I was elbow deep in bread dough on a Wednesday, trying to finish up some rye bread for my favorite Russian, who I was meeting tonight at the coffee shop for one of our usual meetings. I couldn't get to my phone right away when it buzzed with an incoming message.
Luke was right on top of it for me. "Hey, Jessie..." He peered at my phone. "Do you want to grab this text right now or should I be really concerned about the fact that you apparently have a hot stalker cop?"
I felt my cheeks burn. "You know I went out with him for coffee on Saturday night."
He smirked and walked by me to kiss my cheek. "Yes, but it's fun to tease you."
I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm almost done with the dough, I'll pick it up in a minute." I said, kneading the dough again before scooping it all up and depositing it in a bowl for its final rise before I would form it into loaves and bake it.
"All right." He said before disappearing into his office.
I washed my hands quickly, feeling my heart beat faster as I wondered what Josh was texting about. Yes, it was a two-way street. Yes, I absolutely could have texted him before today. However, I felt that we were still in such an early stage of knowing each other for anything more than just a good coffee date last weekend that I didn't want to seem overeager and also, I wasn't fully familiar with his work schedule yet.
Seeing someone who generally worked a graveyard shift was totally new and different.
But intriguing.
And interesting and sounded like it might be a fun adventure to have before leaving for France.
I swiped my phone open and read the text.
Hot stalker cop: Hey, so I hope that this isn't too forward, but I was wondering if you'd have time to meet me this week. To be honest, it has to be early because of when I get off work, I think a breakfast date would be best.
Hmm. A breakfast date. How unique. I smiled before texting back.
~Works for me. Please tell me it won't be so early that we can't go to that doughnut place you were talking about? ~
Hot stalker cop: Glazed? That would be awesome. And yes, it was totally on my mind as far as where we should go. Will I need to turn in my southern gentleman's card if I ask you out for tomorrow morning? Like 6 am?
~ I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing tomorrow morning at 6 am. ~
I debated throwing a flirty little smilie face in there but decided against it at the last minute before hitting send.
Hot stalker cop: If I wasn't working tonight, I can assure you that sleep is usually at the top of my list of things to do at 6 am.
I laughed. ~Sleep is overrated, my friend. And the prospect of sleep pales in the shadow of doughnuts at 6 am with the hottest stalker cop I know. ~
Hot stalker cop: You know other stalker cops? You have to fill me in on my competition. I can't stand if I'm not the only stalker cop you know.
~You're aware that makes you totally fit the role of the stalker part of your nickname, right? ~ I definitely added an eyebrow raised gif to the message right after this one.
Hot stalker cop: You're right. I'm sorry. I only have the best of intentions towards you. I'll see you tomorrow at Glazed at 6 am. Have a good rest of the day, baker bird.
I smiled. ~I will. Have a good shift and stay safe, okay? ~
Hot stalker cop: I will.
I pocketed my phone and went about the rest of my baking with a smile on my face and daydreams about someone else's doughnut shop.
Luke stood close and watched me as I patted the last loaf of rye bread. "You're more cheerful now." He observed.
"Date tomorrow morning." I said. "And don't you dare tell anyone but Sang and Sean." I pointed a finger at him before jabbing it into his chest, leaving behind a flour fingerprint. "Got it?"
He tilted his head. "What's in it for me?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
I rolled my eyes. "Doughnuts." I finally said, turning away to slide the bread dough back to its warming spot for a few minutes of rising before I baked them.
His eyes gleamed. "Okay." He said before tugging the end of my ponytail and grabbing a cookie from the pan in the cooling rack and walking away.
I scowled after him. "I think I've been had." I mumbled. However, I was already planning on bringing him doughnuts, so I hadn't actually given up anything more than I was prepared to give anyway.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I was feeling my nerves at 5 am when I finally gave up on sleep and rolled out of bed. Raven had been just the centering influence I needed last night.
Like always.
