Black Blood

3

"I've always wanted to learn how to bake, but growing up I just never had time." Kieran said softly. His voice was so smooth, yet it had the same deep, haunting effect as his eyes did. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Well then, now is a good time to learn the easiest, most delicious icing recipe in the world." I told him. I walked over to the coat hanging rack and got another apron.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Last time I tried to bake, I almost blew up the kitchen." Kieran muttered in an unsure tone of voice. I threw the apron at him and he caught it.

"Well this recipe doesn't involve heat or blowing stuff up. I think you will be fine." I told him. I wrote down the recipe on a light blue sheet of paper for him to look at. He smirked slightly and then hesitantly read the recipe. "I am going to get the rest of the cupcakes out of the fridge and then get the food dye ready for the icing. If you need anything, just holler for me." I said in a friendly tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Kieran said. I was a bit taken back by his ego, but nonetheless just went back to what I was doing.

A few minutes later, I watched him try to put the powdered sugar in the mixture. I laughed to myself and walked over to him and took the cup. I pointed to the paper.

"It says to sift the powdered sugar. If you don't then the mixture won't be so fluffy like we want it to be." I noted. Kieran watched as I went to the counter behind us and grabbed the sifter and handed it to him. I put some of the powdered sugar in the sifter and then showed him that you turn the handle to make it sift out. I walked away to let him finish while I went to the cafe and got a sweet coffee and brought it to Kieran. "Here is the secret among all secrets of our amazing icing and cupcake filling." I said, holding the warm coffee in my hands.

"Coffee?" Kieran asked confusingly. I nodded and got a half cup and poured it into the mixture. The man looked very confused but then nodded in response.

"Now all you have to do is keep adding powdered sugar until you get the consistency of thick pudding." I told him before putting the coffee cup down in front of him. "Also, drinking the rest of the coffee is essential." I said, crossing my arms. He nodded and then I watched him do the rest. I was feeling exhausted, so I went and got another coffee from Kaya.

After a while of decorating the cupcakes and adding the toppings, we finally finished the job. I got the boxes and carefully placed them so that they looked professional. I neatly wrote on the boxes the kinds of cupcakes they were so that they wouldn't get mixed up. I put them in a carrier bag and then put them up on the table for delivery. Kieran walked behind me and I smiled as we all stood at the doorway. I yawned and then looked at Kaya.

"Why don't you take the day off today, Talia. You worked hard today, plus you worked overtime. You deserve it." Kaya said. I nodded and smiled at her.

"I might just take you up on that offer. I'm not feeling to well anyways." I said, letting my hair down and taking my apron off. Mr. Tuckerson smirked at me and Kaya, while Kieran had his hands behind his back at attention.

"Do you need a ride home?" Kieran asked. I quickly snapped my head up at him.

"No, no, no... I'll be okay." I said rather fast. Maybe too fast. I seemed suspicious.

"Are you sure? You look really tired and it's getting dark." He said. I looked at Kaya and she then looked down at her feet. She doesn't even know where I live exactly. "You don't have a car, right?" He asked. I thought about it and then looked at Kaya again.

"I'll let you take me to the park where I go home. I'll take myself the rest of the way." I said. I looked at Kaya and she seemed to feel better.

"Okay. Grab your stuff and I'll escort you." Kieran told me. I nodded softly before grabbing my bag and following him. Kaya said goodbye and hugged me before I left.