AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rowan opens the cake box top.
The frosting is all over the inside of the box. It’s basically everywhere but the cake. The cake, now that I look at it, is basically a blackened disk. And it’s still gently smoking. What was I thinking, bringing this here?
Rowan leans over. “There are words on the side of the box,” she observes. “U glarple mi lur?”
“I am seeing, O glarg me lo,” Mason corrects her.
Ruby leans over, too, and peers into the box. “I don’t know how you guys are even seeing anything. Oh well, at least there’s frosting.” She sticks her finger in the frosting, grabs a glob, and shoves it in her mouth.
Then she looks at me in dismay. “Um, Paxton. Did you forget sugar?” she asks.
My eyes widen in alarm. “I... think I used sugar? Maybe it was salt? I mean, they’re both white and crystalline...”
Ruby makes a face and swallows it. She makes a gagging noise. There’s a long pause. Then she bursts into laughter. Mason and Rowan join her, and then I start laughing too, and then we’re all laughing so hard we’re crying.
Puck wanders in and barks excitedly. He stands on his hind legs, sniffing at the cake.
Then he wrinkles up his nose and walks away.
“My dude.” Mason is howling with laughter.
“Oh, come on,” I cry out in protest. Ruby is laughing so hard, she’s clutching her stomach and wheezing.
“This was the best birthday present ever,” she assures me. “Mason, do you have any of those red plastic boxes that they use for hazardous waste? We need to protect innocent sanitation engineers from exposure.”
“Daaamn.” I draw the word out dramatically. But I’m grinning.
I did it.
I made Ruby not just smile but laugh.
“Listen,” I say. “I’m going to go out on a high note, and also try to get out of here before Ruby needs to get her stomach pumped from that frosting.”
“I’ll walk you to the door,” Ruby says, which is obviously code for “I want to talk to Paxton alone.”
I grab my briefcase from the counter. When we get to the front door, she throws her arms around me and gives me a hug. I smell her sweet honeysuckle-scented shampoo and feel the warmth of her pressing in to me. The hug goes on for a long time, until she finally lets go and I reluctantly release her, so she can take a step back.
“You’re the best,” she says to me. “But should we still be friends since we’ve broken up?’
“Actually, we never broke up,” I inform her.
“We didn’t?” she gives me a puzzled look.
“No, because we were never truly going out, so we couldn’t actually truly break up.”
“That feels like a loophole.” She narrows her eyes at me.
“The very best kind.” I open up my briefcase, pull out the envelope, and hand it to her.
“Are you serving me with a lawsuit?” She arches an eyebrow.
I nod. “Yes. I am officially suing you for the crime of excessive cuteness.”
“I am not cute.” she pouts. “I am formidable.”
“Aww, boo-boo kitten-face. You look so cute when you say that.”
Ruby shudders dramatically.
