"Love starts as a feeling, but to continue is a choice. And I find myself choosing you, more and more everyday." — Justin Wetch.
The small bell rings atop the bakery door, letting out a chime throughout the emptiness.
There is no one else around, except the shy looking girl behind the counter - this is the first thing the tall, dark haired boy notices as he steps inside. The second thing he notices is the smell; breads and pastries by the dozen, all presented beautifully behind the glass near the checkout area. The smell is intoxicating, he notes, before walking further towards the counter.
The noise catches the attention of the girl behind the register, and she looks up in surprise. She hadn't been expecting anyone for a while, because they open at seven sharp, and it was only three minutes past. But in an instant, she catches the eyes of the figure walking towards her.
"Welcome to Rose's, how can I help you?" Her voice fills the space, and the boy walking towards her almost trips over his own two feet. Her voice alone was almost as beautiful as she was, which was very, by the way. She was all small smiles and light eyes, he thought, while feeling his stomach do flips.
He realizes all too quickly that he had reached the counter and was staring into her hazel eyes without even saying anything. God, say something, he pleads with himself, before muttering, "Donuts?"
The girl raises a brow but obliges, moving swiftly to the right before grabbing a pair of tongs and a paper bag. The boy is nervous as hell, and even the girl can tell.
"And what kind would you like?" She asks softly, grinning nicely at the boy. His hair is black, but it doesn't look dyed or unhealthy. It looks natural - given the white streak running through the front. That part has to be fake, her thoughts tell her. Regardless, she thinks it looks cool. His icy blue eyes take her in, and she shifts her weight, feeling nervous.
"Um-" The boy is back to not knowing what to say, "What... well, what kind do you like?"
The girl tilts her head in confusion before he corrects himself, "I mean, what kind would you suggest?"
The girl looks down at the donut section, her eyes landing on one with white icing and a chocolate drizzle. It is their best seller, and she has a feeling he will like it.
She picks it up and places it in the bag, meeting his eyes again, "Anything else?"
Your number? The boy's mind interjects, but he presses his lips together and shakes his head gently at her, "That'll be it, actually."
The girl is quick to input the order into the register, and the boy is quick to pay, but he hesitates longer than necessary.
"I- um... thank you," The boy studies her name tag, "Luna."
"No problem..." She trails off, expecting him to say his name.
"Jason." He says, grinning a bit. The shadow of a dimple forms on his cheek, and she feels herself smiling a bit too, "No problem, Jason. Have a good day."
And he does; even as he stumbles through the doorway awkwardly when leaving, and even as he is late to work with donut in hand, he has a good day - because he knows he is going to visit her again tomorrow.
chapter 2
Jason's choices had always affected him in a bad way, but with Luna, that wasn't the case. He could feel it.
He had talked himself up the entire day at work. He had thought out every possible outcome that could come from the simple act of asking her on a date, but he was still terrified to say the least. Excited, of course, but terrified.
His nerves hadn't even calmed down when that bell on top of the door let out the exact same chime it had the day before, and they somehow got worse as he saw Luna standing behind that same counter. Her hair was up, her bangs were down, and he thought she looked stunning.
"Jason," She grins, shocking him a bit because he didn't think she'd remember his name, "Back so soon?"
Jason knew how to do this - flirt. He had always been decent at it.
Now isn't the time to choke, he reminds himself before putting on his best grin.
"Yeah, I know a good donut when I taste one."
He wants to cringe immediately at his own words but keeps a brave face for Luna's sake. He feels himself sigh in relief when she chuckles.
"I'll let Rose know you like them."
Jason is now at the counter, leaning with his elbow propped up on top of it slightly, "Oh, is this the famous Rose of Rose's Bakery?"
Luna stifles a laugh, "More like Rose's great granddaughter. They carried the name."
She doesn't know why she's doing this. Talking to him like she knows him. She doesn't know him, but... a part of her really wants to.
"Well," Jason starts, "maybe I could get another of the chocolate drizzle ones?"
"Sure thing." Luna says, already moving to grab it.
Okay, it's now or never, Jason is talking himself up; afraid that if he doesn't do it, he'll have lost the nerve to, forever. The whole interaction is going pretty fast, and he mentally curses himself for not being good at stalling.
"So I was, um... I was wondering."
Jason's voice is shaking slightly, and Luna pretends to mess with the register to avoid looking at him.
"Would you want to do something sometime?"
This is when she meets those blue eyes of his again.
"Like a date. With me, obviously." He laughs nervously, waiting for her answer.
Luna's eyes light up at the question and she is surprised. She thought he was attractive, but she didn't think he would feel the same way.
