From Conundrums to Kisses | ONC 2020

Chapter 6: Learning the Ropes

Colton's POV 

Colton yawned as he went into the display case to bring out a chocolate brownie. "Here ya go, ma'am."

The middle-aged woman with straight hair gave him a smile, taking the brownie in a brown paper bag, taking a bite as she walked out of the shop.

The bell rang, prompting Colton to look up from packaging the rest of the desserts. Teagan was stylish as usual, even if she was dressed like a tomboy. She wore a white shirt with the words I Told You So in gray, fitting perfectly with a pair of light blue jeans. "Hey, Colton. You ready for today?"

Colton tilted his head to the side. "Ready for what?"

Teagan put her hands on her hips. "Come on! Don't tell me you don't remember?"

Colton gulped. "Of course, I do. I was just kidding." He paused. "But tell me again for old times' sake."

Tegan rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to teach me how you run the shop with your dad, remember?"

He smacked his head. "You're right." He tapped his chin, trying to figure out the best way to go about this. "Okay, here's what we'll do. You can sit at the table, watching how I do things. Then after an hour of learning, you can come up here and try it out for yourself. Sounds good?"

"Um−" Teagan bit her lip, wanting to impress the boy.

Colton could sense her hesitancy. "Don't worry. I'll be guiding you along if you need help."

Teagan nodded, a bit more confident in her abilities.

For the next hour, she watched as Colton mingled with the customers, telling them what was in each dessert with patience, especially for some of the elderly people who were hard of hearing. Well, he sure is an extrovert, that's for sure.

As for Teagan, she found that she enjoyed interacting with the customers. However, she could only do it for so long before she got tired or worse, let her patience wear thin with the difficult ones. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, pressing her lips together as she drew in a sharp breath. She leaned forward, watching how Colton paced back and forth between the counter and the customers, never skipping a beat.

Teagan wished she could be as quick as him. Jealousy arose inside of her, wondering why it took her longer to learn these kinds of things. It was then that her mother's words of wisdom came back to her. Everyone goes at their own pace. Do what's best for you at the rate at which you're comfortable with. Always strive to do better. Those words allowed her to be at peace within herself, erasing the bitter feeling she had towards Colton and replacing it with admiration.

It was then that she realized that Colton had watched her staring at him. She gazed at the ground, wondering why she was embarrassed for no apparent reason. Colton walked over to her, sitting down in the seat next to her.

Teagan opened her mouth to speak, rambling over her words. "I−I didn't mean to stare at you. I just admired the way you had so much patience in dealing with the customers. Not that customers can be difficult all the time. I know a lot of customers who−"

"Teagan." It was Colton's stern but soft voice that stopped her as he laid his hand over hers. "It's okay. I know how hard it is dealing with customers sometimes. In fact−" He bit his lip, wondering whether to share this information with her. "There was a customer who tried to flirt with me and didn't take no for an answer." He continued. "I kept saying no, but she was persistent."

"I remember that day. I saw how much you were struggling and told her that you were happily taken."

Colton chuckled. "The look on her face was priceless. I had never seen someone literally turn red with rage. The tricky part came when she asked us to prove it."

Teagan giggled. "Yeah, you decided to ask permission if you could kiss me, and I happily obliged."

Colton looked at her with an expression she didn't recognize. Was that fondness? "Yeah, I kissed you on the cheek, and she said that we'd have to do better than it. I told her that everyone is comfortable with PDA 24/7, including us."

"I told her that we had better things to do than waste time with the likes of her and her incessant babbling," Teagan said.

"I remember the way she slammed the door. I swear, in all my days of working here, I had never seen someone so angry." He paused. "Thanks for getting me out of that sticky situation."

Teagan's smile turned into a straight line. "Really, Colton? You know how much I hate puns."

Colton shrugged. "Well, we're in a bakery." He lifted two of his fingers. "And two, you know you love them!"

Teagan walked over to the counter without saying a word, adding her own flair to how she watched Colton do things.

A mother and her little girl holding a rag doll in hand walked into the store, with Teagan at the front and center. "Hey, you guys! Welcome to Colton's Creations. What would you guys like?"

The little girl shyly pointed to a plain vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting. "Can I have that one, please?" she said in a small voice, hiding behind her mother.

Teagan moved from behind the counter, making sure that she didn't frighten the poor girl to death. She bent down to her level to look less intimidating. "Of course, sweetie. My name's Teagan and your friend back there..." She pointed to Colton, who gave the girl a small wave. "Is teaching me how to tailor to customer's needs when it comes to giving them their order."

It was then that Teagan noticed the similarities between this little girl and Colton. She's probably his younger sister. She'd recognize that black hair and adorable face in an− She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of her thoughts. She was here to work, not to fawn over her best friend.

Tegan smiled at the girl. "Let me get you one that's as unique as you are."

The girl gave Teagan a bright smile as she moved out of her comfort zone. "Colton is my best friend." The little girl piped up.

Teagan packaged the cupcake with care, making sure that she didn't get frosting on the inside or outside of the box. She handed the dessert to the little girl. "Is he now?"

The little girl stepped towards Teagan, feeling a little bit bolder. She leaned in towards her like she was telling a secret, "Yeah, he really likes you. He said you're stunning."

Teagan's mouth formed a small "o" shape at the news. She didn't know that he had spoken highly of her to his sister.

Colton walked up to the little girl, his curiosity peaked at the conversation between Teagan and his younger sister. "Hey, sport. Whatcha up to?" He tickled the girl, causing small giggles to escape her lips.

The little girl gave him a mischievous grin. "Nothing, Colty."

Teagan snickered. "Colty, huh?"

Colton's face turned bright red. He scoffed. "Pshhh. Whose nickname did you decide to give that one to, Diane?"

Teagan gushed at the interaction. Aw, this is so adorable!

Diane pointed at him. "You!"

Teagan laughed as Colton's smile quickly vanished, replaced with an unamused frown. "You could have at least played along with me, kid..." He muttered under his breath.

The little girl snickered with a satisfied grin, walking alongside her mother. "Bye, Colty's girlfriend. Thanks for the cupcake."

Colton gritted his teeth at the response. "That little..."

Teagan held back a laugh, watching as Colton stewed in his annoyance toward his younger sibling.