Bittersweet (Jenna Ortega)

chapter twenty two.

Jenna's POV

The water fight proved to me just how good Maise is with Issac. He took a fall and skinned his knee on the patio. She immediately dropped everything to check on him— assured him it was okay to cry over how much it hurt since my uncle scolded him for doing so, and gave him a baby yoda bandaid.

After the fun came to an end, everyone took turns showering since it had rained the previous night and the mud left an impressionable mark. I had to lend Maise more of my clothes.

I took it upon myself to prepare Issac's birthday cake.

Minor issue; I couldn't bake to save my life. Mia's much more skilled in that department, though she was occupied with helping him rearrange his bedroom.

Maise agreed to help me but for the past ten minutes, we've been staring blankly at the recipe.

"Uhhh, shall we start with the mixture?"

"No let's start with baking what we don't yet have," I retort and she narrows her eyes.

"You're real cute with your sarcasm," she deadpans and opens the fridge to grab out butter, eggs and milk. "What's our instructions say to do?"

"Melt butter is our first step."

"Oh easy," she measures 150 grams of butter and puts it into a bowl. "Watch me Gordon Ramsey this shit."

I lean back against the counter and proceed to watch her open the microwave door on her own face.

She flushes red. "That's an abrupt swinging door. Quality hinges. Fine workmanship."

I stifle my laughter and help the poor girl out, taking the bowl of butter from her hands and placing it inside the microwave.

She's sulking when I turn around. I giggle and throw a tea towel at her face. "Dry a mixing bowl. You can manage that right?"

"Believe it or not, I'm not entirely useless." She gives me a dopey smile and dries a huge mixing bowl. I grab the melted butter from the microwave and pour it into the bowl.

For the next twenty minutes, we actually pull it off and in the oven an almost passing chocolate cake goes. We stand around waiting impatiently.

Maise shoots me a smug smirk. "You look cute when you're stressed."

"And you look cute with a microwave door in your face."

Her smirk drops. "You're a cold woman, Ortega."

I touch my forehead and mock her. "I don't think I am. I'm piping hot."

She scoops sink water into a small bowl. "Need to be extinguished?"

"No! Don't you dare throw that at me." She creeps closer. "Maise, I'm serious!"

"I wouldn't want you to burn since you're so hot," she brings the bowl toward me and I nudge her shoulder.

Bad mistake.

The water splashes us both. She looks up at me in surprise, her hair clinging to her forehead and a few beads rolling down from her temple. "You'll pay for that."

"I got wet too!"

"Oh, did you now?" She smirks. "Imagine how wet I could make you if I-"

I slap my hand over her mouth, noticing my little brother wander into the kitchen. Gripped in his hands are pieces from his lego set.

"Jenna," he sniffles. "Me and Mia were playing catch and she accidentally threw the ball too high and broke Baby Groot."

"Aww, Issac. Did she apologise?"