"Fuck, this cupcake is delicious."

Trey and I stood in the kitchen on Saturday morning, the cupcake that Kori gave me was on the counter, and I had offered him some. I had eaten some Friday night, and it was incredible.

Trey was very pleased.

I looked at the box.

"The bakery is called...Sunflower," I said to Trey.

"Can we go there? I want to get some goodies for my mom since I'm seeing her tomorrow."

"When, like right now?"

"Fuck yeah right now," Trey nodded, "It's Saturday morning, we've got nothing to do but celebrate you all day. Let's go, I'll drive. We'll get something for Rachel even though she'll kill us for getting her sweets after her Pilates class."

"She'll secretly love it," I chuckled, "Let me just change into clothes that are presentable for the public and not my pajamas with cats all over them."

I went to my bedroom and put on a cute flannel shirt, dark-wash jeans, and boots. My long, dark hair was lightly curled at the ends and I quickly put on some makeup.

I slid into the passenger seat on Trey's Acura, and he put in the address to Sunflower, which was 25 minutes away.

"Are you still talking to Colin, the guy you met from Glow?" I asked Trey as he drove.

Trey nodded and smiled, "I am. He's really nice. I think I may go see him tonight after we have dinner."

"Good. You deserve someone who treats you well."

"So do you! Any woman would be lucky to have you, Ash. Just not Gabby's dumbass."

I grimaced, "She texted me for my birthday. Yesterday."

Trey rolled his blue eyes, "She was off by a day. That's all you need to know."

"I'm not texting her back. Especially after what I saw at Glow...no way."

"Glad to hear it," Trey nodded.

We got to Sunflower, which was the cutest bakery with a floral theme, and sunflower decor everywhere. There was a counter, and tables full of cakes and fresh breads, which is what I assumed Kori would buy.

There were two women behind the counter, one younger and one older, and Trey went right up to them.

"Hi," he said, "I'm not sure what kind of crack you put in your cupcakes, but they're amazing. I want to get a bunch of treats."

The two women started laughing, and so did I.

"Of course, how can we help you, hon?" The older woman asked Trey.

As Trey started ordering and asking the women questions, I looked around at the tables, admiring the different loaves of breads such as pumpkin and banana chocolate chip, all of the cookie displays, and baguettes.

A moment later, I heard the door to the bakery open, but I didn't look to see who had come in.

I heard a woman's voice say, "Elliot, Delilah, you can get two treats each, no more."

I then saw two kids, the girl taller than the boy, run up to the counter and look at the glass display full of cupcakes, cookies, and other treats.

"No ordering without me!" the woman said, with a chuckle.

I then heard the door to the shop open again, but I also didn't look, as I was trying to decide which treat I should possibly get Addison.

She loves monkey bread...should I get her that?

This was all background noise, until I heard a very familiar voice say, "Delilah, Elliot, how about I help you figure out what you want to get?"

Oh. My. God.

I turned around to see Kori standing by the door of the bakery.

I froze in place as we locked eyes, and Kori looked stunned to see me as well.

She was dressed very similarly to how she was when she picked me up at Glow, in a very crisp looking black Adidas hoodie, gray joggers, and sneakers that looked like they just came out of the box. Even in such a casual outfit, she looked incredibly put together.

As Kori and I looked at each other for a moment and didn't say anything, the two kids came running up to her.

"Aunt Kori!" the boy, Elliot, said, "Mommy said that I can only get two treats, but I want three."

Kori looked down at the boy for a split second, and said, "You have to listen to your mom. How about you go look at your options and I'll be over in a moment to help you out."

Elliot nodded and rushed off to the glass case, where Delilah, and who I now presumed to be Kori's sister, were standing. It sounded like Trey was just about finished ordering.

Kori then looked back up at me and made her way over to where I was standing.

My heart rate quickened as she walked over to me.

As she approached, I could smell her cologne, which like her outfit was very crisp, and it just made my heart rate pick up even more.

Kori looked almost pleased to see me.

"Ashley...this is unexpected," Kori said to me in an even tone, "Good morning, and happy birthday, of course."

"Happy birthday to you too, Kori," I said to her as we faced each other, "My roommate, Trey, who is over there ordering, insisted we come here this morning. He tried some of the cupcake you gave me and absolutely loved it. So did I."

Kori gave me a small smile, "Glad to hear it. This really is the best bakery. I'm here, as you can probably tell, with my niece and nephew and my sister, Charley."

Charley must have heard her name, because she turned around, smiled, and then walked over to Kori and me. At the same time, Trey turned around from the counter, and his eyed widened when he saw me talking to someone.

Charley looked a lot like Kori, with the same dark hair and green eyes, however Charley had a much more feminine look to her.

"Charley, this is Ashley, she works in my department," Kori introduced me to her sister, "It's her birthday today as well."

"Very nice to meet you," I smiled at Charley.

She flashed me a genuine smile back, "So nice to meet you, Ashley! Happy Birthday as well."

"Thank you so much," I said back to Charley.

"I'm so sorry to only speak for a moment, I have to go see what my kids want to get," Charley said to me.

