Chaos in love

Cindy’s POV With a steady hand, I added a few more details to the wedding cake before me. With a sigh, I started pushing the four tired cake to the walk in fridge to keep it cool before the owner comes for it tomorrow. Once I was finished, I stepped back with a hand on my hip and admire my work. I pursed my lips together and exhale a sigh. Nothing is worse than spending your entire afternoon decorating a wedding cake for the one person whom you’ve had a crush on since childhood. Brian. Our parents have been friends since we were kids, so we grew up together. As kids, it was fun, until we became teenagers, and I realized that he didn’t share the same feelings for me. It still hurts but it was all in the past but sure enough, a little part of me died inside when he asked me to design his wedding cake. As a teenager, I had dreams about us, I was supposed to be the one walking down the aisle with him, but instead, I spent the night sitting on a hotel bathroom floor with a bottle of champagne when he announced his engagement. And when you’re wallowing in your own self-pity, one bottle is never enough. Luckily, I don’t have to attend the actual wedding. Here I am, Cindy Smith, at 8:45pm, on a Saturday night, baking like my life depends on it and trying to wrap up a lot of orders I had. I could just as easily close the shop and go home but I can’t… I just couldn’t. I had to provide for a very ill father, teenage twins and a mother who had to cover a lot of bills all by herself. We were having a great financial crisis that seemed overwhelming sometimes, my dad’s hospital bills kept increasing with each passing day and we’ve got to somehow get money for the surgery that he required coupled with the twins tuition fees, light and other bills. To help out, I run a cake shop. The next cake I had to decorate was three tiered, it seemed easier than the one I just finished decorating. The client came to me because I was willing to do her cake on short notice, luckily for her, I loved baking. All I needed to do was the icing and the pearl work. The music blaring in my earbuds dimmed as an incoming call comes through my phone. Glancing down, Clarissa’s name appeared on the caller ID. I answered, putting her on speaker, but before I could even get a word out, her voice boomed through the speaker. “Girl, I sure hope you’re done cause you’re coming with me tonight.” “Well, not quite.” I glanced down at my black jeans that had smears of buttercream frosting and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows. “But good news is I’m almost done. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be ready.” Clarissa has been my best friend since we were in high school, she is more outgoing, with a crazy person. I was a complete introvert and would rather die than be under the spotlights while Clarissa was an extrovert who loved parties, got invited to parties and had lots of friends. Sometimes I wonder how we became friends. Clarissa knew about my crush on Brian and the fact that I’ll be baking his wedding cake, so she suggested to take me out to party; hoping that I could let go of any lingering feelings. “A couple minutes!?” Clarissa screeched. I forgot to add that she can be a little dramatic, annoying too but what are friends for…Since she’s got her back, I can overlook her flaws. “I’ll give you thirty minutes. If you’re not done, I’m coming to the bakery and kidnapping your ass.” “Okay. Got it. See you then.” I’m only half listening as I continued adding icing and frostings on the cake. “I’m serious. Thirty minutes!” Clarissa’s voice echoed in the kitchen before I pressed end to disconnect the call. Because of the two extra hours I put in today, I got further than I was expecting. Now, my assistant, Nancy, will have less work tomorrow. I lifted the cake and carried it to the commercial refrigerator and placed it next to the other two finished tiers. As soon as I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I locked up and made my way home. Once I walked through the door, I dropped my purse on the couch and made my way to my room to take the fastest shower imaginable. When I’m done, I throw on a mini-gown and applied a light coat of make-up. My mother wasn’t home yet, and the twins were probably in the hospital. The moment I stepped out, I saw a black car. Clarissa poked her head out of the car. “Hurry, Woman ! We have drinks to drink and some celebrating to do.” “I’m coming! I’m coming! You and your sister started the fun without me, didn’t you?” My heels clattered on the walkway. “Of course we did.” Clarissa’s bright red lips pulled into a broad grin as she held up her glass. I bend down to climb into the car, careful not to show my ass to my neighbors. I flopped down on the seat next to Liana, Clarissa’s sister. Clarissa