Jason continues nervously, "I mean, it's completely fine if you don't want to, or if you're busy. Maybe you work a lot, and that's okay, honestly. You look like you might work a lot and-"
"Jason?" She cuts him off, now trying to hide her smile.
He hums in question, hands shaking under the counter.
"I'd love to go on a date with you."
chapter 3
Jason's tie was uncomfortable, but he made a mental note to suck it up, given the fact that he wore it to impress Luna.
They agreed to meet on the corner near Walter's Coffee and Brew, since it was coincidentally the halfway point between both of their apartments.
Jason arrived early, of course, even though the restaurant was a simple two-minute walk from Walter's. Still, he wanted to be prepared.
But when he saw the stunning brunette who had already been floating around in his thoughts all day long, thoughts of preparation went straight out the window.
"Luna," he breaths, admiring the way her simple olive colored dress hugs her hips. She grins at him, noticing a blush take form on his cheeks.
"Fancy seeing you here." She teases.
Jason only chuckles, shifting slightly so they can begin the short walk to Nino's, the Italian restaurant they previously agreed on. Once arriving, they quickly enter and find a booth near a large window; the city outside is twinkling with lights both small and large, and they think it is beautiful. Soft music makes its way around the restaurant, and the two settle into a comfortable silence for a while.
"So," Luna speaks up finally, meeting eyes with Jason, "Who is Jason Novak?"
She wiggles her eyebrows playfully at him, causing him to laugh.
"He's actually very boring," Jason replies, not really knowing how to describe his entire self to her. Luna only shakes her head, "I highly doubt that. Come on, tell me the first thing comes to your mind."
Jason shrugs, "Well... I work in a boring office, I'm picky about my food touching, and..."
He doesn't know how to finish. Luna gently adds, "And you like donuts."
The comment makes him smirk. He nods firmly, feeling his smirk widen as she looks pleased with herself.
"Yes, and I like donuts."
They laugh together, and he asks her the same question. She's quick to reply.
"I've worked at Rose's for two years, I hate green beans, and I also like donuts."
More laughter resonates between them, and before they know it, the rest of the night is passing in a blur. A giddy, secret spilled, laughter-filled blur. One moment, they're talking about the bakery while eating pasta, the next, he's walking Luna home. His jacket is hanging loosely from her shoulders, and the street lamps are illuminating her hair.
"This is me," Luna says softly, turning to face Jason in the half-illuminated darkness when they arrive outside her place.
His face looks sharper like this, she thinks as they stand near another street lamp, half shadow, half light.
"I had a great time tonight." Jason speaks up, glancing around nervously. Luna is nervous too, she's just better at hiding it.
"Me too." Her words are quiet, almost silent. They are practically being carried away by the wind that blows between the two of them.
"I guess I will see you soon?" Jason asks, feeling lame while looking down at the girl. She doesn't seem bothered by his question.
"I really hope so."
Jason leans down only an inch, and for a second, Luna is convinced he'll try to kiss her. But then, his hand lifts, and he's tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her breath catches in her throat, more surprised at the movement than she should be.
"Goodnight, Luna." Jason speaks quietly, almost in whisper, as he gazes down into Luna's eyes.
"Goodnight, Jason." She says back, almost wishing he'd kiss her now.
Instead of closing the gap between the two, Jason steps back, and then rises to his full height. With a small grin and a wave of his hand, he is gone all too quickly - andLuna is left alone, heart pounding in her chest before she remembers that his jacket is still around her shoulders.
chapter 4
Luna is in the middle of wiping down the counter when Jason walks into Rose's. Wearing black jeans, sneakers and a layered shirt-sweater-jacket combo, Jason is in casual wear. It is Saturday, after all.
"Long time no see, Jason." Luna grins, motioning towards his other jacket she purposely placed on the coat hanger near the entrance. He does a once over and then continues towards her, smiling widely.
"You saw me a day ago, you're so dramatic."
She pretends to be offended, smacking his arm with her cleaning towel before putting it back in her apron.
"Don't you have more important things to do than buy donuts on a Saturday morning?"
He did, but he chose to come see her instead. He knew he should give her some space, but he didn't know how to - nor did he really want to. There was something telling him to go back, to go see her face and hear her voice. Something telling him that he just needed to.
"Of course, I came to bug you."
This causes Luna to roll her eyes, already grabbing his usual: plain, white icing, chocolate drizzle donut.
"It's on the house," Luna says, handing him the small, pink colored bag. He tilts his head at her.
"What? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to flirt with me."
"I don't flirt by buying guys donuts."
"I beg to differ." Jason replies, taking a big bite out of the donut. Luna scrunches up her nose at him, giggling.
