Althena

20. One Of A Kind

The next morning, I look around. Most everything in the store is bad or too old to sell.

Conner comes in at 7. "I'll help you clear this out and I'll open for coffee."

"That works. It's a lot of waste."

"At least you're back. Bread can be remade."

"Look." I point at the crystal ball wall. Every single one of them is blue.

"That's different." He looks at the door but nobody comes in.

"Let's clean up. The noodles are still good. They're dry."

We get the place cleared out and he makes the coffee. I hide in the back and start cooking.

Chris comes in with an apron on. It's a man's body. He's so muscular and only has small shorts on. "I knew we would be doing this all day. I came prepared." He spins in a circle.

"Sexy. I need one. Mine's boring."

"I got it." He pulls out an apron that has a girl's body on it. The boobs and hips are huge and she's in a bikini. I laugh so hard and put it on. "This is hilarious."

"Where are the cinnamon rolls? We can put them out now. Maybe some muffins."

I hand him the flour. "There you go."

"This is going to take a minute."

20 minutes later, the first batch of cinnamon rolls get done. I frost them and Conner runs back. "Something smells good."

I hand him one and he takes the pan. "They'll sell like this. Nice aprons."

Chris watches him walk out. "I guess we're saving on packaging that way."

"Yea, but I need my pan."

"Use the others for now. We'll get it in a bit. It does sound busy. Maybe he'll sell them quickly."

"Alright." I get out my big bowls and make massive dough starts. It's really the base for sandwiches, bread, rolls, and noodles. I let them rise.

"We do need that pan. This is a lot of dough."

We go out to the shop and Conner is sitting at a table with an alpha. Nobody else is here. We're after the breakfast rush. They're each having a cup of coffee.

Chris grabs my arm and pulls me closer. "He is so sexy."

Conner is sexy. I've always thought that. He always dresses nice. Even when he's not in the super expensive suits. He makes sure he looks nice. And those silver eyes can pierce through anything. His dark hair. It's sticking out in random directions today. I wish I could get my hands in it.

"NO." He yells and points at the kitchen. "Go on. You're not going to stare at Delta Joe all day."

Chris and I jump then he yells, "WE NEED THE PAN."

I laugh as Chris grabs it. Then I hear the delta say, "It wasn't me she was checking out."

I slam the door. Chris didn't hear.

I bake bread and rolls forever. Chris leaves to steal vegetables from his pack garden.

Conner helps me with the sandwiches. "I want to get some packaged before lunch. Do you have any salads?"

"Chris went to get the stuff for them."

"I'm craving that cottage cheese salad."

"Me too. I told him to grab some cottage cheese."

He puts his arm around me. "You doing ok, being here? Do you need a break or anything?"

"I'm fine. It's nice to be back."

"What did Darmon want last night?"

"To apologize. He thought since he was here, he led demontail right to me. He felt bad."

"I forgot he was here for that meeting. Him and the king both were. Yea, that wasn't his fault."

I fix the button on his shirt without thinking. "You boys always try to blame yourselves. None of you hurt me."

I smile up at him and his lips touch mine. It takes my breath away. Sparks shoot through me. I pull him closer and he deepens the kiss. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close.

"NO." Chris rubs his eyes. "What the hell? Get out of the kitchen." He grabs Conner and shoves him out. Then he slams the door. "I need to think. Start dicing."

"That was sudden." I grab some tomatoes and start in. "That was amazing."

"Better than Darmon?"

"Definitely."

He laughs and gets me some cucumbers. "You need to be careful. He's always here. He deals with your shop."

"I know. But it was just a kiss. An amazing kiss." I smile and keep dicing.

"Yea, I'll try talking to him about it instead." He goes out to the store.

I take the salads out during the dinner rush and the boys are busy. I get a wink from Conner. He gets a dirty look from Chris. Nothing else happens. After dinner, Chris won't leave Conner alone for 2 seconds. Conner winks at me a lot then Chris throws him out.

"He likes too many girls. I'll get him to back off. If he hurts you, Mike really would kill him."

"You're right but he's fun to kiss."

Chris laughs. "I guess that's ok and he is sexy."

"I love his eyes."

"Did you see the ball wall today?"

"It was blue earlier."

"It was red after he kissed you."

"Weird."

"I know. I think it was picking up his aura. He went from sad to happy."

I laugh. "He knows I'm alright. He felt better."

"True. I'm going home. This has been a long day of cooking. Oh, I need $100 for my phone bill."

"Get it out of the register. I need a break from all things shop."

"Just don't dye your hair again." Chris laughs and goes out the front.

Like clockwork, Darmon knocks on the door 5 minutes later. I open it and pull him in.

He kisses me right away. "I see you're feeling better." He wraps his arms around me. Then he shuts the door.

