Chocolate Mousse and Fifty Shades

The time in my café was smooth. A lot of people came and dined in, some with their friends, some really cute couples and some alone just working on their assignments. There was a time when couples that used to come in to buy gifts for each other used to remind me of Taylor but I feel so relieved to know that I am over it now. I still care about Taylor and he pops in my head once or twice but it doesn't hurt anymore. I just wish that he is okay, whoever he is with. After completing the first half of my day, I hurriedly went out to change the sign in shop door to 'closed'. The crowd luckily came in in a fashion that I was able to manage all of them without making anyone angry. I sighed and went in to the kitchen. I wanted to cook something but I was just way too tired for it. I decided to order from the Burger Shack I and carter went to. When I scrolled through my phone to fetch it's number, I heard the bell on the door chime. I smiled thinking it must have been Mark but was surprised to see Carter coming in. He had a big smile in his face and he was wearing black leather jacket, blue t-shirt and black jeans. Not that I am complaining but does the guy owns anything but black jeans? I thought.

"Hey Gray! What are you doing here?" I asked and his smile faded a little but he quickly hid it.

"I knew you will be working here today and I also know that today must have been quite busy for you so I bought lunch for us." He said holding up the brown paper bag he had.

"Oh god you are a life saver!" I said and snatched the bag from him. I heard him chuckle but I was way too hungry to acknowledge it.

"Chill pig. It has my share too." He said and snatched the bag away from me. He handed me one burger and I looked at him in surprise.

"You bought in from Burger Shack?" I asked and he blushed.

"Yeah, I remembered the look on your face when we went together to eat there. I guessed you liked burger more than anything else." He said and I nodded and took a huge bite of my burger. He mumbled something like 'pig' and chuckled but I just ignored him and kept eating. I was starving and food was my number one priority at that time. When I was done, he handed me the tissue and I smiled at him gratefully. He threw away all the waste and looked at me with a satisfied smile on his face.

"How much do I owe you?" I said and fished my wallet.

"Oh don't worry, its on me." He said and I put my wallet back in my pocket. I preferred to keep things even between my friends. I hate owing people money so I like to keep that business clean. But looking at his face, I knew he will not accept my share even if I offered him so I decided to let it go.

"Well if that's the case, what would you like to have in dessert sir?" I asked him faking politeness and he laughed. He pondered for a while.

"I would like to have your finest chocolate mousse." He said in a very formal tone.

"That is a great choice sir." I said and started preparing. When I was done, I transferred it in a coffee glass. I put whipped cream on top and fetched for strawberries.

"Can you not put that? I hate strawberries." He said and scratched the back of his neck.

"Boy! That's perfect. I hate it too. I was putting them just for your sake." I said and sprinkled crushed chocolate over the whipped cream. I placed two chocolate tube cookie on each side. I handed him one spoon and took one for myself and we started eating. He moaned lightly and my heart skipped a beat. I felt my body heating up and I could feel my face becoming red.

"Are you okay? Your face looks read. Do you have a fever?" He asked and placed the back of his palm on my forehead. I jerked his hand away in embarrassment.

"I am fine. Do you like it?" I asked focusing on the mousse I made. He knew I was changing the topic but he decided to go on with it.

"Yeah its awesome. No wonder this place is such a hit!" He said and smiled at me. When we were done, I took the glass away and he sat on the counter looking at me.

"Hey so I was thinking since we didn't work at all on the project together and the presentation date is on Monday, should we go to the local bookstore to research a bit?" He said and I looked at him.

"That's an awesome idea but I have to be here till four at least." I said with an apologetic smile.

"Actually, if you are okay with it, I was thinking if I could help you here today. As I said, I know today must have been busy for you so..." He trailed off and I smiled at how adorable he looked.

"That would be great man. I appreciate it."

We worked until four. It was actually nice of Carter to stay because I obviously needed his help. There was a huge rush in the evening and I would never have been able to manage alone. We both took our bikes and went to the bookstore. My eyes sparked when I entered the store.

"So, I see you love books." He said in a detective tone.

"No shit Sherlock! You saw my collection in my room. Of course you knew I love books." I smirked and he laughed. We walked through shelves after shelves and nothing reminded me of myself. After like fifteen minutes I decided to stop looking for one particular book and start searching for a collection of books, when placed together, created me. I started stacking books on my left hand while picking them up with my right one.

"50 shades freed!?" I heard Carter exclaim when I picked it up.

"Yeah. I like Ana's.."

