audrey (bidabble) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-08-20 22:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, hale santiago |
Who: Hale Santiago/Audrey Baxter and mentions of Michael Glass
When: Some morning in Mid August
Where: Baxter Bakery
What: Flirt time!
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Hale normally just grabbed coffee and a donut at the little service station down from his office but he’d been able to leave his apartment a little earlier that day so he took advantage of the few extra minutes to stop by the bakery his momma swore was the best in the area. As soon as he stepped in the door, he could see why she liked this place. It was nicely decorated, homey even and the staff seemed friendly - things that she had taught him to value when he could find it because she did. He looked up at the menu, taking in the wide variety of foods they offered and making up his mind even before he got to the counter - his momma recommended the Cinnamon Rolls here so he figured they had to be delicious.
He smiled at the woman working behind the counter. “My momma swears you can find the best Cinnamon Rolls in Orange County here but told me I needed to get here early if I wanted to get one. Any chance there might still be one around here beautiful?” he asked, noticing at a glance that she didn’t have on a nametag. Maybe not exactly original or professional but it was what he came up with before his morning coffee.
Audrey broke into a bright grin at the flirt from the man talking about his Momma. He sounded almost like he came from her neck of the woods--from down south. She leaned against the pastry case--it came up to armpit height or so, and raised an eyebrow in a playful way. The grin was a constant. Audrey loved her job, and she loved her customers. “That all depends, Hunny. Are you planning on buying one of our amazing, sparkling lattes, too?” Always with the flirtation. Always with the upsell.
Hale’s smile turned into a grin. That was an accent he recognized all too well from growing up. He’d been born in Boston, but his momma was from the south originally and had raised him the way she’d been raised as best as she could. And to respect women no matter what. “Now momma didn’t tell me anything about those but they do sound interesting,” he pretended, to think for a minute and then winked at her. “Why not gorgeous? I’ll have one of those sparkling lattes too.” It was probably something he didn’t really need, but it wouldn’t hurt him to try something new. Especially something that was recommended to him by a beautiful woman.
“Interesting is one word for them. Mouth-watering is another,” Audrey said, giving him a wink. She turned to punch a couple buttons on the cash register. A little chuckle escaped her. “You’ve got it. Mister...? I don’t think I’ve seen your handsome face in here before.” She added, going about her work, collecting his cinnamon roll while she talked to him. Audrey had done this so many times before, had worked here in her shop for so long that it was all second-nature to her now. She could walk and chew gum at the same time, talking with customers while plating pastries and making coffees was easy.
“Mouth-watering huh? Now that’s something I haven’t heard applied to a drink,” Hale told her with a grin. “I can’t wait to try it now. I’ll tell you my name if you tell me yours,” he told her teasing a little. “I’ve been away the last few years, but work sent me back this way finally. Definitely glad it did. I don’t remember seeing this bakery before I enlisted,” he said, looking away from her briefly to take another look around the place.
“We’ve only been here a few years. Must have just missed our grand opening, oh-so long ago.” Audrey said, crinkling her nose up a little as she grinned at him. “I’m Audrey. Audrey Baxter, and I own and love the place.” She said, offering him her hand. “I told you mine, now you tell me yours.”
“I must have. Which is a pity because I do love a party. And grand openings are some of the best,” Hale said reaching out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you Audrey. My name’s Hale. Hale Santiago. Or at least that’s the short version of it,” he told her with a friendly grin.
“There’s a long version of it?” Audrey asked, grinning in return. She gave his hand a hearty shake, then leaned back against the pastry case once more. His order was sitting on the countertop between them, ready for him to take. “Mine’s pretty much Audrey Baxter. As long as it’s gonna get, I think. So, welcome back to the area, I guess? And thank you for your service. I do love a man in uniform.”
Hale laughed at her question. “My dad had a different idea than my mama when it came to naming me. He thought it needed to be more distinguished. I don’t use the full version anymore than I absolutely have to,” he told her honestly. He could see his order sitting on the counter between them but he figured he still had a few more minutes to spend talking to her. Or at least he thought he did until his cell phone rang. He stepped away from the counter a bit to take the call, frowning a little at what the voice on the other end was telling him. He disconnected and stepped back to the counter. “Could you make this to go Audrey? That was work,” he told her his distraction obvious on his face.
“Ah, no problem.” She pulled out some boxes and things, whatever she needed to wrap up his meal. And she tossed a couple of chocolate kisses in there, to boot. “Good luck with work today? And please come back soon. I’d love to see such a handsome face in my bakery more often.” She gave him a wink as she passed the bag and cup across the counter to him.
Hale gave her a grateful smile as he took the box from her. “Thanks Audrey,” he told her. “I’ll be back. I’d hate to disappoint a pretty woman,” he told her, winking back at her the distraction gone from his face for a few minutes. “And I’ll take the luck too. Good luck in my job means I don’t get shot,” he told her before turning and heading out the door at a brisk walk.