Knight

03

Mason Maloney

"What's his name? Is he cute?" Sandy asked excitedly.

Sandy had been questioning me about Sam since I had walked into the bakery. She basically pounced at me when I got behind the counter.

I let out a heavy sigh. "His name is Sam and I don't know."

Sandy rolled her eyes at me. "You should be able to tell if another guy is good looking."

It was no secret that Sam was good looking with his chiseled cheek bones, sharp jawline, and green eyes. However, I never wanted to admit that to Sandy.

"You'll see when he gets here," I muttered, walking back into the kitchen.

I looked around to see if Charlene had left me anything to bake for her. She usually got all the baking done in the morning and throughout the day, but sometimes she would leave something for me to do. I sighed when I realized there was nothing and I was going to have to sit around with Sandy until she left at five. A few moments later, I heard the bell on the door ring and Sandy let out a surprised gasp.

"Sorry, I'm a little late," Sam said when I met him at the counter.

I just shrugged. "It's fine. Charlene hired you knowing you would have to be late sometimes."

"I'm Sandy," Sandy cut in annoyingly, pushing me out of her way so she could offer her hand to Sam.

He smirked and shook her hand. "Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sam. I look forward to working with you," Sandy responded with a wink.

I scoffed and motioned for Sam to follow me back to the kitchen. He grabbed his apron and put it on, tying it around his waist.

"Hm," Sam hummed.

"What?"

"I can't seem to tie this. Can you do it for me?" he asked teasingly, holding the ties of his apron.

I knew he was just messing around by the look on his face, but I walked behind him and started tying his apron anyway. Being in such close proximity to him, I finally saw that he was a good four inches taller than me and smelled surprising good for someone who had just come from football practice.

"Too tight?" I asked from behind him, my hands still on his apron.

Sam turned his head to face me. He smiled slightly down at me and shook his head.

"Just right," he answered.

The two of us stared into the other's eyes for a few moments. I noticed that his green eyes looked slightly blue in the light and his eyelashes were long enough that they curled upwards.

I cleared my throat and stepped away from him when I noticed I had been staring for too long.

"So... um, we should go help Sandy out front," I muttered awkwardly.

Sam laughed at my discomfort but didn't comment on it.

"Alright," he said, walking ahead of me toward the front of the store.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts before I followed him. A little while later, Sandy's shift ended and I was still feeling awkward around Sam as I swept up around the counter and he recounted the drawer.

"It's even," Sam told me after shutting the register drawer.

I nodded without looking at him. "Good."

"So," he started, leaning against the counter like he always did. "When are you going to teach me how to bake?"

This caused me to look up at him. He seriously wanted to learn how to bake?