"Boobs"

"Character development." I squinted my eyes at him and he booed.

"You are boring."

"You are pervert."

"Oh! I know. But why do you need 50 shades freed? You can experience 50 Shades of Gray." He said motioning his head up and down indicating his body. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Nice pun." I said and winked at him. I walked around the remaining shelves and he followed me like a puppy.

"You know I think you are the dominant one." He said and I turned around to look at him.

"WHAT!?" I said a little too loudly. The registrar put his forefinger on his lips indicating me to shush. I mumbled a quick apology and turned my attention back to him.

"Yeah, I mean, you are obviously not a typical girl that society accepts. You like being your own person and you are awesome at that. You ride bikes, you wear leather jackets and you are not afraid to try new dangerous stuff but you are not a typical badass either. You like reading, you like being on the top of your class and you hate getting punished but you are not afraid to stand up for yourself even if you get scolded for that." He finished and I looked at him in adoration. My mouth opened and closed but no words came out. He has studied me so intently, he knows me more than I know myself and I have mixed feeling about that. I like being a mystery but knowing that someone understands me makes me happy. When I didn't say anything, Carter decided to clear his analysis.

"My point is, you don't like boring stuff. You like adventure, thrill, danger. You certainly seem like a dominant type." I gaped at him but didn't say anything. I turned around and continued searching for books without saying anything to him. He understand me more than I do and I don't find it comfortable.

We didn't talk after that at all and after we paid for the books, we left the bookstore and moved towards our bikes.

"Did I say something wrong?" Carter said behind me and I lowered my gaze. Suddenly, my boots felt way interesting than ever. I sighed and turned around.

"No, its not you. It's me."

"That's a very cliché breakup lie."

"Yeah well we are not breaking up and its not a lie. Can we not talk about it?" I said and walked towards my bike without waiting for his reply. I ignited my bike and waited for him to do the same. I didn't want to go alone. I like his company but I am too afraid to admit. He nodded and ignited his bike as well. I came back to my home and he waited for me in the driveway.

"You wanna come in and eat with me and my mom?" I asked him hopefully. I still didn't want to let him go. Lately, I feel like whenever he is with me, I don't want the day to end. I like being close to him.

"I can't. Sorry. Mom made dinner today and we all have to be there and eat together. Kinda family night." He said apologetically.

"Oh, that's alright. Have fun!" I said and turned around to go in my house. I was disappointed but I shouldn't have expected more in the first place. It wasn't like he was my boyfriend or anything.

"Hey Liv!" I turned around to look at him.

"I had a nice today." He said smiling.

"Of course you did. You were with Olivia Claire." I said repeating what he said few days ago. He remembered and chuckled.

"Hey Peach! You went shopping?" My mom asked me looking at the brown paper bags in my hand.

"I will never go shopping without you mom. Even if I did, I will obviously let you know. You know that."

"True that. Then what are those bags?"

"I bought some books for the project."

"Oh nice Peach. Freshen up. Dinner's ready! I made lasagna." She said and that reminded me of the Carter's ramble when he asked me to teach him how to make lasagna. I chuckled and went upstairs. After I was done, I helped mom set up the plates and we talked about school and work. I told her about today and she listened quietly.

"So, I see you liked this guy." She said and I stopped eating and looked at her. She sighed.

"Oh come on Peach, it's pretty obvious. Don't act surprised." She said and I blushed. After a moment she abruptly looked up as if she remembered something.

"Oh hey honey, you told me you wanted to talk about something? You texted me this morning." She said and I remembered that I was going to tell her about the whole Carter in my room incident. I explained her what happened and why I didn't tell her earlier. She listened intently.

"So you guys used protection?" She asked and I choked on my water. I coughed and she handed me napkin. It took me a minute or two to calm down.

"WHAT? NO!" I said a bit too loudly.

"Peach, its okay. It happens. If you did, I am hoping you used protection...." I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off.

"If you didn't, use it when you do." She completed and I sighed. I like how modern my mom is but sometimes it just bites me in the ass.

We completed the chores and I went back to my room. I read the books I bought to at least decide what I am going to draw before I go to bed. It took me considerable amount of time to read the first one and it gave me a brief idea. Next book gave me a proper picture in my head and I just had to confirm that picture after I read the other three. I decided to do that tomorrow because I was already tired. I quickly jolted down the idea in my diary and plopped in my bed. Tomorrow, I will finish the work, I thought and sleep took me in.

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