Chapter Eighteen - Fondness for Fontina

GASPING, I TRY to shake feeling into my hands as the last customer slips out of the door. It looks like a maelstrom hit the shop, damn near upending shelves and leaving behind a trail of used napkins and toothpicks everywhere.

The first day was a disaster.

We damn near didn't make it—paint still drying on the tacky wall, shelves empty because their cheeses were forgotten downstairs, wires hanging off the ceiling in order to get Wi-Fi for the register. I spent my whole three hours in bed tossing and turning—not in the fun way—certain no one would show and we'd starve to death. But, as I unlocked the door and turned around the open sign, a flood rushed in.

Many talked about my uncle, others were excited to try all those fancy cheeses on the wooden board. It was Cam's idea to do a cheese flight. So many people plunked down twenty-five dollars to try it, I ran out of cubes of havarti before noon. With daylight streaming through the cleaned and Brie-decorated windows, it was up to me to run from hosting the flight parties back to the cash register. I expected to be a little out of breath after the day, but my bones want to collapse into the corner and rot for a few thousand years.

I try to ground myself by resting my forehead against the window. "One day down. Eighty-nine more to go."

A hand bangs on the glass against my face. I jerk up, my heart pounding. An older woman with pug jowls points to my closed sign. "Are you open?" she asks.

"No!" I call out and gesture to the other sign that lists the hours. I've already gone one and a half hours over. She doesn't take my rebuff well and crosses her arms. I wander away to pull the broom from the closet. After all the crumbs and muddy feet, this place is going to need a down-on-your-knees scrubbing.

I can do this. I can keep going.

The woman bangs the glass again. I sneer up at her, and she points behind me. "What about them?"

Roq, Cam, Brie, and Cheddy all stand behind the decimated counter. They give me an assuring smile, and I nearly leap across the floor into their arms. Then the woman knocks a third time.

"They work here," I tell her. She huffs, but walks away, which is when Roq approaches me.

"How did it go?"

"The cheddar you gave me is gone. So's the havarti. The fresh mozzarella. Um…" The broom tugs out of my hands and I turn to find Brie beaming at me.

"May I?" he asks, and I let go.

He takes the broom, but—before sweeping—kisses me on the cheek. Burning from ear to ear, Brie takes off gathering all the dust and debris on the floor.

"I see my idea of a tasting extravaganza was a rousing success," Cam says surveying the utter destruction across the counter. The little flight cups are scattered to kingdom come and two of the wood planks to hold them are upended on the floor. He gathers up the boxes labeled for the flights in the refrigerated counter below.

"Yeah. It was…whew." I don't want to tell him that I was a nervous wreck with each group. Trying to read out the long, florid descriptions of each cheese while keeping an eye on the register line probably shaved a few years off of my life.

Cam sweeps a hand around my waist, pulling me close. "No doubt you wowed them with your enviable brilliance and tempting tongue." Unlike Brie's cute peck, Cam lavishes me with a kiss that kicks harder than five shots of espresso. I'm damn near melting around him, my thighs pleading for him to use his tongue between them.

Then I hear the rustle of a piece of paper behind me. "Even if you required a little assistance." Cam dangles the cheat sheet I'd tucked behind the boxes so I could look before every round in front of me. Guilt chars my face, but Cam only kisses the tip of my nose, then my forehead.

"Wow!"

Out of nowhere, hands lock around my waist. They pluck me away from Cam and into the air. "You did amazing!" Cheddy spins me in a circle, his face buried against the small of my back. I have to duck to keep from banging my head on the pipes above. Before I accidentally brain myself, Cheddy slows and lets me fall back to the floor.

"Mateo never moved this much cheese in a day. You must be swimming in cheddar."

"I, um… What?"

Roq punches the cash register, and the old drawer swings open. "He means how much money did you make. Hmm, less here than I'd expect."

"Most people paid with their phone."

They all look to the old yellow landline my uncle used for decades. Cheddy's the one to pick up the handle and talk into it. "Hello? Do you have coin in you?"

