9 - The favorite Two

I was cleaning some trays at the washing station, trying not to get too upset that I had to work in the early afternoon. There was no use to it anyway since I was only about five minutes from the end of my shift. I could watch the fresh donuts being pulled down the conveyor belt of our production line, waiting to lure in innocent people with their delightful sweet smell.

When I first started here, I always enjoyed a deep breath when I entered the store. (as every single customer does). But after doing this for almost a year now? Nothing. I got so used to their sweet aroma that I can now smell everything else in the store stronger than the donuts. For example, at the cleaning station, the scent of the dish soap (and it wasn't even fragranced) was more apparent to me than the sugary odor.

Only three more dirty trays were between me and my date with Conor.

The washing station was hidden behind the Donut conveyor belt at the back of the store. However, you still had quite a good look at the counter, so you could stop doing whatever you were doing to attend to every customer immediately. And I couldn't take my eyes off the entrance, as if that would make Conor appear here earlier.

I sprayed the last bit of foam off the one I held and threw it a bit too forcefully onto the drying rack, producing a louder CLONK than I wanted to.

I couldn't help it, but I was still worked up even this close to the finish line. I tried for weeks to trade away all my shifts and sweet-talk my supervisor Dara, who was also our store manager. And at first, everything worked in my favor, until my colleague Ciara (who was initially so eager to take this shift because she could use the extra money for some trip she was saving for) quit a week ago to work for our biggest competitor, the cookie store across the street—leaving us understaffed and, therefore, returning this one to me. At least Dara was kind enough to take over the second half of my shift, or I would have been here till dinner time.

When I confessed it to Conor three days ago (after all my attempts at persuading the other hardworking donut store employees failed), he was as understanding as always. At first, he just wanted to join me since the store is close to downtown, and he was eager to stroll to indulge in nostalgia. But since he didn't see Milo yesterday, he decided to spend the afternoon with him instead, promising he would pick me up at the store once the shift ended so we could embark on our date together. The one that Conor wished to have at my school. The one where I finally want to ask him if he wants to become my boyfriend, so we can end this secret-keeping once and for all.

Dara plotted back to me after preparing an online pickup order that came in two minutes ago.

"And guess what he then said to me: Yo, I wanna speak to the manager. And I said, well, you already are!" Dara yelled as she was going on about her evening yesterday. She has a loud organ, but I like her a lot. Not only because she tries to make the work as rewarding for us as possible and works with our schedules but because she's a fun person to be around. And she never treated me as if I was a ticking time bomb, although I had my moments at work too. "And he looked at me with his lemur eyes as if I was lying. But I was like, yeah, that's right. I'm the manager, and let me tell you, just because I'm only twenty, don't treat me as if I'm not!"

A blue pickup truck drove into a parking lot right in front of the store, making us look up. The passenger door opened, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Conor's face. But it started racing as if I was running a marathon as the driver's door opened, and a tall guy our age, about a head higher than Conor, got out and slammed the door with a loud WHUMP.

I immediately recognized Milo, even though he had gotten rid of his shoulder-length hairstyle and had a buzz-cut now. It made his face appear even more intimidating as the scar above his left eye was now exposed as if he was proud of it. And it didn't help that his arm muscles had grown so much that one could think he might need a license to carry them. Guess all the boxing training paid off. I would have thought he was Conor's bodyguard if I hadn't known better.

Fuck. I didn't anticipate Milo to join Conor. And what if the three of us were about to spend more time together? If he wanted to have that talk with me, he couldn't have yesterday? And then what about the date Conor and I were supposed to go on?

Dara instantly noticed that I was staring at them. Because usually, I couldn't care less until someone actually arrived at the counter.

"This your friends you've been waiting for?"

Dara shoved the company sun visors we were supposed to wear back over her dark box braids while we watched Conor and Milo walk up to the entrance. Milo pointed at something next to the store, but I couldn't see what it was. His mouth formed a couple of words that obviously had to have been quite funny because Conor laughed.

I wish I had been prepared to see them together like this.

"Finish the trays, and then you can go."

"Can you make Conor, the guy with the black hair and glasses, decide on a favorite two-pack? I'll pay for it. And don't let him talk you into paying for them himself!"

