6. Salem
SALEM
“ Y ou’re back from tennis early.”
“I figured you’ll need a hand with transportation,” Dad offers.
“I appreciate it. I was starting to doubt my plan.”
“Let’s hear it,” he says, standing next to me. His muscular frame that lives in my adolescent memories is now a softer, more lanky build, but the presence that garners the nickname The Chief among his friends is still alive and strong.
“Driving slowly with it in the front seat.”
He chuckles, slinging his arm over my shoulder. “How about you drive, and I protect it with my life?”
“Deal.”
“You deserve a date just for flying almost three thousand miles to bake and hand deliver your crush a cake on what I imagine is a much-needed rest day. That’s old-school romance. And just when I thought you youngsters killed it with those impersonal apps. You’ve really outdone yourself.”
I wish I could say the design came easily.
Of course Blue didn’t respond with an answer for his favorite dessert.
That would be too easy. Nothing about him’s easy.
I asked Cat, but her lips were sealed, so I decided to wing it.
After weeks of research and trial and error stretched around road games, my doubts backed me into a corner. Then I got a call.
“Salut toi.”
I grinned at Lucien’s sing-song voice. “Hey you,” I repeated back.
“Tu me manques et je suis jaloux.”
“Wait, say it again slower,” I replied.
He did, and I was still lost.
“Tsk. Tsk. You’ve already forgotten the French I taught you?” he asked.
“I remember the important words.”
“And what might those be?”
“Putain de merde, je veux plus, oh putain,” I rattled off.
He chuckled. “The words you made me scream during sex are the important words? I said I miss you, and I’m jealous. You never made any grand gestures for me.”
He saw my press conference. “Pretty hard to when I was in the closet.”
“I’m jealous he gets to experience you out of the closet.”
“He hasn’t agreed to a date yet.”
He scoffed. “Only an idiot would turn you down, and you’re too good for idiots.”
It hit me how much I missed my friend. We hooked up every now and then, but we never confused that with what we were—friends. “How are you settling in?” I asked.
“Eh, France will always be home, so it’s easy to settle here. I plan to be back in Manhattan often. They’re too proud to admit it, but my maman and papa need me here. They asked to meet you, by the way.”
“Yeah?”
“They don’t believe the beautiful, famous man on the screen is one of my best friends.” He sighed. “They need me. Maison Laurent needs a strong hand. One of the pattern makers is a drunk, and I fear the head seamstress is sliding into senility.”
“Isn’t she like eighty-nine?”
“So?”
“Maybe it’s time to order cake and champagne and throw her a retirement party?”
“You try retiring the tyrant. She threatens to go straight to the competition every time I broach the subject. They’ve been trying to poach her for years. I’ve resorted to having a chaise installed so she can nap when she needs to.”
I laughed. “If I ever visit, I want to meet her.”
“None of the men here are like you. Come before you get a boyfriend, fall in love, and forget about me.”
“Only an idiot could forget you. I thought I wasn’t an idiot.”
My stomach dropped as I bit into the cake I’d been working on for the last twelve hours. “Hoh’ on!” I ripped off a piece of paper towel and scraped my tongue.
“Ah bon? New recipe?”
“Ugh, and running”—I swished water around in my mouth, then spit it down the kitchen drain—“out of ideas fast.”
“Oh non…”
And it felt like I was running out of time.
It’s not like I expected Blue to be waiting up at night for it.
But still, it’s felt like the kind of thing that loses its steam the more weeks pass by.
“It’s the fourth quarter, and I’m down like twenty points.
Got any game-winning pep talks in the chamber? ”
He hummed. “Start from the beginning.”
We traced the steps that led to the taste that haunted my tongue before he offered, “When I design a garment, execution involves countless choices. Everything from the fabric, closures, and threads takes hours of consideration. They have to work on their own and in relationship to the other elements.”
“So instead of focusing on the recipe, focus on the ingredients?”
“Oui. Deconstruct and assess each component. Don’t be afraid to follow your inspiration, even if it goes against the grain.”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ve been playing it safe,” I admitted as I picked up the cake and dropped it into the garbage.
“La nuit porte conseil.”
I slept on it like he instructed, and in the morning, I hit the ground running.
I step back as Dad snaps pictures.
“Your mother will kill us if we don’t get one from every angle.”
“Have you heard from her? How’s her spa weekend going with Aunt V?”
“Spoke to her on the way home. They were headed to get facials. She sounded relaxed.” He lets out a breath. “But I still received three text reminders to take pictures of the cake.”
I chuckle.She sent me one too.
“How’s your brother? I tried him this morning, but his phone’s off.”
“You sure it’s off?” Wiping icing off my hands, I grab my phone from the counter and hit call on my brother’s contact.
“So stubborn,” I grouse as an automated voice confirms what Dad said. I hang up and dial the phone company, pin the phone to my ear, and retrieve my credit card from my wallet.
“He gets it naturally. At least he agreed to live with you. It only took years of convincing.”
“We have an agreement, though. He’s visiting his Marine friend in Minnesota.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m sure he’s okay. I’ll try him again tonight. Help me box this?”
He nods. “You know, if you and Arnaz start dating, I’ll see my youngest more.”
“I visit almost every other month. Gimme some credit.”
“Alright.” He pats my back. “Your old man is still holding out hope we can open a bakery here together.”
“Think we’re good enough?”
“Would you look at this masterpiece? With your tenacity, what can’t you do?”
He gave me the same answer when I asked if he thought I was good enough to join the league. Then he hit the courts with me at the crack of dawn to practice, shuffled me to camps and tournaments. Tenacity aside, he and Mom are part of the reason I made it.
I rub my palms on my jeans.
“You’re up,” I whisper to the cake before I seal the box. “Help me score a first date with Blue.”