"Aren't they so cute?" Vanessa cooed like she was looking at new born babies or puppies.

Nessa had her face pressed against the glass of a window that separated her from a display of purses in bright, candy colors that were shaped like hearts, stars, and other things you could find in a box of Lucky Charms.

I grabbed the lime green purse she currently had in the crook of her elbow and pulled her away from the glass. "Focus. We only get a fifteen minute lunch break."

It was a little after twelve, the sun seemed to be at its full power as the two of us walked past store fronts of small businesses, working up a sweat in the short distance from my dad's dentist office around the corner, where Nessa and I both were interning for the summer.

Nessa by choice. Me by force.

My vision for the summer involved buttercream and piping bags and the warm, delicious smell of fresh baked goodies. Not mopping up pee because some kid was terrified of having their teeth cleaned.

But I fell right in the middle of a sibling rivalry. Dad versus Aunt Mimi. And I, being the loyal daughter that I was, choose my dad. A week into my summer among teeth and I could say with total confidence that it was the biggest mistake of my life.

At least I had my lunch breaks to live out my dreams.

"Wasn't this a yoga studio last week?" Nessa asked, pointing a well manicure finger at the next store.

I glanced at the display of beaded necklaces and earrings. "I think so."

Nessa frowned. "Damn. I should've used my coupon when I had the chance. Those earrings are cute, though."

I laughed at the quick change of her tone from sad to happy in a blink.

Every month or so the stores would change. One day your new favorite pizza place would be there and the next it'll be a shop that sold handmade cat ponchos. But one store had stayed the same for the last five years: Cake Me Up.

It was my Aunt Mimi's pride and joy. A bakery that not only sold cakes, cookies and other sweets, but also had a make-up bar where you could get your face done. Both of Aunt Mimi's passions wrapped into one.

One day, I hoped to work alongside her in the bakery part of the shop. For now, I had to settle for sneaking away from my desk at my dad's dentist office, where I stared at a screen all day doing mindless filing, just to get a whiff of freshly baked cupcakes.

"Hey, sweetie!" Aunt Mimi called out from behind the counter she was wiping down.

Vanessa immediately went over to the cookie display, leaving a puddle of drool behind her and completely forgetting the whole reason why I dragged her there in the first.

Usually, it was only to get away from the sound of drills and crying and the over sanitized smell of the office. That day I was on a mission. And judging from the complete emptiness of the bakery, I arrived just in time.

"What are you two doing here?" Mimi asked. She was as colorful as her store with its pastel pink walls, and blue and yellow chairs positioned around glossy white tables. There were framed black and white photos of different celebrities biting into one of her sweet concoctions dotting the walls, and bright green plants in almost every corner.

The make-up bar was at the back, separated from the bakery with a wall since most people didn't like an audience when they got their faces put on.

Mimi was dressed in a yellow dress with unicorns and rainbows on it, with bright pink lipstick and rainbow earrings she probably made herself. Her TWA (teeny-weeny-afro) was dyed a honey blonde. She was always the brightest person in the room, she made sure of that.

Vanessa joined me at the counter, an oatmeal raisin cookie in her hand. She had to be the only seventeen-year-old in existence to actually enjoy those. "Hey auntie! You like cute."

My aunt posed, grinning ear to ear. "I know! Now, what are you two doing here? You know you're not allowed to fraternize with the enemy after what happened the other day." She crossed her arms, her sky blue nails tapping her elbows.

Two days ago, like always, I spent my lunch break at Cake Me Up. That day, Mimi was booked to bake a three layer chocolate cake for a quinceañera and to do the birthday girl's and her friend's make-up.

Her only other employee quit short notice that morning and Mimi was falling behind and panicking in that cool, calm and collected way that she did. By that I meant, she looked like she was handling things effortlessly, but she'd occasionally go into her office for a few seconds. I didn't know what she did behind that closed door, but she emerged a bit calmer than before.

That day, she'd went in and out of her office more than I'd ever seen her do during business hours. I didn't want to just leave her there alone. So, I stayed and decorated the cake while aunt Mimi did the make-up of five teenaged girls.

Dad was furious when he found out where I'd been for two hours. even though Nessa was there picking up my slack. It was more about me spending time with Aunt Mimi than anything.

He didn't outright forbid me to go to Cake Me Up, but his tone might've suggested it.

Vanessa held up her phone with her free hand, displaying a countdown. "That's why I'm here," she said, glancing at the phone. "Twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds left of lunch."

Aunt Mimi snorted, shaking her head. "Well, there isn't much to do here today," she said, looking around at the empty store. "I guess people are worried about their beach bodies."

She tried to laugh it off, but I could hear the disappointment in her voice.

Honestly, Cake Me Up hadn't been doing well that year...or last year for that matter. People would rather order online than visit an actual store and Aunt Mimi refused to set up an online shop. She was a bit old school and preferred to do business with humans rather than, as she put it, receive orders from a robot.

