𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓, mike schmidt

05. cookies

This was going to be a tricky situation. How was I going to loop Carter in on where I was going for dinner? Telling him that I'm going to dinner at my ex boyfriend's house didn't seem to be the right move. 

As the day dragged on, a huge part of me began to feel nervous for what was to come. Sure, I was going over there only because Abby probably begged, but I was going to have to be near Mike. Would he act nice? Would he just be...aloof the whole time? I had so many thoughts and very little answers.

I had a day shift at the wine store, so I had time to prepare my mind for the dinner alone...not near Carter.

Once the clock hit 4, I clocked out for the day and headed to the store. I figured I'd have to bring something to the dinner, so I opted to bake chocolate chip cookies - Abby's favorite. When I got home, I had started baking the cookies while Carter was still in his office working. 

"Baking cookies on a Tuesday? What's the occasion?"

I glanced up and saw the tall male standing there in his grey sweats and grey hoodie. He came and pressed a kiss against my forehead. I could feel my heart pounding as I wrestled in my mind whether I just tell him the truth, or not. 

"I'm going to dinner at Aly's tonight." I lied. The lie came out too naturally, it was scary. But, maybe it was safer to lie to protect his feelings. He wouldn't want to know. And he'd accuse me of cheating when it was nothing near that. 

"Is everything okay? Didn't you just see her the other day?" he asked, while filling up his water bottle with the Brita.

I nodded. "Yeah, I think everything's okay." I responded, trying to keep the conversation light. 

"Well, sounds like fun." Carter asked, as he came over to me again and wrapped his muscular arms around my waist. 

I felt awful for lying, but I just didn't have it in me to tell him the truth. Maybe, I just wasn't strong enough to begin to explain who Mike was.

It was almost time for dinner at Mike's and I was finishing up my make-up. I didn't want to overdo because Carter would be suspicious. I just put on a light look - a skin tint with blush. That was it. No contouring, no baking powder, no bronzer. 

My outfit was a pair of my favorite Levi's and a green, simple, scoop neck tee that I tucked in. The gold hoops and rings I threw on were meant to be the stars of the outfit. My hair had already been wavy from curling it the previous day, so I didn't waste time on that. 

I grabbed the plate of warm cookies and gave Carter a wave as I headed out. I figured he'd be fine without me for a few hours, he'd just play video games. Once I got in the car, I sprayed on some perfume that I kept in my purse to avoid suspicion. 

The familiar route to Mike's house felt different since I was coming from my new apartment and not my parent's place. It was a bit longer - just 15 minutes though.