Spying in Chocolate
By SarahsSupplyCloset
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and for being patient with all of these stories. I'm trying to post as I write and finish chapters. But I do have something of a plan for each of them. Thanks for the kind messages too. Sorry if I can't get to all of them in a timely manner. Life. Please enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck and I'm not making money.
Chuck felt a few delicious pops in his back as he stretched his arms up over his head, shuffling out of the hallway and into the kitchen where Ellie was sipping coffee in her scrubs, having obviously just gotten back from an overnight shift. She looked so beat.
"G'morning, sis." He moved in close and squeezed her shoulder, kissing the top of her head.
She just grunted.
"Okay! Good talk."
That got him a glare. "I'm tired," she muttered.
"I know, I'm just teasin'. You want me to fix you breakfast before you get ready for bed?" The tiredness faded just enough, instead replaced by a sweet pout. He laughed. "That's a yes."
"Best brother ever."
"I try. Scrambled eggs and toast?"
"Perfect."
She poured him coffee as he got a few eggs out, a bowl, and finally bent down to grab the egg pan from the cupboard below the stove. But he felt a muscle spasm in his back when he reached into the cupboard and lifted the pan, and he let out an, "Ouch!" Before straightening up and setting the pan down, grabbing the small of his back with his free hand. "Ow, shit."
He knew what that was.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Ellie asked, concern in her voice and face as she approached and put a gently hand near where the pain was.
"Ugh, just my back. I've been using it in ways I don't think I ever have before and it is not happy with me."
"Oh? You doing Devon's workout routine again?" she asked, pushing her fingers against the space where he was trying to rub to get rid of the dull ache.
"Absolutely not. Refurbishing wood floors is so freaking hard though, El, I swear."
She looked around the apartment. "What wood floors? You're refurbishing wood floors? Whose? Definitely not ours."
"Not ours," he chuckled. And then he froze. Oh. Maybe he shouldn't have said all of that. He could see Ellie's exhausted brain working hard, trying to put the pieces together. "Uh, I'm just helping someone out. A friend. With fixing up some wood floors. That's all."
"Oh." Ellie smiled. "That's sweet, Chuck."
He shrugged. "I mean, she had no one else helping her and I felt bad."
Oh no. That did it. His sister's eyes snapped wide and the tired hunch of her shoulders straightened up.
"She?"
He nodded, busying himself with making breakfast, acting like it wasn't a big deal.
"So, uh, who is this she? I didn't realize you had any friends who were women…"
He gave her an offended look. "I have plenty of friends who are women." But she just smirked at him and poured the coffee. "Okay, fine, not plenty, but some. It's not a big deal. She bought Shanghai Sonny's old place and is making it into a chocolate shop and I thought I'd be nice and offer to help. She just moved to LA and hasn't had a chance to make many friends yet, what with opening this business and trying to settle in."
"So you thought you'd be her friend, huh?" She reached across the small kitchen and nudged his shoulder with her fist. "I'm proud of you, Chuck. That's smooth as hell, offering to help her refurbish the floors. Wait. There was wood under that NASTY tile floor?"
"Yeah, really nice wood too."
"What a travesty." He chuckled at her annoyance. But then she pursed her lips casually. "So…"
"So what?" he asked. He was trying not to blush.
"So is she a friend? Or a friiiieeeend?" He could feel her eyebrows bouncing even though he wasn't looking at her.
"Ellie, stop it. She's just a friend. I'm helping her with some stuff because she… Like I said, she doesn't know anybody here yet. And you know I think it's admirable that she's starting her own business from scratch like that. And a chocolate shop! I mean, what kind of crazy person wouldn't help someone get their chocolate shop off the ground right across the parking lot from their work? I mean, come on!" he burst, spinning on his heel and getting some egg on the floor.
"Chuck!"
"Sorry!" He put the spatula down and grabbed paper towels, wetting them and cleaning it up. "I just—It's a chocolate shop, Ellie. Like, it doesn't get cooler than that. I don't know how she ended up in the Buy More shopping center of all places but I think it's awesome."
There was a lot of meaning in her quiet smile.
"We're just friends, Ellie." He knew he was lying to his sister, sort of, but he didn't want to say that there was a chance something else was brewing between him and Sarah because if it wasn't, he didn't want to have his own disappointment compounded by his sister's.
"Okay, that's fine. You have that look on your face you get when you like a girl, but that's fine. I won't push."
"She's not a girl, she's definitely a woman." Ellie was silent but he could still clearly hear her voice in his head. "What? Sarah's opening her own chocolate shop. That's not girl stuff, that's grown woman stuff."
"I stand corrected," Ellie said, her eyebrows raised. And then she gently bumped him out of the way and took the spatula, speeding up the process. He gave her a flat look and she said, "What? I'm hungry, okay?" Then she got that casual look on her face again. "So…Sarah? That's her name?"
God, he was terrible at this. He sighed heavily. "Yep. Sarah."
"Do you like her?"
"Ellie. We're friends. That's all. So yeah, I like her. She's a nice person."
"You know what I mean. You can like her even if you're 'only friends', Chuck." She did bunny ears with her free hand.
"Um. Pass." He could not keep up with the lying to his sister's face. It was too difficult. She was too good and knew him too well anyways, but he just didn't like how it felt.
Ellie giggled and shook her head. "Okay, fine. I'll let you have this. But you know I know the truth, right?" He didn't answer and she giggled again. "Well, I'm going to let you handle this on your own. But just know, I am a woman as well, so if you need my input or advice at any time, you can talk to me." She sent him a serious look. "You know that, right?"
"I do. Thanks, El."
She smiled, then gestured for him to get plates. "How did you meet her anyways?"
"Oh! Funny you should ask. She was actually in this Halo chat room Morgan's in—" Ellie sent him an alarmed look and he laughed. "I'm kidding, Ellie. I guess she was probably around because she was scoping out that property, or maybe she'd already bought it at the time, now that I'm thinking about it. I don't know. Either way, she came into the Buy More and walked up to my desk because her phone was dropping calls. I fixed her phone."
