Devyn part 14

I was surprised when Devyn came into the cafe. I thought he would be mad at me. "Hey, stranger," I said with a big smile as he walked up to the cash register. He smiled back, though not quite as largely as usual. "So, you guys got some good pastries?" he asked, ducking his head out of my view as he looked at the display case full of apple scones, chocolate chip cookies, and various flavors of muffins. "Definitely. I've been working pretty hard memorizing all those pastries." A little smile danced on the edge of the lips, the kind that I imagined was the thing that caught all those girls from high school off guard and lured them in like a rat to the trap. "In fact," I continued, looking to my side so as to dodge the gaze I knew I would recieve when I finished my sentence, "I've had to give up on some reading I've been doing because of this job." Cue head snap. I smiled and looked at him, "I decided to postpone my reading for a while. Don't want to lose focus on my new job." He smiled like a kid counting his candy on halloween. "Well," he said, smile still there, "I'm glad the new job's working out for you." The smile dropped as my boss stepped out. "Hey there! Come to pay my new employee a visit?" Jacob asked, gorgeous smile sparkling at Devyn with his white-despite-insane-amounts-of-sugar-every-day teeth. "Yup," Devyn said easily, though I could hear the uneasiness in his tone. The same uneasiness I had heard Erik, and every guy before him. I glared at Devyn, as if to say: my. boss. I'm. not. that. stupid. Somehow, though, my message didn't get through, because Devyn said quickly, "Well, I gotta run, but you be careful." I smiled sarcastically at him as he slipped out of the front door. Careful did not have the monotone one uses when referring to making sure you don't burn yourself on the stove. "He seems like he's pretty busy," Jacob noted as Devyn pulled out of the parking lot. I sniffed, "Oh, yea. Full time job."

"Fun."

"It is indeed." Jacob smiled that easy happy baker smile I was starting to feel accustomed to. At first it had been intimidating, this huge, warm, welcoming guy-and me standing next to him, small, nervous, my only job experience being in a cubicle. I wasn't exactly a pro at dealing with moody customers yet, either, while Jacob could just brush them off like any other buyer. "We get their money, we get their attitude. It's a package deal," Jacob had said with his half grin to me when I had asked him how he dealt with those people. I shook my head and looked away from him. "We get their money, they get our pastries," I replied, pushing a new tray of lime scones into the display. "That's the deal." Jacob's grin played with the side of his lips as he tilted his head and said, "Some people like to color outside the lines. Even if it's against the rules." He leaned toward me, "Even it upsets people." I caught myself catching my breath and turned quickly away. Nope. No way. There was no way in the world I would fall for my boss again. Especially when Devyn was so expecting of it. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Jacob's really nice," I said casually, replying to Bubba's inquiry of how my new job was going, as him, Devyn and I sat around Bubba's dining room table, eating dinner like a family. "Ah ha!" Devyn exclaimed. "Easy to work with," I hissed at Devyn in an irritated tone. "Ya, sure. Working away. All hours of the day."

"Why I oughta-"

"Now, now, kids, let's not fight," Devyn interjected as he stepped out of his kitchen holding the salad bowl. He placed it on the table. "Now, Devyn, why don't you tell us how your day went?" he asked, all parent-like. Devyn scoffed, "Horrible. Couldn't have been worse."

"What? Why? What happened?" Bubba asked, generally concerned. Devyn glared at me and pointed with his fork, "My best friend once again fell to the spell of the managing beasts!"

"GAH!" I screamed, lunging across the table for Devyn. "Kids!" Bubba screamed, his general nickname for us now sounding more like a reference to his own offspring rather than just an age difference. "Settle down," he said, glaring at us as we both slid back into our chairs, staring at him and wondering where the sudden wave of parent-like qualities had come from. "You doin' Ok, Bub?" Devyn asked after a pause. Bubba rose his eyebrows quickly, "Of course! What makes you think otherwise?" Devyn and I exchanged a glance, shrugged, and continued eating our meal, looking like two kids eating with their single dad.

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