other."

I blinked a few times as I wrapped my head around the idea that he didn't mind me knowing his family, even if I was only his student. "I-I'd like that."

He took a sticky note from his desk and wrote a few things. Once I had it in my hands it contained the name of the bakery, the address, and the business number.

***

After school Phoenix didn't take heed to my protests against going to the mall in a search for the upcoming Homecoming Dance. It was scheduled for the first week of October, which meant we were less than two weeks away. Phoenix argued that the best dresses of Boston would soon run out and our chances of duplicate dresses at the dance would increase if we didn't fish out the most unique pieces beforehand.