"I see. That's a nice meet cute."
"It isn't a meet cute. That implies something romantic."
"So she asked you to help her with her shop, huh?" she asked after giving him a flat look. She definitely saw right through him, but he was going to keep trying.
"No, she actually ran into me and I was holding a smoothie and it got all over my uniform. That was when I found out that she'd bought Sonny's. She took me back to her kitchen and helped me clean off."
"Oh, she did, huh?"
"Stop! It wasn't like that! Get your mind out of the gutter."
"Okay, okay!" she laughed, taking the plates from him and shoveling the egg onto them evenly. "I'm just excited, that's all. Not only do you have a female friend, she's also opening up her own business, and a chocolate shop? She's all goals driven and hardworking. I think it's good for you."
"Oh God," he groaned. "I'm also hardworking and goals driven." He winced when she sent him a pointed look. "Usually I am! Look, I've been through some shit, Ellie, okay?"
"I know you have, Chuck. I'm not saying you aren't goals driven or hardworking. I just think it's good you're spending time with someone who… I don't know, picked up the reins of her life and is taking control. That's kind of badass."
"Which is different from the non-badasses I hang out with. Is that what you're saying?" She winced and he got the message clearly. That was exactly what she was saying.
"Ugh, you aren't wrong."
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with hanging out with Morgan or the Nerd Herd people. But switching it up, having someone like this Sarah The Chocolate Maker is really good for you."
He nodded, taking their food to the table. Ellie brought the toast over and they sat down.
He just wouldn't tell Ellie this Sarah the Chocolate Maker had also given him her phone number the first time they met, after he'd fixed her phone…and that he hadn't called her. They were still spending time together, and he purposely took the early morning shift today so that he could spend the rest of the day helping Sarah with the floors, but… He still wasn't sure if he'd blown it, and he still had that post-it on his bedside table. But the important thing was that he got to be around her, make her laugh, and be the recipient of that teasing head tilt of hers.
That was the most important thing, right?
$…$
"So why chocolate?"
Sarah looked up from where she was carefully applying the finish, the last step after a few days of work. She couldn't imagine how much longer it would've taken her if the Nerd Herd supervisor hadn't come to her rescue.
So to speak.
Now he was sitting on top of the wood counter near the cash register, thankfully choosing a spot that wasn't the sloped glass case where her prettiest concoctions would go once the chocolatier opened up. And he was quietly watching her.
For how long, she had no idea. But she decided she didn't really mind.
"Why chocolate?" she repeated. He nodded. She sat back on her haunches, thinking…and then she went back to work again, smiling. "To me it's like its own language, chocolate. But a universal language. It doesn't matter what country you're from, which continent, which languages you speak or understand. Once that chocolate hits your tongue, it becomes this…" She sighed and shrugged, looking up at him again. The look on his face was so soft and warm, she thought she could possibly get lost in it. But she met his gaze anyways. "Magic. Or the closest thing to it. Since magic isn't real," she said in a droll voice.
"It might be. Who knows?" He shrugged. She gave him a dubious look. "I like that, though. What you said about chocolate being a universal language. That's actually pretty beautiful."
"Thank you," she said, smiling at him. "I learned it firsthand, actually."
His eyebrows shot up. "Did you?"
"Mmhm." She wasn't even thinking as she spoke, slowly rolling the finish along the floor. "My first crush when I was in 3rd grade. He was Austrian, his parents had brought him here from Vienna. I think his dad got a job in some government something."
"Ooooh…"
"Yep." She smirked. "I thought he was so elegant. Like, his clothes actually fit him and were all tailored, and he had this super black wavy hair that was longer than the other boys' hair and he had bright green eyes. And he was really quiet."
"Into the quiet boys, huh?"
"3rd grade me? Totally. I thought it was mysterious." She snorted. "Well, I didn't know that everyone had a crush on him, so like the little desperate loser that I was, when my grandma took me to the candy store by her nail salon after school one day, I bought really fancy chocolate. I think they were in the shape of musical instruments? Maybe music notes? I don't know. Super fancy though. And I brought them to school and shared them with him. And it was almost like we were talking to each other as we ate the chocolate. Even though we didn't understand each other's language."
"Well, damn. That's pretty powerful for 3rd grade. I'm surprised you two didn't end up married eventually after a connection like that," he teased, and she laughed.
"Hey, if you have the booties still on your shoes, can you come over here and help me cut against this wall?"
"On it." He hopped down and very carefully grabbed the cutting tool and helped her. "So what happened to Franz?"
She laughed. "His name was Lukas, not Franz."
"Damn."
"And he learned English. The second language stopped being a barrier, he could get any girl in the 3rd grade he wanted. Annnnnd he didn't want me."
Chuck looked up with a wince, then leaned down to continue.
"It was for the best. He would've tied me down before I was even 10."
He chuckled. "Still a sucker for green eyes and long black hair?"
"I'm not answering that," she said smartly, meeting his glare with a cheeky grin. But she was noticing how well they were working in tandem, the floor nearly finished. "But I do have a question for you."
"No, I've never shared chocolate with a girl. More importantly, no pretty blonde girls with blue eyes have ever shared chocolate with me." They laughed together. "Tell you what though, I'd be a lot more grateful than green-eyed fancy Vienna boy. He didn't know what he had."
"Is that so?" she asked, amused, making one last swipe at the wood, then stepping back to survey their work. "See any lines leftover or anything?"
"Ummm…. no. It's perfect." He put up his hand between them and she giggled, meeting his high five. "Fuck yes! The floor is done. We are done. We reign supreme." She laughed. "Was that your actual question, though?"
Sarah blinked at him, feeling elation at the fact that she'd really just done these floors on her own (well, sort of, there was also Chuck), but then she gave him a mischievous look. "You got anyplace to be, nerd?"
