The Gold and the Forest

XXIX

Chapter 29: Time

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The boys showed up at the front door expecting a warm welcome, which they did receive, just not from who they expected. Angel bounded over and squeezed them into a perfume infused hug. They felt their esophaguses close up.

After Kade patted Angel away from the both of them he ran over and swept his girlfriend up with a fervent laugh. She squeaked in shock when he did that and shoved the cupcake she was holding in her hand into his nose.

"You're going to have to lick that off me." He said, eyes closed from the impact.

"Kiss my ass." She deadpanned.

"Alright," He moved over to the lounge and threw her on the couch. "Give me a hot second."

"What!?" Min screeched, kicking him away futilely. "What— What are you doing!"

The two burst into giggling and everyone else evacuated that room, moving over to another room to give them space.

"Kady! Use protection!" Angel called in, tossing a mysterious package in there.

The room went quiet.

"What the hell is that?" Min whispered.

"Tro—"

Kade subsequently got a kick in the face and the package was chucked outside of the room.

Carl and Vivi could hear the distant wailing of Carl's friend. They decided to ignore them altogether whilst Vivi poured some tea. Carl dug into a blueberry muffin.

"Sean would like these."

Vivi's eyes flew up to his.

A smile quirked onto her lips, a habit. She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and sat down, holding her own cup in her hands. "Yeah— Maybe we should bring some more to him at a later date."

The room lapsed into silence and Vivi wondered where Angel had gone.

Oh gosh. Maybe she... Maybe she left us alone like the other two.

Vivi glanced nervously back at Carl and noticed that he had gotten some frosting on the side of his face. His eyes met hers and she sheepishly pointed to her own face to mirror the spot where he had the cream. He swiped and missed, and she stifled a chuckle. She leaned over and took it off herself with a touch of her thumb.

His eyes flicked nervously from her thumb to her face. Something was threatening to burst out of his mouth, but he didn't know what it was.

"Carl." She lowered her eyes. "If you don't want this, stop me."

She leaned closer, putting both hands onto his face.

His heart was pounding loudly in his ears. He slowly closed his eyes.

He waited.

And he felt a weight on his left shoulder. His eyes flew open and his hands went to support her by the arms. She had rested her head against his shoulder instead of kissing him. He wondered what that meant.

She laughed shortly, her body shaking his.

"Tell me, Carl. Do you still feel the same way?"

"Huh?"

Her arms wrapped around his torso. "Do you still not love me?"

"If that's so..." Her voice became tight. "Push me away, please. Please let me know."

Carl stared into the space behind her. And then he looked down at the girl in his arms.

"I don't know."

She lifted herself up and looked into his eyes to clarify the sincerity of his words.

He furrowed his brows. "I don't know, Vivien."

"What...?"

"Will you give me time?"

---

Give him time. She glanced at him from the register. How? What are we? Do I act as I normally do? How do I usually act?

Her fingers stuttered on the number pad and she quickly apologized to the irritated customer. She finally completed the transaction and rested her chin on her hand, sighing into the air.

She recalled that moment in the lounge, wondering if it would've been better if she just had stolen a kiss from his lips. But what was that going to solve? The horny won't solve anything. The horny is only temporary.

What the hell am I thinking!?

She lightly tapped her palm against her forehead in exasperation and turned around for a bottle of water when she met the smug expression of Sean.

"Sean!" She gasped. "What— Why are you making that face?"

He popped a cookie in his mouth, which he had snatched from the table. It was the product of a last minute baking fest with the boys. "These are good." He munched through the words.

Vivi's mind flashed back to the words that Carl had said. A smile flew to her lips. He knew.

"Why are you making that face?" Sean grinned. "Something good happened?"

She straightened her back and turned back to the register. "Maybe so." She teased.

Sean smiled at her back. She had returned to her youthful vigor, which had dimmed after the events that had happened so far. She always had that childish side to her, which she hid with a mature demeanor. Sean's gaze moved over to his other employee, he had just entered through the front door, finished with the sweeping. Passing customers gave him a brief appreciative glance, which Carl did not seem to notice.

Vivi had turned back again, looking nervous. She walked over to pop a cookie into her mouth.

"You two wanna clock out at the same time today?"

Vivi flinched, and then looked up at him with stifled excitement. Sean smirked back at her and popped another cookie in his mouth. "That looks like a yes."

---

Carl joined her for lunch break, sitting next to her at one of the tables. She let one of her curls fall over to hide her growing smile.

"Par—" He cleared his throat. "Pardon."

She sipped on her latte. "Sean wants us to clock out at 6 together."

A sigh left Carl's lips, and she glanced up to see him giving the kitchen area a slightly exasperated stare. She bit into her pastry to stop from giggling.

A silence lapsed between them, and she noticed him shaking his leg. He's so awkward.

She glanced over at his sandwich.

"That looks good." She commented, voice light.

He licked his lips nervously and nodded in agreement. Her heart faltered before it sped up again. Why is he doing that!? I swear to god—

He lifted the uneaten sandwich to her. "Do you want a bite?"

Her eyes flicked from the sandwich to his lips. And he caught her. His lips trembled, threatening to break into a smile.

She pouted her lips, before placing a hand onto his and taking a bite out of his sandwich. It was to unnerve him, so she hardly tasted the sandwich in her mouth when she pulled back to sip her latte again.

When she glanced back at him, she noticed first the lipstick mark she had left, and then his lips enclosing the bite next to hers. She swallowed hard.

He munched on the bite, and then shot a sideways glance at her, a smirk hinting on his mouth. She inhaled deeply before she shoved him off the chair and he exploded into laughing.

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