"I hope you realize that we don't have any discounts for people who come here every day." Laughing, I walked over to Finn, who was sitting in his usual spot at the edge of the bistro. "You're even worse than my guys." I put a cup of coffee in front of him.
"What can I say, I like it here." He smiled, and the moment I noticed the small dimple on his right cheek, I almost melted.
"So your daily plans involve hanging out at the bistro?" I put one hand on my hip.
"It's better than what I would do in my apartment." Something in his eyes darkened for a small moment.
"So if you don't have better plans." I looked over the counter where the clock was. "I finish in half an hour and I'm going to get Jeremy a present for tomorrow, you can join," I suggested with a little soul, hoping that he would join me.
For some reason, I like spending time with him. I don't know why, but with him, I just feel...not alone.
"I would like that." He nodded and half an hour could never come sooner.
I swear every second dragged on for at least a minute. I almost ran out of the dressing room with excitement that my work was over for the day.
At the door, Finn was already standing in all his glory. How can something as simple as a black T-shirt and pants look so good on someone? What is the secret? Is it magic? Deal with the devil?
I walked up to him with the bags containing the cake molds that Monica had lent me. I saw his confused look at the bags, so I told him what it was about.
"Are you going to bake it today?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm. I finished two hours early to catch up on everything. Ready?"
"After you." He pointed to the door. "Oh wait." He jumped in front of me and opened the door.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"So we should probably put this aside first." I picked up my bags. "They would be unnecessary trouble. We'll stop by my house along the way andâ"
"Or we can put them in the car." He took the key from his pocket and unlocked the car, which was standing a few meters away from us.
I'm not a huge car fan, so all I know about it is that it's black and looks really expensive.
"Oh." Finn started walking towards the car with me close behind. "Looks expensive." Good job, Lexi.
"My brother bought it for me." He shrugged before walking over to the trunk, opening it, and helping me put everything in there. "I don't use it much, see no scratches."
"You don't like driving?" I guessed.
"Something like that." He waved his hand over it and I let it go.
Finn quickly walked over to the passenger door and opened it. I just stood there for a while. Wow.
Get over it, Lexi. Finn is not some character from your books.
"Oh, you wanted to drive?" He held up the key.
"No. No. I just..." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."
"I'm serious, if you want to drive, help yourself." He pointed to the car. "I won't mind."
I'm sure he would mind if I totally wrecked his car.
"No, it's fine." I almost jumped into the car just to avoid his persuasion.
I didn't tell him the reason why I refused his offer. But it's really simple.
I don't have a driver's license.
Not because I didn't want to, but because I never had the time or money for it.
When I was younger, I preferred to leave the money from temporary jobs to my parents. I think they needed it more.
And over time, I didn't even want it anymore. I don't think it would be that easy to buy a car and keep it in good condition with all the expenses I already have.
I'm not ashamed that I don't have a driver's license, but I don't shout it out to the world either.
I navigated Finn to the center, to the shops where I could buy some kind of gift for Jeremy. I already have something figured out, but the plans can change if I find something that catches my eye.
"Here." I smiled and walked over to the menswear section in one of the shops visited some time back. I immediately went to the jackets.
"Any idea what to buy him?"
"What?" I stood on the other side of the hangers, Finn opposite me. "You don't have to buy him anything. Just coming there will do."
"Come on." He tilted his head to the side. "Give me some advice. I've always been the worst at this." He reached for something from the hanger and picked it up. It was an orange jacket with black details.
"Obviously." I smiled.
Finn gave me a hard look before he too smiled. Oooh my god those dimples.
"Are you enjoying my suffering?" He said with a smile.
"Me?" I clutched my chest. "Never."
"Mhm." He shook his head with a laugh.
"Maybe a T-shirt." I shrugged before running down the leather fabric of the jacket. I found Jeremy's size and picked it out of the others.
I've known for a while that Jeremy needed a new leather jacket. As someone who spends most of his time on a motorcycle, it's obvious that it gets destroyed easily.
I grabbed the white piece of paper on the edge so I could see the price.
I don't know what I expected. It was obvious that it would not be cheap. Nothing is cheap these days.
Come on Lexi, Jeremy would do it for you.
I breathed a heavy sigh and decided to buy it. He deserves it.
"How about a watch?" I was startled by Finn's voice.
"Sounds good." I nodded. "I think there's one shop on the third floor. We can go there. I'll just pay for this." I lifted the jacket.
"Sure." He nodded and followed me to the cash register.
"Good day." The saleswoman smiled at me and took the jacket off the counter before scanning it and telling me the price.
I took out my wallet and thought for a moment whether to pay with a card or in cash.
I don't even know how much I have in my account. What if the payment is declined? What would it look like? And in front of Finn.
I pulled out the cash I had saved for worse times and placed it on the counter with an uncertain smile.
The saleswoman returned my change before wrapping the jacket in a bag and handing it to me.
And that's exactly how I blew the money for the next week or two.
It's worth it. I said to myself. Jeremy is worth it.
"How can I help you?" The saleswoman behind the counter, which was full of watches, smiled at us.
