It had been a couple of weeks since he spent the night with Caroline and while he wasn’t looking to fall into a relationship right away he still wanted to at least speak to the girl again. She had a lot of spunk and brightness about her that he felt drawn to and maybe he could at least get back into the rhythms of going out and flirting once again. It had crossed his mind that he should stop by the bakery since he had forgotten to get her number, but he didn’t want to seem creepy by coming in immediately after. But now he felt that enough time had passed and he found himself wandering over to Baxter Bakery.
It felt a little strange to be going into ‘enemy territory’, but he never had any issues with Audrey. The woman was lovely and did a lot more than his bakery did. So, he pushed some hair out of his face as he made his way to the counter and saw the familiar blonde working behind it. A grin appeared on his face as he waited in line until it was his turn and he gave her a moment to register who he was when she turned to take his order.
It had been awhile since Caroline’s little one night stand. She hadn’t been laid since or thought about it too much really. She was a busy girl. Right after that was her birthday and then just school and work kept her pretty busy too. But she had to admit she wouldn’t mind seeing Peeta again. She really should have gotten his number or at least asked where the bakery he owned was. Oh well. Maybe it was for the best that it just remained a one night thing. Sure the guy was sweet and attractive, but it wasn’t like Caroline was looking for a relationship or anything. Those had never really been her thing, and her last relationship had just proven that.
Caroline went to serve the next customer in line, her usual smile on her face, but it turned into a look of shock when she saw who it was. Had thinking about the whole thing summoned him there? “Peeta?” she questioned even though it was obviously him. “I mean. Hi! Welcome to Baxter’s. What can I get for you?” smile back on her face, cheerful waitress voice as she regained her composure.
Fortunately, Peeta did not have the kind of magical powers that would make him appear whenever someone was thinking about him. Actually, he had no magical powers at all. He had some hardcore survival skills, but that was about it. It was kind of nice not to have to worry about that and just worry about the dream PTSD that he had been given instead. But at least that was all under the surface and not something he was worried about that moment.
Instead, he was going to soak up the moment of her surprise and how amusing it was to watch her falter, which only brought a crooked grin onto his face. “Hey, Caroline. And what do you recommend? It’s not often that I stop over here, so hopefully you have some suggestions.” He wasn’t really in the mood for much, but he was always up for trying something he didn’t make at his bakery.
What did she recommend? That was actually a good question. Normally one she had no problem answering but she knew Peeta was a baker himself so her recommendation had to be good. “Well, there’s always the sparkling latte,” she began because well that was what the bakery was known for. But he was probably looking some sort of pastry or other baked good. They had plenty of those as well.
Caroline opened her mouth to name a few but then stopped. “Wait. This isn’t some kind of trick to replicate our best recipes for your own bakery is it?” she was teasing of course. Evident by the huge smile on her face. Even though she had only known Peeta briefly for that one night, she didn’t think he was the type to do that. And she was a pretty good judge of character, most of the time.
“Well shit, you figured out my master plan,” Peeta countered with a laugh at her comment. If he was someone that needed to pull that kind of thing then he might consider that, but he was a good person. He didn’t need to take anyone’s ideas away from them, but at least they had broken the tension between them, “Nah, but I will take a latte and whatever pastry you recommend.” He was a really easy person to please and he was curious to see what Caroline would pick for him.
“In that case we are sold out of everything,” she teased. Caroline wasn’t one for tension or awkwardness. Sure she had been a little surprised to see him, but now that the shock had worn off she was her usual bubbly self. “Why don’t grab a table? It’s almost time for my break. I’ll bring your latte and pastry over in a minute” That way they could talk for a little bit. She was assuming he wanted to talk to her. Why else would he come to Baxter Bakey when he owned a bakery himself? “It’s on the house,” she added. “Consider it repayment for all the drinks.”