He checked his watch. "Well, I've gotta jet in a few minutes," she couldn't help feeling disappointed, "I have a super hot date with Meryl Streep later. Of course I don't have anyplace to be, have you met me?"
She cracked up and reached between them to take his wrist, pulling him carefully around to behind the counter which they'd finished the day before and taking him through the swinging door into the kitchen.
She'd spent more and more time in here the last 2 weeks, trying to figure out how to work everything, cleaning surfaces, shining appliances and cleaning grease off of walls. "Well, tell Meryl you're gonna be late."
"Um, excuse me? Meryl doesn't wait, Sarah."
Giggling, she opened one of the multiple fridges, then sent him a glare over her shoulder. "Shut your eyes and don't peek."
"A surprise?" he exclaimed in a silly voice. "I love surprises!"
"Okay, well, don't get too excited. Or it'll be anticlimactic."
She reached into the fridge and grabbed one of the molds she'd designed herself back in D.C. for shitty Rambeau's. It was a Belle Epoche pattern with swooping floral arches and leaves coiling up the dome-shaped sides to the center that met in a star at its peak. She'd taken all of her molds and packed them up, and Julia hadn't said a word about it. She'd better fucking not have after everything.
Standing up to her full height, she set the mold on the counter, then poked it with her finger. It had hardened. Smiling, she popped one of the chocolates out of the mold and then took Chuck's hand.
"Here, put your hand out."
"Ooookay. It isn't a grasshopper, right?" She laughed. "Don't laugh. I have a thing about grasshoppers."
"Is it the hopping?"
"Yes, how'd you know?"
Laughing, she turned the mold over carefully and let it plop into Chuck's palm, before she took one for herself and put the rest back in the fridge.
"Okay. Open your eyes." He did and just stared down at the chocolate in his hand. He didn't budge. His face didn't change. He just furrowed his brow and looked at it. "…Well?" she prompted. When he lifted his brown eyes to meet her gaze, she saw a hint of shyness there, like he wasn't sure what to say. "It's sort of a middle ground between milk chocolate and dark. Like a, erm, tame dark chocolate, I guess. Not quite as bitter. And then there are hints of cherry in the filling. You don't hate any of those things, right?"
Chuck just shook his head. "I'm…allowed to eat this?"
"Yes," she laughed, shaking her head. "That's why I gave it to you!" Then she smirked teasingly. "Here, let me show you." And she took a bite. Oh wow, she'd done good with this batch. "Mmm." She licked her lips, ridding them of the filling that got stuck there when she bit into the chocolate.
He quickly followed suit and took a bite, and his face immediately crumbled. "MMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
His response was so intense and loud and sudden that she nearly staggered back, away from him. Instead, she laughed so hard she ended up bent forward over the counter.
"OH MY GOD." He kept chewing his face twisted in what sort of looked like agony almost. "OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO GOOD, SARAH."
She kept laughing, finishing her chocolate as he popped the rest of his in his own mouth and practically collapsed into the center counter, being extremely melodramatic. She was absolutely eating it up. She loved it.
"Where'd you GET these?"
"I made them." She gave him her best DUH look. "You did get the part about this being a chocolatier, right? I make chocolate."
He blinked at her, looking stunned.
"No. No way. That looked like it came straight out of Belgium or something! And it tasted like it was from Heaven. Oh my God." He shook himself. "I'm sorry. I don't mean that I—I mean, it isn't that I doubted you were good at making chocolate. I just didn't realize chocolate could be this good, and you're looking at a guy who loves chocolate."
Sarah blushed, tucking the strand of hair that escaped her high bun away from her face. People had praised her work before. Julia Rambeau had the moment before she'd hired her. THE Julia Fucking Rambeau. But she felt a little silly because she'd been preparing for this moment for 2 weeks now, ever since she told him she was opening a chocolatier. And she'd been hoping he'd like what she gave him to taste. She was stupidly pleased. So pleased her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. And she was blushing hard.
"I'm glad you like it."
"Like it? Easily the best chocolate I've ever had. I think you're a masterpiece. I-I mean, the chocolate!" he burst out, thrusting his hand towards her, eyes wide. "The chocolate is a masterpiece. A-And you're a genius. I'm…hah… Freud would have a field day with that," he muttered under his breath.
She laughed, blushing again. "Thanks, Chuck. I know I'll have at least one customer."
"You had me before you plied me with insanely delicious chocolate." And then he must've realized how that sounded too because he looked to the side and narrowed his eyes, his mouth forming a cute little crooked o.
"Well there's more where that came from." They stared at each other for a long time then, and she finally snapped the sizzle between them. "Want another one?"
"You kiddin' me? Fuck yes!" He cleared his throat. "I didn't want to ask. I-I've got money if—Right. Just…offering. Just in case." She sent him a glare, cutting him off.
"You've been a complete and total lifesaver, Chuck. As far as I'm concerned, you're my guy. My official taste tester." She went in to get the tray out again, popping the chocolates out of the molds, then picking another one out for Chuck.
He studied it this time. "Who made this pattern—Wait, you did. Before I ask another stupid question, you designed this, didn't you? You designed this. You made the chocolate. You put that insane filling in it with that hint of cherry and-and was that nutmeg?"
"I'm impressed," she laughed as he smacked his lips.
"Oh yeah, you found yourself a nerd with an exceptionally adept tong—You know what? I'm not gonna say that right now because three strikes, I'm out." He cleared his throat, blushing again, scratching the back of his head. Sarah pulled her lips between her teeth and smirked, looking away. She'd absolutely heard what he was saying and she was not immune to the different kind of hunger that had triggered deep in her stomach. "W-What I'm trying to say is that I knew you were gonna make this place something special, but now that I've actually tasted your fare, I'm absolutely certain it'll be a goldmine."
He said it with so much sincerity, she couldn't help but close the distance and move up to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. As she lowered herself back down to her heels, she took in the surprised and pleased look in his face and pat his chest with a smirk.
