Edible Delectables (12 page)

“If you get called into work tonight, I want to make sure I know.” Kara smiled as Jason chuckled and agreed.  He reached out and tugged on the belt of her robe, letting it fall completely open, and slipped it off her shoulders before pulling her back down on top of him.

Thankfully, he didn’t get called back into work that night.

Chapter Ten

Waking up next to Jason the following morning was everything Kara had wanted it to be the day before.  He was absolutely adorable as she watched him in his sleep, the morning light giving his hair a soft glow.  Every now and then he would mumble something, and his lips would quirk into a small hint of his adorable dimpled smile.  Kara watched him for awhile, mesmerized, wishing she could take a picture.  When she could no longer hold back from touching him, she reached out and swept the hair from his forehead, causing him to stir.  He opened his eyes slowly, blinking away the sleep.  Finally, having awoken fully, he focused on Kara, giving her a sexy morning after smirk that made her wish she could call in sick to work.  Unfortunately, when you own your own business, there's nobody to call in.  Also unfortunately, Kara had orders to fill, and couldn't lie in bed all day sexing her hot new doctor boyfriend.  Even if she really wanted to; and she did, really, really want to.

"Good morning," he greeted her, his voice husky with sleep.

"Mmmhmm," Kara agreed wagging her eyebrows, a big grin spreading across her face, and he chuckled in return at the innuendo.  "But I have to go to the bakery." She pouted, giving him a small frown.  Jason responded with a breathy laugh as he reached out to touch her face.

"Okay," he replied, gently trailing his hand from her cheek down to her shoulder as he gazed at her with adoration.

"Do you work today?"

Jason shook his head no, "I go in tomorrow from two to ten," he answered, his hand now trailing across her ribs as he scooted closer to her.

She brightened at his words, as well as in response to his closeness.  "Would you like to have dinner tonight? I'll cook." Kara hoped maybe he would stay again; she had never slept as well as she had the previous night, lying next to him.

"I'd like that," he answered as she leaned forward to give him a kiss before slipping out of his grasp and reaching down to the floor for her robe to slip on.

"I'm going to take a shower, and then I’ll make you pancakes," she announced, leaning over him unable to resist kissing him once more, only this time his arms snaked around her waist and held her there. 
Fuck it, I own the bakery, I can be a little late...

The day went by rather quickly, as Kara remained busy finishing projects for different clients.  The princess cake was done, a complete success, and just today she had secured another wedding cake account.  The wedding cakes were her favorites to bake.  While they took the most time and effort to create, there was just something about being a part of a couple’s special day that made it all worth it.  And then there were the theme cakes, Kara always had fun with those.  Her current work in progress was a fortieth birthday ‘over the hill’ themed cake that was almost done. In between all these projects she had smaller orders for cupcakes and other delicious pastries that would keep her oven going throughout the day.

Eva had called earlier in the day to check in, wanting to know how Kara's evening had gone, and had begged to have lunch to get all the details; however, Kara was far too busy and said she would call Eva the following day.  Of course she didn't mention she would be calling her after Jason began his shift, and therefore only after
he
was available to spend time with her.  She didn't need everyone knowing how fast she was falling for him.  Because she was.  Falling for him.

Sometime during the afternoon rush, Jason also called, just to check in.  Her heart had pounded in excitement when she saw his number after glancing at the caller ID.  He was heading to the gym soon, but wondered if there was anything he could bring for their dinner she was making later that night.  With his call and reminder of their dinner plans, Kara was startled to realize the time and was suddenly acutely aware of how late she would need to be at the bakery that evening.  She debated internally for a moment but in the end regretfully postponed their dinner, which Jason agreed to graciously, although she could tell he was a little disappointed at not being able to see her that evening.  Knowing of his desire to spend time with her lifted her spirits for the remainder of the day.

