19. The Most Depressing Club Ever

Yesterday, it didn't occur to me that driving to LA with Nate meant I'd be driving to LA with Nate. Almost two hours of him and I in a car. Probably longer if there's traffic. What was I thinking agreeing to it?

Nessa even thought it was a bad idea and that it was the exact opposite of getting over him. But Nate was the one who talked to Lynn and showing up without him would've been weird.

Also, I couldn't drive.

After telling my dad a lie about Nessa and I going to some concert in the next town over, I met Nate at his house. Andrew let him borrow his car since Nate's mom needed her car to get to work.

"Are you, like, jittery? Nervous?" All the lying and sneaking around and being locked in a car with Nate hit me as soon as we passed the sign announcing we were leaving Aster Pointe.

Talking to Lynn would probably be pointless. Driving all that way and still not getting answers was a strong possibility. The thought of it made my stomach twist. Add on the fact that deadline for the contest was in six days and I felt nauseous.

"Relax, cupcake."

My glare was met with a smirk. As much I hated to admit it, the stupid nickname calmed me down a bit.

"Can I ask you something?" He said, eyes on the road.

"Well, we're ten minutes into a two hour drive," I pointed out. "The only way I could stop you from asking me anything is by jumping out of the car."

He hit a button, locking the car doors. I laughed, fully relaxed then.

"Why are you so determined to get your aunt into the contest?"

"Because I don't want the shop to close down." Was that not obvious? "And I want to work there after college. I can't do that if Cake Me Up doesn't exist by then."

He thought about that as he switched lanes without even breaking a sweat. How were people able to be so calm with all the other cars around?

"You don't want to open your own bakery?" He asked, glancing at me. "Think about the name possibilities: Charm's Cakes or Cakes by Charm or Nate's Cupcake."

Nate's Cupcake. My cupcake. He had to know what those words were doing to me. The flirting had to be intentional, right? No one was that flirty by accident. "So, my imaginary bakery is named after you?"

"More like inspired by."

I rolled my eyes, biting back a smile. Then I said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you helping me?"

He adjusted himself in his seat, switched lanes again to get out from behind a slow car, before shrugging. "It seemed important to you."

But why does that matter to you? I wanted to ask.

As if he could read my mind he added, "Besides we're...friends."

It's possible I imagined it, but there might've been a pause before he said friend. Like friend wasn't the word he wanted use. I watched his profile for a second, getting nothing but him concentrating on the road ahead.

"Well, thanks," I said, shift my eyes to the road.

He flashed me a smile. "Alright, my turn." When I raised my brows at him, he explained, "We're playing Twenty Questions. When's your birthday?"

"July seventh, so you have about two weeks to get your gift prepared."

He chuckled. "Noted."

I guessed it was my turn, but my mind was coming up blank. My mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, though. "Why are you so honest?"

He looked over at me, confused, before turning back to the road. "I thought people preferred honesty?"

"I just meant...most guys wouldn't admit that a girl hurt their feelings. Or apologize after being rude about it."

He shifted in his seat again. Great, I made what was supposed to be a fun game awkward. Before I could retract my question, he answered, "My ex was always on me for throwing "tantrums" as she called them."

His ex? Did he mean Janae or did he still think of her as his girlfriend?

"Since we're getting personal," he said, pulling my focus back to him. "That guy at the party—"

I cut him off with a groan, hiding my face behind my hands.

He laughed. "I guess that answers my question."

"Kailand is a bad decision I would like to forget."

"Good, that dudes a piece of shit."

I dropped my hands at the un-Nate like seriousness. "Where were you to tell me that three months ago?"

He's eyes briefly fell on me before going back to the road. "Was that your question?"

"No!" I thought for a moment before asking, "What happened at the graduation party?" It'd been mentioned a couple times, but no one ever gave details.

His eyes widened before going back to normal as he shook his head. "I'm shouldn't even be surprised. You're friends with Daisy."

"She didn't say anything. Just that it was... brutal."

"Yeah, that's the perfect way to describe it." He let out a dry laugh. "Janae and I were together for almost a year. I told her I loved her and she dumped me. Literally. I said 'I love you' and her response was 'We should break up.'"

My heart hurt for him. "The same thing happened with Kai. I didn't drop the L-bomb, but when I suggested we take our relationship public he bolted."

"Dumped for liking people too much." He huffed a laugh. "We should get t-shirts made."

"That'll be the most depressing club ever," I told him with a laugh. "So, was that the brutal part of the break up?"

"No, the brutal part came when she told me she couldn't be in love with someone who had no future." He sounded a lot calmer than I would've. "She practically screamed it in front of all our friends. Made the whole party awkward after that."

Suddenly, Kai pretending I didn't exist in public didn't seem so bad. "What color?"

His brows bunched together. "Huh?"

"For the shirts? I'm thinking black. Maybe a graphic of a broken heart in the middle of the chest."