"Not like…" I grab the receiver and place it back down. "I'll explain it later," I tell him. "But enough to resupply." I try to assure Roq before I slap my forehead. "I didn't get you any dinner. Or me. Or lunch."

The thought of food encourages a roar from my stomach so loud it rattles the new posters taped to the pillars. I take a step away from Cheddy, and the burst of energy I got from Cam vanishes. My body wants to crumple in a pile and sleep for a week. I shake it off and, straining over the register counter, reach behind it for my purse.

"I'll go get you something. How about…uh?" My brain's a gray wasteland of exhaustion. The idea of calling for delivery dances through it, but that's a luxury I can't afford. Whatever I made today might cover utilities and more supplies for cheese, but that's it. I've got to do better tomorrow.

Hands land on my shoulders and I jerk, shocked to find my chin on my chest. Then I trace the veiny, square wrists and naked, flexed forearms up to Roq's face and I almost scramble over the counter. "Hang on," he tells me and nods to the other three watching. "We've got dinner covered."

The crushing weight of decisions and running errands evaporates. I risk standing up taller before I take in the four men who ‘sleep' in a cellar all day. "What are we having?"

"Really?"

Cheddy stirs the metal pot that rests above a small fire. Beside him, Brie adds more with care so none splashes back. Cam grabs a skewer and dips it into the pot.

"Mmm. White, creamy, thick, and sticky." He cups his hand under the skewer's tip and brings it to my lips. I part them, uncertain of what to expect. A heavenly combination of sweet and salty dances down my tastebuds.

Cam watches me circle my tongue around the long skewer, his breathing shallow until I sit back. "What do you think of our personal creation? We put so much love and hard work into it," he asks and traces the side of my mouth with his thumb. A white spot stains the tip, which he sucks on while making fuck-me eyes.

"It's good." I moan, tempted to grab the pot and slurp it all up. Roq stands legs wide next to the pot resting on Mateo's hot plate on the ground. He adds in his contribution, and I catch his eye. "But fondue?"

"What's wrong with fondue?" The last of his sharp yellow cheese hits the bubbling gooey mass, shifting the color slightly.

"Ooh," Brie calls out. He shoves one of the long forks through a square of bread, then dips it straight into the pot. When he yanks it out, cheese drips off in rivers. The second the combo hits Brie's tongue, he hurls his head back and moans in orgasmic bliss.

I try to shut out the gasps that are turning this into dinner and a show. "It's just, a little…"

Old fashioned?

On the nose?

"Wasteful," I say instead. "Aren't we supposed to sell those cheeses so we can make money so that you can make more cheese?" Wait. That doesn't make sense.

Roq draws a skewer and dangles it before my face. "These are test samples. We cut off slices to check for density, color, taste. We're not wasting anything." His words are simple but the tone clangs with a warning I can't understand. What did I say?

Cam takes the skewer from him. He worries on a cube of bread, then glides it across the surface of the cheese pond. I swear, the bread does a little pirouette before he twirls it up—spilling not a drop of cheese—and places it before me.

"Try our hours of slaving over a vat of warm curd," Cam says. Lost in his eyes, it's not until my lips touch the cheese that I realize a man is feeding me. An incredibly hot man who looks like he's picturing me wrapping my mouth around sausage instead of cheese.

I nearly choke not from the delightfully creamy fondue, but the image of me sucking Cam off right here while the others… Would they watch?

"Did you add peppers to the pot?" Cam asks, worry replacing his rampant lust.

Waving my hands in front of my face, I try to shoo away my blush, but it's shifting from shame-rouge to embarrassed-crimson. "I'm good," I assure him, then I nod to the cheese sauce. "This is amazing."

I pick a cracker from the board Brie put out and dip it through the cheese. Without a dashing rogue staring me down I'm able to savor not only the rich, velvety cream but a sharp tang as well. "What did you add?"

Roq sits cross-legged across from me. "Swiss, emmentaler, gruyère—"

"A touch of camembert for spice," Cam says with a laugh.

"There's a little brie too, in case you, uh, missed it," Brie adds.

"Can't go wrong with cheddar," Cheddy shouts as he hurls a mess of cheddar curls into the pot with a laugh. Then he rips a hunk free from the baguette and drags it through the cheese. The others are more delicate, preferring the cubes.

