25. Aurora: The Game

Chapter twenty-five

Aurora – The Game

I love October - the chill, the crisp nights, and the smell of fireplaces burning in family homes. I love getting my winter clothes out and wearing warm scarves. It’s really my favorite time of year.

It’s late afternoon when I hear a shriek by the counter, and I whip my head around to find Ryan chasing Brittney through my pastry shop with a fake spider. She picks up an almost empty glass of water and douses him. Ryan gasps in shock and stops, the huge, purple, fake spider hanging on his wrist by a string now flops by his side. Brittney gasps and covers her face with her hands.

“I’m sorry!” she screams, taking off in a run again.

“Oh, no! You’re dead now! I’m gonna stuff this ugly spider right in your throat. You’ll reincarnate as Spiderman’s ugly, purple girlfriend,” Ryan threatens, mimicking a scary voice .

Brittney shrieks with fear and laughter, running to the back door of the pastry shop.

“Save me, Aurora!” she shrieks, laughing hysterically as she runs outside.

“Not even Aurora can save you from me!” Ryan says in a deep, spooky voice.

I shake my head with muted laughter, not in the least surprised at their childish behavior. This happens every year: Ryan scaring Brittney with Halloween decorations, and her getting spooked by everything and anything. Or maybe she’s pretending for Ryan’s benefit. I haven’t totally figured that out yet.

I look to the side to see Bella absentmindedly handing me a black balloon. She’s in town for a few weeks and it’s really like having a sister. The balloon hangs limply on her fingers while she follows the whole spectacle with her eyes, grinning widely. I can see the excitement shining in her eyes, and I figure she’d rather be running around with them than hanging and handing out Halloween decorations.

Smiling at her, I realize that she’s so nice, kind, and pure, it’s almost hard to believe. Jake talks about her fondly every time her name comes up in conversation, and it’s no wonder.

Thinking of Jake . . . I’m not sure what to expect when you ‘fake date’ someone. That night at the bar, we’d agreed to go with the misunderstanding, protect ourselves, and end things after the wedding. We’ll give it a month or two after the wedding to prevent suspicions. We had to agree on a fake ‘how we met’ story, which had obviously been through Ryan, and the rest is history .

So far, we’ve gone on two fake dates with both ending up great. Being with Jake—albeit fake —has been nice. It’s like having a new friend that shares the same goals as you. We talk about anything and everything but never our pasts with our exes, or what caused each of us to part ways with them.

It’s like an unspoken rule. We never talk about it, and we never ask each other. Neither of us is ready to cross that line. Crossing the line will be blurring it. All we have to do is spend time with each other as much as we can to spike the rumor mill in Birchwood. I’ve been to his office a whole lot of times, and he frequents my shops as well.

Our acting has to be taken up a notch though, ever since Bella arrived for Jake’s company Halloween party. He says he wants to start a tradition in the company that each major holiday is celebrated for the workers in the office. He hopes that it brings unity and encourages a friendly working atmosphere.

As the C.E.O.’s little sister, Bella came to town for the party, of course. It’s been fun having her around. She’s like the little sister I never knew I wished for.

I nudge her shoulder, and she blinks her focus back to me, her cheeks burn guiltily, and she chuckles, handing me the balloon.

“You can join them if you want to, you know,” I say, with a smile, nodding my head at Ryan and Brittney. They are currently back inside, catching their breath from all of the running, and stuffing their faces with pastries and coffee. They do more playing and eating than helping me to decorate my shops each time we decorate for a holiday theme.

My staff usually begins decorating for holidays when they have down time between customers. They seem to love pulling out the cases of decorations, sorting and repairing as needed. I think this little change from the daily routine is important and gives them a sense of ownership at the various shops. Besides, that initial go-through of the boxes is not my favorite part, so it’s a win-win.

I typically finish decorating the shops in off hours to avoid getting in the way of customers. Also, it’s more fun and convenient that way, and my staff comes in the next day to the surprise of the full look.

Britt and Ryan usually help me for three days each year. We do the café and pastry shop after closing time and address the bar before it opens. This year Bella is here for the week, so that has been doubly fun.

“It’s fine, Aurora. I came here to help you with the decorations, not play around and stuff my face with delicious goodies,” she declines politely, laughing.

Her eyes say otherwise though. She’s so sweet it melts my heart.

“They came to help with the decorations too,” I say, laughing. “But it usually ends up with them goofing around. Really, Bells, it’s fine. I don’t mind you going to have some fun.”

“Nah… I’m fine. I enjoy your company better anyway. It’s like working beside my sister. I love Jake more than words can measure, but I’ve always secretly wished I had an older sister or maybe even a little sister.”

I mull her words over. I’ve actually never been bothered about being an only child. Never really thought about it. But I admit it’s been incredibly nice having Bella around this week. She hangs around my shops and often helps out .

We hang the last of the spooky pieces, and I step back to admire our work. This is the last for the café. The bar and the pastry shop each have been decorated over the past two days, the bar being the hardest, as I always want to keep a more sophisticated atmosphere.