"You are sweet. And also, you'd better eat that chocolate, it's going to get all over your fingers if you hold it like that for too long standing right under this light."
She watched with glee as he snapped out of the trance her cheek kiss had put him in. And then he cleared his throat. "Well, I'll be honest, this isn't much of a hardship." He popped the whole chocolate between his lips and groaned again, planting both hands on the counter and bending his torso over it, groaning even louder.
That…definitely shouldn't have been doing what it was doing to her. It was unfair. That loss of control thing was threatening to happen and she didn't want it. She hated it. She needed it to stop.
Then he stood up and licked his fingers. "Mm. See? It's almost like dessert after the dessert. Still there. For later."
"Ew!" She cracked up, shoving at his bicep.
The way his nose wrinkled in utter pleasure as he watched her laugh made something warm settle in her chest. And she thought about that moment the post-it with her cell number on it had tumbled out of his pocket and landed face up where she could see it. How he'd stumbled to explain that he washed his pants, he promised, he'd just stuck the number back in the pocket again when he'd put them back on after washing them.
It was…strange. Curious. And she still wasn't sure what he was doing with that.
"So, um, the floors are done. What ees next for zeeeee chocolatier?" he asked, affecting a silly French accent.
Smiling, she winced a bit. "The kitchen. For sure. This is kind of the most important part. I want to keep the counters and appliances, but these awful lights gotta go and I need more counter space over there, more storage…the freezer is awful and needs to be replaced, for sure. And finally, after this is done, the office spaces and break room."
"Oooo fun, you get to pick out your office!"
She giggled. "Yep. Haven't done that yet, but there is an office that's bigger than the rest."
"So you get that one, obviously."
"It has a nice window that looks out at the Buy More, too."
His smile was slow. "See? Perfect. I'll wave at you when I get to work in the morning."
God, he was the cutest person.
She looked around the kitchen then and sighed. "I have so much stuff at my apartment that's just sitting there, ready to be taken to my kitchen, and into my new office and it's going to take me so many trips, I just know it. It looks like a lot just sitting in boxes in my living room, and it's going to, like, expand when I'm trying to fit it into my car to take here. I might need a moving van." She huffed, leaning against the counter next to him, accidentally pressing her shoulder into his arm. "I wonder what's more expensive, the gas from moving boxes back and forth between my apartment and here in 20 different trips, or hiring a moving van?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes. There was always something, it felt like.
He shrugged. "Ellie drives an SUV. It isn't a moving van but it's a lot bigger than a Herder—er, one of our…Nerd Herd vehicles. And bigger than your car, too."
Sarah gaped at him. "You're kidding, right? You're gonna try to convince your friend to let some stranger drive her car—"
"No, Ellie's not—She's my sister." Oh. "She'd do it gladly. I mean, she already knows I'm…erm…I mean, that there's a new…tenant in the shopping center. Someone I'm helping, I mean."
Sarah raised her eyebrow, squirming a little at that revelation.
"Um, yeah, I just…" He looked embarrassed. "It came up one night when we were having dinner. She won't mind. Seriously. She and her boyfriend can carpool to work with his truck. And if it's just one day…"
She was still stuck on the fact that he'd apparently told his sister about the fact that he was helping her. What else did he talk about with…Ellie was it? Ellie. What else did he say about her, Sarah wondered? How close was he with his sister? Close enough to say…other things that had nothing to do with floors, she wondered?
Sarah wondered if his sister knew about the post-it.
Maybe she knew why he kept it in his pocket and still had yet to use it. Granted, she didn't know if it was even still in his pocket. He'd probably stopped after he accidentally fumbled it and let her know he was doing it 2 weeks ago.
Shaking herself, Sarah cleared her throat. "Chuck, you've already done way more than enough. Seriously."
"Look, you said it yourself. I'm your taste tester. If you're going to continue letting me taste test your artistry, the least I can do is help you move a few boxes."
"If I say yes—if—I'm paying for your gas."
He stuck his hand out. "Deal."
She sighed and looked at it. She didn't like the idea of him borrowing his sister's SUV, and his sister knowing what it was for, and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because it made her feel a little raw, thinking about Chuck sitting with his sister and telling her about the time he was spending helping her fix up the store before the contractors started filing in to give her estimates.
"This isn't binding," he prompted then, wiggling the fingers of the hand he still had outstretched between them. "You can go back on it, I promise."
She really just wanted to touch him again, honestly, feel the warmth of him against her…even if it was just their hands. So she took it, smiling, and a fantastic shiver went through her. This couldn't just be her imagination. There was something here.
"And anyway, you have to ask your sister first. When you do, and if she says yes—I totally understand if she says no—but if she says yes, make sure she knows how grateful I am and that I'm shelling out gas money. Okay?"
They were still holding hands, and she felt his thumb sweep over her knuckles. God, how did something so simple feel so intense?
"Okay," he chuckled. "I'll tell her."
"Thank you."
And she kept her hand in his.
$…$
The kitchen was half-wrecked by the contractors she'd picked the next time she saw Chuck Bartowski almost three weeks later. Things had ramped up after she made her decision to go with Beckman Prestige after they gave her the cheapest estimate and seemed the most receptive to her ideas.
But now the ceiling in the kitchen was gone, and the light fixtures hadn't been delivered yet even though they were supposed to have been delivered three days ago.
The main contractor she worked with, John Casey, told her "this is the sort of garbage that always happens, Miss Walker, but don't worry, we can change the timeline. It'll be done on time."
At least she hadn't sent out any sort of press releases yet. That gave her some leeway.
So she was an understandable mess that morning when she got to the shop after going back to Bold Hardware to get some things Casey and his men needed, and found Chuck standing outside of the open door, shifting his weight between his feet, his hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders slumped a bit.
They stopped slumping when he turned and spotted her approaching with bags in her hands. "Oh, hi!"
The immediate smile on his face made her mood do a 180. "Hi, Chuck."