Which kind of made sense. I loved going to Cake Me Up. Some days I'd come order the special of the day and a coffee, grab a table and play The Sims for hours. And I might've thrown in a little homework if I had the time. Who wouldn't want to come to place where they could have delicious desserts and chat with friends?

That was why I had rushed over. During my usual digging on baking forums, to drool over pretty cakes and gain inspiration for my own designs, I stumbled across a baking competition.

Fishing the flyer I'd printed from my bag, I slid it over the glass case to my aunt.

"What is this?" She questioned, picking up the paper and squinting at it. "Bake-A-Palooza?"

I nodded feverishly, getting excited all over again as I recalled the details for the contest. A weekend in LA baking our asses of for national TV. It'd give Cake Me Up the recognition it deserved. Then, instead of closing up, duplicate Cake Me Up locations would pop-up everywhere around the world.

Aunt Mimi made a dismissive sound as she all but threw the flyer back to me, shattering my daydream of cutting the ribbon during the grand opening of a Cake Me Up in Japan.

"Charm, my shop isn't that desperate. I don't need a reality show to save me." She picked up her rag and continued to wipe down her untouched counters.

Was she serious? We were literally standing in her empty shop. She should've been grinning, bouncing up and down like I had when I saw the bake-off announcement. Sometimes my aunt was too prideful. Pride wasn't going to keep her shop from going under!

I wanted to tell her exactly what I thought. But she was the only family of mine that supported my dreams of baking and alienating her probably wouldn't have been the greatest idea.

Thankfully, I had a distraction. A small, twinkling sound played as two people entered the store. A woman and a guy who looked about the same as Vanessa and I walked in.

Aunt Mimi stood up straight, beaming as she did with all her customers. "Hello, welcome to Cake Me Up!"

The woman smiled back, heading straight for the counter. Nessa and I stepped aside to let my aunt, hopefully, make a sale.

"He's cute," Nessa whispered, trying to conceal her staring by hiding behind the cookie display. She used her front facing camera as a mirror as she fluffed out her twist-out and applied another shiny coat of gloss to her lips.

Pressing my lips together, I tried to choke down a laugh at her antics. Still. I pretended to be engrossed in my phone while sneaking glancing at the boy.

He hung back, by a tower of cupcakes with little candy bee's decorating them. He was light-skinned, with thick, curly hair that was longer on top than the sides. He was, in every sense if the word, cute. And so absorbed in his Nintendo Switch that he wouldn't have notice us staring at him even if were weren't hiding behind a cookie display.

"Yes, I have been looking for an extra set of hands around here." My aunt's voice was a little more high pitched than usual, her pink lips spread a little wider across her face.

Oh wow. Nessa and I weren't the only ones checking someone out. Aunt Mimi was totally giving heart eyes at that woman.

"Have you ever worked at a bakery?" Aunt Mimi asked, pulling out a job application from the counter drawer behind her.

"Oh, the job isn't for me," the woman said, pointing to the guy who hadn't looked up once. "It's for my son." When her son didn't move, she hissed, "Nathaniel."

He looked up, blinking like he'd just woke up or something. And just like that his entire demeaner changed. He pocketed his game, standing up straighter and flashing Aunt Mimi a million dollar smile. The bad postured, video game obsessed guy was instantly replaced by a well mannered clone.

He stood next his mom at the counter. He was taller than her by a head, but she still wrapped her arm around his shoulders like he was small.

"Hello," he said, reaching out to shake Aunt Mimi's hand. His voice was deep a smooth like butter. "I'm Nathaniel and, no, I haven't worked in a bakery, but I'm a quick study and a hard worker."

Well, that sounded completely rehearsed. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Aunt Mimi raised her brows like she just got a big whiff of the BS as well. She smiled politely at him. "You know what? I like your attitude." I barely held back an eye roll. What she liked had nothing to do with his attitude. "When can you start?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the sound that came out sounded more like a fire alarm. All three of them whipped their heads in our direction. The sound was coming from Nessa's phone. Heat flooded my entire body as Vanessa casually put an end the alarm.

"Lunch break over," Nessa announced, grabbing a couple more oatmeal cookies.

I followed her up to counter where she paid for her snacks. "Think about it," I said as I slid the bake-off flyer to my aunt.

As soon as we stepped back out into the early June heat Vanessa giggled, hooking her arm through mine. "If he starts working here, I might stop by more often."

I smiled, shaking my head at her. As we passed the huge window display of pastries, I glanced inside. My aunt was still talking to the mom of her new employee. Nathaniel, however, was staring out at us, a slight smirk on his face. He definitely heard what Nessa said and, clearly, it inflated his ego. Gross.

//

Hi! Hello! New story!

I'm finally writing again and I'm so happy!!

Charm & Nate have been in my head for years 

I just haven't found the right story for them, 

but I think this one is it!

Thanks for reading!! <3