Black

“I’m not on the menu.”

“Not yet you’re not. I wonder if she’d let me buy a tub of icing.”

“A tub of icing? Without the cake? Why on Earth would you want that?”

Rex gives me a heated look.

“Ooooh.” I look around, lowering my voice. “Get chocolate fudge.”

Eyes wide, Rex looks at me as though I just made his entire day. Scratch that, his entire fucking year. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” I slap his arm. “Now help me pick out flavors.”

By the time Tara returns, we’ve decided on white almond cake with vanilla buttercream, red velvet with a cream cheese frosting, lemon cake with raspberry filling and lemon cream cheese frosting, and a marble cake with chocolate and vanilla swirl buttercream icing.

“Great choices. When can you come in?” Tara asks. “I’m available next Wednesday evening and anytime next Thursday.”

I look at Rex. “I’m good with either one. What works for you?”

“Let’s do Thursday afternoon. Maybe around two?”

“Two is perfect,” Tara confirms, writing it down on her calendar. “I’ll see you guys then.”

Rex and I are almost out the door—sans chocolate fudge icing, much to my disappointment—when he stops mid-step. “I’m going to see if she has a restroom I can use before we leave. I’ll meet you outside?”

I nod and step out on the sidewalk, nearly plowing into a group of people. I move to the side to see what they’re all looking at. There’s a silver man standing like a statue on a giant box a few feet away. I maneuver myself a little bit closer and watch for several minutes, waiting for him to move.

“What’re you staring at?” Rex whispers from behind me. He follows my gaze toward the mime and then mumbles, “You could be standing here all day. It’s amazing how long he can hold that position.”

“Do you ever look at people and wonder what their story is?” I whisper.

“Not really.”

I nudge him with my elbow. “Like, how does someone become a mime? I bet he’s a college student. His mother lost her job with the last recession and hasn’t been able to get back on her feet. This is the last thing he wants to do, but he needs to put food on the table and get himself through school.”

Rex doesn’t respond right away. A minute passes, and then he takes a stab at it. “Nah. This is fun for him. His parents are strict. He rebelled, moved out when he was eighteen, and whatever he makes here is his partying money.”

“Interesting theory. I guess we’ll never know.” We continue to watch the young man for a few more minutes and then I turn, running smack into Rex’s chest. “Sorry—” My thoughts trail off when I see him holding a small purple box. “What’s that?”

“Oh, this? It’s a cupcake.”

“You didn’t have to go to the bathroom, did you?” He shakes his head. “Did you get us that tub of frosting?” I tease, secretly hoping he did.

He shakes his head again. “Not this time. But I will.”

“Is that for me?”

Rex looks around at the crowd, which is starting to dissipate, and when he looks back at me, I know he’s up to something.

“Excuse me…” Rex steps around me, toward the group of people.

What the hell is he doing? I frantically grab at his arm, but I can’t catch him.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”

He’s a force to be reckoned with, and he’s too damn gorgeous for his own good, so of course everyone gives him their full attention, minus a few stragglers in the back who continue walking away.

“Today is my girlfriend’s birthday,” he announces, motioning toward me.