Page 2 of Grudge Puck
Piper shrugged. She didn't think Matt was 'manly' enough for me, but that's a frequent complaint she makes aboutallthe guys I date. It's odd, considering that Piper was raised on a hippie commune. But as free-spirited and open-minded as she is? She likes her guys beefy and manly.
“Not for nothing, but this is just a gentle reminder that Matt failed the bicep-calf test,” she added.
I rolled my eyes. I don't take the “bicep-calf test” too seriously, but Piper swears by her own invention—and any guy she dates must pass the test. Here's how it works, simply: boy's bicep must be thicker than girl's calf. She's dead serious about it, too. Piper will absolutely bust out a tape measure on the first date if it's too close to call.
“I don't think I've ever dated a guy who'd pass that test,” I muttered.
“Uh huh. That doesn't surprise me.”
“And I don't evenwantto meet a guy that does.”
“Sure.”
“Seriously. I just want a guy that fitsmylife. Every guy I date wants meto change for him. Why do I have to be the one that changes? Why not him?”
“I dunno.” Piper neared with outstretched arms. She wrapped them around me and squeezed me with a tight hug. “But I'm sorry to hear the news.”
I hugged Piper back. “Oh, really, it's fine. I told you, we weren't anything. And now I canreallyfocus on work.”
Piper pinched my butt and, for the second time this morning, I leaped several feet into the air.
“Yow! The hell was that for?”
She pulled a spatula off the counter-top and waved it at me like a knife.
“You need to take some time off, lady!”
“Never!”
“Well, you're at least going to get out of my kitchen!” Wielding that spatula, Piper chased me out. “BecauseI'mscheduled to open, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. You can go sit in the office and drum up some hype on social media or something. I don't care what you do, but I'm opening the damn store like I'm supposed to.”
“Fine.”
I surrendered control of the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching quietly as Piper took over and prepped for the day.
“Hey, how was the club, anyway?” I asked her.
“It was fun! Everyone had a good time. You really should'vecome out and seen some familiar faces.”
“I know. Maybe next time.”
Piper's ears perked up. “Next time it is—and I'll hold you to that.”
“We'll see,” I said with a doubting smirk.
“I'm holding you to it, Cammy. You need to meet someone to take your mind off Matt.”
“Blech,” I chortled. “Matt's not even a blip on my radar and I do not want to meet anyone else. Period.”
Piper tutted. “Whatever. Next time, you're coming out with me.”
I rolled and slunk away for the office, my mind already busy with the next task at hand to make sure Velvet Bakery gets off the ground.
We'd been open for a month; but it was a 'soft' opening to work out the kinks. Tomorrow was officially our grand opening—complete with aTimeswrite-up to generate opening day hype.
And now it was time to spam the heck out of social media once again to let everybody know about it.
And pray for the best.