But the calm I felt after meeting with him had disappeared by the time I finally went to bed, determined to try and get some sleep. Fortunately, I was off today and had no pressing engagements this weekend that needed preparation today. There was an event or two, but I didn't need to work on the desserts until at least tomorrow.
Which was good, because after meeting Josh for breakfast, I was surely going to need a nap at some point today. So, I'd meet up with Josh and pop by Sang's house drop off Luke's doughnuts because it was his day off today too. If I was lucky, I'd be able to just crash there and get the sleep I would be craving later. And then there would be a dinner invitation.
At 20, it was one of the things I knew I could count on. Mom was going to be working and no one in that household believed that I could or should be sent home to deal with my own dinner.
It was kinda nice.
It was different than things had been years ago when they first had all moved in together. Things had taken a major turn for the better after I'd basically called everyone out on the carpet when I was 17.
I should have found my voice sooner.
That was on me. And I didn't blame anyone, it was just nice to know.
I got out of bed, stretching for a moment before sliding into a few yoga poses that would help me get centered again. I didn't linger because I needed to leave in a bit and I desperately wanted a shower to complete my waking up process. It didn't take me long to shower and get dressed, leaving my wet hair down and only taking the time to slide a bit of lip gloss over my lips.
The route to Glazed took me on my favorite route to school, which allowed me time, as usual, to sit at my favorite intersection and gaze at the building I hoped could become the location for my future restaurant.
Today, I couldn't resist.
I dug my phone out and snapped several pictures of the location and the intersection before I grabbed a few shots of what could be seen from the side streets to confirm that there weren't any coffee shops, bakeries or bistros around. I sent a text to Owen, including the pictures. ~just wanted someone else to see this. I'm not ready to talk premises yet but I really hope we can make this work in 3 years. ~
I tucked my phone away and drove on to Glazed once the light had changed again. I found good parking close to the doughnut shop and made my way inside, pausing to take a deep breath once I was in the door and hold it for a moment. My eyes closed, and I felt a smile grow on my face as the wonderful yeasty, sugary smell invaded my being.
Oh, there wasn't hardly anything better to smell in the world.
"You made it." A deep voice sounded in my ear and I opened my eyes and my smile broadened as I looked at Josh.
"I did." I confirmed.
He smiled and leaned forward to kiss my cheek. "I'm glad." He murmured before sliding his hand around my arm and escorting me up to the counter to order my doughnuts. I couldn't help but stare at the doughnuts. They were so pretty, and Luke would be going nuts over them.
"You first." I looked up at Josh. "I might be in love with this menu and it could take me a while."
He laughed. "Okay, fine." He said before placing his order for an Irish Car Bomb doughnut, a bacon apple fritter and a decaf coffee.
"Decaf, hmm?" I smiled.
"I need to be able to fall asleep in an hour or two. I don't want to risk it." He said. "Your turn." He smiled.
"Fine." I moved in front of him. "A purple goat and a raspberry buttercream and a vanilla latte please." I moved to grab my wallet, but Josh stepped back in front of me.
"I've got it." He said. "Please." His eyes searched mine.
"Okay. I'll go grab us a table then." I said. I would order Luke's doughnuts before I left. I snapped a quick picture of their display case so that I could taunt him with it later.
Hey, I love Luke the best out of all of them but I'm still the bratty little sister.
Josh smiled, and I headed away from the register to go find us a table. I studied my surroundings after I sat down, and I had fallen in love with the bakery as soon as I finished my look around. I'm sure that I will fall even more in love with it once I got to eat my doughnuts.
Josh was soon dropping into the seat across from me and turning the tray around so that my doughnuts and coffee were closest to me. "Good choices." He commented. "I love the raspberry buttercream."
I smiled. "So, do I get to try yours? I mean, in the interest of getting a taste for their entire menu as well as meaning I won't eat my weight in doughnuts before the end of the day?"
"I'm happy to provide a bite." He said with a grin. "One bite of each. After that, you're on your own."
