If I Were Allowed To Love You

Twenty-Six

Lucas stared at the van in awe. "This is exactly what I was imagining." The truck was big, light pink with the name 'Dripping Drizzles' written in chocolate icing, surrounded by cupcakes, cookies, and cake pops. A large window was all along the side above the name with big black tires and a white roof.

"When people think of dessert trucks, the color pink typically comes to mind. So mine is pink, but it's not the focal point. The sweets we make are," Theo explained as he opened the garage doors. "Feel free to get in."

Climbing into the truck, Lucas peeked in the back. There were two ovens, a stove, and a large fridge in the very back.

"When you open the back doors, it leads straight to the fridge. And you can open it from back here as well. It helps when we have large catering orders. The rest of the time, I make the sweets in the truck as I run out of them."

"So you only bake in the kitchen for catering orders?"

"Catering orders take a lot of time and work, so it's nice to have all the extra space when I need it. But this is a bakery truck, so I bake in here, too."

"Are we going to bake in here during my two months?"

"Well, we should first see if you actually enjoy baking before we agree to anything else," Theo chuckled.

"Even if I don't, I'll still help out."

"Why?"

"Because you mean a lot to Melissa, and I know this is going to help you out. Besides, I don't want to spend my entire off season doing nothing. I need something to look forward to. And if it's spending time with you, then let's work together. By the end of the season, I'll be better friends with you than Melissa is."

Smirking at Lucas, Theo bit the nail of his pointer finger and said, "Is that a challenge of some sort?"

Shrugging, Lucas laughed. "It can be. I personally think it would be nice to get to know you better."

"Really?" Theo whispered.

Lucas nodded. "There's something about you that draws me in. It's like I have to get to know you or else I'll go insane." His eyes widened, and he took a small step back. "That came off as pretty creepy. I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be," Theo stated. "It wasn't. I feel the same way."

Smiling softly, Lucas said, "Let's go buy those ingredients."

Theo exited the truck to enter from the driver's side from the outside, while Lucas slipped into the passenger seat from the inside of the truck. The moment they both had their seatbelts on, Theo pulled onto the main road and began to drive to Yorkberg's to buy his stock of premium ingredients. Theo turned on the radio to drown out the silence, and Elton John's lesser known discography played.

"You're a fan of Elton?"

"Huge."

"He came to one of my shows."

Theo choked. "You're kidding."

"Yeah. He brought his husband and son, back when he only had one son, and they loved it."

"Did you meet him?"

"Yeah, I got my picture taken with his son. It's not online, and it never will be. Not unless it's on a finsta or something."

"That's incredible," Theo gawked. "Are you a big fan of him?"

"I like his music, but it's not my favorite thing to listen to. I do love his song 'Levon.' It's probably my favorite."