"Hey. I see you got a contractor. Or, well, I hoped that was what was going on here and not just a super intense robbery job."
She giggled. "They're contractors, don't worry. And frankly, if they were trying to steal those light fixtures, they'd be doing me a favor anyway."
"Sonny really fucked this place up, didn't he?"
Shrugging, she shuffled past him into the shop, gesturing for him to follow with a tilt of her head. "It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great."
Their feet crunched over the tarp Casey's guys had laid out over the new floor.
"Oh wowwwww!" He exclaimed as they moved into the kitchen area. Casey and two of his men were there, cutting up around the ceiling to give her a more open, higher ceiling in her kitchen, with lights that actually made this a place she could work in.
Casey turned to look and frowned a little upon seeing Chuck over her shoulder. It was a curious response.
"Mr. Casey, John, this is Chuck. He's…my friend," she said, deciding not to look at Chuck as she said it.
He hopped down off of his ladder and came over. "Chuck, huh?"
"Uh…yes. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Casey." He stretched his hand out and the older man stared at it for a moment before he grabbed it and squeezed. Sarah wasn't sure but she might've heard Chuck's hand pop in Casey's.
Chuck looked at his hand as the contractor went back up his ladder and got back to work. There was white powder, plaster probably, on Chuck's hand, and she watched in amusement as he looked around for something he could use to wipe it off of his hand.
Giggling, she tossed him a damp rag.
"Uh, thanks."
"C'mere," she said then, so glad to see him after a few stressful, busy weeks. And she led him through the kitchen, stepping over things, leaving the bags for Casey and his workers, before they stepped into the hallway that led to the various office spaces and break room.
Ever since that day in the kitchen when he tasted her Belle Epoche chocolate, she'd developed a sort of desire for his approval on things she was coming up with, new ideas for chocolates she'd have for sale on her opening day.
Stepping into the break room, which she'd had Casey and the guys clear out and clean up, installing new cupboards, countertops, and a new fridge/freezer, she'd even bought a new table and chairs for when she was able to afford employees, Sarah went to the counter where she'd stuck a box of chocolates she'd brought for Casey and his workers to try. They hadn't cracked it open yet, so she did, taking the lid off and offering the box to Chuck.
"Want one?"
"Oh my God, seriously? You're the best!"
Pleased, she grinned and thrusted it closer to him. "I want to know what you think about this one."
He plucked one up between his fingers and brought it to his nose, taking a long sniff. "Ahhhhh…"
"Weird, but okay," she teased him, making him chuckle.
"Listen, I mean to appreciate every moment of this experience. Chocolate this good has to be savored. Like a fine wine."
She laughed. "You haven't even tasted it yet. It might suck."
"Doubtful." He sent her a look. Then he took a delicate bite. "Is there some kind of nougat in this…?"
"Mhm. German nougat, to be precise."
"Almond…I taste almond."
"You are good."
"I'm telling you. Modesty aside, my tongue is talented."
He really needed to stop saying that, even though she knew what he meant by it. It did weird things to her insides and she wasn't ready for that development. And apparently neither was he because they had yet to exchange phone numbers save that first time she left hers for him and he didn't use it.
"So you've proven."
He finished the chocolate and hummed. "It's delicious, Sarah. Definitely."
"Yeah?" He nodded vigorously. "Good. I'll add that to the list."
"List?"
"I'm trying to figure out what I want to have for sale on my opening day. Which is…easily more than a few months out at this point." She huffed in frustration, blowing the hair out of her face.
"I can help you with that," he said eagerly. And the mischievous look on his face told her he knew she'd seen right through that offer.
"Oh, I'm sure you can." She giggled. "Don't think I won't take you up on that offer, either."
"Honestly, the Nerds and Green Shirts over at the Buy More have been noticing all the activity over here. I haven't told them it'll be chocolate. I-I mean, I don't know if…Well, Morgan knows. Because Morgan met you that first day and he's also my best friend. But if they knew, they'd offer to help, too. Trust me." He chuckled, eyeing the box of chocolates hungrily.
At least she knew he was sincere when he gushed over her creations, she supposed, amused to no end as she offered him another chocolate and watched him snatch it up, eyeing it happily before he popped it into his mouth.
"Mmmmmm. Honestly, this is the best thing that has ever happened to the Buy More. Although, we're all gonna be putting on lots of weight."
She laughed. "Oh come on. Chocolate is healthy."
"Uhhhhhh." He tilted his head dubiously and she laughed harder. "I mean, I'm not complaining. A store with artisan chocolates sharing the same parking lot as my job? Could be so much worse." He paused. "Like…corndogs or something like that."
She grinned at him, aware of how close they were standing now as she nabbed one of her German nougat chocolates and took a bite. It really was good. And she hummed a little. Licking her lips, she narrowed her eyes, staring thoughtfully at his chest, noticing just how tall he was now that they stood so close. More importantly, "How do you think this would be if I made the chocolate darker?"
"Like the outside of it? The non-nougat?"
"Yeah. I wonder if dark is too bitter for the flavor of the nougat. You know what I mean? Or would it be the perfect kick?" She ate the rest of it and concentrated on the flavors. "I might try it sometime." She opened her eyes then and moved to open the fridge but she found Chuck's fingers around her wrist, stopping her.
"Wait. I… Sorry. It's just…" He pulled her hand up for her to see. She had chocolate on her fingertips.
"Oh." Her skin was on fire where he was touching it. "Thanks." She tried to giggle but it got caught in her throat. Chuck swallowed hard and smiled, letting go of her wrist and flexing his fingers, lowering his hand to his side again as she pulled her hand to her lips and licked the chocolate from her fingertips.
They just stood there staring for who even knew how long.
She had no idea what would have happened if someone hadn't cleared their throat at the entrance to the break room. She spun to face Casey, stepped away from Chuck and casually leaning her palm on the counter. "Hey, John. What's going on?"
"We have a problem. A big problem."
Shit.
