April 5 2025

Anthony: Thanks a latte for being my friend.

Maria laughed at his joke as he sipped his latte, smiling at her. It's been a few days since they started talking to each other, and today, Anthony asked Maria to have coffee with him at the cafe, She happily agreed to go with him and even took a day off from work.

Maria: Are you a dad or something?

Anthony: No? I just like saying dad jokes.

Maria: *Laughs* Well, tell me another joke.

He smiled and thought for a moment as Maria sipped her coffee, smiling at him until he snapped his fingers and smiled.

Anthony: What do you call it when you walk into a coffee shop and feel like you've been there before? Deja-brew

Maria laughed again as Anthony chuckled at his own joke before Marshall said something.

Maria: That was good.

Anthony: Really? You find these jokes funny?

Maria: I don't know why, but I do.

Anthony: At least someone laughs at my dad jokes.

They both shared a laugh together and continued drinking while talking to each other.

Maria: So, I was curious about something. . . How old are you?

Anthony: I'm forty three, Kinda an old man.

Maria: Forty-three?

She blinked, genuinely surprised as her eyes stayed on him. Anthony tilted his head with a playful smile.

Anthony: What? You thought I was younger?

Maria: Honestly. . . yeah. I would've guessed you were at least near my age.

Anthony: *Chuckles* I guess i still got some charm in me, right?

Maria: True, you don't look forty-three at all. Even because you seem calm, confident, and have some kind of energy that makes you seem younger.

He had a smile on his face, touched by her words as Maria was smiling at him, She still couldn't believe he was much older than her.

Anthony: Thanks, Maria. I appreciate it a lot.

Maria: *Smiles* You're welcome, Are you gonna ask about my age?

Anthony: I mean, even if I'm curious, It's rude to ask a woman about their age.

Maria couldn't help but smile, He was such a gentleman and was very kind without trying too hard, even in the smallest ways.

Maria: That's very polite of you, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm thrity.

Anthony: Thrity? That's a . . . beautiful age. Young, ambitious. . . and clearly talented.

He smiled, but clearly, he was surprised as well. However, he expected her to be younger than him.

Maria: Thank you, Tony.

Anthony: No need to thank me, just speaking the truth.

Maria: Still, it's really sweet of you to say.

Anthony: Well, I don't hold back on compliments when they're deserved.

She felt her heart flutter for a moment as he shot a soft smile to her, Maria fixed her hair, smiling back, There was something about his words, which makes her happy, especially how polite and kind he was.

They finished their coffee and continued talking to each other, Anthony decided to crack a few dad jokes, which made her laugh, Both of them were enjoying their hangout together, not realising how much time was passing by, Soon, Maria had another question that she wanted to ask.

Maria: Can I ask you something?

Anthony: Of course.

Maria: Why did you start talking to me that day? I mean. . . you didn't even know me.

Anthony: Honestly? I don't really know as well.

He laughed to himself, looking at the ground as Maria leaned closer, intrigued but confused as well.

Anthony: It's hard to explain. . . There was something about you. . . which made me want to know you. Plus, you seemed genuine and really kind.

Maria smiled a little until he cleared his throat, looking directly at her face.

Anthony: And, well. . maybe it was those stunning blue eyes of yours that really got me.

Maria's eyes lit up, She blushed at his response, looking away for a moment as he laughed a little.

Anthony: Don't get shy on me now, sweetheart. You said you wanted to know why I spoke to you in the first place.

Maria: *Giggles* I. . . Don't know what to say.

Anthony: Well, you don't have to say anything, Just know that you've got a way of catching someone's attention without even trying.

Maria: I didn't realize I was doing that. . .

She laughed, looking away again as Anthony was smiling at her, admiring her laughter. He knew she got really flustered and shy by what he said, but it was the truth, There was something about her that had drawn him towards her.

Suddenly, he had a phone call as Anthony looked at his phone before closing it, Maria looked at the phone before looking back at him.

Maria: You should answer that.

Anthony: It's just one of my employees, I think I'll answer it later.

Maria: It could be important though, you should answer it.

He shrugged, looking at his phone as they looked at each other before smiling.

Anthony: Sooo, Wanna do this again?

Maria: *Smiles* Definitely, I enjoyed hanging out with you.

Anthony: I'm glad to hear that. I'll make sure next time's even more fun. But do remember to. . .

He smiled before getting up from his seat, Maria giggled, standing up as well as both of them said "Bye" to each other and walked away.

As Maria was walking, She couldn't stop thinking about their conversations and jokes together, She even thought about the way he asked her to call him whenever she was free, She blushed to herself while muttering to herself.

Maria: He really knows how to make a girl feel special

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benjamin: Are you learning, or do you just want us to do all the work???

Anne: Sorry! I actually thought baking was gonna be easy!

Anna: *Laughs* All of this just to impress your manager, huh?

Anne: Shut up!

