She put extra emphasis on the word "fractions." Even after all these years, he could tell that she remembered he struggled the most with those things. There was one night in particular before a test when he was having trouble getting the concept of denominators and Samantha was leaning over his shoulder to watch him work. She smelled delicious as always and it was a damn miracle that he was able to concentrate and get a good grade on his test the next day.
"Alright, panel!"Right, right. Focus, Fletcher. You're on TV."Can you guess who is the U.S. Cupcake Frosting Champion?"
Fletcher pulled out his little marker and white board and started to write Samantha's name before quickly erasing it. She wasn't wearing a name tag and he hadn't referred to any other contestant by their names so it would be weird if he started now. Instead, he scribbled "three" on his board and tucked his marker away.
The host started going down the list and the other two panelists chose the first contestant. Fletcher knew they were wrong.
"Fletcher Keris, who did you choose?"
He pulled the board out and put a big smile on his face. "It's three."
"You seem pretty confident with that choice."
"It's definitely three."
He kept his eyes on Samantha as he said it, and she briefly looked at him with a face he couldn't decipher before turning to the host.
"Will the U.S. Cupcake Frosting Champion please stand up?"
The three contestants made a bit of a show of it with this one standing up and that one standing up. And then Samantha pulled herself out of the chair, standing straight with a smile on her face.
The crowd went wild and cheered as she walked over to the host of the show, and Fletcher noticed a stage manager rolling a table out. Another surprise perhaps?
"Congratulations to Fletcher who was the only one to guess that Samantha Sadok is the U.S. Cupcake Frosting Champion."
He gave the audience a small wave and a smile before quickly turning back. He hated taking his eyes off Samantha.
"So what makes you the Cupcake Frosting Champion?"
She smiled at the host. "I'm fast."
The crowd laughed and the host seemed smitten with her answer. "Well, let's see how fast you are."
He lifted the sheet on the table to reveal cupcakes and a frosting bag that Samantha picked up in her hands.
"Ready?" she asked.
Fletcher was sitting on the edge of his seat as Samantha tightened her grip on the bag and frosted four cupcakes before he could even blink.
Wow. Was there something wrong about finding Samantha totally hot as she deftly worked that frosting bag? Because right now Fletcher was turned on by frosting.
Samantha grabbed a few cupcakes off the table and started handing them to the panelists as the host cut to commercial.
And then she got to him.
"Hi, Samantha."
He took the cupcake from her hand and leaned over to give her a polite peck on the cheek. He wondered if she leaned into it or if he was just imagining that.
Then Samantha took a step back and looked at him, really looked at him, but didn't seem like she was going to say anything back. Or should he say something else to her? What were you supposed to say to the Cupcake Frosting Champion who also happened to be your high school math tutor that you used to have a huge crush on?
But then some stage hand whisked Samantha away and she didn't even give him another glance. The moment was gone.
Fletcher took a deep breath and looked down at the cupcake in his hand, some sort of white cake with white frosting. It seemed kind of boring for Samantha Sadok. Unless...
He leaned down to smell it, getting a good whiff of lemon. Oh, holy hell, it was her Lemon Delight. Fletcher gently pulled back the wrapper and took a bite, making sure he got both some cake and frosting. The lemon flavor was exactly how he remembered it all those years ago when he was sitting at his dining room table with Samantha next to him.
Fletcher closed his eyes to savor the taste, blocking out all the noise and lights around him. It was just him and that cupcake and those long nights with a girl who actually thought of him as more than just a jock on the hockey team.