"Oh, thank you." I rolled my eyes at him before taking a sip of my latte, pleased that he'd also ordered water to go with it. I watched as he carefully cut off a bite of his fritter and placed it on my plate before doing the same with his other doughnut. "Cheers." I murmured, reaching for the fritter first and tapping it against the rest of his doughnut as he raised it to take a bite. I popped it in my mouth and my eyes almost bugged out.
So. Damn. Good.
I think I might have moaned my approval of the fritter.
It's very possible seeing as when I finally swallowed the bite and chased it with a long drink of water, Josh was staring at me, one other bite taken from his fritter and his mouth was slightly open as he watched me. I felt my cheeks flush with color. "Sorry. It's really good." I said, hurriedly, before making a mental note to up my doughnut game.
His mouth snapped closed and he chewed quickly before winking at me."I know" He smirked. "And that reaction tells me that we may end up breakfasting here a lot."
I laughed. "Well, that's absolutely possible because it's on my way to school." I said. "Once classes start up again in September, I think I will be very easy to persuade to meet here." I quickly tried his other doughnut before digging in to mine. I was blown away by flavor combos in the Purple Goat doughnut. Seriously, mixed berry and goat cheese filling and a lavender glaze? I was definitely going to have to do more experimenting with flavor combinations. I halfway suspected the filling would make a great cake filling as well. Maybe in a vanilla cupcake with lavender buttercream.
We were silent for a long while as we ate before Josh leaned forward. "So... what didn't we cover last time?" He asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and finishing his coffee.
I smiled and finished my raspberry buttercream doughnut. It was also excellent. A great use of a chocolate cake doughnut. "I'm not sure." I admitted. "But I think we should figure out some timing and schedules because I'd love to talk to you more often and not just through texting." I admitted, feeling my friendly neighborhood butterflies begin the opening dance to their fluttering swarm.
His eyes lit up. "I like that idea. I'd like to talk more often to you. Don't get me wrong, I love texting. It does make sense to text because of the fact that I work at night. But my shift usually starts around 10 PM and ends between 5 and 5:30 AM unless we catch a case that requires more attention. I'm almost always off Saturday through Monday."
"But you still try to stay up or at least on the same sort of sleeping schedule those days, right?" I asked, drawing my finger down the outside of my water glass and watching the water run down to pool on the table.
"Not so much on Sunday really, Saturday can often mean sleep at night so that I can meet people for brunch or watch football or baseball on Sundays." He said.
"Okay, so technically, we could more than likely hang out on Saturday nights and if that's not working out with my catering schedule, Sunday morning would likely be available?" I mused.
"Very likely." He nodded, reaching out and resting a hand on top of mine. "I really like you. I would be sorely remiss to not mention that."
I tilted my head and watched him, turning my hand over as it rested beneath his so that our palms touched, and I curled my fingers up, lacing them through his. "I'd be sorely remiss to not mention that I really like you too." I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'd also feel like I was leading you on if I didn't mention that I have very firm plans to go to Paris in January for two years."
He frowned slightly. "Oh?" But he didn't pull his hand away and I nodded slightly. "Well, the timing of this is rather unfortunate, then, isn't it..."
It was an observation, not a question and I nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that so far, it would appear that I have terrible timing when it comes to trying to pursue relationships."
The corners of his lips quirked upward. "I didn't say it was bad, Jessica. Just that it's unfortunate."
"So, what do you mean by that?"
He pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. "Well, sweetie, I think it means that we are okay to go into this with our eyes wide open. No games, just taking time to get to know each other and spend time together." He arched an eyebrow at me. "I'm hopeful that it will include kissing at some point."
I chuckled softly. "I really think you're operating so far out of the lines when it comes to those rules and regulations for southern gentlemen." I teased, giving his hand a squeeze. "But I like the way you think, hot stalker cop."
"You do?"
"I do." I nodded. "My takeaway from your description is also that it means we are both to be aware of and on the same page about an expiration date for this current version of a relationship."
