The Mechanic

TWENTY TWO

Zayn laid his pencil on my counter and showed the paper to Leslie. "Something like this?" He asked her.

Leslie gasped after seeing Zayn's sketch. "Oh my gosh. You're a genius!" She dropped the jeans she was holding on the table. She stared at the paper and gave it to me after a few minutes. "What do you think?"

I looked at Zayn's sketch. He and Leslie were planning a surprise party for Liam's birthday next week, and they wanted a cake that would suit his personality and interests.

I glanced at Zayn first. He was anxiously waiting for my opinion as he nervously chewed his lower lip.

"I like this," I smiled. "I liked the idea of a cartoon Liam wearing a Batman cape and a Harry Potter wand."

"Liam is obsessed with them," Leslie told me.

"Very," Zayn corrected, grinning wide.

"I'm sure he'll love this," I said, giving the paper back to Zayn. "So this would be the cake's design?"

Leslie nodded. "Yup. And so does the cupcakes."

The shop's door opened. Marty and Alex went inside, their faces screaming disappointment.

"Bad news," Marty uttered as he sat in front of the counter. "We went to all the bakeshops in town but no one wanted to accept our order."

"They're all loaded," Alex added. "I don't know why but the bakeshops aren't accepting orders because they have a lot of them especially for next week."

Leslie let out a loud whine. "Oh crap. It's because of the endless summer parties around. What do we do now?"

Zayn sighed deeply. "If only I could bake."

Alex snapped his fingers. "Guys!" He exclaimed excitedly like he won the lottery. "Harry is a good baker!"

My throat churned after hearing his name.

"You're serious?" Marty asked his boyfriend.

"Dead serious," Alex confirmed. "His mom was very good in baking and she taught Harry since he was a child. Trust me guys, he's really good."

He never mentioned me that.

But then, why would he?

Leslie's face brightened. "Maybe we can ask him to bake the cake! Jade, can you talk to him about it?"

"What?" I said sharply, failing to keep my shit together. I quickly changed my tone of voice. "Why me?" I asked softly, acting innocent and hoping that I pulled it good.

"You're living next to him, Jay. You can ask him when you get home later," Leslie proposed.

"I'll be late tonight. I have to babysit Margaret again," I replied casually. "And besides, we don't really see each other around."

My eyes met Alex's, and he quickly avoided my gaze. I swear I could feel that he knew something.

Zayn shrugged. "I can ask Harry," he volunteered. "I'll talk to him, I'm sure he'll help us. He's a nice guy."

I mentally rolled my eyes. Oh yes, Harry is the nicest guy on earth. So nice. He's probably currently snorting cocaine with naked girls around his bed.

"Let's hope Harry isn't busy," Leslie said.

Marty shrugged. "We need to do a prayer rally for that. That boy is always busy. I heard he threw a massive and loud party last night."

I bit my cheek. I continued with the inventories that I was doing, ignoring the conversation of my friends.

"Nah, it's not his party," Alex clarified. "Louis threw that one."