Sarah wordlessly followed him into the kitchen. They'd busted their way into the insulation of the pipes and roof above where her ceiling had been.
"See that fluffy shit—er, I mean, stuff?" Casey asked.
She had a terrible feeling about the fluffy shit. She had a terrible feeling she knew what the fluffy shit was.
"What is it?" she heard Chuck ask from over her shoulder. Mr. Home and Garden TV Watcher should know better than she did what that was. But then he must've figured it out because she heard him breathe out a curse.
"Asbestos."
It was like the floor fell out from under her feet.
$…$
"I'm gonna need a minute… Excuse me."
Sarah spun on her heel and walked out of the kitchen and back into the hallway. He heard her footsteps retreating and then the sound of a door being opened and slammed shut behind her.
Chuck stayed rooted to floor, the reality of what this meant crashing over him. This would put off the opening of Sarah's shop quite a bit. And it also meant someone hadn't been honest with her. Whether it was the owners or…who knew who else might've known about the pipes with asbestos. And what the hell was asbestos doing in this building. At the oldest, it was from the 70s or something. The Buy More was the newest building in the shopping center even though it looked like everything else had been built up around it.
But now Sarah was stuck renting this place and had to deal with asbestos removal. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking. A dull ache went through him. This was a massive setback.
He cleared his throat, left in the room with the other men, and the contractor with his deep frown as he looked up at the pipes in consternation. "I know this isn't, like, super crucial to this current predicament, but I'm wondering, Mr. Casey…sir…does this mean that I might get mesothelioma from eating Shanghai Sonny's salmon balls?"
"What?" the other man grunted, looking at him like he was a half a worm he found in his apple after taking a bite out of it.
"Nothing. I'm gonna go check on her."
"Whatever."
He hastened out of there, not noticing the way the other man's gaze lingered on his back.
He wondered if it was his place to follow after Sarah. She seemed like the sort of person who wanted to be left alone in times like this. But she was alone here. Alone alone. And he didn't want her to feel that way.
She wasn't in any of the offices. She wasn't in the break room.
He spotted a door that led outside, then, and he slowly pushed it open, peeking around the edge. She was out on the stoop in the back alley, sitting on the bottom step, her face propped on her knees she'd pulled up to her chest.
She looked small, tiny even.
"Sorry," he heard her say then. "I just needed to separate myself from that."
He sighed, stepping out onto the stoop and letting the door shut behind him.
"Yeah, good call. I hear asbestos can be super dangerous." That got him the flattest look ever, but at least she lifted her head from the miserable position it was in before. "Sorry. Just trying to…Ahem, sorry. I'll stop."
There was a tiny bit of amusement in the corner of her mouth at least then. And then she let out a rough breath and looked straight ahead again, staring out across the parking lot behind her shop that apparently had pipes filled with asbestos.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the bit of step beside her that was just big enough for him to squeeze into. She shook her head and he trotted down to sit next to her. He felt the way her hip pressed against his acutely and he tried to scoot a little to put some distance. It wasn't much.
"This is fucked."
He nodded. "It really is."
"I mean, the lights are late in arriving. And now Beckman Prestige's contractor and his workers are going to have to wait to do the work I hired them to do. I'm so sick of these constant hurdles. I mean, seriously? Asbestos? What fucker in 1970-whatever decided to put asbestos around the pipes in the waning days of people even using asbestos? They knew by then it was dangerous. What an asshole!" She made an extremely angry sound and dropped her face in her hands. "I'm so done with this."
Chuck was quiet for a little while, just watching her out of the corner of his eye, trying to decide how to make this better. No, he knew he wouldn't be able to make this better. But he could at least figure out how to make this feel less bad, maybe just in this moment.
He nibbled on his lip thoughtfully for a few moments, and then he finally shifted to face her a little better.
"But you aren't. You aren't done."
She groaned. "You know what I mean."
"No, I—I know. I know what you mean. I'm just…making a point. See, you're literally not done. You're still doing this. You're still working at this. You're doing it. In spite of all the shit. This is definitely a shitty development, but I have no doubt at all that you're going to keep going anyway."
Sarah turned her head to peek up at him. "Yeah, I don't really have much of a choice at this point, Chuck. I've sunk so much of my money, my savings, and my self into this. There's no way I could pull out now."
He tried to keep his frustration from showing, but luckily, she wasn't looking at him to notice if he'd failed, having already buried her face back in her hands.
Chuck straightened his legs, letting his long limbs stretch out in front of him, his black and white Converse looking beat up. He'd need a new pair soon. But it also reminded him of what his soul felt like sort of. Beat up and run down. Unable to drum up the willpower to do anything about it.
Granted, it was harder to get his life in gear than it was to just click a button on a website and type in his home address and credit card number.
"Okay, I'm…I'm gonna say something against my better judgment. Because it's gonna make me sound like a massive fucking loser and I really shouldn't say it but I'm…gonna. Because I have almost no self-preservation left at this point."
That got her attention. She lifted her head and turned to look at him head on, furrowing her brow in curiosity. He didn't know why he was doing this. Telling her this. And then he did know why. Because he needed her to know what she was doing here was great. Better than great. It was downright heroic.
Chuck rubbed his hand down his jeans, then bent one leg and held onto his knee tightly, his knuckles going white. "I told you before that I'm in a rut, working at the Buy More. But it's—it's bad. It's worse than it sounds. Like, I've been the Nerd Herd supervisor for 5 years, Sarah. 5 years in a job that I can do with my eyes shut. And that's not me boasting or anything; it's just…how it is. It's so easy. It's…habit, at this point. Going to work every day and having everything be super easy, because easy is comfortable and I don't like…discomfort. What-What I'm trying to say is that I can't scrounge up the willpower to get myself out of this rut. I just…don't want to. I mean, I haven't wanted to for years. It pays fine enough, it's…And then it doesn't, because I can't afford to move out of my sister and her boyfriend's apartment." He winced, embarrassed, not even looking at her. "I don't even have a fucking car. I drive around in that tiny monstrosity that is the Nerd Herd Herder, the company car." He shook his head. "But it's easy and I'm lazy. So there that is."
