Thirty-Five
Blaine
“Do you think I’m going to need to wear a hairnet?” Zach asks, nervously picking at a hole in his jeans.
I take a quick glance over at him before focusing back on the road. I’m driving Zach and Elliot to the bakery, meeting Ethan, Mitch, and the new guy, Caleb Blomqvist, there.
I can’t explain the feeling that overcame me when Alex called me the other night, thanking me for being so kind and helping get this set up.
I’m really grateful the team has been able to pull it off, though, as I know how much this means to Alex and Jacob, plus the publicity it’ll bring to the shop will be immense.
Alex told me how much the team is paying for this to happen. It’s going to really help, especially with the publicity it’ll bring, and I’m so freaking pleased because Alex and Jacob truly deserve it.
“Possibly.” I shrug. “It is a kitchen, after all.”
Elliot cackles behind me, sticking his head through the two front seats.
“You’ll look like a cabbage.” He leans over and ruffles Zach’s hair.
We pull up outside the shop and I send a silent thank you to the parking gods for having a space open out front. We quickly make our way inside to see the other guys have already arrived.
“Hey!” Colleen greets us, then flicks the lock on the door, locking us in. “Jacob and Alex are just in the kitchen getting everything ready. Take a seat; we won’t be long.”
We join the boys in the booths, where there are some cupcakes and donuts stacked on a plate, along with bottles of water. I twist the cap off a bottle and gulp down half before picking up a confetti donut and taking a large bite. Zach’s halfway through his second by the time I’ve finished mine.
“It still amazes me how many sweets you can eat, dude.” Mitch laughs, nudging Zach’s bicep with his elbow.
He shrugs, then pats his solid abs. “It’s called good genes and going hardcore in the gym.”
“Do you know what they’re going to have us do today?” Caleb asks, throwing a piece of cake into his mouth.
He arrived two days ago from Ottawa and he’s fit in really well. We’re gelling on the ice, and the guy has good banter.
I think he’ll get along great here.
“Alex mentioned something about decorating, and then we’ll be selling them to fans. He said he wasn’t going to help me either ‘cause he doesn’t want to give me an unfair advantage.” I roll my eyes dramatically.
No matter how many times I begged and pleaded for him to give me tips, he wasn’t letting up. Even when I swallowed his cock to the back of my throat and made him see stars last night, he still didn’t budge.
My blow job skills must be rusty. I’ll have to rectify that by getting his dick in my mouth as often as I can.
When we’re finally called into the kitchen, Colleen’s team has set up several cameras on tripods in various corners of the room, with two of them holding handheld cameras so they can get up close and personal.
Their kitchen is always pristine; it looks like something out of a magazine.
The silver countertops are so shiny, you can see your reflection in them.
A large fridge takes up one corner of the room, and metal racking stands at nearly six feet.
There are free-standing mixers, and more bowls, pots, and pans stacked neatly than I’ve ever seen.
Colleen lets us know when we’re rolling, reminding us not to curse.
“So this morning you will be tasked with decorating today’s selection of baked goodies.
Each of you will be responsible for creating some Thunder-themed treats, which fans will be able to purchase this afternoon before voting for their favorite online.
” She explains. “Everything has been baked; all you have to do is create the design.”
We’re all handed a white apron with Chicago Thunder embroidered on the front with the iconic logo, and once we put them on, Zach cautiously raises his hand.
“Do I need to wear a hairnet?” He points to his man bun tied high on the back of his head, and raucous laughter bounces off the kitchen walls.
Jacob shakes his head, a soft smile on his face. “No, it’s fine as it is.”
Colleen places us at our designated counters and clearly states that we can’t ask Alex or Jacob for help.
We’ll see about that.
I glance up, flashing a wicked smirk at Alex.
He blushes, dropping his chin to his chest, so I blow him a few kisses and give him a couple of exaggerated winks.
“Blaine, stop trying to get your boyfriend to help you.” Elliot smacks the back of my head with his hand.
I rub the tender spot and flip him the bird.
“Alex, as your favorite brother-in-law, I think you could help me, though.” Elliot grins.
Huh. Why am I not horrified by that idea?
“I’m sorry, it’s only fair that I don’t get involved. I’m just here to prevent any disasters from happening.” Alex laughs, shaking his head.
Colleen claps her hands to get our attention. “Okay, we’ll be starting in three… two… one… and decorate!”
On the station in front of me, there’s various piping bags filled with different colored frosting and twenty-four plain cupcakes. I pick up the red one first and start to write “Thunder”, but it starts blending together.
I end up with more frosting on my hands than on the cake, as was to be expected.
“I’m like a freakin’ child,” I mumble before wiping my hands down my apron. Red smears down the front of the white apron, making it look like something out of a horror movie.
“Ugh!” I groan.
Elliot starts to sing “Cake by the Ocean” as he decorates his own cupcakes, and instantly Colleen waves her hands for him to stop.
“Elliot, stop it! We’ll need to cut that out.”
He looks up, his hair flopping into his eyes, and grins mischievously.
Ethan and Zach are decorating donuts—what a surprise—in the colors of our jerseys, and Caleb and Mitch are decorating sugar cookies.
An hour later, Colleen claps again. “You’ve got ten minutes left, boys, then we’ve gotta get ready to open the doors.”