"But no Roquefort?" I ask playfully. A hint of a smile twists about Roq's lips.

"No," Cam interrupts. He picks up one of the dollar store plastic cups filled with wine. "That bitter goat would spoil the whole thing."

The tension ramps up to an eight. Even with Roq and Cam shooting daggers at each other, it's hard to get much higher with fondue. Cheddy grabs another hunk of the baguette and scrapes down the sides of the pot before submerging it in cheese.

Just as he goes to take a bite, Brie chides him. "Where are your manners?"

"Oh, sorry." Cheddy stops taking a bite then he unleashes a loud belch. "My compliments," he adds while daintily wiping off his mouth.

All four of us laugh. As the tension slips away, we dig in. Even though I have my own skewer, which I tentatively slip into the pot, Cam keeps giving me bites of his. To my relief, after Cheddy's torn through the whole loaf, Brie arrives with another two and gets to cutting.

"I can do that," I say and take the cutting board. It's a little odd to dice up bread while it's on my lap, but I give it my all. "Eat up. You guys have to be starving."

"You heard our devilishly enchanting mistress," Cam says. "First one to hit pot wins."

They take this challenge seriously, all small talk gone as they work hard to get through the remaining fondue. To Cam's consternation, Brie and Roq keep adding more pieces of cheese just as he's getting close.

I finish up the first quarter. "Where did you get so many baguettes?"

"The bakery is often open before the sun rises," Roq says.

"And the wine? Let me guess, the liquor store's open late."

"Oh, that old bottle was left down in the cellar ages ago." Cam hefts it up and spins it around to inspect the label. "It's a lucky thing it didn't turn to vinegar, though that would make a delicious sauce."

"There's something I've been wondering. If you eat when you're human, how did you survive so long down in the cellar?"

I expected a few laughs, maybe daring tales of them sneaking out to restaurants or grocery stores. Cheddy could leave a sword as payment. Something like that.

Instead, I get dead silence. I saw down through the bread and peek up. Everyone's looking at Roq, their faces stricken. Rather than talk, they sullenly chew.

"We…" Roq blinks and sits up higher. "We have the cheese."

"That's it?"

"There's also the whey. Cheddy quite enjoys that," Roq says. The man in question shrugs, then he flexes his biceps.

"That's…it couldn't be easy. Having to survive on just that for three months."

Cam inches closer to me. "Why three months?"

"From when the shop was closed. ‘Cause my uncle died. You know?" Confusion furrows their brows and mine starts to crinkle too. They must have known no one was coming into the store for those three months as it was left to rot. Their exit was covered over. What's got them…? "Oh. Did you think I meant our three months?"

My face heats up at the misunderstanding. "Sorry. No, I'll remember to bring food next time. I promise. Maybe I could make something before the store opens…" At nine in the morning. "You won't starve. I swear."

A large hand sweeps over mine. I drop the knife to the board and look up into Roq's eyes. "Good," is all he says before he takes the cubed bread and adds it to the bowl.

A sinking feeling, like bathing in ice water, overcomes me. I don't belong. I'm not like them. This isn't my place and I should let them be.

While they resume eating in hushed tones, I scoot back an inch, then another two more. In time, I can't even feel the heat of the little fondue pot and I curl my hands around my knees for comfort. I'm leaving soon. Going back home. They'll be traveling on. Having more wild adventures with new cheese mistresses.

Why should I care if they don't want to let me in?

They won't get attached, so I shouldn't either.

"Vi?" Cam brushes his palm over my knee, then he scoots closer. "Would you like another bite?"

"Um…"

"Or we could do a different sauce," Brie offers.

"Chocolate!" Cheddy shouts. Then he blinks and smiles at me. "Do you like chocolate?" I give him a quick nod and he launches to his feet. "Yes!"

"Wait! We have to finish the cheese first." Roq tries to chase after him, then he pauses and drops the box of crackers in my lap. "Please eat it before he dumps our meager supply of chocolate into the cheese. God's wounds, Chedward!"