"Get outta here with your free donut, I've got customers to serve." Luna grins, hearing the bell ring on top of the door, signaling another customer has arrived. It's Miss Madison, the old lady who comes in every Saturday. Seeing her makes Luna smile.
"Okay, okay. See you soon." Jason says, making sure to grab his jacket on the way out. He shoots Luna a flirty wink as he leaves, causing her face to heat up.
"Oh, he's seems lovely, dear!" Miss M. comments after he's gone, beaming at her.
Luna bites her lip to hide her smile, starting to prepare her order.
"Yeah, he is. He really is."
chapter 5
It had been a few weeks since Miss Madison's small comment to Luna, and it had been bouncing back and forth in her head ever since. Jason was lovely, even Luna knew that, and she was grateful she had met him. She didn't even feel like she was rushing anything, she just felt comfortable with him. She woke up every day ready to see him again, ready to prioritize him above all every single time, and that's what she did. Lucky for her, each interaction was somehow better than the last, and it always brightened up her day.
Today was slightly different. Mainly because she had been stuck inside Rose's since six in the morning.
The usual baker, Theo, had called in sick. This meant that Luna had to spend her entire Sunday preparing dozens of items on the menu. Not only donuts, but cakes, muffins, and cinnamon rolls all in bulk. She had been surrounded by mixing bowls for the majority of the day, and she was covered in a combination of flour, eggs, and icing. To say she felt gross was an understatement.
And then the bell at the front rang out, interrupting the sound of her music through the kitchen's speakers. Luna had kept the door open, but made sure the closed sign was out, so she had no idea who would come in.
All her worries vanished when she saw who it was, though.
Jason, of course. Standing in the dimly lit front area, looking around in confusion until he spotted Luna.
"What are you doing here?" She asks, wiping her hands on her apron to try and clean them off.
"I saw the lights on and figured you'd be here. It's a good thing I was right because if you weren't it would have been slightly awkward." Jason's lips pull up a bit, his dimple forming as he takes in Luna's appearance.
"Cute look, by the way."
She snorts out a laugh, motioning for him to follow as she goes into the kitchen.
"Thanks. It's my, 'I've been here for hours' look. I think if I even glance at another cupcake again, I'll lose my mind."
This makes Jason chuckle. Without another word, he grabs the nearest apron and moves to wash his hands.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
He keeps his gaze down as he pumps some soap onto his hands, not missing a beat before saying, "Helping you, obviously. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can have a movie night together."
Luna feels her stomach flip at his words. He doesn't need to help her, and yet, here he is. It was already getting late, but Jason doesn't seem to care about the time. This makes Luna's heart swell affectionately as she stares dumbfoundedly at the boy who seems to toss everything else aside when it comes to seeing her.
He glances at her as he dries off his hands, raising an eyebrow, "So you've resorted to shamelessly checking me out, I see."
Luna shakes her head, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Shut up, oh my god."
Jason only grins, moving swiftly to bump his hip against hers playfully.
"Luna, it's fine, really. I check you out all the time."
This makes her blush now, turning so she can grab the nearest bowl and start mixing.
"Well don't hide now that I've declared my love for you," Jason continues, craning his neck so he can find her eyes again. Luna was full on grinning after he speaks, arms outstretched so she can teasingly push him away from her.
"You just don't stop do you?" She asks, trying to cover her face afterwards. Some flour flies off and lands in her hair, and this makes Jason laugh.
In a moment of confidence, he grabs her wrists gently, pulling them away from her face. The ghost of a smile reminds as she looks up at him again, still giggling lightly.
"Not when it comes to you, no." He says gently, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. Luna feels breathless all of a sudden.
He is so close, and she's taking in just how handsome he really is. It's like those moments people always talk about - like when you need glasses, but don't realize you do, and then you finally get them. There's a life changing shift when you're finally able to see everything. Really see everything, as clearly as it was meant to be seen.
Jason is Luna's life changing shift.
Their smiles are gone, now. Jason's hand slowly lifts to brush his thumb across her cheek, and she has to refrain from closing her eyes and leaning against his touch.
"Luna?" Jason whispers, keeping his hand where it is.
It's like everything around them slowly starts melting out of sight. All that remains is the two of them, gazing at each other under the dim lighting of the bakery's kitchen. All Luna has to do is nod softly.
And then - Jason does it.
Luna hears him take in a shaky breath, and then he simply leans down, and presses his lips to hers. And just like that, with flour in her hair, and his lips on hers, Luna finally feels it.
The love that's been building up to this very moment. The moment where she realizes that she wants Jason. Not just now, but every moment even after. The moment where she realizes, simply, that it's him she chooses.
And equally, Luna knows that Jason chooses her too.