🎧 Bᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ Sɴᴏᴡ Lᴀᴜғᴇʏ & Nᴏʀᴀʜ Jᴏɴᴇs ↻ ◁ ɪɪ ▷ ↺
A gust of cold air whistled through the opening of the door, louder than the bell hung at the top of the door. With an abrupt shiver running up and down a young baker's spine, she broke concentration from the cookies she was icing.
Scrunched brows, those of the baker, approached the front counter.
"I'm sorry sir, but we're closed."
A young man who carried a frantic look on his face, proceeded in long strides and hands stretched out meeting the bakers.
"Please, I need a cake. My idiot friend dropped one in the pool."
An amused scoff escaped from her lips, slipping her hands out of the strangers. Despite his desperate efforts, the thought of a cake being dropped into the pool in the midst of December seemed difficult to get past.
"He's an idiot," He quickly responded, shaking his head annoyed, allowing a few loose strands to fall from his once perfectly gelled hair. It's given her the idea that he might've ran all this way for a rebound cake. Also taking into consideration the heavy pants and sweat bead beginning to form at the temples of his head.
"Do you think you could make me another one?"
The baker peeked at the clock past his shoulder, noticing the late hour. There's no doubt that every shop had been closed off by now. She was this stranger's last hope, creating a weight pressing onto her shoulders. "Okay."
His eyes lit up and the relief had taken over him, pulling the bakery for a hug over the counter.
"Sir?" Her voice cracks, stiff as a board, awkwardly patting the back of the stranger who had her in his arms.
"Sorry." He quickly pulled away, scratching a non-existent itch at the back of his neck.
There was a pause as she tried to hold back a smile at his shy demeanor.
"You can come around back." She gestured for him to follow. "No one's here."
The young man had followed, nose in the air, taking in the scent of freshly baked pastries. The warmth of goodies in the oven around them wrapped him cozily, in contrast to the winter wonderland outside.
Tightening and flattening out the apron around her waist she moved fluidly around the kitchen, setting aside a batch of cookies, clearing the area before taking on her new task.
"What kind of cake would you like?" She asked, dusting her hands off.
"Do you think you can make a white chocolate cake layered with strawberry filling?"
She stops in her path to look over at him with widened eyes, "No actually...I'm afraid I haven't mastered that yet,"
His mouth is agape with worrisome eyes, trying to muster up something to say without any actual words spilling out his mouth. That is, until the baker drops the act at his genuine reaction.
"Kidding." She chuckled softly.
He scoffs, and his eyes falling into crescents as he smiles. The ice had been melted away with the warmth in their smiles.
The stranger silently watched her work intently. Never losing sight of her actions and attention to detail. In wonderment of what exactly goes on in her mind while she works with such focus.
"Isaac, I'm Andie." She introduced herself, looking back at him.
He'd already been smiling, though the eye contact between each other had caught him off guard. The corners of his lips spread wider, and he'd caught a better glimpse of her up close, noticing her honey skin decorated in specs of rogue chocolate splatters, and a stubborn hair on her cheek that he'd have the sudden urge to brush away, allowing him to fully admire. Of course, he refrains.
"So Isaac, how did your idiot friend drop your cake in the pool?"
Andie continuously uses his name, allowing it to dance and roll of her tongue the way it does. And she liked it.
Isaac releases a breathy laugh, shaking his head away as the memory replays in his mind.
"That man," He sighs, yet the smile doesn't fail at the thought of this cherished friend.
"We're hosting Christmas on the rooftop this year, and he'd thought it was a good idea to make one trip, with both the cake and a tray of biscuits on his arms. Unfortunately, because the cake was too heavy, he dropped the cake into the pool as he made way for outside."
Nabi snickered, eyes cheerful while her hands work on the batter. All the while, imagining what kind of life this guy must've lived for his rooftop to have a pool. Now thinking about it, he did have that city boy look.
It was sort of boy meets Breakfast at Tiffany's, only he was a male Holly Golightly, dressed in classic black attire with a designer coat that suited him fancy with his tall, lean figure and even proportions. And you can't forget the polished shoes, a blinding watch on his wrist and glittering rings adorning his slim fingers. Perhaps a businessman?
"Why are you working so late on Christmas?" He asked, growing intrigued by the young baker who unintentionally poked his brain for answers.
"Believe it or not, the mornings after Christmas Day are always the busiest." Andie answers with a familiar sting in her heart. "I've got to make sure we have enough pastries prepared."
Isaac's eyes softened at the way her smile lost its glow. It was best to leave it at that, and so he does while taking a glance around the kitchen til' his eyes fall on a batch of holiday cookies.
She's just about ready to fill a tin with a batter, before Isaac stops her, taking her by the wrist gently.
"Do you think you could add a pattern? Like, when you cut into it, you'd see stripes like a candy cane."
"I could, but it would take a little while longer." She replied, but with instant realization she adds on, "Not that I don't want to. make it that way for you... I just assumed you were in a rush."
Isaac smiles, letting go of her wrist.
"I'm not in a rush. I would actually like to help."
Her skin tingles where his hand had previously wrapped around her wrist.
His brows shoot up as he fixed his posture.
"Don't worry, you won't ruin it." Andie reassures.
"I'm not too sure about that. My mom doesn't call me clumsy for nothing."
She laughs, but the look on his face says that he was being serious. Nonetheless, he was more than happy to help. His heart did somersaults and stomach was home to hundreds of butterflies.
Having washed his hands and wrap an apron around his waist, he stood by Andie's side curiously.
"Is it okay if-" her fingers pointed at his hands.
The confusion in his eyes was quickly wiped away when he realized what she had been shyly asking.
"Yeah," He nodded, eyes studying the details of her smaller hands.
Andie's hands gently held his, and his breath was caught in his through when he felt the warmth. She guided him through the proper filling making process, explaining the procedure in great detail, though her grew distracted by the thumping in his heart and the fire on his skin where she touched him.
"Isaac?" Blinking away his thoughts, he'd realize her hands were no longer holding his. Isaac looked down at his own hands and still felt the sensation as if the feeling was tattooed onto his skin.
"You think you can do it?"
"Sorry?" He replied as he had not paid attention to a single word said.
"It's okay, I can do it. You can help yourself to some cookies instead."
"No, I can do it." He smiled with determination, "But, do you mind showing me one last time?"
She nods, going over the instructions thoroughly without the physical action of explaining.
"I mean- do you mind holding my.."
"...Sure" She laughed softly
Andie held his hands once again, sparking up the same bubbly feeling at each other's core. She paused, studying his hands before looking up and finding him already staring back at her.
Isaac's eyes glimmered and her heart raced at the simplicity of it all. Though, there was nothing simple about the way both hearts race for each other.