Benjamin: Okay, okay, relax! The cookies are almost done.

Anna was laughing as Winters crossed her arms, smiling at both of them as Benjamin sighed.

Benjamin: Alex and Caleb had to leave me here.

Anna: It's okay, honey. Once Anne leaves, We can have our fun time.

Anne: *Rolls her eyes* Definitely, But where did they go anyway?

Benjamin: Alex and Sydney went out to the park while Caleb took Lois to the aquarium, Basically, They're all on a date.

Anne nodded, smiling as she looked at the time and it was eight thrity five p.m, The trio were talking to each other until they looked at the oven and realised the cookies were done as the friends were excited, Benjamin took them out, taking a moment to inhale the smell before placing it on the counter as Winters had a huge smile on her face.

Anne: That looks amazing! We did a great job-

Benjamin/Anna: We!?

Anne: Uhh yeah?

Anna: I hope you're not including yourself, Anne.

Anne: Why not!? I helped with the mixing!

Benjamin: You mixed for like five seconds, then wandered off to the counter!

Anne crossed her arms as Anna and Benjamin began laughing at her reaction, Winters wanted to bake with them but she struggled a lot and she was worried to mess it up, Which is why she trusted Benjamin and Anna to do it.

Eventually, they were done joking with each other as Benjamin and Anna packed the cookies for Anne, Winters already seemed excited and hugged both of them, thanking them for their help as she took the cookies and left the house, Benjamin and Anna looked at each other as they chuckled.

Later on, Anne looked at her phone and she texted him that she was coming to give him a surprise, Winters got in the car and began driving, hoping to make it to his house early.

Sometime has passed as she made it to his house, Anne looked at her message and noticed he didn't respond or even seen the message, which confused her.

Anne: Is he not at home or something?

Anne looked at the house again before decided to see if he was at his house or at least Kelly, though Winters didn't really want to meet her.

She pressed on the doorbell and waited for a moment but there was no response, She opened her phone again, messaging him as Anne was confused.

(That's strange. . . Why isn't he responding?)

Suddenly, the door was unlocked as Anne's eyes lit up, and the door was open, revealing Steve.

Steve: *Smiles* Hey Anne.

Anne looked at him and noticed something odd about him. . . He didn't seem happy at all, Clearly the smile was fake.

Anne: Uhh, Hey Steve. I uhh baked some cookies.

Steve: That's awesome, Can't wait to try them.

He smiled again as Anne knew something was wrong, She clearly saw it in his eyes. Which worried her for a moment.

Anne: Sorry to ask. . . Are you. . . Alright?

She took a step closer as Steve's smile faded away and stared at her with annoyance.

Steve: I'm fine. Just give me the cookies.

Anne: Geez, You never acted like this before, Why are you being so rude???

She wasn't upset, more like she was a bit concerned, He never acted like this towards her, towards anyone. Anne noticed he clenched his fist before groaning in anger and almost shut the door, But not completely, Anne's eyes were widen in shock as she quickly ran inside the house.

Anne: Hey! What's wrong!?

Steve: I said, I'm fine! Just drop it, Anne!

She placed the cookies aside and spoke to him.

Anne: You're not fine! You clearly don't look fine.

Steve: Just get out of here, please!

Anne stared at him and could see how angry he was, She looked around the house for a moment before realising something.

Anne: Kelly's not home today-

Steve: Don't talk about her!!!

He smacked the wall as Anne jumped and stepped back. Her eyes widened.

(Oh boy. . . I know where this is going)

She looked a little upset, knowing Kelly did something, which made him angry. Anne already felt angry when she thinks about it.

Anne: Steve, you need to calm down! Yelling at me isn't going to fix anything.

Steve froze for a moment, realising that he yelled at Anne. He looked at her and there was a hint of regret, He sighed heavily, trying to calm himself down.

Steve: Anne, I'm sorry. . . Just go home, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

He walked upstairs as Anne tilted her head and stood for a moment, However she just couldn't seem to back down. Winters began following him upstairs while speaking but tried not to tick him off.

Anne: I will leave but I feel bad for you, Can we just talk?

He walked to his room as Anne followed him inside, Steve stared at her, narrowing his eyes.

Steve: Anne, I said-

Anne: I'm sorry! I just don't want to leave you when you're hurting.

Suddenly, he pushed her to the bed that made her heart race. Her breath hitched as she looked at him with wide eyes, He stood, staring at her, trying to calm himself down from the anger. Anne, however, even if this was a bad time. She was turned on for some reason.

He felt bad for what he just did, but that faded away in a second, Steve walked closer to her, In the heat of the moment He ran a hand up her thigh, as he leaned in for a kiss. A demanding and rough kiss, Anne completely forgot about the situation and kissed him back, not caring about anything else.

And that's when the tension changed into something different, Something he never expected and but something she wanted for a long time.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and stay strong!!! :)