“Don't I know it.”
Katya crawled into the middle of her bed and called the bakery. It wasn't a comfortable conversation, but it wasn't awful, either. She'd apprenticed at the bakery at the age of eighteen, and had worked there ever since. The little shop was owned by a young husband and wife team, and Katya had stuck with them through lean times, through her rise to popularity, through sharks trying to steal her away – she had a good relationship with the owners.
But she also knew she'd crossed some definite lines. Huge lines. The staff at the reception hall had been the ones to call the bakery. Lauren had kept her lips shut, and when Katya's bosses had finally called her to check out the story, Lauren had defended Katya staunchly, threatening to pull her business from the bakery if they so much as looked at Katya wrong.
Of course they wouldn't look at her poorly. They also weren't going to let her go, and not just because of the business she brought in, but because they cared about her. She was like family to them, they assured her. They didn't want something like that to ever happen again, of course, but they were worried about her. Concerned. Was everything alright? What, exactly, had happened?
She couldn't tell them the full story, so she boiled it down to basics and said it had been a nasty break up with her estranged boyfriend. Since Katya's personal life had never ever interfered with her job before, they figured it must have been a really nasty break up to have exploded that way.
They brought up the idea of a sabbatical. She'd been working very hard. Maybe too hard, it was suggested. She'd gone straight from school to work, immersing herself in the industry. Maybe it was time she take a moment for herself. She would still get paid, and she could come in and work on wedding cakes for clients if she wanted to, but everything else would be handled by the bakery – they could call the other clients and redistribute the work or cancel the orders.
Katya had no choice but to agree. She was beyond humiliated, having a conversation like that with her employers. To be told, however politely, that she needed to take a leave of absence. She silently cried as they wrapped up the conversation.
I promised myself I wouldn't let those boys interfere with my work. What the fuck happened!?
After the tears stopped, she dragged herself into the kitchen. It was late afternoon, but Tori was wearing boy shorts and a tight t-shirt – sleep wear. Working at the club had her sleeping in till crazy hours. She was yawning while she flipped through a magazine, though she perked up when her friend entered the room.
“How did it go?” she asked. Katya dropped into a chair at the table.
“I'm on sabbatical,” she sighed. “They think I'm just burnt out. I'll still get paid, and I can still fulfill wedding cake orders, collect commission on those, if I want to. It just ...”
“Sucks?” Tori offered.
“Big time.”
“I'm sorry, honey. Maybe it is for the best – you work harder than anyone I know, and you're only twenty-three. Time to relax. Maybe go to Mexico for a weekend, get wasted and flash your boobs to frat boys.”
“Pass.”
“Well hey, wanna go catch a movie this weekend?” Tori suggested. Katya groaned and dropped her head down.
“I have a date this weekend,” she mumbled.
“Excuse me!?”
“I'm going on a date.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. The guy you were crushing on just shit all over your heart, and you already have a date lined up?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds -”
“Fucking epic! Legendary! I'm so proud of you! Fuck that wolf guy and whatever high horse he rode in on, you don't need him. Onto the next man,” Tori proclaimed loudly.
“It's Liam.”
“It's Liam what?”
“The date. Liam asked me on a date. I'm going on a date with Liam.”
There was silence for a long, way too tense, moment. Tori froze in the act of pouring some creamer into her coffee. Katya stared at it, worried the cup would overflow. At the last possible second, the carton tipped upright.
“I thought you and Liam were casual. That you weren't even having sex anymore,” Tori said, not looking up while she slurped at the coffee.
“We aren't – we haven't in a while. He came to check on me yesterday, and when he dropped me down here, he asked me out. He was just … he was so good to me. I felt like I needed to say yes,” Katya tried to explain.
“Oh.”
She was shocked. Tori was never silent. Never short on words. The woman even talked in her sleep. She was always interested in everything around her, and particularly in anything to do with Katya's love life. Her lack of interest was a little stunning, and once again, Katya felt the tumblers falling into place.
“Holy shit, you like Liam.”
“What!?”
“You do. You like him.”
“No, I don't.”
“You do.”
“I don't.”
“It's okay, Tori. God, I'll call and cancel.”
Katya had barely stood up when Tori reached out and grabbed her arm. Halted her movements.
“No! No, don't do that. And don't say anything to him,” she insisted.
“But you do like him,” Katya checked.
“No. Fuck, I don't know. Maybe? Not really? Like,” Tori struggled with words. “You know how he is with women. It's like he can't not flirt, so am I just reacting to that? Or am I reacting to him? He's always smiling and flirting with me, but he's like so nice and funny and understanding. It just sort of … happened. If it even really happened. Fuck, I have no clue.”
“I really think I should cancel this date, then,” Katya said.
“No. Because even if I do really like him – which I'm not even sure I do! – it doesn't matter, because he doesn't like me. That boy is crazy in love with you,” Tori said.
“No he's not!”
“He is. You should hear him, Kat. He talks about you all the time.”
“Only because I'm your mutual friend.”
“To everybody. To the bouncer, the bartenders, the clients, everybody.”
“Well … I know some of them … too ...”
“He's got a picture of you two as his wallpaper on his phone. He looks at you with those eyes … God, Katya, I hope someone looks at me someday, the way Liam Edenhoff looks at you. So you see – I could be head over heels in love with him, and it wouldn't matter, because he's head over feet for you.”
“I still don't think that's true, but even if it is, it's not worth it to me. Not if it's going to hurt you,” Katya insisted.
“It won't hurt me, I promise. It's a crush, at the very most. That's all. Just a crush.”
Yeah, just a crush, won't hurt a bit. That's what I thought before I met the man made of stone.
“Tori, I still think -”
“If you miss out on this amazing man who has the potential to love you better and harder than you've ever been loved, I will move out, right this instant.”
They stared at each other for a long second, then both burst out laughing.
“You could never move out,” Katya snickered. “Who'd cook for you? Clean up after you?”