~*~

Slightly frustrated at Kara’s unavoidable cancellation, Jason headed to the gym to work out.  The last two days had been both stress inducing and stress relieving, and he hoped a good hard workout would balance everything out.  As he drove his mind drifted back to the day before, when Eva had told him off over the phone; it had sent Jason into a panic.  He had never dreamed that Kara wouldn't remember him waking her before he left.  Upon learning how upset she’d been, he instantly regretted not leaving a note, or at least sending her a text on her phone at some point to, let her know what was going on.  He vowed to make sure never to do that again.

There was a small part of him that felt slightly alarmed at how fast this new relationship was progressing, and he wasn't sure how to assimilate these new feelings; especially not when they so closely intertwined with old feelings.  Kara had been somebody Jason had thought about intermittently throughout the years.  Those thoughts had been random clips of memories of a girl he barely knew in high school, yet they always caused something in his chest to stir.  He couldn’t help but now feel those were years wasted, time he could have gotten to know her better, maybe even have had a relationship with her.  They’d both practically admitted to one another there had been an attraction between them back then, and now here they were on the precipice of something, and he wasn’t sure where it might lead.

At the gym Jason hit the treadmill first, deciding to run a few miles before lifting weights.  He plugged in his earbuds, found a good workout mix, and let his mind clear as he ran.  An hour later, as he was finishing his run, he looked up to see somebody standing next to his machine.  Startled, it took him a second to realize it was Jaime as he grabbed the handrails before stumbling and falling off the treadmill.

“Hey,” he panted, hitting the power down button.  “What are you doing here?” He grabbed his towel and wiped his sweaty face before grabbing his water bottle and taking several large gulps.  Without waiting for her reply he climbed down from the treadmill and walked over to the spray bottle of disinfectant, grabbing it along with a few paper towels to clean any sweat off the machine.

“Well, I thought I’d start with a facial and then get my nails done,” Jaime answered sarcastically, as she watched her brother finish up with the treadmill.

Jason rolled his eyes and made his way to the trash to throw the paper towels away.

“I’m actually meeting somebody,” Jaime admitted, following him to the trash bin.

“Who?” Jason asked, as he started walking toward the weights with Jaime following behind.

“A guy I’ve been seeing,” Jaime answered offhand.  Jason stopped walking and turned to his sister.  He quirked his eyebrow and rolled his hand, motioning for more information.

“Just a guy,” Jaime insisted, “nobody to really mention yet.  How was your date?” she asked, attempting to switch the focus from her personal life onto Jason, as they settled down near the free weights.  He sat down on a bench and began doing curls, not answering her question.

“That bad?” she asked, cringing, when he didn’t say anything right away.

Jason let out a short laugh, “No, it was really good actually.” Jaime sat down on the bench next to him and started lifting lighter weights, mimicking his motions.

“That’s all you’re going to give me?” she pressed.  “I did help you dress.  I deserve something in return, you know.” Jason again rolled his eyes, and switched the weight to his other hand.

“Alright, I’ll make a deal with you,” he started, “give me a little more on Mr. Unmentionable and maybe you’ll get a little more on Kara.”

Jaime sighed and put her weights down.  “Fine, but first you have to promise not to be all overprotective.  No background checks.”  She gave him a stern look.

“It was one time, Jaime! And he was shady!” Jason defended himself while Jaime huffed in response.

“Whatever. Fine, his name is Ryan.  He’s a computer programmer and he’s twenty-eight,” she finally gave in.

“Ryan what?” Jason smirked and Jaime threatened to throw a weight at his head.

“No, now your turn.  Spill.” Jason set the weights down and wiped his forehead again. 

Leaning over with his elbows on his thighs he looked his sister in the eyes. “Well, we went to dinner, had dessert at her place, there was a misunderstanding, we made up, and we had plans for dinner tonight but she's working late so we had to postpone.  I'm thinking I might go see her at the bakery, though.” Jason briefly summarized his last two days.

Jaime just stared at him with wide eyes that narrowed in scrutiny.  Her mouth dropped open as the realization hit, “You slept with her!” she practically yelled, pointing at him as though he were a criminal.

“Jaime, Jesus Christ, keep your voice down!” He looked around to see if anybody had heard his sister’s outburst, thankful that nobody seemed to be paying them any attention.