I jump at him and give him another kiss. He is a good kisser. He carries me upstairs and we sit on the couch.

"You seem a lot better, baby."

I straddle his lap and kiss him. I love feeling him close to me. It does something to me.

His dark brown eyes turn nearly black. He pulls me tight against his chest and rubs my back. "You are sexy."

I giggle and throw the apron off. Then I kiss his neck. "So are you."

His hands tighten on my sides. "Will you have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"Here?"

He chuckles. "No. I'll take you out."

"What do I wear?"

"This is fine. We'll have dinner and relax. Talk for a little bit. I'm afraid you're still in shock."

"I'm ok." My lips find his again. I love them.

"Dinner tomorrow? I can't stay tonight, baby."

"Of course. Dinner."

"I'll be here at 8. I know it's a little late, but I have meetings earlier."

"8 is fine."

He gives me a kiss. "I'll see you then." Then another kiss. "You make it so hard to leave."

I giggle and hug him. I wish he would stay but I'm not ready for that. I know what it would mean. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"8." One more kiss and he leaves.

I get a real date. I am so excited.

The next morning, I can't stop smiling. The ball wall is swirling even faster than normal. The colors are swirling in every direction. Then Conner comes in and they slow down. Chris comes in from the other door.

"Oh good. We're already open."

Conner nods. "Why was Darmon here last night?"

"He asked me out to dinner."

"No."

"You can't say..."

Chris grabs me. "You have a date with a prince. Where you going?"

"I don't know. He just said dinner. He'll be here at 8."

"No."

Chris throws a towel at Conner. "Stop it. She's allowed to date. Go complain to another girl."

He crosses his arms. "This will not end well."

"It's a date, Conner. Not marriage. Go complain over there." Chris points to register. "You're f*****g the ball wall up."

I check and the whole wall is orange this time. "Why?"

"I don't know. They read his moods. Let's go to the beach for a while. He can cool off."

A beach day is exactly what I needed. We play some volleyball and get sun all day. We get back at 6. The wall is still orange. Conner is still sitting at the register. I think he's mad. I ignore him and get ready. I know I'm not supposed to get fancy. But I still put on a nice dress with some heels. Then I do my makeup.

He comes into the shop right at 8. I'm standing there with Conner, who won't look at me now. Red starts swirling with the orange and they speed up. The ball on the counter starts shaking. I pick it up. "Let's go before he blows the place up."

Darmon follows me to the back. I hand the ball to Chris who is jumping up and down. "Have fun."

"We will." Darmon winks and leads me out the back door. He has a car in the alley. The windows are tinted. He gets in the back with me. Then he pours me a glass of champagne.

I never drink but it's nice being treated like an adult.

"You look pretty."

"Thank you. I wanted to look nice. I know you said it didn't matter."

"You look perfect. You always do." He moves my hair and kisses my cheek.

Then the car stops. We've only been in it for 3 minutes. A man opens the door from the outside. "Right this way, sir."

"What?"

He smiles and takes my hand. "Being a prince has its perks." He leads me to a helicopter.

I sit as close as I can to him in it. "I've never been in one of these."

He smirks. "Relax and watch. You'll like it."

He's not wrong. I can see so much of the city like this. It's beautiful up here. The lights and buildings. I can see from the ocean to the city center district. I point out a skyscraper.

He smiles and kisses my hand.

We land on a boat 10 minutes later. It's a huge boat. He helps me out and I am in awe. To see the city from the water is not describeable.

"This way, sir."

He puts his arm around me and leads me to a single table on the deck. He pulls out the chair for me and light music starts playing. He sits across from me.

"This is amazing."

"I figured you would like it. Have you ever been outside of Crystal Falls before?"

"No. Is this normal for you?"

"I've been to the other cities a few times. I like being on the boat though. The peace of the water. Watching our city from a distance. Seems like a whole different world from here."

"It really does."

He hands me a little wrapped box. "Happy birthday. I know everything was crazy. But I didn't forget."

I shake my head. "You didn't have to."

"Open it."

"I don't do presents. I don't know what to say."

He moves his chair and sits beside me. He puts his arm around me. "Open it, baby."

My hands shake as I open the little box. It's a necklace from Safiri. "It's beautiful. I love it." Diamonds and a teardrop sapphire form the design on it. "Thank you."

He puts it on my neck. "You're beautiful and you're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

I turn towards him and give him a kiss.

He smiles and rubs my cheek. "You are truly one of a kind, baby."

"Your dinner, sir."

"Thank you, Nick." He moves back to his spot and we eat dinner. It's so fancy. After dinner, Nick brings a cake. It's got candles on it. "I know it's late. But you need some birthday cake."

"You are so thoughtful. Thank you. For everything."

He kisses my head. "Dance with me."

We dance and kiss for an hour. Then he takes me home. He is one of a kind too.