Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 159: Cake

Jennica wanted to get her wedding cake from a famous bakery about an hour away in New Jersey that had its own TV show. She and Keeley had watched a bunch of episodes together so despite the insanity of her schedule, Keeley was a bit excited about going there.

She rode over with the lovebirds in Cameron's car and it the drive seemed to take years. Not only was Keeley being force fed dog food, Jennica was freaking out about which kind of fake flowers to put on the cake and other little details that would be worked out with the cake consultant at the bakery.

She sincerely wished she had driven over separately but she didn't have a car. Only the thought of delicious cake sustained her on the way over.

Due to the bakery's popularity, the line was out the door and stretched out for nearly two blocks. Thankfully they had an appointment and were able to squeeze past all of the people impatiently waiting their turn.

To Keeley's dismay, Aaron was inside sitting at one of the tables and stood when he saw them. "What are you doing here?"

"Cameron invited me. He said I needed more fun in my life," he deadpanned.

Great. This day just got even better.

They were all ushered over to a different table where the cake consultant was waiting for them. Keeley recognized him from TV but kept her excitement to herself. The guy probably got that sort of thing all the time; she didn't want to be one of 'those people.'

"So, is this a joint wedding?" the consultant asked.

Keeley practically jumped out of her skin in her race to refute. "No way! I'm the maid of honor and he's the best man; your couple is over there."

"Oh, I see. Usually only the bride and groom come to these things."

She sighed inwardly. Why was she even here witnessing this lovefest and dealing with the one she wanted to avoid most if it was supposed to be for the couple only? She was going to murder Jennica later.

Cake. She was here for the cake. Everything else would be alright as long as she got her samples.

The consultant continued. "As requested when you signed up for a consultation, I have the three flavors you chose to try. Chocolate mousse, cookies and cream, and lemon. Since we thought there would only be two of you here today, you'll have to share."

Even better. Of course Jennica wanted to share cake with her fiancé so Keeley, who was stuck sitting next to Aaron anyway, would have to eat off the same plate as him. Why was the universe out to get her today?

The chocolate mousse cake was placed in front of the group first. Keeley took a bite and nearly moaned in ecstasy. This was a chocolate lover's dream. The deep richness of the cake was complimented by the fluffiness of the mousse perfectly.

After only two bites, Aaron subtly pushed the plate towards her so she could enjoy the rest of it. Maybe sharing a plate with him wouldn't be so bad after all.

"What do you think?"

Keeley was ready to sing this cake's praises to the heavens but she let the couple who was actually choosing go first.

"I really like it. Jen?" Cameron turned towards his fiancée and lovingly wiped a few crumbs off her face. Keeley's stomach soured from the sweetness.

She nodded. "It's delicious."

The consultant then turned to the others kindly even though their opinions didn't really count.

Keeley smiled at him. "This is the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted. I'll definitely be coming here for my next birthday."

All Aaron did was nod his approval. Typical.

The rest of the cake testing went much the same. The cookies and cream cake was also fantastic but the lemon one was a little too bitter for Keeley's taste. She had never been a huge fan of citrus.

Knowing this, Aaron let her have the majority of the cookies and cream sample but ate all but one bite of the lemon one himself. She would have questioned how he knew she didn't like lemon until she remembered the Skittles incident in high school.

"After trying everything I'm leaning towards the cookies and cream," Jennica admitted. "Cam, do you have a preference?"

"The chocolate mousse."

"You wanted a four tier cake, correct? You can do two of each," the consultant suggested.

They turned and looked at each other before saying "that works" in perfect sync. Their compatibility amazed Keeley as always. She and Aaron had never been on the same page like that.

Although, she had to admit that he seemed to be reading her mind about which cake flavors she wanted to eat more of today. Anticipating what she wanted like this was more than a little out of character for him.

"Can you please show me the references you brought so I know what you're looking for decoration wise?" the consultant asked and Jennica responded by pulling out an entire binder of pictures.

Keeley sighed. This would take a while. As they went on about different flowers, colors, and patterns to indent the fondant with, she thought about how she would rather be studying for her least favorite class' midterm than be listening to this right now.

This wasn't even anywhere near the end of her duties. She still had to deal with dress shopping, floral arrangements, planning the bachelorette party and everything in between. She hung her head in her hands, exhausted already.

Aaron leaned over and whispered in her ear. "We've already contributed our opinions as much as we can; do you want me to take you home?"

She glanced back and forth between her options. Either she would spend an awkward hour of silence with Aaron or be stuck here for who knows long and have another ride like on the way here. She chose the lesser of two evils.

"That would be great, thank you."

He stood and addressed those who were still sitting. "Thanks for having us along but Keeley has midterms to study for so we're going to head back. Good luck with everything."

Jennica barely even looked up. "Sure, sure. See you guys later."

Cameron shot his friend a wink and a thumbs up behind Keeley's back so she didn't notice anything. She would have been very put out if she had.

They had to walk for a while to reach his car. It reminded her of back in Boston how the public parking areas were usually pretty far from wherever they were hanging out.

"How did you know I was dying back there?" she asked out of curiosity, finally breaking the silence.

"It was written all over your face. Besides, I know what your schedule is like. This is your final year of school; why on earth did you agree to being the maid of honor if you didn't have time?"

"Because I'm a pushover who doesn't know how to say no," she said sourly.

Jennica was one of her best friends; she would have felt horrible turning her down. She may have done it anyway though if she had known it would be this bad. It was too late to back out now.

Aaron had a hint of indulgence in his expression. "See, this is exactly why I have to take care of you. You won't do it yourself."

Keeley huffed. She had no argument for that. It was too ironic that the person she had believed was the last one on earth to have her best interests at heart was lecturing her on this now.

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