Piece of Cake | Ashton Irwin [au]

One

Ruth's POV

From the moment we got out of the car, my best friend, Serena, has been complaining about how her mother is trying to control her wedding plans. As her best friend and maid-of-honor, I do my duty and listen to her rant.

"I cannot believe my mother!" Serena shouts, stomping her feet heavily on the sidewalk as we walk the streets of downtown Seattle. "She got to pick the invitations, the colors for the bridesmaid dresses, and now she wants to pick the wedding cake? No. That's where I draw the line."

As much as I love Serena, she sure does babble a lot. For the past two months she has been talking my ear off about every little thing in regards to her wedding that is set for June this year. Recently, she has been fighting a lot with her mother about different major decisions that need to be made and Serena is sick of it just as much as I am sick of her complaining. This is what she gets for planning a wedding in only six months.

Unfortunately, her fiancé, Calum, couldn't get off work to come with her to find a cake today, so she called the next person in line: me. We are currently looking for some small bakery that Serena found online. We've already gone to several different bakeries, but none of them were up to her standards. You'd think after visiting five different stores, one of them would stand out to her.

"Maybe you should order a cake without her knowing." I suggest, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind my ear and out of my face. "Then she won't have any say in what cake you get."

Serena adjusts her black flowing skirt that rises up slightly as the forceful wind sweeps past us. She thinks that if she dresses more professional, people will take her seriously when she tells them that she is getting married at the age of twenty. So far it hasn't worked. And it doesn't help that she's freezing her legs off in this chilly, 'it's-finally-spring-but-it-still-feels-like-winter' weather.

"That's what I'm planning to do," she says and snaps her head left and right in search of the bakery sign. "If I get to make any decisions for my wedding, it will be for my dress and cake. I won't have her take that away from me."

"Do you think she's trying to make your wedding the wedding of her dreams?" I ask. Her parents got married within a week of their engagement, so there wasn't a lot of advanced planning. It wouldn't be surprising if her mom is using Serena's wedding for her own benefit.

"That seems like the only logical reason as to why she's butting in as much as she is." Serena pushes her round sunglasses from the bridge of her nose to the top of her head and lets them rest on her sleek jet black hair. She stops in front of a small red-brick building with large glass windows displaying a variety of desserts and treats that are irresistibly mouthwatering. "Here it is!" she says and pulls open the door, causing a bell that is attached to it ring as we step inside.

"I'll be with you in a second!" a disembodied male voice yells from the back of the shop.

As we wait for him, we take a look around. Inside, it looks like a little girl's playhouse. Pastel colors and girly décor consume the space, making me slightly uncomfortable by all the girly-ness. It's a bit too much for me. I feel bad for the guy who works here.

In the glass display case by the register, a variety of sweets catch my eye. The aroma of sugar and chocolate fills my nostrils as I inhale the decadent smell of the pastries. Saliva builds in my mouth as I stare at these beautifully decorated desserts. There is everything from cheesecake to cookies that I've never even heard of. As someone who is a sweets enthusiast, I need to get away from these before I spend all my money and gain extra calories that I don't need.