They're all being so wonderful, my spiky ball of anxiety softens to hedgehog spines. Nothing can ruin this night.

Ring. Ring.

Oh no.

"Hello?" Cam says and I spin around on him. He's got my phone pressed to his ear. "Yes, she is. Shall I ask who is calling?" His easy smile drops and he scoffs. "I inquired it of you first."

Clacking my teeth, I pull my phone out of his hand and leap up. It's not until I'm a few feet away that I place it to my ear.

"Violette!" my mother shrieks. "What is happening? Are you on a bus? Did someone sell you for drugs?"

"No, Mother."

"A strange man answered your phone," she cries out like it's one of the signs of the apocalypse.

"I know. He's…he's helping with the store."

"And you let him touch your things?"

Quite a few of my things.

Oh jeez, I shouldn't think that while talking to my mom. She'll sense it and lock me up in a nunnery. "He…answered it by mistake. What do you need, Mom?"

"When are you coming home?"

I knew my weeklong endeavor to get her to understand that I'm staying out here to make more money wouldn't last. I just didn't think it'd fail in under twenty-four hours. "Not until mid-July. Remember?"

"Of course, I remember. Do you think I'm an imbecile?"

"No, Mom."

"Why do you need so much time out there in that filthy city?"

Swaying to comfort myself, I look back and catch not just Brie and Cam watching, but Roq and Cheddy as well. The last one holds a brick of dark chocolate right above the cheese pot. "In order to sell the cheese shop, re—?" I bite my tongue before asking her if she remembers.

"That place is wicked," my mother curses. I can hear her crossing herself over the phone. We aren't catholic, but she started doing it once I hit thirteen. Something about the demons of puberty. "Why don't I come out to help you?"

"No!" I shout, my heart jumping out of my throat. If she came here, if she saw them kissing or touching me my life, what little I do have, would be over. "I'm…worried, that the plane would frazzle your nerves."

"It would," my mom agrees.

"So I've got everything under control here, and I'll see you again in July. Okay?"

My mom goes silent for a moment. "You need to call me. Every day."

I did this morning before opening the store. She talked at me for an hour. "I will, mom. I promise."

"All right. Who's the best mother in the world?"

"You are," I say and the line drops dead. Lowering my phone, I grimace at the battery at ten percent. If it ever ran out of juice while I was talking to her, she would be at that door in under four hours.

A loud plop is followed by Roq shouting, "Cheddy, I told you to wait!" I peer over my shoulder to find all four men staring in shock at the fondue pot. "It seems we'll be having cheese chocolate for dessert."

"I'm…" I fiddle with my phone and take a deep breath. "I'm tired. It was a long day. Hopefully, tomorrow goes better."

"Do you wish for me to help you to your chambers?" Cam asks popping to his feet.

"Not so fast, Lothario." Roq grabs his collar and yanks him back. "Go on and rest. We'll clean this place and restock it for you. All of us will."

Cam sighs, but shrugs and steps back in line.

I gather up my purse and try to bury my phone as deep as it will go. Then I pause and look up at them all. "There was something else I was wondering. Do you think…I could learn how to make cheese? From you?"

Roq's lips open and I launch into a spiel to answer every question he didn't ask. "It's just, I'm tripping up on the cards, and I thought if I knew. Like hands-on, how the cheeses are made and different, then I could. I could…?"

"I'm not certain if that's a smart idea. You're exhausted after the day, and we can only craft at night."

He makes sense. I should have known that. Duh. I'm dragging ass and if I stay up all night with them, then I'll be useless the next day. We'll never sell any cheese. They'd be stuck with me.

"Okay," I say and shuffle for the door. "I'll um, see you tomorrow. Night, I mean." Taking a deep breath, I press my hands to the glass.

"Sunday."

Pausing, I look over my shoulder at Roq in confusion.

"The shop will be closed on Monday, so it would be best if we trained you on Sunday night. Is that all right?"

The dumbest smile rises on my cheeks, but I can't stop it. "Yes." I glance from the stoney Roq to the leering Cam, the excited Brie, and Cheddy whose entire forearm is covered in chocolate. "I can't wait."