Butterscotch Backstabber

Chapter 8: Laffy Taffy

Sometimes things don't hit me until the next day. I was making Ernie's sandwich, he's a regular and comes in at least once a week. He was with his wife this time. Both of them are in their late 40's early 50's. They were holding hands and just being cute together when they both just started dancing to the song that came over the speakers of the shop.

He grabbed her by the waist and swayed back and forth to the soft piano ballad. She giggled and rolled her eyes at him. I watched him twirl her around and they both laughed as she nearly knocked over the cookie display.

The way they stared at each other, the smile on their faces. How happy they seemed even though it was just a regular old day at the usual sandwich shop, they still found something to smile about. Their love made my guts twist and turn inside me.

I felt my cheeks flush as I thought of Hilary and her smile, her giggle. The way we danced around like a bunch of idiots the day before. My heart skipped several beats when an image of us being like that popped into my head.

No! No, no, no, this can't be happening to me! I can't like Hilary King! No! Bad! Zoey likes Hilary and if she found out that I thought of Hilary like that, even for a second, it is basically betrayal. I felt my heart sink.

What the heck has gotten into me?

There is no way I like Hilary King! None. It's impossible. She's just so annoyingly perfect, and nice, and sweet, and silly, and cute, and... No! It's not like I meant to think of Hilary like that, it just sort of happened.

This is so confusing.

On the one hand, I was mad at Zoey for being such a jerk to me over the past couple of weeks. On the other, she is my friend and I sort of still have feelings for her, regardless of the fact that she crushed my heart into a million and one tiny sharp pieces.

I felt like taffy being pulled and stretched in two different directions. I didn't think it was possible to feel anything for anyone besides Zoey, yet my mind has proven me wrong once again. Not only was I feeling new things for a certain annoyingly perfect person, but that person was also another girl. Does this just confirm my gayness?

How does one confirm something like that?

The bell above the door rang,

"Welcome to Royalty subs where our subs make you feel like royalty," I said.

Hilary giggled and skipped over to me.

I wasn't prepared. Any other day I would have been just normal Poppy and would have been unfazed, this day after I had just had my sudden realization, well normal was out the window.

"Hilary!" I fumbled with the mayo jar, which was I was using to refill the mayo in the cold table.

It slipped out of my hands and splattered mayo all over me, the floor, and the counter. Hilary giggled as I quickly went to clean it and slipped in the mayo.

I giggled nervously as well.

"Well, well, well, look who's come to bother me yet again. I might have to start charging you entrance fees." Alvin teased.

Hilary stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. I felt my jealousy spike and said,

"Could you stop messing around and get the mop." It came out snappier than I meant it too.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled and went to the back to get the mop.

"You got a little something," Hilary giggled before wiping some mayo off my forehead.

I laughed nervously and felt my cheeks heat up.

"So how's work?" she asked when I just stared at her in silence.