Kylie's Cake Kitchen

1. Kylie

KYLIE

I carried the cake into Poppy's Place with both hands gripping it like my life depended on it.

It was three layers of lemon and strawberry with buttercream piped into little ribbons and roses that I'd practiced on wax paper for hours before I trusted myself to do it for real.

Super tall cakes were new for me, and this one was extra special.

It was for Poppy, and nothing was more special than her.

She opened the door before I could knock and pressed both hands to her mouth. "Kylie! You brought a cake?"

"It's your birthday cake." I stepped past her, carefully watching the top layer for any sign it was about to slide. "I know your birthday isn't until next month, but I wanted to test it out on people I trust before I try it again for real."

"You test cakes on us all the time, and I have never once complained." She shut the door and trailed me straight to the kitchen counter, hovering the way she always did when something exciting was happening. "It’s amazing. Everyone is gonna freak when they see this."

She wasn't wrong. By the time I had it placed on the cake stand and stepped back to look at my own work, Willa had already wandered over with a juice box in one hand and huge eyes.

"Okay, wait." She put the box down without drinking any of it, and I could see her finger priming to dig into it. "How did you make something that looks like a wedding cake for a birthday cake?"

"It's just three layers." I rolled my eyes on the outside but was jumping for joy on the inside as I wiped my hands on my apron.

I was wearing the one with little bumblebees that Poppy's mom had made me for Christmas. "It’s not that impressive. I’ve been practicing with piping and figured this was the best way to experiment. "

"If this is an experiment…" Willa glanced at Poppy like they were sharing a secret, "I will be your guinea pig every day of the week."

Poppy and Willa each sliced off a piece as the other girls filed in. “Jasmine, try some too.” Poppy handed Jasmine a fork and Willa did the same to Cassie.

I stood there wringing my apron strings while the Little Lovelies all tasted my cake and made noises I couldn’t completely comprehend. They sounded good…but they might also be bad. “Well?”

"Oh my god." Jasmine closed her eyes and shook her head. "It’s sooo good, Kylie."

"Yeah?" I already thought it was good from my own taste-testing, but hearing someone else say it out loud was a totally different thing.

"It's not good." Willa pointed her fork at me like it was a weapon. "It's amazing. Orgasmic, even."

Everyone laughed, and Cassie leaned over the counter to cut herself a second piece before the first one was even finished.

"I don’t know how your orgasms work, but mine aren’t like this at all." Poppy licked frosting off her thumb. "But this is still very good."

"I'm just saying." Willa shrugged and went back to her slice. "Somebody needs to lock this down before the rest of us start hoarding her for ourselves."

"You should be selling these." Cassie said it around a mouthful of cake, which somehow didn't make it less convincing. "Like, actually selling them. Not as a hobby thing for your friends."

"I have a job." It was my go-to excuse whenever this subject came up. And it came up more and more often as my cakes got more elaborate. "And I like my job."

"You can like your job and also have a side hustle.

" Poppy handed me a plate of my own cake, and I reluctantly accepted it.

I hated eating my cakes in front of other people.

I was always afraid my face would give away how much I liked them.

"You can totally handle a few paying customers now and then in addition to the Bean Box. "

“Maybe.” I laughed it off like usual, but the idea was always in the back of my mind. Maybe someday… “Who wants to help set up the paper dolls?”

“I do!” Everyone was quick to chime in and move on to a funner subject. That was what I appreciated most about the Little Lovelies. They knew when to give tough love, but they also knew when to back off.

For the rest of the night, we had a perfect playdate.

Poppy strung fairy lights along the bookshelf and set out a table full of goodie bags.

We got lip gloss and stickers and those little foil-wrapped candies that always ended up stuck to the bottom of a bag, but we ate them anyway.

Jasmine made friendship bracelets for everyone, and I immediately put mine on.

It was a soft pink with a tiny cake charm on it that she must have hunted down specifically for me.

“It’s so amazing, Jas!” I stared at it on my wrist and didn't take it off for the rest of the night.

We had paper dolls spread out across the living room floor for a fashion show. Lying on my tummy, I was walking my doll down the runway when Poppy straddled my back to fix my hair.

“It’s coming loose.” She pulled out my ribbon and then worked her fingers through my hair to comb through it. “I’mma fishtail it.”

“Okay, thanks!” It was nice to have someone just jump in and do stuff for me. Nobody had to ask for help when we were together. Someone was always around to notice when help was needed and do it.