For the café we add creepy, purple fairy lights, which look like cobwebs around the edges of the ceiling, casting the shop with an eerie purple glow. Giant, fake spiders are strategically hung around the room. There are extra-large plastic pumpkins with bloody gashes here and there that look almost real. We set our potted plants inside them on the floor and on the deep window ledges.

On the back counter are three large bowls filled to the brim with candies, all ready for the children who will be trick or treating. The place looks great to me—it’s not bursting with Halloween decorations, nor are they minimal. It’s a coffee shop, not a Halloween costume shop. I high-five Bella, thanking her for her help.

The bell dings and Jake pops in, his blazer slung over his shoulder. He looks handsome as usual, his white shirt—which somehow looks spotless, even though he’s spent the day in it—fits him perfectly, like a second skin. The stark white brings out his beautiful, dark eyes. He looks so tired, yet effortlessly handsome.

I break into a huge smile as his eyes find mine almost immediately. He walks straight to me and gives me a friendly side hug, to keep up appearances since Bella is here. We’ve had to up our game with a bit more physical contact since her arrival.

“Hi, babe,” he greets in a tired, husky voice, and I feel a flip in my belly.

“Hey, you,” I reply lamely, with a silly grin on my face. “How was your day?” I ask, brushing purple fur off from his shoulder.

He must have gotten it from walking too close to one of the decorations.

“The usual, working on designs for a new client. He’s a very problematic customer. The dude can’t decide what he wants. He’s had us go through three different design plans without picking one,” he explains, and I tut-tut in support.

“Sorry about that. Some clients can be really difficult,” I agree, and he grins tiredly, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

“How’d your day go? The decorations look really nice.”

“My day went fine . . . nothing special. Yep! The decorations are nicely done. Thanks to everyone, including Bella.”

Having a conversation with Jake feels so natural and, honestly, relaxing. It feels nice to have someone outside your inner friend circle to talk with about your day. I hear a throat clearing, and I am jolted back into reality. I realize I’ve been staring at Jake for almost a minute, and I feel my cheeks burn.

He wiggles his eyebrows and smiles at me knowingly. I push him away from me gently, but he doesn’t let go. I notice the whole shop has gone silent, and they are all staring at us with silly grins on their faces, save for Ryan, who has a disgusted expression on his.

“Ugh! Get a room you two. At least have some shame, Jake. Your little sister is right in front of you, and you’re practically undress . . .” That is about all he gets out before Brittney smacks him on the back .

“Ow! What was that for?!” He glares at her, rubbing his back. Well, at least he tries to, stretching his hand to reach the probably-stinging area.

My café manager Noah announces his leave along with Ava. “Good night, you two. Thank you for today and have a sweet night’s rest.” I wave at them.

“Bye, Aurora,” Ava calls out softly, and Noah throws me a salute.

One for him and the other one for Ava. He drops her home every night when they have shifts together. I wiggle myself out of Jake’s grip. He’s asking Bella about her day, and I feel uncomfortable hanging around them while they’re into small talk. I don’t want to be that kind of girlfriend. I make my way to Ryan and Britt, who are still bickering with each other.

“All done guys. Stop bickering, and let’s get going.” I swipe Ryan’s keys from the table, flinging them at him. Britt bursts out laughing, and Ryan scowls, muttering something about overbearing women and bullies. Brittney coos at him, pinching his cheeks, and he swats her hand away. I roll my eyes, heading off into my office to get my purse and coat and to switch off the lights.

Back in the shop I find Jake and Bella waiting for me. “I could drop you off babe. I don’t mind,” Jake pipes up, holding my hand as I pass by him, and I sigh.

Not that I mind. In fact, I’d very much love it, but he lives on the other side of town, close to his office.

“It’s okay, Jake. I don’t want to inconvenience you. You’ve had a long day at the office and having to drop me off first would be out of your way. And it’s really silly because I’m right on the way for Ryan and Britt. You go on with Bells. I’ll see you tomorrow. Ok?”

“I don’t mind either, Aurora,” Bella chimes in, and I shake my head.

“So long, Bells. Head off with Jake. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’re still on for shopping, right?” I ask, while walking with Jake to the door.

“Definitely!” she replies excitedly.

We all step out of the shop, and I switch off the lights, save for the security ones. Locking up, I drop the keys in my purse.

Jake walks up to me and gives me a light kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight, beautiful,” he whispers into my ear, and I mutter a reply, grinning like a loon.

“They make me sick,” Ryan says in mock disgust, and this time Brittney agrees, no smack included.

“Goodnight, Ryan and Brittney,” Jake calls to them, and they chorus a reply, waving back at him and Bella.

When Jake and Bella leave, my friends turn to me, giving me weird looks. Britt was making kissy faces and Ryan was gagging. I give them both disgusted looks, shaking my head while laughing.

“Whatever you see or think, it’s all part of the act,” I say sternly, gesticulating widely with my hands. But their childish actions won’t stop.

“Whatever you say, Cupcake. Whatever you say,” Ryan says, as he slings an arm around my shoulder and steers me to the car, Brittney following behind.