I look down at what can only be described as catastrophic. The writing has blended into an unreadable mess, and the hockey stick and puck I attempted look nothing like a stick and puck. I peek over at Zach’s, and he’s put big smiley faces on every donut.
“Nice job, dude!” I laugh.
He grins. “Nothing says happy donut day like a smiley face.”
Alex looks over my shoulder.
“What do you think? I think I’m a cake decorating master.”
He rolls his lips together, suppressing his laughter. “Wow, you’re definitely something. A solid B for effort”
“A B?! What the heck! I deserve more than that. This is a lot harder than it looks.”
He mock-gasps, “No way, seriously? We’ve found something else you’re not good at?”
The boys burst into laughter around me.
I flip them the double bird. They can censor it or cut it out; that’s what editing is for.
He pats my bicep and smiles. “You did good, baby.”
“But what about mine?” Elliot whines, tugging on Alex’s arm like a child. “Alex, come look at mine.”
Alex goes with Elliot, and as soon as his eyebrows raise in surprise, I go over to inspect my brother's work. He’s lined up all his cupcakes together, and when you look at them, they make up a rink.
There’s lines of red and blue icing, then he’s done the blue crease and red posts of a net, then on one cake is a stick man with a speech bubble saying “Again!”
“Holy shit, El, this is amazing.”
Elliot puffs his chest out, pretending to flick his hair over his shoulder. “I know,” he says with a cocky grin.
When Coach Harris walks in, his eyes widen slightly in alarm at the state we’re in.
I have red icing on my apron, but Elliot has icing everywhere—quite literally.
Zach’s squirting the remnants of his icing directly into his mouth.
Mitch is wearing some black frosting on his face like a football player, which makes Ethan and Caleb the only two who look presentable.
Sensible adults, ugh.
Coach walks around to admire our handiwork, and when he gets to Elliot, he’s visibly shocked.
“Wow, ‘tendy Olsen, I never knew you had it in you. This is pretty sweet.”
“Fuck yeah!” Elliot pumps his fists in the air, then realizes his mistake. He casts Colleen a guilty look. “Sorry, let me do that again.”
She rolls her eyes and nods, a small smile twitching on her lips.
“Oh yeah, I’m awesome!” Elliot tries again, pumping his fists in the air again.
We wash up while Colleen and her team move the filming equipment into the main shop area. “Let’s get some photos before we open the doors,” Colleen announces before we pose for photos in our aprons in front of the illuminated “Jacob’s Delicious Desserts” sign.
For today’s event, everything’s priced the same to make it easier to take payments, which is Ethan’s responsibility. Zach, Caleb, and I are assigned as servers to box up the chosen goodies, and Mitch and Elliot are taking orders.
When the doors open, it’s chaotic. The police are helping control the crowds who are eager to get inside and take photos, and I can sense the anxiety radiating from Zach from the sheer number of people in the shop, making it feel like the walls are closing in.
The six of us get into a smooth routine, smiling for photos and thanking fans for coming out.
“Can I get a Zach donut, a Mitch cookie, and the greatest Olsen cupcake?” Elliot shouts like he’s impersonating a well-known chef. “And that means ME !”
I glance up at my brother and raise a brow. “Why are you shouting at me like you’re Gordon Ramsay?”
“Because I’m the one in charge today, broski. Now get me a Zach donut, a Mitch cookie, and a me cupcake!” He counts on his fingers then snaps them for me to hurry, while sporting a wicked grin. “Chop chop! Don’t keep the good people waiting!”
We sell out within thirty minutes, and there’s still hundreds of people outside.
“Wow, who knew it would be such a hit…” Caleb says.
“I don’t think I could cope doing that again,” Zach admits, running a hand through his hair that ended up falling out of his man bun during all the manic serving. He looks frazzled.
“Thank you, guys, for such a fun day.” Colleen smiles, then turns to Alex and Jacob standing in the entrance to the kitchen, both of them looking startled.
“Thank you for allowing us to use your premises; we’ll make sure the area is safe for you as well.
” She refers to the one man who’s pressed up against the window with a sign saying, “I WANT A ETHAN PARKES DONUT.”
The team begins to pack away all the equipment, and once we say goodbye to Coach, Ethan, Caleb, Mitch, and the rest of the PR team, it’s just me, Zach, and Elliot left. We head into the kitchen, where Alex and Jacob are cleaning up.
“Here, let us help; we’re the ones who made the mess.” I say as I fold my frosting-covered apron.
The second I place the apron down, Alex leaps into my arms. I manage to catch him, and he wraps his legs around my waist, his hands cup my face, and he presses a kiss to my lips.
“Thank you,” he whispers as he pulls away.
He rests his forehead on mine. His eyes are full of gratitude and love, glistening with unshed tears.
“Thank you,” he whispers again.
“You’re welcome, baby.” I smile. “I’d do anything for you, you know that. If you asked me to find you a leopard-printed dinosaur with a unicorn horn, I’d go to the ends of the earth to find you one. Whatever you ask me, I’ll give it to you in a heartbeat.”
And I mean every fucking word.
He might not let me help him with money, but I can show him I’m there to support him in other ways.
Need help to run the shop? I’m there.
Need me to hold him all night and whisper sweet nothings in his ear? I’ll be there in a nanosecond.
I want to make him laugh and smile every day, for all the days I’m on this earth. I want to be the one who makes him smile all the fucking time, and I will do anything to make sure that happens.