But then I always had to go home and be all by myself again.

Jasmine made about a million tiny paper hats for her doll.

She cut them freehand out of cardstock while Poppy narrated a whole soap opera plot for her doll that involved a scandal at a pretend bakery.

When the doll got swept off her feet by a handsome Daddy in need of cupcakes, I tried not to be jealous.

Finding love happened for some people and didn’t happen for others.

The way it was looking, I was gonna be on the wrong side of that spectrum, but I tried not to dwell on what I didn’t have.

Especially when what I did have was an amazing group of friends who loved me and allowed me to be Little when I needed to.

"See?" Poppy waggled the little paper figure in my direction. "Even pretend Kylie has a bakery. It's basically a sign."

"Pretend Kylie also just got engaged to a pretend cupcake Daddy in the span of ten minutes, so I wouldn't put too much stock in her judgment."

By the time the Daddies started to head over for pickups, we were drifting off our sugar highs.

Willa had shed her shirt somewhere between the coloring books and the cartoons and was sprawled across Troy's lap in nothing but her diaper, humming along to a show she'd definitely seen a hundred times already.

Cassie had a pacifier tucked in one cheek and her head on Duke's shoulder. The Daddies were all settled into the couches like this was just a regular night with their baby girls.

I supposed, it was.

I sat cross-legged on the rug with my coloring page half finished, trying not to pay too close attention to it all happening around me. But no matter how cozy and content I felt around my friends, I always felt a heavy blanket of loneliness too.

Feeling alone in a room full of people who loved me was the worst kind of alone.

Suddenly, I wanted a bottle. Even if I didn’t have a Daddy to cuddle me when I drank it, I still wanted it. I wanted to close my eyes and relax and not think about sad things anymore. I couldn’t even focus on my coloring.

That was how I knew it was time to go home. I had bottles tucked away in the kitchen that I brought out when I had sadsies. And I was definitely feeling big sadsies.

I stood up and stretched, overexaggerating how tired I was. “I’m gonna head out now.”

“You need a ride?” Carter asked, but all the Daddies looked ready to step in if I said yes.

“No, thanks. I’m good. Have a good night.” After hugs for everyone, Poppy walked me to the door with a to-go container of leftover cake. I didn’t need it, but I wasn’t gonna say no. I might get peckish on the three-minute drive home.

"Thank you for my cake." She hugged me again, holding on extra tight like she knew I needed it. "It was seriously the best thing I've eaten in weeks."

"I’m still working on my technique." I pulled back and stepped out onto the sidewalk. "But I'm glad you liked it."

"Everyone liked it, Ky." She was my biggest cheerleader. "Text when you get home so we know you’re safe."

The walk to my car wasn't long, but the night was cool enough that I pulled my cardigan tighter and let my mind wander to what it would be like to have a forever Daddy. Troy was great for me, and I was probably good for him for a while, but we both knew we weren’t forever.

But it was clear that he and Willa were a different story. They were forever.

And I was…alone.

I was digging for my keys when my phone buzzed against my hip.

I almost didn't check it because it was late, but the manners ingrained in me didn’t allow me to ignore anyone. So, I pulled it out right there on the sidewalk.

It was a message from an unknown number.

I was about to block it when I glanced at it and gasped.

Hi! This is Isla, Poppy's friend. I saw her post with the cake you made her, and I’m OBSESSED.

Any chance you'd make one for my husband's birthday next month? The quote I got for a similar cake was $800, so as long as you’re less than 1k, I’d like to place an order. Send a link to your payment app.

I read it twice to make sure I wasn’t confused. A one and a K meant a thousand dollars, right? I would have done it for $50, just enough to cover my expenses…but if she was willing to pay a thousand dollars for a cake similar to Poppy’s, then maybe I could make a real business out of it.

I thought about my terrible oven that never seemed to be calibrated right and the way my wrist hurt after hours of piping those flowers to be just right.

Then I thought about the way everyone had gone quiet when they tasted the cake and the look of joy they couldn’t have faked if they tried.

Yes, I’d love to bake your husband’s cake. I sent my reply before I could talk myself out of it. $800 is good. I’ll text a link tomorrow, and we can talk about your ideas.

I got in my car and sat there with the phone in my lap and my heart racing. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement, but it was probably both. I had absolutely no idea what I'd just agreed to, but I knew I wasn't gonna back out of it now.

Terrified or not, I was officially starting a custom cake business.