sat in the driver’s seat. Liana handed me a glass of champagne before popping open another bottle and pouring the bubbly liquid into the glass. “Thanks. This is exactly what I need.” I swallowed a big gulp of the champagne. The bubbly is taking off a little bit of the edge from earlier. But only a teeny tiny bit. “I don’t know why I agreed to make Brian’s wedding cake. It’s been a nightmare from day one. His bride changed the cake flavors three times. Changed the type of frosting twice. Why do I put myself through this?” “Because he pays well.” Clarissa shrugged. And he does. “There has to come a time when I shouldn’t sacrifice my happiness for money.” “The time will come.” Liana’s voice was soft and soothing. “But on the plus side, you’re done, and you don’t have to go to the wedding.” “Thank God for that.” I took another sip of the champagne. “With all that depressing s**t out of the way. It’s time to celebrate!” Clarissa raised her flute. “It only took a wedding to finally get together for a girls’ night. Cheers bitches!” Everyone raised their glassesp and we all toasted. Over the next few minutes, as we were driving to the club, we talked about life, then somehow, the conversation turned to my love life, or lack thereof. “You two are lucky you’ve found someone. Dating is hard.” I tipped back the glass, the last drop of champagne wetting my lips, and I glanced between Clarissa and Liana. “I’m not the one who refused to let go of the lingering feelings for Brian.” Clarissa mumbled under her breath. I rolled my eyes. Yes, I had lingering feelings for Brian, but that didn’t mean I never gave other guys chances, they just weren’t up to standard. “Your someone is out there. And he’ll come around when you least expect it.” Liana rested a hand on my knee. “After several years of not dating, I’m starting to lose hope. None of the guys I’ve gone out with this month have been the one. One guy was a blind date set up by this sweet old lady who comes into the bakery. She mentioned her grandson is around my age and single, and she was very persistent that I meet him. I told her to have him come to the bakery, and he did. At first sight, he was attractive, well groomed. I had high hopes for the date. Everything was going great. Dinner was good. Conversation was decent. He even walked me to my door. And that was where the date imploded.” I motioned my hands like a bomb exploding. “What happened?” Liana asked before taking a sip of her drink. I let out a laugh thinking about it. “He kissed me on the cheek and then whispered in my ear, ‘What do you say we go inside, and we tangle in the sheets.’” Liana busts out laughing and all I can do is nod, still in disbelief at his words, especially about a first date. Once I regained my composure, I continued, “If a girl actually falls for those words, I feel sorry for her. Or maybe they get what they deserve.” “What did you do” “Obviously, I very politely declined his offer and slammed the door in his face. The worst part was when I had to face his grandma when she came into the bakery. I had to bite my tongue and not tell her that her grandson wanted to go to bed with me.” “I don’t know if grandma would know what you were talking about.” Clarissa chuckled. “And I wouldn’t be the one to tell her. Plus, I couldn’t taint her view of her grandson. That would be all sorts of bad karma. Maybe my expectations are too high.” I wrapped one arm around myself as my other hand held my champagne flute inches from my lips. “You deserve the best. Don’t let yourself think otherwise,” Liana says as she nudged me with her elbow, breaking me from my self-loathing. “I would like to think so, but my other date was equally bad, if not worse. A guy took me to a fancy restaurant. Anyway, the conversation was flowing, but his gaze kept darting around the restaurant like he was looking for someone.” “Oh, s**t. Drug dealer? Human trafficker that is being chased by the cops?” Liana leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “I wish. That would have been less awkward. Ex-girlfriend.” Liana gasped loudly. “Turns out she’s a waitress at the restaurant, and he wanted to see if she had been cheating on him with a co-worker like he suspected. I figured this out when he saw her talking to another server and he stormed over to them. I was done after that.” “This only happens to you,” Clarissa said. “I know. I can’t make this stuff up.” I bite back my laughter. “There must be a magnetic current in me that only attracts assholes and creepers. Do I have a sign that hangs above my head that says, ‘If you’re a d**k, come date me.’” “Maybe they get that confused with ‘if you have a d**k, come f**k me'?” Clarissa said. “Let loose and have a good time tonight. Scope out the guys and if you find Someone who catches your attention, go for it.”