Cupcakes, Curves and Don't Forget Demons

Chapter 2

"Acacia! We're out of the Lemon Berry Twist!"

            "I'll stick some in right now!" I shouted back to Lila, already in the process of mixing the batter. I had only opened the doors to the cupcakery, which I had named Sinful Bites, just two hours earlier and it was already crowded. Peeking around the corner of the wall that partitioned off the front of the store from the kitchen, I looked at the line of the waiting people. Shouldn't those kids be in school? I thought to myself, noticing a group of kids hanging out near the back window, each with a half-eaten cupcake in their hands. Whatever, not my problem, I shrugged, turning back to the kitchen to quickly whip together the lemony scented batter with hints of blueberries and raspberries for my much loved Lemon Berry Twist cupcake.

            I pulled out the pan of my Death by Chocolate cupcakes that had just finished baking and I slid the uncooked ones in. I moved the gooey chocolaty cakes onto the cooling rack and set the hot pan aside. Leaving them to cool, I went to join Lila at the front. She turned her baby blue eyes on me and huffed a strand of dirty blonde hair out of her face. "Where do all of these people even come from?"

            "I have no idea." I chuckled, snatching a pastry box from a stack on the counter and carefully choosing four of my favorite cupcakes to go in it. "Have there been any more orders called in?" I asked her, closing up the box and securing it before setting it near the cash register. She held a finger up to me as she helped a customer in line at the register. Looking out at the couple next in line, I asked them what they wanted.

            "Um, well this is my first time here," the short, brown haired girl replied, "So I don't know what's good."

            The guy holding her hand smiled and looking over at her, spoke quietly, "Everything is good, babe. This is the best bakery on the block."

            I held back the impulse to roll my eyes at the couple. Seeing lovey couples reminded me of my lack of a love life and it got annoying. Reaching into the display case, I grabbed a simple vanilla cupcake with a tangy citrus frosting and orange zest sprinkled on top. I held it out to the girl and smiled, "Here. Try this. I call it Orange Daze. It's on the house."

            She gingerly took the cake, her deep brown eyes widening, "Are you sure?"

            "Yep," I nodded, "Just consider it a treat for being a new customer." With that, I turned back to Lila. "Orders?"

            She handed me a small paper, her chicken scratch covering the front of it. "They called about half an hour ago but things got super busy so I didn't have the time to bring it back to you."

            I scanned the order, two dozen devil's food cupcakes with strawberry frosting and one dozen angel food cupcakes with strawberry frosting. I could get it done quickly if I didn't need to bake anything else, which with a glance at the emptying display case, I would need to soon. "I will get on this right away. Can you call Marie and have her come in? Two of us is not enough with this many people already in this early."

            "Do you want me to help you in the back when she gets here?" Lila asked, handing two chocolate cupcakes to a woman with a shy little girl.

            "Sure," I replied, slipping back into the kitchen just as the timer went off for the Lemon Berry Twist cupcakes. Once those were on the cooling racks, I quickly frosted the cooled chocolate cakes and set them on the counter to go out to the front. I pinned the paper with the order on the little tack board I kept on the wall to the side of the oven and went about mixing the needed batters.

***

            The bakery had finally emptied out as the day had gone on and both Lila and Marie had gone home an hour ago.  Alone, I boxed up the leftover cupcakes in the display case. I'd take them home like I always did and devour them while either watching a sappy romance or reading my erotic novel...Like I always did. It was a good thing I didn't mind being a big girl because I could never give up cupcakes just to be thin. They were better than sex could ever be.

            The bell above the entrance jingled loudly as the door swung open. Without looking up from my task, I spoke to the person that entered, "We're actually closed. I just hadn't locked the door yet. Sorry."

            Whoever it was, ignored my words and continued to head towards the counter, their shoes clacking against the wooden floorboards. Annoyed that I had been ignored, I sighed and looked up. Holy hell, I thought, staring at the very tall, very muscled man on the other side of the counter. His skin was the color of burnt caramel and his eyes so black that they looked bottomless. His black hair had been brushed back but the tips touched his shoulders just barely.

            He just stood there, giving me a gaze full of what I could only describe as pure fire. Feeling myself grow hot, I squeezed my thighs together before addressing him. "Uh...Hi?"

            He remained silent and continued to stare at me, as if assessing me. It started to make me feel uncomfortable and squirmy so I spoke up again, "You're going to need to leave. The cupcakery is closed."

            "Where is it?" He demanded.

            "What?" I asked, confused. What the hell was with this guy?

            In a flash, he reached across the counter and grabbed me, his big hand wrapping around my plump upper arm hard enough to leave a bruise. He pulled me forward, leaning in close enough so that his face was a mere inch from mine. "Where are you fucking hiding the little monster?" He growled his breath hot on my face. He smelled of warm caramel and cinnamon. I would have gotten lost in his scent had his words not confused the hell out of me.

            "What the hell are you talking about?" I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, only resulting in his grip tightening. "Let me go asshole!"

            He pulled me even closer and stared into my eyes. I stopped moving and stared back, my lips parted as I breathed small little breaths of fear. For what felt like forever, we stared at each other. The hand finally loosened and he let go, causing me to stumble back and nearly falling onto my ass. Catching my balance, I backed away from the counter and out of his reach. He wasn't even paying attention to me anymore, his eyes set in the direction of the kitchen. I was about to say something when out of nowhere, something clattered in the kitchen and we both froze.

            His voice barely a whisper, he asked, "Who else is here?"

            "No one. I was alone." My hair prickled along my skin. Something really did not feel right and it was not just the strange man in my bakery. Holding a finger up to his lips to tell me to stay quiet, he walked around the counter and past me, towards the entrance of the kitchen. Stopping before the edge of the wall partition, he waited. I held my breath, afraid to even exhale at this point.

            Before I could even comprehend what was happening, something shot out of the kitchen and the guy leapt over the counter to chase after it. It climbed up a wall and onto the ceiling before I could see what it was clear enough. And when I did, I had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. A scaled dog like creature with extremely sharp claws and the face of a lizard was hanging out on my fucking ceiling!

            The creature gnashed its razor sharp teeth at me before turning its red gaze to Tall, Dark and Scary and growling.

            "Don't move Acacia." He said to me, his eyes remaining on the creature.

            "What the hell is that and how the hell do you know my name?!" I shrieked, pressing myself against the wall as much as I could, ready to run in case the lizard dog decided I looked tasty.

            "I will answer your questions later. Right now, I need you to duck behind the counter." He held out a hand, and I watched as a spark appeared in the palm of it and began to grow into a ball of swirling fire. "Now!"

            Dropping down behind the counter, I curled into a ball, my hands over my head just as everything around me violently exploded.