She shortly clenched her face as if she anticipated that he might be the reason I was so eager not to work today, but slowly her face turned into a wide grin, nodding as if she now understood everything.

As Milo pulled the handle and held it open for Conor, she hopped to the counter.

"Hey guys, what can I get you today?"

I splashed more water onto the trays to remove the white foam. Milo told Dara which donuts he wanted in his dozen, and I lurked through the small opening between the Washing Station and the donut production line. Conor spotted me and waved at me to make sure I saw him. I let the pullout spray faucet be for a second and waved back with my wet cleaning gloves. Milo observed our interaction meticulously, and as his eyes met mine, he nodded me 'hello,' his face stone cold.

"And for you?" Dara asked Conor, and he raised his arm to show that he didn't want to buy any.

"Sorry, you're Conor, right?"

"Uhm, yes."

"You're supposed to pick your favorite two donuts, or this guy in the back will kill me."

Milo's glare sent a shiver down my spine. But Conor couldn't stifle a laugh, probably knowing they were meant for our upcoming date. He shook his head, and even Milo's suspicious stare couldn't stop me from smiling.

I splashed the last bubbles off the trays and put them onto the drying rack, shook the cleaning gloves into a bin, and sprinted to the lockers in the back room to change into something more date-suited. I replaced my green working vest with a ginger-colored shirt with an imprint of Yellowstone National Park on the front. I chose this one because Conor told me he liked it on one of our online dates.

When I bolted back to the front, Dara approached me with a vigorous smile.

"Conor is cute," she said.

You don't have to tell me that.

"I can see why you didn't want to work this week if he's the one visiting."

I almost stumbled over my feet.

"Wait. It's not—"

I think my face gave off that this wasn't something I wanted her to see through.

"Well, I'm not judging! All I'm saying is, have fun and use that time, so it wasn't for nothing that I gifted my free afternoon to you."

She just kept grinning, and her mouth got wider by the second. My eyes wandered between her and Conor and Milo, who stood by the exit. They shared another laugh, but Milo had his hands already on the door, ignoring my presence entirely. Conor said something to Milo, but he shook his head. Oh man, I wish I could hear what they are talking about. A brief but close hug later, Milo walked back to his truck. I can't deny that I'm a bit relieved Milo was leaving. I wouldn't want him to interfere with my plans for the afternoon. Conor walked to one of the tables and sat down, waving at Milo as his car drove back on the road. Then he spotted me, watching him, and shook his head with a grin.

"How do you...?" I whispered to Dara.

"The Favorite Two Pack? I've been in the donut business long enough to know that only lovers buy that. And now off you go! Don't want to see you here until next week."

"Thank you so much," I replied, trying to end this conversation quickly, to not give anything off to Milo.

"Oh, and if that muscle guy is single, you might want to give him my number?"

"I... will do that." I stuttered, and Dara followed my view to Conor.

"Well, I hope you're going to have a better afternoon than I will," she said, shoving me toward the front before she disappeared into the backroom.

Within seconds I was in front of Conor as if we were magnets that were attracting each other.

"Look at you, all working like a grownup," he complimented me as only the two of us were left in the front of the store.

"Someone has to pay the bills," I joked as if we were an old married couple, and I can't deny that this thought warmed my heart.

We looked at each other, and then Conor noticed the two donuts he still held.

"Oh, and we have to talk about that!"

"You'll see what they are for."

I pointed outside at the white Nissan Rouge waiting for us and jumped to the door to hold it open for him. Conor nodded in appreciation and whole-heartedly pranced through it.

"Thank you very much!"

As soon as we stepped outside, the early spring heat hit my face, and I was happy that the store had a fully functioning air conditioning system.

"Kind of your mom to lend you her car."

"I guess she's just tired of driving me around all the time."

As I pulled the handle of the driver's door, the car opened with a beep. I jumped in and threw my backpack onto the back seat. Conor positioned himself next to me, the donut box on his lap. We closed the doors simultaneously, and the car shook a little.

I searched the parking lot for prying eyes and the big display windows for Dara, but no one was around. So I leaned in and stole a kiss from Conor, who was definitely surprised that I did that in a public place like that.

"Sorry," I said, not hiding that I wasn't remorseful at all. "Ready for our date?"