I walked over to the shelf and grabbed a different binder. “This one looks better.” It was full of birthday cakes, retirement cakes, engagement cakes … every type of cake you could think of.
“And … here we are with your first batch.” Pearl set a tray on the table with milk in two fancy-looking glasses that looked way too breakable for me to hold, and a plate with about ten squares of cake on it. “There are two of each kind: our basic chocolate, German chocolate, dark chocolate with a raspberry layer in the middle, Crème de Menthe and Oreo.”
My head snapped up at Pearl. “You make Oreo wedding cake?” I asked incredulously.
“Yep, and we can put a layer of fruit filling or custard in between too, if you want. Basically, you can completely design your own.” She shrugged her shoulders excitedly and grinned at us. “Okay, take your time, sample them, talk about them and I’ll be back in just a bit with your white cake options.”
Grabbing a fork off the plate, I dove right into the Oreo cake.
I rolled my eyes back in my head and dropped the fork. “Oh. My. God.”
“That good, huh?” Kacie asked, trying it for herself.
“Yes!” I groaned. “I think I’m hard.”
“Shhh! Not so loud!” She giggled.
“Seriously, this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole life … almost.” I winked at her.
She gasped and turned a shade of red so dark, I was worried her head would explode right there in front of me.
“Do you agree?”
“Yes, I think it’s delicious,” she said once she regained her composure. “And really moist.”
“Oh no, stop right there.” I held my hand up. “It’s a little late, but it’s my turn to implement a condition on our relationship.”
Kacie blinked rapidly, frowning at me. “What?”
“The word moist, you can’t ever say it again.”
She threw her head back and laughed at me, covering her mouth so that cake didn’t spill out.
“No, no. Stop laughing, I’m serious.” I said, but that only made her laugh harder.
She inhaled deeply and coughed, choking on her cake.
“See, that’s what you get for making fun of me,” I teased in a self-righteous tone. After she was done hacking, she took a big gulp of milk and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“So why don’t you like the word moist?”
“Ah ah ah. What did I just say?” I warned, waving my finger.
“Why don’t you like that word?” she asked, still chuckling.
“It just sounds gross. Doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just a word.”
“No, spoon is a word. That other M-thing is vile. It’s like a porn-word or something. It needs to be removed from the English language.” I shuddered.
“Porn word? Are you innocent all of a sudden? Do I need to remind you about last weekend?”
I didn’t speak, I just glared at her.
“Okay, if you feel so strongly about it, I’ll be careful not to use it...” She smirked. “Unless I’m trying to piss you off.”
“How’s it going in here?” Pearl interrupted.
“Slow, sorry,” I responded. “She doesn’t know how to use a fork, so she keeps choking,” I joked, pointing to Kacie whose eyes bulged out of her head.
“Oh dear, do you need a spoon?” Pearl asked, completely serious.
Kacie was laughing so hard, no sound came out—all she could do was shake her head.
“Okay then, no rush. I’ll bring the white selections back in a minute, that way you can compare if you want to.”
Half an hour and eighteen cake squares later, I was beyond stuffed and extremely thankful for my elastic pants.
We’d tried every piece and had finally decided on the dark chocolate with raspberry filling, even though I pushed really hard for the Oreo. I had to … for Tommy. I was killing time flipping through the birthday binder again while we waited for Pearl. One of the cakes showcased in the binder was nothing short of incredible. It was a two-foot tall exact replica of the castle at Disney World with who I assumed were all the princesses scattered around it. Cinderella, the only one I recognized for sure, was standing on a balcony with Prince Charming.
“Holy shit, Kacie. Look at this!” I turned the book so she could see it.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes lit up.
“Wow. I mean … wow.”
“When is the girls’ birthday? They need this cake.”
“In a couple months, August 31st. I can’t get this cake though, Brody. Did you see the price?”
I spun the book back around and looked at the sticker next to the picture, which I’d totally overlooked.
“Two seventy-five? For cake?”
She nodded slowly. “I told you this place was the best. Lauren is spending a grand on this wedding cake. This place is way out of my budget.”
We’ll see about that.