After getting his latte ready and selecting an almond croissant for him Caroline let Rose know she was going on break early and headed over to Peeta’s table. “Here you go,” she said as she set his latte and plate down on the table. “Mind if the help joins you?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet of you. You may be the first girl to buy me a pastry in lieu of drinks,” he admitted with a laugh as he agreed to go sit down and wait for her. He had no issue with that and picked out a table over by the window so he could people watch while he waited for her to join her. He did appreciate the gesture and was looking forward to actually being able to talk more to her that didn’t require yelling over the loud pop music.
His nose wrinkled just slightly when she slighted herself and shook his head, “You’re certainly more than help. But luckily enough I’m here to interact with the peasants, so please join me. And almond croissant? That is a good choice.” He really loved almond paste, so he was pleased and he took a piece of it and popped it into his mouth.
“Wow,” Caroline said placing a hand over her heart like she was hurt. “I’ve been demoted from help to peasant.” She laughed as she took the seat across from him any way. Obviously they were both just joking.
You couldn’t really go wrong with any of the pastries, especially the croissants but the almonds were one of the better ones. She was proud though that he seemed to like her selection. With him being a baker and all it had been a little intimidating selecting one for him and Caroline wasn’t one to get intimidated easily. “So what brings you by? Other than our delicious pastries? I have to admit I didn’t really think I was going to see you again. But I’m glad you’re here,” and she was. One night thing or not she had kind of been hoping she would run into the guy again, even if it was just for a repeat.
“Oh, there just happened to be this blonde girl that popped into my head this afternoon and I decided that since I only knew her name and workplace that I should probably start there. Far more simple than only having a glass slipper, so thanks for that,” Peeta commented with a laugh as he took a sip of his latte, “But I’m happy to hear you’re glad I’m here. I wasn’t quite sure if I should stop by or not, but whatever.” He was certainly more than willing to at least be friends with the girl. It wasn’t in his nature to be completely rude to anyone and he really did enjoy talking to her.
“I only bring out the glass slippers on Saturday nights,” since they had met on a Friday. Hopefully Peeta remembered that tid bit. She remembered clearly because well she had vampire tolerance when it came to drinking so she wasn’t all that wasted. But besides that, it had also been the night before her birthday and Caroline’s birthday was a very big deal to her so yes she remembered exactly what night.
“Big decision I know. You never know what could happen at Baxter Bakery. You might eat an almond croissant that could change your life. I’d be shocked if you don’t go close your bakery after this,” she laughed as she tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “Which by the way, what bakery is that? I think it’s only fair I know where you work too.”
He certainly remembered what day it had been. If he had known it was her birthday the day after then he would have tried to reach out to her sooner. But instead he settled for reaching out to her now and let out a chuckle at her comment. “Well, I’ll have to make sure you’re at your same haunt to check out your footwear.”
“Hm, no offense to Mrs Baxter, but I don’t think that her almond croissant is going to cause me to close up my own shop. It could be something else entirely in this visit,” he commented. There was a hint of something in his voice, but he knew better than to try and push anything. This was just a meeting of the minds with a hint of flirtation, “And I own a bakery called Mellarky, which is a play on my last name - Mellark.”
Yes Caroline caught on to the something in his voice and knew he was referring to her with his last comment, causing another smile to form on her face. Not that it took a lot to make Caroline smile, she was pretty much full of light, but still.
“Oh are we exchanging last names now?” she teased with an eyebrow raise. “Forbes,” she told him just because why not? Seemed fair. But back to the topic at hand. “You do know I’m going to have to stop by now. See how it compares to all the baked goods here.” And for other reasons but she left that unsaid.
It was easy to admit that lately his life had been a bit of doom and gloom, but it was always enjoyable to know he was still able to make someone smile and actually smile in return. She was a nice person to be around and he wondered if he should try to make it a more frequent thing. Nothing had to happen between them, but he needed some sort of happiness around or else he’d end up in more bar fights.