He finally chanced a look at her and didn't see anything that made him feel worse about himself, at least. She wasn't judging him, at least not outwardly, which he appreciated. She was just watching him quietly, still not looking like she was sure where he was going with this.
"Sarah, you traveled to a completely new city where you knew nobody at all, and you decided you wanted to start your own business making chocolate. You found yourself an apartment, a store space to rent, and you're making this happen. In spite of naysayers telling you that you can't. You're here and you're doing this. All on your own. God, that's the epitome of courage and badassery, Sarah." At least she had a small smile starting on her face. "Just being around you, seeing you do all of this, watching it all come together, watching you put one foot in front of the other in spite of setbacks, it inspires me. Maybe it's even, crap, I dunno, making me feel like maybe I need to start reaching instead of just being here like a lazy blob, doing this job that pays okay but not enough, staying in this rut 'cuz it's so easy. Like, seeing all this willpower you exude, maybe…" He shrugged. "Maybe I'll actually get some of my own. Who knows? Either way, you're inspiring. That's the point of all of this. Like, yeah, having your contractor find asbestos in the pipes of the shop you're trying to open in a a month or so is total garbage. It's shit. But you can fix it. You will. I know it."
She gave him a wry smile. "You seriously are the sweetest, Chuck." She reached over and draped her hand over his, squeezing. "Thank you for telling me all of that."
"Thanks for not judging me about it, at least outwardly."
Sarah giggled. "I'm not judging you. Outwardly or inwardly. Life is difficult." She shrugged. "We get in ruts. I was in one without realizing it. But I got myself out."
"See? Yeah. You did. It's awesome. It's inspiring. You're gonna do this, Sarah. You'll get past this setback just like you have the rest. Fuck the naysayers."
"Fuck the naysayers," she repeated, giggling. "I like the way that sounds." Bumping his shoulder with hers, her smile faded just a little. "I still don't know what to do about this, Chuck. I'm at a loss. I don't know how much having a crew come in to take all of that out will cost, or how long it will take."
"Maybe that grumpy contractor in there will know the answer. Nevertheless, whoever you're renting from either knew about that asbestos or they didn't. If they did, they're assholes. If they didn't, they fucked up. But…" He spotted her phone sitting by her other hip, so he reached across her body. She seemed surprised, sitting up straight, her eyes going wide. "S-Sorry. I was just…getting your phone." He grabbed it and sat back, out of her bubble again. "See? Here." He thrusted it into her hands. "Call them. Tell them. And I'm going to go inside and try to ignore the fact that I just told a beautiful, very cool woman super losery things about myself."
She giggled as he stood up to leave her alone again. But he felt her hand close around his and he stopped, looking down at her.
She just looked up at him with a tentative smile on her face. "You're kind of great. And…not losery at all."
Chuck could see she really meant that, her blue eyes serious, her mouth stretching into a sincere smile. "Thanks. That's sweet. But even though I sometimes have little nuggets of wisdom, I'm still pretty losery." He squeezed her hand, then left her behind, going inside.
He found Mr. Casey the contractor and his workers lingering at the door in the storefront, out of the dreaded asbestos kitchen, which was for their own safety, he knew.
"So what's going on?" Casey asked immediately.
"She's calling her landlords to tell them."
"They screwed 'er over, renting this asbestos trap to her to make and sell food in?"
"Yeah, hence why I'm a little terrified about what kind of cancer I might've contracted considering how often I snuck into that kitchen through the back to get our food orders from Sonny to bring back to the Buy More."
The older man snorted. "You at the Buy More?"
Chuck narrowed his eyes. "Yes."
"Heh."
Deciding to ignore the tone and the amused look he shared with his workers, Chuck just leaned against the counter and waited in silence.
A few minutes later, he perked up as he heard a door shut somewhere in the back, and she finally appeared, pushing through the swinging door to step out into the shop.
Chuck saw her blue eyes swing through the room searchingly until they landed on him. Her target acquired, she smiled a special kind of smile, then cleared her throat and turned to her contractor, stopping in the middle of the floor and folding her hands together behind her back.
"So what's the lowdown?" Casey asked, crossing his arms.
"Seems my landlords hired an inspector 10 years ago who missed the asbestos in the pipes in the building's ceiling. And now they're wondering if all of their properties have it. Either he bamboozled them, or he was just really awful at his job."
"Both," Casey grunted. "If he's so bad at his job he misses somethin' like that, then he's a conman."
Sarah squirmed a little, and he wasn't sure why. She composed herself just as quickly. "Well, there's going to be a clean-up crew coming tomorrow. It shouldn't take more than one day, two max. And then it'll be clear for you to finish your work, most importantly it'll be safe, and maybe my freaking light fixtures will be delivered by then."
Casey nodded. "Good. If there's nothin' else you need from us here, it's probably best for everyone to get outta the building 'til those asbestos guys get the crap outta here."
"Um, no. That's it. Thank you, John. Reggie. Desmond." They nodded and headed out of the door, but she called John back. "I'll keep in touch about when this project is done, but…thank you for finding that. I hate to think that I'd be spending…who knows how many years in here, making chocolate, with that toxic shit right above my head."
He grunted. "It's what I do. We'll be around."
He was gone then. But not before he sent Chuck yet another look the younger man couldn't read.
And just like that, Sarah was walking across the room, headed straight for Chuck. He didn't know what to do. But there was a sparkle in her eyes. What was he supposed to prepare for? What—?
Sarah wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight. Chuck took a moment to blink, surprised, but then he hugged her back, squeezing her tight, letting his eyes drift shut. It felt so good, and he was just going to allow himself to revel in it.