He laughed. "I like it."

♡ ♡ ♡

High energy dance music could be heard the second Nate and I stepped into Lynn Goffney's aerobic dance studio.

Everything was lightwood and green. There was a smoothie bar to the left and a reception area to the right. Nate let the receptionist know we had an appointment to see Lynn. I watched a preview of one of the classes on a big screen above the smoothie bar. I was exhausted just watching them move to beat of the music.

"Lynn will be out in a minute," Nate announced, standing beside me. "How do you want to play this?"

"I think I should talk to her alone," I told him. "So she doesn't feel ambushed."

He nodded. "What should I do?"

I nodded up at the flat screen. "Take a class."

"What?" His eyes doubled in sized. "I'm not dancing with a bunch of soccer moms"

"We have to make this school project thing look believable," I said, turning to him. "And you won't have to stay the whole hour. Promise."

His eyes narrowed at me. "You're lucky I like you."

I knew he didn't mean it romantically, hut that didn't stop the blush creeping up my face. Thankfully, Lynn stepped out, distracting Nate before he could notice.

"Hello!" Lynn wore a huge grin and bright green yoga pants. Her dark skin glistened with sweat. "You must be Charm and Nate. We can talk in my office." She turned, staring down a hall.

"Actually, I was hoping to join a class," Nate spoke up, almost looking happy about it.

Lynn glanced at her smart watch. "The current class only started ten minutes ago. Let's see if there's room for you."

I stayed back in the hall as Lynn and Nate went back to the room the loud music was coming from.

Lynn seemed nice. What could've happened between her and Aunt Mimi to derail their friendship?

"Alright," Lynn said, coming back down the hall without Nate. "I only have about thirty minutes before I have to get back to work. Let's get started."

Her office was a lot like the reception area. I took a seat in one of the plush green chairs that sat across from her desk.

"Thanks for helping us with this project on such short notice," I said, pulling out a notebook and pen for notes.

"Of course!" She waved it off. "I love helping out young people. Now what did you want to know?"

On the drive Nate and I came up with a list of questions that gradually lead to talking about Cake'd and Aunt Mimi. I read from the list, taking notes on her answers as if any of it was real.

I learned how she got the idea to get into fitness. How it was difficult for her as a Black woman to get loans and backers for her project. How she turned her small dream into a reality. I was half-assing the notes at first, but she made so many good points that I almost forgot why I was there.

"When I was researching you, I learned that you used to own a bakery." She visibly tensed, but shook it off quickly. I continued, pretending not to notice. "How'd you go from cakes to green smoothies?"

Her laugh came out forced. Her hands were clasped together on the desk and I pretended not to notice her nails were digging in her skin. "Yeah, that was a big change. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery, you know? To let go of things that no longer make you happy so you can grow."

I nodded, scribbling down that quote. What did she mean by that, though? Was my aunt the thing she needed to let go? "Does that mean you and your co-owner at the bakery had a falling out?"

She froze, her gaze trained on me as she titled her head to the side. "What'd you say your last name was again?"

It was my turn to look like a deer in headlights as I cursed myself for not letting Nate join me. He could've talked his way out of this. He could've come up with a lie on the spot like he did with this senior project BS. "Cunningham."

Lynn laughed, shaking her head. "I knew you looked familiar."

People had pointed out how much I looked like Aunt Mimi but I was hoping since my face was rounder, it wouldn't have been that noticeable.

"Did Michelle put you up to this?" All traces of the upbeat woman from before was gone. Replaced with someone who was annoyed and over my lies.

"No, she doesn't know I'm here."

"Why are you here?" She stood, heading for her office door like she didn't really care for my answer.

"My aunt's going to lose her bakery and she's not doing anything to stop it. It's like she afraid to succeed." I joined her at the door, hoping she'd shed some light on the subject.

"Excuse me if I don't feel bad for the woman who almost derailed my entire future." She held the door opened, letting me know the conversation was done.

I stopped in front of her, not wanting to leave empty-handed. "Can you tell me what happened? She won't talk to me about it."

She seemed unsure, like she was debating telling me. Then she sighed. "Your aunt had a gambling problem."

What? That couldn't be true. I'd never once heard Aunt Mimi talk about gambling.

"She stole money from our shop all the time and went to blow it all in Vegas," Lynn continued. "I let it slide at first because sometimes she'd win and bring back twice as much. But, by the end, she was stealing almost every cent that came in.

Then, one night, these thugs came into the bakery during closing looking for Michelle because she owed them money. She wasn't there so they smashed up everything and left. That's when I knew it was time to cut all ties with your aunt."

That sounded nothing like the Aunt Mimi I knew and adored. She loved baking. Her shop meant everything to her. She wouldn't jeopardize it like that.

Or maybe, like always, I wasn't paying attention to bigger picture.

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