“Well, the bakery doesn’t make sense if I don’t tell you my last name, but now I know yours, so I appreciate it,” at least he couldn’t have to refer to her as the mystery blonde if he talked about her to anyone, “And you can certainly come by the bakery at any time. It’s usually well stocked with things that are amazing.”
She didn’t mind being referred to as the mystery blonde. It made her sound… mysterious. But now she could give out his name as well if she ever mentioned him to anyone, and Rose might be asking a few questions when Caroline got back from her break. “So everyone who goes to your bakery knows your last name?” she teased.
The thing about being a vampire was she didn’t really need to eat anything other than blood. She didn’t crave baked goods, but she did still eat them from time to time. It not only helped to keep up the appearance of being human, but it made her feel human too. And it did still taste good for the most part, not as good as when she was human, but the taste was there. “I don’t know about that. This place is also well stocked with amazing treats. You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“They do,” Peeta answered with a laugh and shook his head. It was a double edged sword when it came to the last name part. People took a bit to pick up that it was his last name and there were a handful that put it together and constantly called him by his last name any time they came into the bakery. But, now he had a full name to put along with her face and he couldn’t help but be happy about that small fact.
“Well, you’ve never tried one of my cakes before. I can always say that the eye candy at my store is better, but I so don’t need you thinking one of my brothers is attractive,” there was an amused look in his face when he spoke. That was the major downside to having two brothers was sometimes your date would find one of them cuter and you’d end up awkwardly sitting by yourself at a group outing.
Caroline would probably never call Peeta by his last name. That wasn’t really her thing. So he was on on that one, at least with her.
She was about to object to the eye candy comment. Because hello she worked at Baxter’s. But then there was the comment about his brothers. “Well if they look anything like you obviously I am going to think they are attractive.” Because duh. However even though there was an amused look on his face it still seemed like that was something that bothered Peeta. “But I doubt they could beat you,” she added with another smile. Besides it wasn’t like she was going to sleep around his family anyway. Gross. She wasn’t a slut. Even though it looked like she was about to head that way in her dreams. She had already slept with one Salvatore brother and it seemed like she was moving toward the next, but yeah that wasn’t going to happen in this world.
“So I guess I’ll just have to come to try this cake. And for one piece of eye candy.”
“Well, I’m pleased to hear that you think I’m attractive, but my brothers each have both of their legs, so they got that going for them,” he was at the point in his life where he could easily make fun of his disability. It wasn’t like it was a surprise for her to hear him say that because they had slept together, so she knew. And he didn’t think she would sleep with either of them, but liking a different brother happened every once in a blue moon.
“Please do, I’ll look forward to it. And while I wait for you to come to the bakery, can we get together again?”
The one leg hadn’t even phased her. Caroline wasn’t the type to care about those sorts of things. In high school she had been shallow and insecure but she had overcome all of that. At least the shallow part. Anyway it was refreshing that he was able to have a sense of humor about it. “Eh, who needs more than one anyway?”
He probably wouldn’t have to wait long, but she wouldn’t mind setting something else up. “Sure.” Her phone was currently in her purse in the back, because well working, but he probably had his on him. “Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in so you can actually call to set something up.” Last names and numbers. This was a big day for them.
The comment about not needing more than one earned a snort of laughter. It was nice of her to say and he liked that she hadn’t really cared about it. Finding someone like that could be hard sometimes. Then when she mentioned exchanging number he handed his phone over with an amused smile, “Here ya go. And look at us exchanging numbers. I am quite impressed.” It was the step in the right direction.
Caroline entered her number into his phone and saved it with her first and last name since he already knew it anyway before handing it back to him. “I know. I’m not sure I can handle any more information today,” she teased. “And even if I could my break’s just about over. Us peasants have to make a living somehow,” she reluctantly stood up from the table. Her break really had flown by. Rose would probably cover for her but that wasn’t fair. She’d just have to talk to Peeta another time.