"Expiration date?" he questioned.
"I can't think of any other way to describe it." I admitted. "Basically, it would be our agreement that no matter what, we know this is ending on December 29th. My flight to Paris leaves on the 30th and I won't be back for two years. If we're both in Charleston when I get back, then we can certainly entertain the idea of getting back together but I'm not expecting you to sit around and wait for me. I want you to be happy and not just biding your time waiting."
"So that would also mean that either one of us could move up the deadline, right?" He asked. "I mean, you've set the length of our relationship to be only until December 29th. If we discover that either of us wants to end it sooner, we can do that. No pressure from me to make you stay in a relationship that isn't working."
I nodded. "That makes sense. No pressure from me to make you stay either if there's a deal breaker we figure out together."
"Do we need to put it in writing? Shake on it?" he teased, giving my hand a squeeze.
"I'm okay without a written agreement." I said with a slight shoulder shrug. My eyes met his and I licked my lips. "I think it should be sealed with a kiss though." I said.
"You do?" He asked, amusement clear on his face.
"I do. I mean, what good is an agreement about the end of the relationship if we're not going to click when we kiss?"
"You make a very good point." He murmured.
"I usually do." I smirked. "It's one of my best qualities."
He got up from his chair, still holding my hand as he came over to my side of the table and drew me out of my seat. "Then seal it with a kiss is what we'll do." He murmured, and my eyes met his as I nodded slightly. He kept his hand tight around mine as his other hand came up to slide into the hair at the base of my neck before he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me.
My eyes closed against the sudden onslaught of feeling and the pressure of his lips on mine. The butterflies beat a fast rhythm in my stomach and I sighed softly against his lips, my lips parting as he deepened the kiss.
He pulled away after several long moments. "I think we click."
"We absolutely click." I agreed, giving his hand a squeeze. He smiled and pressed another quick kiss to my lips before he pulled away and tried to stifle a yawn this time.
"My deepest apologies. You are not boring, and your kiss does not make me fall asleep. That would be the shift I just finished." He said.
"No offense taken." I said. "I really should let you go so you can sleep today. We can talk later before you go to work tonight." I said.
"That sounds like a really good idea." He said. "Can I walk you to your car?"
"Absolutely. I just need to buy a couple doughnuts for one of my brothers. Okay?"
"Sure. I'll pick up our table." He said.
"And I will meet you at the door then." I said, leaning forward to kiss him again. He was just a couple inches taller than me, kissing was rather nice since I didn't have to stretch into a tiptoe to do it. I reluctantly pulled away, glancing back at him as I waited in line at the counter to order a s'more and a cookies and cream doughnut for Luke.
Josh took my hand as we walked out the door and waited for me to motion to the direction that we'd be walking in. "I didn't park that far away from here either." He said.
"Good, then you won't be walking in the complete opposite direction from your car." I said, glancing at him. It didn't take long to reach my car. "Well, this is me." I said as he stopped and turned me towards him.
"Good car." He commented before reaching up with his free hand and tucking a loose strand of hair back behind my ear. His touch made my skin tingle and I almost forgot to breathe as I stared at him. "I'm going to kiss you again." He warned me.
"Bring it, hot stalker cop." I murmured, barely finishing his nickname before his lips crashed down on mine and he kissed me deeply before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine.
"I'll call you before work tonight." He murmured.
"Sounds good." I said, softly, reluctantly pulling way and clicking the locks on my key fob. "You're going to make it home okay, right?"
"Sure thing, sweetie." He smiled and opened my door for me.
"Text me when you get home? I'm going to spend the day with Sang but my phone will be on."
"Absolutely." He said, earning him another kiss before I slipped into the driver's seat and he shut the door for me.
I set Luke's doughnuts on the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt before starting the car, I gave him a finger wave and a smile before I pulled away from the curb and headed towards Sang's house, watching as he grew smaller in my rearview mirror.