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The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he reached for a forkful of noodles, and a shameful heat rose up in his gut. A heat that made Jesse want to hang his head and beg for forgiveness.
“Rai—”
“Hey, so I was thinking, maybe Gracie’s idea of a bake sale has some merit,” Raina said quickly, leaving Jesse no opportunity to finish what he’d been saying. No chance to offer an explanation or apology for what happened between them or even tell her how he’d been feeling. “It won’t make a lot, but it’ssomething; it’ll show people that I’m taking this seriously and trying to help save the hotel.”
“It’s definitely an idea,” Jesse replied. She’d probably lose more money buying the ingredients than she’d make, but if he could convince Trinity to fund the bake sale, it might be worthwhile. “It’s a lot of work, though. We’d have to get it approved by the administration, buy all the ingredients, spend time promoting, make the food, and then hope that people show up and buy things.
“Then again…you’re talking to an Ashcroft. We can get it approved, no problem. And since it’s a schoolcharityevent, maybe we can convince the school to pay for the supplies.” Jesse held up a finger. “We’ll put Nicole and Zara in charge of promotion. Zara will tell everyone at school, and Nicole can do her thing on social media. We can have it on two Sundays and bake in the morning and sell in the afternoon. Besides, our presentation will be over by then, so we can fully focus on the bake sale.”
“That’s actually…a really good plan.”
Jesse gave her a smug look, enjoying how she flushed under his gaze. Raina could deny it all she wanted, but they had a connection and it was growing. Yes, slowly but surely it was growing.
“I have good ideas every once in a while.”
ChapterFourteen
“Hi guys!” Nicole’s voice was bright, too bright. “I’m here today with my friend Zara. Huge thanks to the seven hundred of you viewing this live. We’re going to have a super chill live today. You can ask us anything, and we’ll do our best to respond!”
Raina groaned, rolling over in bed and shoving her pillow over her head. When that didn’t work to drown out Nicole’s ridiculously peppy voice, she sat up and glared at her somewhat-friend. “Do you mind? Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“It’s nine in the morning, Cohen.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Time to wake up.”
“I’m enjoying the one day of the week I have to relax, thank you,” Raina responded. “And you filming a video isn’t helping.”
Nicole gasped, clearly offended. “It’s not a video, it’s a livestream for my followers!”
Raina snorted. “What, are you a dark wizard or something? Look,” she continued, before Nicole could shoot back a retort, “I’m trying to sleep, okay? Shabbos—Saturday—is the only day that I can sleep in.”
“Why don’t you go film in your room, Nic?” Gracie interjected calmly.
Raina rubbed her eyes, glancing around the room. Zara and Nicole were crowded on the redhead’s bed, likely around Nicole’s phone. Gracie, the only other occupant in the room, was beading at her desk.
“Where are Annalisse and Juliet?” Raina asked sleepily.
“Juliet’s off chasing after some boy and Annalisse is...somewhere,” Nicole said. “We can’t go to my room, it’s busy.”
Zara leaned closer to Nicole. “Hey, why don’t we find an empty classroom? We can go back to your room in a bit.”
Nicole hesitated before nodding reluctantly. “Fine. And Cohen, tutoring session later tonight at five. Be there or fuck you.”
Raina opened her mouth to protest, to tell Nicole she couldn’t come, but the dark haired girl swept out of the room before she could answer. Raina sighed, collapsing onto her bed.
“Want to tell Nicole I can’t go?” she asked Gracie. “Shabbos doesn’t end until 5:30; I don’t do any work until then.”
“Not a chance.” Gracie snorted, standing and grabbing something from her bedside.
Raina groaned, raking a hand through her hair. “I thought I was making progress with her. After we spent Sunday night at her house, she’d been a lot…well, nicer. Maybe not nice-nice, but she’s at least been cordial.”
Gracie shrugged. “Nicole’s not a trusting person. And I know that’s not an excuse, but she needs time to warm up to you. Once she gets to know you, she’s going to love you like I do.”
Raina gasped, flinging a hand to her forehead. “Gracie, does Dean know you’re cheating on him?”
“Funny. Now, don’t you have prayers to do?”
“Yup. I’m going to wash my face and get dressed first.”
“I’ll be quiet,” Gracie promised.
