With a grin, Tate took a huge bite out of his cupcake and moaned when the flavors exploded in his mouth. He had an unhealthy obsession with sweets. Thankfully, he was extremely active, or he might be nine hundred pounds.
When he took the gummy bear off the top, popping it in his mouth before returning to the cupcake, Audrey chuckled. He glanced over to see her grinning at him.
“So I guess you like them?”
Tate nodded, swallowing the mouthful he had before he said, “Oh yeah, they are fantastic.”
When he reached for another, Audrey laughed again. “I hoped you would.”
He shot her a wide grin before taking a bite out of another cupcake. After swallowing, he said, “I love sweets. I’m not hard to please, but you hit the gold mine with these. As you know, gummy bears are my favorite.”
Audrey looked pleased as she wrapped her arms around her legs, leaning her head on her knees while watching him eat.
“Why is that?” she asked.
Tate’s face broke into a grin at thoughts of his mom moving around their kitchen back home. She baked constantly, having him and Matilda try everything she made. He never minded, but Matilda would get mad, saying she was trying to make her fat. His favorite thing she used to make was a gelatin-based candy that was very much like a gummy bear. When he came to America and found gummy bears, he became obsessed with them. They reminded him of her.
With Audrey waiting for an answer, he swallowed and said, “My mom was a baker. She could bake anything and everything. She used to make these things that were like gummy bears. They were my favorite.”
“Aw, that’s awesome!”
“Yeah,” Tate agreed, taking another bite.
“You know, Lucas used to say your English was horrible, but I understand you just fine.”
Tate nodded as he looked over at her, wiping the icing off his lips. “I had a really good speech therapist. Plus I wanted to learn the language.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Yeah, she was an amazing teacher.”
In and out of bed, Tate’s relationship with his speech therapist had been short lived, but fun while it lasted.
“You can tell; your speech is really good.”
He nodded as he continued to stuff his face. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. Sitting up, she stretched her arms out in front of her before turning her attention to the rink. The game had started and Aiden was a starter. They watched as he skated around, dekeing and juking kids left and right. Tate shook his head, his lips curving into a grin.
“He is just like Lucas.”
Audrey nodded. “He sure is, and everyone hates it. They all think he should be moved up, but we want him to play with his friends. We are so proud of him.”
“You should be. He’s a great kid.”
Audrey blushed. “Thanks.”
Tate watched her as she watched Aiden, cheering when he did something good and yelling out words of encouragement. She really was a great aunt. When the first period ended and the kids gathered around the bench for a breather, Tate cleared his throat before saying, “So how have you been? I haven’t seen any fires lately.”
Audrey burst into laughter, her eyes bright as she covered her mouth as if trying to keep it in. Tate noticed people glancing over, and he couldn’t help but chuckle along with her.
“Yeah,” she said, “I haven’t felt the need to burn anything. Thanks for checking on that, though.”
Tate beamed. “That’s good, and you’re welcome. Any time.”
Audrey blinked twice, her eyes locked with his as seconds seemed to turn into minutes. He could get lost in their caramel depths. When the horn sounded, signaling the start of the second period, she looked away, taking a deep breath. Things weren’t going the way he wanted them to. She was uncommonly quiet and he didn’t understand it. He wanted to know everything about her but didn’t know how to ask. He felt it would be rude to ask her things while she was watching her nephew play, but what if he never got this opportunity to be with her again? He needed to gather up all the confidence he had in him and channel his inner Lucas. He had to stand out in her mind, make her think of him when he was gone.