"Hello," Lexi smiled, "we would like to buy some watches."
"Of course. Do you know what you're looking for? Color. What price point do you want to fit in? Specific brand or not?"
"Men's. Probably black." Lexi looked at me. "With something silver." She said carefully as if she expected me to stop her. "And the price limit..."
"No price limit." I interrupted her.
"The latest model we got is this one." She unlocked the side of the see-through counter and pulled out a watch that matched the description Lexi had given. "It's one of the more moderate prices. But if you happen to want a branded one, like a Rolex or..."
"Do you like it, Lexi?" I nodded my head at the counter where they were placed.
Only then did I notice that Lexi was still slightly off since I said there was no price limit.
"They are beautiful, but...Excuse me, how much do they cost?" She finally said.
"One thousand and nineteen dollars." The saleswoman smiled before Lexi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"I'll take them."
"Finn." She stopped my hand as I pulled out my wallet.
"What?" I looked at her confused.
"That's a thousand dollars."
"I know. I heard her." I laughed and took out my wallet despite her hand. I handed the saleswoman my card.
"Then you must know that this is really a lot of money." She said more quietly. "I thought you would buy something simple. Maybe twenty bucks at most. But this is one thousand and nineteen dollars!"
"It's just money." What really matters cannot be bought by any amount of money.
"I can't believe we're even talking about this. You don't even know him. Finn, think about it."
"Already did." I took back the card from the saleswoman along with the notepad and the wrapped watch. "Can we go now?"
Lexi just looked at me dumbfounded, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing.
*****
It was quiet all the way to the car. I think I scared her. But how? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?
When we got into the car, I finally spoke. "So now what?"
"Um." Lexi finally got out of her head. "Home. My home, not yours." She shook her head. "You know what I mean."
I couldn't help but smile. Do I look like that as well when I stutter through my own sentences?
"I need to bake a cake." She put her hands in her lap.
I understand that she needs to bake it, but I'm not quite ready to let her go yet.
"How about you bake it at my place?" It came out before I knew what I was saying.
"No, Finn." She looked at me. "You've already done a lot. I can't ask you..."
"You're not asking for anything." I interrupted her. "I'm offering."
I could see the hesitation in her eyes. She wanted to say yes, but something was stopping her.
So I didn't give her a choice and started the car. I headed to my apartment.
Before we got there, Lexi shouted that she had all the ingredients for the cake at home. After a little persuasion, we got to the store where we bought everything.
Since it was my idea to go to my place, I paid for everything. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't let her pay.
We were already walking through the corridor to my apartment. I let Lexi go in first.
"Wow." She almost whispered as she stood just by the door looking at my apartment.
"It's not bad, I know." I slipped past her and placed everything on the counter. "So how do we start?"
Am I really offering to help her make a cake? I can barely heat anything in the microwave.
"Well..." She shook her head and walked over to the counter where she placed the cake tins. "I'll make the cake and you can do what you normally do."
"What?" I frowned.
"I don't want you to help me anymore." She laughed. "You're already helping me more than you think. So you can do whatever you want." She waved her hand over it. "Watch TV or something...I don't know."
"And if I want to watch you make a cake?" I raised an eyebrow.
The moment she bit her lip, I died in the corner of my soul. My God, what I would give to be able to do it myself.
What are you talking about Finn? Get yourself together! Friends, remember?
"Okay." She said quietly and walked past me. I could smell her strawberry scent again, as well as in the car.
I feel like strawberries are now my favorite fruit.
"Oh my God." She stopped at the stove and turned around. "Mixer." She said scared. "Do you have a mixer?"
"Um." It's probably a bad idea to tell her I don't even know where my plates are, right? "I don't think so, but Zack lives next door. I'll text him." I took my cell phone out of my pocket and quickly texted him that I needed a hand mixer.
Within seconds he looked at the message and less than five minutes later someone was knocking on the door.
Lexi ran to them with me hot on her heels. I was only a short distance behind her when she opened the door to reveal Zack with a box in his hand and a smile on his face.
"I knew you didn't need it." He laughed. "Lexi." He smiled at her and handed her the box.
"Thank you, Zack, you are our salvation." She thanked him.
"So what do you need a mixer for?"
"A cake for Jeremy."
"That makes sense." He nodded.
"You can join if you want. You wouldn't mind, would you?" She turned to me and I shook my head with the words "sure, feel free to join us".
But the moment she turned around, I pointed at Zack and mouthed "Don't. You. Dare.". I then ran my finger across my neck, which was supposed to act as a threat.
And the little bastard started to smile.
"Gladly." He nodded.
I'll kill him.
"Oh but..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I just remembered I have something. Maybe another time."
So maybe he'll live to see another day.
"Oh well." Her shoulders dropped slightly. "See you tomorrow?"
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow." He winked at me and I closed the door.
"Don't you think he was acting strange?" Lexi looked at me as I walked back into the kitchen.
"No. Not even a little bit." I put my hands on the counter and leaned back. "So what do we start with?" I smiled.
Oh Finn you little devil ;)