Cookies & Milk

Baking with the Tough cookie

Naiara's POV
*

*Flashback**

It was a busy day as usual, and Naiara, with her cheerful and warm demeanor, made her customers smile, ensuring they kept coming back to her café.

"Thank you! Please come again!" she called out as she handed over a customer's order, receiving a smile in return. Humming the tune of 'Alitaptap' by Matt Wilson, a song she adored and that always gave her butterflies, she began preparing the next order.

The bell chimed, and the laughter of a couple echoed in her ears. Thankfully, she had just finished crafting the latte art for the current order and signaled her waiter, Arnold, to deliver it. Wiping her hands, she greeted the couple with a welcoming smile.

"Hi! Welcome to Meraki Café. What can I get started for you?" she asked. The blonde woman, with bold red lipstick, stepped forward and placed her order. "I’ll have a Caramel Macchiato with coconut milk, an extra shot of espresso, Splenda, extra caramel, and double-blended, please," she said, giving Naiara a once-over.

Naiara’s eye twitched slightly. 'Oh no, I hate making modified drinks,' she thought, bracing herself for the substitutions she'd need to make. After ringing up the order, she turned to the man next to her.

'Hala, ang pogi,' she thought, noting his jet-black hair, thick eyebrows, and intense black eyes that seemed to peer into her soul.

"Babe, you could've ordered something simpler. That’s a lot of work," she overheard him say to the blonde, who simply rolled her eyes in response. "I’m watching my figure, Teddy. Too many calories could ruin my diet," the blonde replied. 'Ang arte,' Naiara thought, biting her lip to stop herself from reacting.

The man shook his head slightly and looked at Naiara. His gaze was so captivating that she nearly gasped. "Sorry about that, miss...Naiara?" he said, reading her name tag. "A tall Americano will be fine, thank you." His smile was breathtaking, leaving her momentarily speechless.

One of her staff, Lindy, nudged her, snapping Naiara back to reality. "T-Tall Americano, coming right up, sir. That will be 286 pesos," she stammered. The man handed her his card, and Naiara processed the transaction. Meanwhile, the blonde clung to his arm and raised an eyebrow at Naiara.

"Gaga ka, girl! You almost slipped!" Lindy whispered as Naiara started preparing the modified drink. "Ha? What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"That’s Sir Zaquiel and the model, Seraphina! She’s notorious for being maldita," Lindy explained, peeking at the couple, who were seated in the corner, whispering and laughing as if in their own world.

"Zaquiel? Isn’t his name Teddy?" Naiara asked, sneaking a glance at the couple as well. "Gaga! That’s just his nickname! His real name is Thaddeus Zaquiel. Shet, he’s so dreamy and kind—too bad he’s stuck with a high-maintenance girlfriend," Lindy vented, causing Naiara to chuckle.

"Teddy sounds awful. Like a teddy bear? He’s more of a Zack or maybe Zacky. Or even Zakarias?" she mused, earning a laugh and a playful smack from Lindy. "Careful, your big mouth might get you in trouble!" Lindy warned before returning to work.

Just as Naiara finished making their drinks, she called out, "Order for Teddy and Seraphina!" The couple promptly retrieved their orders and left the café.

From that day on, Naiara often saw Teddy—no, Zack—whenever he visited the café. Almost daily, he left sweet notes for his girlfriend, and Naiara would always think, *'Sana all.'* But in the past few months, he had stopped coming, and the next time she saw him, it was under very different circumstances—when she brought him cookies and warm milk.

******

Now, Zack was at the counter, mixing a bowl of cookie dough while Naiara preheated the oven. Secretly fond of cookie dough, Zack scooped a spoonful to taste.

"Zakarias! Stop eating that, you’ll get a stomachache!" Naiara scolded, playfully hitting his hand with a wooden spoon. "I told you to mix, not eat! At this rate, we won’t have any left to bake," she added, hands on her hips. Zack had reached out to her the previous night for a baking lesson, and two months after exchanging numbers, they had grown closer, with Naiara including cookies and milk in his orders regularly.

"What? I’m just checking if it tastes good," he defended, pouting in a playful tone as he tried to sneak another spoonful.

"Try that again, and this spoon’s going to hit your head," Naiara warned, pointing to the spoon. Zack grinned and teased, "Who even is Zakarias? Where’s my ‘Hello, Sir Zack! The usual?’"

"That’s only in the café. Here, you’re my student, and your name is Zakarias," she declared with a playful tone, making Zack laugh out loud. Naiara couldn’t help but join in, realizing the silliness of the nickname.

"Give that here," Naiara said, taking over to roll the dough into balls for baking. "Remember everything I taught you—the techniques, the temperature, and preheating the oven," she reminded him, noticing Zack had gone quiet. She turned and caught him staring intently at her.

"W-why are you staring at me like that?" she stammered, her face growing redder by the second.

"Am I not allowed to?" he asked, still gazing into her honey-colored eyes. Unable to maintain the eye contact, Naiara turned away, her face now as red as a tomato.

"B-basta! Just remember everything I taught you. You wrote down the ingredients, right? I’ll give you more notes if you need them," she mumbled, placing the cookie dough in the oven to bake, using the process as a distraction from Zack’s intense stare.

Zack leaned against the counter, trapping Naiara between his arms as they both stared at the oven. Growing impatient, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"This isn't so bad. Not bad at all," he murmured, his deep voice near her ear causing her to blush even more. She stood frozen, barely breathing, as the oven timer dinged. Zack removed the cookies from the oven, throwing her a teasing glance.

"What's wrong with you? You're as red as a tomato," he teased, laughing. Naiara shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, and joined him as the song *Dilaw* by Maki played in the background, blending with their playful banter.

🎶 Mukhang delikado na naman ako
O bakit ba kinikilig na naman ako
Pero ngayon ay parang kakaiba
'Pag nakatingin sa'yong mata ang mundo ay kalma 🎶