The Better to See You With (My Dear)

To Get To Know One Another

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For being a fast-casual, street-side establishment, the Double Dutch Donut Parlor was rather charming. The large panels of glass that comprised the front of the store revealed a very eclectic, brightly colored interior with a peculiar blend of patterned, contemporary walls and retro furnishings. This place definitely screamed 'family-owned, but looking to expand.'

When the duo entered the almost vacant shop, the scent of freshly fried dough and coffee grinds immediately welcomed them. Some generic pop song sounded in the speakers, which caused Jade to recoil. She could definitely see why Tori came here so frequently.

As soon as the teenager in question caught sight of the cashier, she all but trotted up to the counter, leaving Jade to lag behind.

"Hey, Janice!" Tori greeted. The cashier—who couldn't be older than twenty-two— took her earbuds out and offered the pair a warm (albeit somewhat perplexed) smile.

"Well hey there. Surely you and Officer Vega didn't go through all those donuts already, did you?" Janice observed with the raise of a brow. The singer merely heaved a tired sigh.

"No, those were mostly for my friends at school. They actually enjoyed them so much that one of my friends dragged me here to get some donut holes," she answered while gesturing to a disgruntled Jade, who had taken up residence at one of the pedestal tables. When she noticed the lingering gazes of the girls at the register, her attention darted to the nearby napkin dispenser.

Jade lunged for a napkin and studied the gritty texture of the material against her fingertips as she attempted to occupy her hands. She unfolded the paper-thin, translucent square and established newer creases in the napkin.

This would be so much easier with her scissors.

"Crud , I forgot to ask her what she wanted," Jade heard Tori groan before glancing in her direction again. "Hey Jade, did you have any flavor in mind?"

"Got any cookie dough?" she requested blankly.

"You're in luck. We just started selling pumpkin snickerdoodle donut holes as part of our fall selection. It's sort of a three-desserts-in-one kind of deal," Janice commented, her elbow coming to rest on the counter expectantly. "Would you like that?"

"Sure, guess that works."

Jade tuned out the rest of the exchange and set to work on her napkin until Tori eventually swooped in with the boxed goods in tow. The brunette was also equipped with a black coffee in a to-go cup, which she handed over to her companion, as well as a pink card with a lonely hole in the outer edge.

"I turned in the token and they gave me this card. We get thirty-one hole punches' worth of donut holes, each for every day of the month. I figured that since we used the first one for this little session, I'd allow everyone in the gang six hole punches," she explained.

" Or ," Jade took an indulgent sip of her coffee and only slightly winced when the hot liquid burned her tongue. "You could just say you lost it and we can enjoy those thirty boxes of donut holes all by ourselves," she postulated.

"You realize that if we followed through with that plan, you'd have to tolerate thirty separate outings with me, right?" Tori pointed out as she tore apart the spiced donut hole to reveal its doughy filling.

"Believe me, as much as I'd love to avoid hearing your sickly sweet voice outside of school, I recognize that it's a necessary evil that I must endure for the sake of free coffee and donuts," Jade acknowledged while licking the filling off of her thumb.