Baking In December

Brandy Snap Baskets

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Harry said goodbye to the last customer of the day and locked the door behind him before he hurried to get a rag to clean the tables. It was Saturday so Louis wouldn't show up in a couple of hours.

The idea of the competition of teaching someone to bake had been a marketing move in the first place. To be able to enter the competition the customers had to buy something from the bakery.

His initial plan was like five sessions or so but then Louis' sisters came in and talked about him and even showed his picture and Harry changed his plan.

It wasn't just that Louis was extremely good-looking. Harry had lived in Doncaster for six months now without making any friends. A bakery didn't exactly attract people his age. He had figured that some sweet old lady would be making cookies with him a few times but here he had a candidate that he might be able to get to know and maybe hang out with sometimes? The thought of dating him obviously crossed his mind but he had no idea if this Louis guy liked men and he needed a friend more than a boyfriend anyway.

So, he took total advantage of the situation and changed it to daily baking lessons for the whole of December. A month would give him the chance to get to know this man. He felt awful about it of course. Maybe Louis didn't want new friends? Or maybe he was really unpleasant and Harry would be stuck with him for a month.

Well, that wasn't the case. Louis was lovely. He was really friendly and most of all he was extremely funny. And gorgeous, but that was just a bonus.

Harry was a little star-struck after their first meeting. Louis seemed so confident. Someone who filled up the whole room with his personality. Harry had always been the awkward type. He always managed to say the wrong thing when he wasn't too shy to actually speak to people. Now he didn't have much of a choice but Louis somehow managed to make him feel comfortable around him right away.

He went home and took a shower and ate dinner. Perhaps he spent a little extra time getting ready. He felt a little pathetic. He had no big Saturday plans. Just duping a good-looking guy to bake cookies so he might want to hang out sometimes. He hurried to the bakery and waited for Louis' arrival.

A knock on the front door made him smile. He hurried to open it and the sight of a smiling Louis made his stomach flip. It was silly. He hardly even knew him.
"Hi." Man, did he have to sound so out of breath?

"Hello." Louis replied. They said the same thing yesterday.

"Come in." Harry answered and moved away from the doorway. Louis locked it behind them.

They moved to the back. Louis removed his jacket and put on the apron. He looked cute in an apron. Harry shook his head to clear it.
"So, how long do these cookies take? I'm meeting me friends at the pub later." Louis asked.

"Oh, an hour give or take. Is that okay? We can always skip this session if you have places to be." Harry replied.

"What? No, I wanna bake cookies. Do you have any plans tonight?" Louis asked.

"A couple of episodes of Friends." Harry shrugged.

"I love that show. Here's a thought, why don't you join me at the pub?" Louis suggested.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your night with your friends." Harry answered, heart beating a little faster.

"Intrude? Don't be silly. I invited you. I really want you to come." Louis answered.

"Alright, yeah. I'd love to." Harry smiled.