Page 37 of Losing My Rejection

“Feeling a bit needy this morning, Matty?” Andy asked, scooching out of the way so a grumpy Matt could get his coffee.

He grumbled in reply.

“He was up early,” Ace said. “We had to make two trips because of the pumpkins.”

“Was it only the pumpkins that had him up early?”

“Shutup Andy,” Matt growled, taking his first sip. “If I wanted to get fucked at five AM, I wouldn’t do it on a market day. And if Ace was being that needy, he could just cut a hole in one of the pumpkins.”

“I’ve heard it works in a pinch,” I added, sneaking around the back of the van. I gave Ace a nudge. “You know, just in case Matt’s not putting out for you.”

Ace looked surprised, but cracked a smile. Matt on the other hand wasn’t impressed.

“Who put cocaine in your coffee this morning?” he grumbled. “You’re awfully perky.”

“Nobody. I just feel good today.”

Matt looked at Ace, then up at Andy, searching for an explanation. “What happened to this man?”

Andy let out a long sigh. “Should we tell them?”

“Go ahead. I planned on it anyway.”

Matt held up a hand. “I already know. You two finally fucked.”

I lifted an eyebrow at him. “How could you possibly guess that?”

“Oh please. You two have been making eyes at one another for weeks. Not to mention, you smell of each other to high heaven. And not in the ‘we-just-work-together’ way.” He pointed a finger at me. “I know what cum smells like. I can scent it at a hundred paces.”

“That’s… a weird thing to be able to do.”

“So is bedding a straight man,” Matt said, looking up at Andy. “But I guess we all have our talents.”

“It’s honest work, but someone’s got to do it.” Andy gave him a wink. “Plus the mate bond helps.”

“Mates?” Ace looked between the pair of us. “Well… I guess that explains it then.”

“Sam was right,” Matt added.

“Fucking Sam!” Andy looked exasperated. “He promised me!”

“Well, when Josh stopped coming back to the hotel at night, he had a pretty good idea where things were going. And you know him… once it’s obvious, he can’t help himself.” Matt shook his head. “That man is a menace.”

Everyone nodded in unison.

“Well,” Andy said breaking the silence. “Show me the pumpkins that don’t have holes in them, Ace. I need a few for the bakery.”

“Help me unload?” I asked, looking at Matt.

“Oh, I’m already loaded. Ace took care of that this morning.” He didn’t miss a fucking beat. “But don’t tell Andy. I don’t like letting him know he’s right.”

I just burst out laughing, Matt joining in with me. The other two looked at us, but wrote it off as nonsense and kept picking out pumpkins. Matt helped me unload the bakery van and setup the booth. By the time we were done, the other two had finished with their swapping and everyone sat down with a cup of coffee and some pastries before the crowds began to arrive.

But, as it always went, no sooner had we sat down to chat that the early birds rolled in. They went straight to Ace’s booth to flirt with him while Andy and I tried to sell coffee and donuts to those that were waiting. Thanks to the chill in the morning air, our usual method was working better than normal.

I prepped and boxed while Andy took money from people. Our pastries had been selling at an accelerated rate since I’d joined the shop. To begin with, I hadn’t really believed Andy when he said I was good. But after nearly a month of customers going absolutely banana’s over my muffins, cakes, and rolls, I was starting to think he might be onto something. Obviously he’d been doing well before, but now he was more busy than ever. The point of taking on another baker was to give himself a break. In the end, we cooked for just as long, but we made twice as much product. There really was no rest for the wicked.

So, when a young woman stepped up to the booth and tugged on my shirt sleeve, I gave her the biggest smile I could muster instead of bugging Andy to take her order. He was already swamped with customers as it was. Besides, judging by the intense eye contact she was making with me, she wanted my attention, not his.

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