sweet tooth - karl jacobs

chapter 1- 1,000 pounds of skittles

like a river flows

surely to the sea

darling so it goes

some things are meant to be

take my hand

take my whole life too

for i can't help falling in love with you

i groan as i hear the gag-inducing lyrics of the classical love song.

i do my best to tune out the music flowing through the candy shop as i restock the caramel squares.

only three more hours left of this shift. then i can go out and enjoy this lovely, summer day in north carolina. i'm almost there.

so close yet so far.

"hey haven, once you're done with that, the saltwater taffy also needs restocking," my manager says, peeking her head out from the back room. i turn to her.

"you got it," i reply with a fake smile, though i really don't want to do it.

truthfully, as much as i love candy, working at this candy shop has been a pain in the ass. my manager loves to put the workload on me instead of my co-workers, who are currently either sitting with bored expressions at the cash register or simply roaming the shop.

i finish restocking the caramel, tighten the tie of my apron around my neck, and head to the back room.

to my surprise, i find my favorite co-worker in the back room. he's sorting through a bunch of jolly ranchers by flavor, and by the looks of it, he's been doing it for a long time.

"hi, garrett," i say as i walk over and watch him. "whatcha doing?"

"what does it look like?" he asks impatiently, a snarky tone in his voice. he sighs. "sorry, didn't mean to lash out. i've been doing this for 45 minutes and i've barely made a dent in the amount of this crap i need to sort. who even eats this many jolly ranchers?"

"i do," i say as i pick up a blue raspberry flavored candy. "these ones are the best."

"hey, don't eat the merchandise! you better be paying for that."

"don't have to. employee discount." i give a knowing smile and garrett rolls his eyes.

"well, if you're gonna eat the candy, do you mind giving me a hand?" garrett asks while tossing a watermelon jolly rancher into a pile full of the pink candies.

"can't, satan has got me restocking everything in here but the kitchen sink. trust me, i'd rather work with you."

"you better get to it then, don't want her to catch you slacking. she doesn't like you enough as it is."

i sigh, knowing he's right. no matter how much i try, no matter how much i suck up to her, no matter how expensive the christmas gifts i purchase for her are, our manager, ms. jenkins, strongly dislikes me.

"you're right. talk to you later. meet me once you finish? i'll probably be busy at the shelves," i say with an eye roll.

"you got it, if i ever finish. see you, haven," garrett replies, digging through the huge barrel of jolly ranchers next to him.

"adios."

i move to the storage area and put a few small crates of saltwater taffies on a cart. i push the cart out of the room and head to the front of the store, restocking the chewy candy.

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five minutes of my shift left. thank god.

even though i'm almost done, i don't dare slack off. my manager would annihilate me if i did. trust me, been there done that.

i stay in place in the back shelves of the store, restocking gummy bear packages.

i can't wait for this to be over.

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karl's pov

"woah woah woah! jimmy? what?" i say rather loudly to my phone. "you want me to get HOW many pounds of skittles?"

"1,000 pounds," jimmy responds, his voice crackling slightly through the phone speaker. "it'll be a great video! and this skittle idea is one of the best parts of the entire thing."

"you're crazy. actually." i stand in front of the candy shop i'm supposed to ask for 1,000 pounds of skittles from.

sugar shack. that's the corniest candy shop name i've ever heard.

"alright, i'm going in. pray for me," i hang up the phone and enter the shop, a small "ding" being heard from the door bell.

i look around for someone to help me get 1,000 pounds of skittles, until a certain someone in the back of the store catches my eye.

holy smokes.

it's an average height blonde girl, around 5'7 if i had to guess. her hair's in a short ponytail, held up by one of those pinterest claw clip things. i can't see her face, but my mind races to think what she might look like.

"don't freak her out by asking about the skittles. she's the last person you want to ask," my subconscious tells me. but of course i ignore myself.

she checks the time on the clock on the wall and nods to herself. she then moves her hands behind her waist and starts untying her apron.

oh shoot. her shift might be over.

so i better talk to her while i still can.

i fix my collar and speed walk up to the blonde girl. i quietly clear my throat before speaking.

"excuse me?" i say, my voice still coming out a bit squeakier than i wish it would've.

the girl turns to me, her hands still behind her back.

if i thought the back of her head was pretty, her face is on a whole new level.

she has crystal blue eyes and long eyelashes. freckles lightly dust her nose and cheeks. her cheeks are a rosy pink, and her cheekbones are defined, but not chiseled. but i think what i'm most drawn to are her lips. her full, pink lips. i get the feeling they taste like strawberries. or maybe cherries. or perhaps even waterme-

"i'm sorry, my shift is ending right now... i can get someone from the back to help you, if you want?"

that voice.

oh my god that voice.

it's angelic, soft, and gorgeous. it fits her face perfectly. it's like a perfect melody, composed by one of those old composers. mozart, or beethoven, or something like that...

i blink twice. i was staring, wasn't i?

the girl looks at me with one of her perfectly arched eyebrows raised. she's frozen in place and has an almost scared look on her face.

"well, i, um..."

why am i stumbling on my words?

"i was hoping you could help?" i mutter awkwardly.

good going, karl. that'll really win her over.

the girl checks the clock once more, then nods.

"sure, i have nowhere to be." she gives a smile (probably fake) and removes her hands from the back of her apron as she puts them on her hips.

this is the part i'm scared to say.

"so... i need 1,000 pounds of skittles," i say, scratching the back of my head.