As Charley walked off, Trey walked over to us, with two large bags in hand.

Please do not let him say anything out of pocket.

Kori's eyes slightly widened at the bags in Trey's hands, and Trey looked between Kori and I.

"Trey, this is my boss, Kori," I said to him, "Kori, this is my roommate and best friend, Trey."

"Hello," Kori said to Trey, "Nice to meet you."

"Oh my god. You're the one who introduced us to this amazing bakery," Trey said to Kori, "I cannot thank you and your impeccable taste enough."

This got a chuckle out of Kori, and she said, "You are very welcome."

Before anyone else could say anything, Kori's niece came walking up to us. She was precious little girl, with light blonde hair in a braid and glasses.

"Aunt Kori, can you help me decide what I want?" Delilah looked up at all of us, even though she was only talking to Kori, "I don't know what to choose!"

"Of course, Delilah," Kori said.

Delilah then looked at me and said, "Can you help, too? What's your name?"

"Hi sweetie," I said, "My name is Ashley. You're Delilah?"

Delilah nodded and smiled at me, "Come with us, Ashley!"

I glanced at Kori, and she nodded at me.

As Trey started browsing the fresh baked breads, I walked over to the display case with Delilah and Kori. Kori held onto Delilah's hand, and my heart just about melted.

Charley was helping Elliot decide what he wanted, and I stooped down to Delilah's level to help her look at the display case.

Immediately, my eye spotted a pink cupcake, and I asked Delilah, "Do you like the color pink?"

She nodded, "I love it."

"Do you see that pink cupcake over there? You could always get that one," I said to her, "That looks delicious."

Kori, who was standing next to us, said, "I agree with Ashley."

Delilah nodded, "Okay! I'll get that one. What other treat should I get?"

I spotted a purple cupcake with a colorful unicorn horn in the corner, and I asked Deliliah, "Do you like unicorns? Look at that cupcake over there, it's a unicorn."

Delilah nodded and looked at me, her brown eyes wide behind her glasses, "I love unicorns."

Delilah then turned to Kori and said, "I want the pink one and the unicorn one!"

Easy enough.

Kori shot me a half smile and said to Delilah, "Thank Ashley for all of her help."

Delilah turned to me, "Thank you, Ashley! You're so nice and so pretty as well."

I laughed and said to Delilah, still at her level, "Thank you, Delilah. So are you."

Delilah then turned to look at Kori, "Aunt Kori, isn't Ashley so pretty?"

I felt my cheeks warm out of embarrassment, and I thought Kori was going to completely avoid her niece's question, but instead she nodded and said, "Yes, she is."

I looked up at Kori, who looked right back at me, and I now felt a blush form on my cheeks.

Kori broke eye contact first, and said to Delilah, "Let's order those cupcakes."

I stood up and took a step back, not without Kori and I glancing at each other one more time.

We all wrapped up in the bakery, with Trey getting two more loaves of chocolate chip banana bread, and me getting monkey bread for Addison.

Trey and I walked out at the same time as Kori and her family. Delilah came up to me and said, "I hope I can see you again, Ashley!"

I smiled at the sweet girl, "So do I, Delilah."

Trey and I said goodbye to Kori and her family, and I was about to start walking to Trey's car with him when Kori said, "Ashley, wait. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I stepped aside and nodded, "Of course."

"We'll be at the car," Charley said to Kori, and Trey said to me, "I'll be at the car as well when you're done."

Kori and I stood outside of the bakery, and she faced me.

"Your niece is adorable," I said to Kori, "How old is she?"

"Six. She is six and Elliot is three," Kori said to me, "You were great with her."

"I love kids," I said to Kori, "Plus, she was super sweet."

Kori nodded and looked at me, "She is. But, um, I hope you don't mind how I answered her when she asked if I thought you were pretty. I wasn't trying to overstep."

I looked back at Kori, "Did you mean it, or were you just playing along with her?"

Kori held my gaze and said back, "Of course I meant it."

I felt my heart thump and I said to Kori, "I, well, I think the same about you. Just saying."

I wanted to say even more, and I just knew that Kori did as well. The unspoken words between us were just begging to be said, but I knew I had to hold back.

I might have already said too much.

Kori gave me a nod, "Thank you, Ashley."

Once again, this would be the part where I go in for the kiss.

But I can't do that.

Kori then said, "It was a nice surprise to see you. I have to go back to the car, but I'll see you on Monday. Enjoy the rest of your birthday."

Her tone was less personable as she said that to me.

"You as well," I said to Kori, "See you on Monday."

Kori and I shared one last look, and then made our separate ways to our cars.

When I got in the car, Trey looked at me.

"Ashley, your boss totally is into you," Trey said to me.

"What makes you say that?" I asked him.

"Just trust me on this one. I'm sure I'll hear soon about the hot sex you two will have."

"Trey!" I exclaimed, feeling myself blush.

I can't help but hope he's right. 

A/N: Thanks so much for reading!! Kori keeps autocorrecting to "Lori" and it's driving me fucking insane lol. If you see "Lori" in there anywhere, please let me know.