sweet tooth - karl jacobs

chapter 5- blondie

"karl?!" i ask, shocked and confused at the fact that he's here.

"i said see you tomorrow, didn't i?" he says in a tone that says "duh", which makes me feel stupid for feeling so shocked.

"yeah, but... what are you doing here?"

karl fixes his shaggy hair and gives a bashful smile.

"again, i said yesterday that i'd see you tomorrow, didn't i? well... today is tomorrow."

i close my mouth and nod compliantly.

"i'll take him from here," i tell my manager as i smile awkwardly. "thank you."

i grab karl's shoulder and lead him to the back room, where i grab a few bags of candy to restock. i also take a handful of gummy worms for myself.

i grab my apron and name tag from my wall rack. i tie the apron and pin the name tag to my apron.

"when did you get here?" i ask before i pop a red and blue gummy worm in my mouth.

"half an hour ago. i didn't know when your shift started."

i nod swiftly as i continue to eat the gummy worms. i offer some to karl, but he refuses.

"you're inhaling those rather quickly, blondie. did you eat breakfast?"

i shake my head.

"what's up with the nickname? blondie? you know my name."

"friends give each other nicknames."

"we're friends?"

karl winces slightly at my words and i regret them a little bit. i've always been rather blunt and have never had much of a filter, but it's gotten worse over the past couple of years.

"why wouldn't we be?" he asks as he follows me around the shop, helping me restock the shelves.

"because we met yesterday. plus, you're a customer and i'm an employee. just because we have one interaction- hey! stop giving me those puppy dog eyes!"

"what eyes?" karl asks as he continues his sad baby face.

"you- nevermind. did you need something? why are you here?"

"i need some more candy."

"are you joking? the thousand pounds of skittles wasn't enough? you took our entire stock for the next few weeks!" i laugh and karl's lips form into a straight line.

"jimmy needs more, not me."

"i'm starting to think jimmy doesn't exist and he's just an excuse for you to buy a bunch of candy."

"what if he was?"

"then i'd say i called it."

karl stifles a laugh as he moves to the other side of me.

"do you have..." he takes out his phone and moves to his notes apps. "saltwater taffy? specifically twelve different flavors?"

"twelve?" i repeat. karl nods. i sigh and we walk to the front of the store as i show him the saltwater taffy barrels.

"take your pick," i say.

"hmmm..." karl glances at all the candies, and it's honestly kind of wholesome. he's glaring at the candy so hard, trying to pick out the best ones.

"what's your favorite?" he asks me.

"it's hard to pick one. i like the cream soda one. and strawberry. and definitely bubblegum!"

"that's three." karl writes them down in his notes. "any others?"

i continue to list off my favorite flavors of saltwater taffy as karl joyfully writes them down.

once i'm done, we've decided on cream soda, strawberry, bubblegum, cherry, root beer, grape, watermelon, peppermint, banana, chocolate, blueberry, and green apple.

"alright, perfect. now i just need..." karl squints at his phone. "one hundred of each."

i don't know why i get surprised anymore.

"karl," i say sternly. "that's 1,200 taffies."

"wow, congrats. you can do quick math."

i roll my eyes and karl lets out his signature giggle.

"come with me to the back room. you got your truck out front?" i ask.

"he'll be here when i call." i scoff.

"you spoiled brat. c'mon." i lead him to the back and he helps me pick out the candy.

karl is right about the truck. once all the taffies are loaded into different boxes, we easily fit them in the back of the huge truck. i brush my hands together, then put them on my hips.

"there you go. will that be all?" i ask, letting out a deep sigh.

"not necessarily." karl hops out of the back of the truck and stands next to me. "when you do you get off?"

"5 pm," i say as i check my apple watch. "and its only 11:30."

"when's your lunch break?"

"12:30 to 1:30."

"perfect. i know a place nearby." my eyes form into a squint as i stare at the brunette.

"excuse me?"

"sorry, i didn't ask." karl rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "can i take you to a place for lunch?"

i laugh and roll my eyes.

"no you can't," i tell him. i start to walk away, but he follows me.

"why not? come on! i want to get to know you!"

"i'm not interested in dating." i walk through the shop door and try to close it behind me, but karl follows swiftly in my footsteps.

"i never said anything about a date," karl says as he walks in step next to me. "it'll be like a... play date. yeah. what do you say?"

i turn to him with a serious look.

"no."

i expect karl to be annoyed or upset, but he's the opposite. instead, he smiles a bashful smile.

"maybe next time. same time tomorrow?" karl asks.

"what are you-"

karl runs to hop in the truck with a spring in his step.

"bye, blondie!" he shouts behind him as he waves happily.

"bye..?" i say awkwardly as i watch karl get in the passenger side door and drive away. 

(A/N WOOOOOO y'all we're so close to 1,000 reads already... and it's only been a day since this has been up?? that's actually insane you guys are so cool. i love you so much. i know chapters are pretty short rn, but i swear they get longer!! just short for a little while until we pick up the pace >:) also, happy fourth of july if you celebrate it!! anywayyy remember to vote, comment, share, and add this to your reading lists [i swear i'll only say this the first couple of chapters so people start seeing that this story is out HAHA] AGAIN I LOVE YOU ENDLESSLY HAVE AN AMAZING DAY!!!! <33)