"The Rudolphs are paying for the whole thing. I don't have to put down a single cent. They took full responsibility." She gave him one last tight squeeze and stepped back, glowing, a big grin on her face. "And they think it shouldn't take longer than two days. By the weekend, we should be back in business here. God, I'm so relieved. Thank you for making me call my landlords." She put a cool hand against his cheek, still practically beaming at him. He could only beam back.
"I didn't do anything. I just…told you all of the shameful, embarrassing shit about my life," he chuckled.
"You gave me an action to take instead of just wallowing and feeling sorry for myself." She smoothed her hand down his neck, over his shoulder, and to his chest. He wondered if she could feel his heart hammering under her palm and he tried to slow it down to no avail.
"It…was nothin'." He tried to shrug. But she was so close to him. "We-We should get out of here, though. Mesothelioma."
She bit her lip, her eyes darting to the side, and she nodded, giggling. "Yeah, don't want that."
He followed her into the kitchen, both of them with masks and goggles on just in case, and he helped her clear out the fridge of molds and chocolates, moaning about having to dump the chocolates just in case. They packed up the molds and left the kitchen behind, before leaving the shop altogether.
He followed her again, to her car this time, opening the trunk for her as she fumbled a bit with the key and the bags she was carrying, helping her load everything inside.
As she shut the trunk, she turned to face him, half leaning on the back of her blue car that was somehow even brighter on this overcast day…not to mention how bright her blue eyes were out here as she squinted up at him. "That was a rollercoaster."
"Definitely. I'm glad it ended up at the top."
"For now," she chuckled wryly. "Never know what tomorrow brings."
"Aw, come on. The pros will get rid of the bad stuff, and you'll get back to work with your contractor. And your…light thingies will come. Everything's going to work out."
She eyed him closely for a few long moments, her arms crossed at her chest. And then the corners of her lips turned up just a little. "You always this optimistic?"
"No." He shrugged. And then he chuckled.
Sarah grinned, shaking her head. "It's not a bad thing."
"Chuck! What're you doing here on your da—" Chuck turned and he must've revealed Sarah to his best friend then because Morgan froze in the middle of the parking lot, a car nearly running him over. It honked and he dramatically slapped his hands on the hood, before he got out of the way and straightened his green polo and khakis. "It's you. I mean, Vicki Vale. I mean…Sarah, right?"
Chuck shook his head, rolling his eyes, and then he turned and shrugged helplessly at Sarah who was laughing.
"Is that who I am now? Vicki Vale?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, no. Unless you wanna be," Morgan said, coming up to stand next to Chuck. "It's a compliment, I swear."
"It is," Chuck backed him up.
"I know. Thank you," she giggled. "How are you, Morgan?"
"Great. Fantastic. So good. You?"
"Okay. Well, better now." She sent Chuck a look and he didn't miss the meaning. He smiled back at her.
"Hey, why are you here? You don't have a shift today, right? Or am I wrong?"
"Nope, you're right." Chuck blushed. "I was just…Um, I had a craving for a really delicious smoothie, so I, um…"
Morgan shook his head. "Dude. Chuck, Fruity's smoothies don't even break the Top 10 in LA's best smoothies. We've discussed this, like, a hundred times."
Chuck sent Morgan a SHUT UP look. "Nah, the smoothies are…they're good."
The last thing he wanted Sarah to know was that he came here specifically to see her, to check on how things were coming with her shop. …But honestly just to see her.
"Well, I only have 30 minutes for lunch today and if I'm even a minute late, Big Mike said he'd make me work cashwrap." He shivered dramatically. "Anybody want a burger?"
"Oh, no, I have to—"
"Nah, I'm not—"
They both answered at the same time, and he turned to find her looking at him in amusement, a warmth in her eyes.
"Oooookay," Morgan said, moving away from them, but not before he gave Chuck's Buy More jacket an annoying tug down one of his arms. "Ha! Nice to see you, Sar. Can I call ya Sar?"
"Uh...sure?"
"Great. My burger awaits. Catch ya later, kids!" He strolled away with a skip in his step.
Chuck winced as Sarah turned back to him. "He knows my work schedule better than I do. I legitimately think he hangs it next to his on his door in his bedroom."
She laughed. "That doesn't surprise me, weirdly enough." And then she looked down at the blacktop between them. "It's nice, you have someone like that. Everything you just told me, all the things you feel aren't…going right with your life. At least you've got that guy. You know, someone who cares what happens to you, who roots for you, has your back. I, um…not to sound pitiful or anything, but I don't…really have anyone like that. Not anymore."
Her shrug was shy, and she slid something of a mask over her face.
He spoke without thinking.
"Yeah, you do."
Chuck was sure that hadn't left anything to the imagination, because she lifted her gaze to his, eyes a little wide in wonder. She pulled her shoulders up to her ears and gave him a closed mouth smile.
But she also didn't seem to know how to respond to that.
So she finally just moved on, the smile still plastered on her face. "So no work today, huh?"
"Yeah. Um, the smoothies." They both knew that was a lie, he was sure. Morgan was right about Fruity's. It maybe broke Top 15. Certainly not Top 10.
"Right." She nodded, the smile still there. "Well…" She pushed off of her car and moved in close to squeeze his arm. "Enjoy the rest of your day off, Chuck."
"Um, yeah. Yeah, thanks. Hope the clean-up goes well."
"Thank you."
He stepped back and let her go to the driver's side of the car, grinning and waving, watching as she turned on her car, giving him one last wave, and pulling out of the parking space, leaving him alone in the lot.
Morgan's arm suddenly swung over his shoulders and the smell of a burger assailed his senses. "I got you a double double, dude."
"You're the best."
"I knew you were just trying to get me outta there saying you didn't want one. Come on. Who's your wing man?"
"You are, Morgan."
Chuck watched the blue Hyundai turn the corner out of his sight and he let out a long sigh.
Morgan's a top notch wing man. And Casey's a top notch contractor. Ellie's a top notch but exhausted and hungry sister. And Chuck and Sarah? Well. Just you wait.
Please review, thank you!
SarahsSupplyCloset