“Let me get this straight,” Jaime held up her finger in thought, “you had sex with the girl you’ve been crushing on since high school,
on your first date
,” she emphasized, “and then you managed to blow it somehow, enough to have to ‘make up’ with her? What did you do?!” Once again her voice had risen and Jason glared at her.

He looked away frustrated and sighed in exasperation, “I got called into work.” He shrugged.

Jaime stared at her brother in silent scrutiny once again, as though knowing there was more to it than that.

“You left,” she concluded with a dangerous amount of calm, he could see she was beginning to understand what happened.  “Oh.  My.  God.  Jason, did you not tell her you were leaving?” she asked incredulously, her voice thankfully remaining low now as though she were scandalized with his dirty secret.

“I did!” This time it was his voice that was elevated and several patrons turned their way. “I told her the service called and a patient of mine was being admitted, I needed to go in.” he defended himself, lowering his voice and glancing around the room again.  While his sister had no problem with public displays, they generally made Jason uneasy.

Jaime’s eyes narrowed at her brother, “Was she awake?”

He was silent for a moment before her stare forced him to answer. “I thought she was,” Jason admitted bleakly.

Jaime continued to look at her brother without saying a word.  Then, finally, she calmly asked, “Were her eyes open? Because usually that’s a pretty good indicator that somebody is awake.”

He didn’t reply and Jaime had her answer.  After a moment of silence she burst out laughing.

“You … are … hopeless …” she gasped between guffaws.

“Thanks,” Jason muttered, rolling his eyes at his sister’s idea of support

Finally catching her breath, Jaime composed herself.  “Oh, Jason, I can always count on you.” He didn’t reply but rubbed his forehead with his middle finger.

Just then Jaime straightened up with a serious look as a though a thought occurred to her, “Did you tell her about the fellowship?” she asked.

“
I
don’t know about the fellowship.”

“Semantics, Jason.  Did you tell her there’s a possibility you’re moving back to Seattle? Again?” Jaime pressed.

Jason pursed his lips and shook his head.  His sister looked at him incredulously then sighed and patted his arm.

“You should talk to her.  Tonight,” she said pointing at him.  Something caught her attention over Jason’s shoulder, “My date’s here, I’ve gotta go.  Keep your distance and don’t embarrass me,” she said sternly.  Jason nodded his head in acknowledgement, then watched as his twin practically skipped up to a guy near the door.  From what he could see of the guy he looked normal, but you really never could tell.  Jason was definitely going to need to get his last name.

~*~

After working out and showering, Jason decided to surprise Kara at the bakery, hoping to spend some time with her since their evening wasn’t going to pan out.  Considering they had just begun dating Jason was amazed at how often he wanted to see her; he couldn't get enough of her.  The woman consumed his thoughts, and he found himself planning things to do with her, and thinking of places to take her.  Jason was falling fast for her and it scared him.  It wasn't love.  It couldn’t be, not yet, but he was surely infatuated with her.  The more he thought about Kara and high school, the more irritated he became with his past.  Why had he closed himself off?  And if he hadn't, would they have even been interested in one another?  Kara was pretty back then, but the woman she was now was indescribable.  Would a teen love have lasted?  Could it have grown into what might be possible now?

He looked up directions to Kara’s bakery on his cell phone and headed in that direction, stopping by the store to pick up a bouquet of roses in a lovely vase

At the bakery there was nobody behind the counter, but there was a bell and a cute sign written in elegant calligraphy directing him to "ring bell for service." Jason tapped the bell gently, listening to the ding echo.  A moment later Kara came out and Jason couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.  She stood there, hair in a ponytail, flour and icing covering her apron. Across her brow there ran a smudge of blue, where a wisp of hair had fallen and she had tucked it behind her ear, leaving the telltale icing behind.

"Hi," he said as he placed the vase of flowers on the counter in front of him.

"Hi!"  Kara was surprised to see him, and seemed instantly self conscious of her haphazard appearance; her hands patting at her apron as if to make it all disappear.  Her attention focused on the flowers and she gasped at the vase in shock, walking over to touch the tip of a rose and lean in to breathe in the scent.