Piece of Cake | Ashton Irwin [au]

Seven

Ruth’s POV

Okay, I knew that I would have to wake up early today to go back over to the bakery, but I didn’t think Serena meant before 10 a.m. I made a poor choice in staying up late last night attempting to write a poem for a client which didn’t go well and I threw my journal against the wall out of frustration; poetry is not my forte. So now I am facing the consequences and trying my hardest to not look or feel like a zombie as I sit down on the empty seat between Serena and Ashton at the table.

“How are you two doing this morning?” Ashton asks in a professional tone.

“Great!” Serena chirps.

I make an inhuman noise that translates to: “It’s too fucking early; leave me alone before I bite your head off.” Both Ashton and Serena laugh at me, but I ignore them and rest my cheek on my propped up hand.

“Let me get you something that will wake you up,” Ashton chuckles as he goes around behind the counter and pulls something out of the display case.

Serena taps on my shoulder and whispers to me, “That’s nice of him.”

My eyes flicker back and forth between my best friend and the boy behind the counter. He did tell me that I would have a treat for breakfast last night, so I’m assuming that’s what he’s getting for me. “Yeah, it is.” I agree. It’s free food, of course it’s nice.

The door heading to the kitchen swings open and Michael practically comes frolicking out and turns his attention towards me and Serena.

“Hey, Ruth,” he greets and comes to stand by our table.

I muster up the strength to be polite and not sound like an animal and greet him properly. “Hi, Michael.” Serena looks to me with confusion and I forget that she has no idea who Michael is. “Oh sorry, Serena, this is Michael. He went to high school with me.” I introduce him.

Her mouth makes a large ‘O’ shape and gives me these eyes that say, “we’re going to talk about this later,” before holding her hand out for Michael to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Michael.”

“You too,” he smiles down at her with sincerity.

Ashton comes back around and places a square plate centered with a slice of strawberry shortcake in front of me. The right side of his lips curves up, revealing only one of his dimples and I give him an appreciative smile in return.

I look down at the plate and the square-cut cake split into two layers with a whipped cream filling in between them wakes my senses. Not to mention the beautifully sliced strawberry that garnishes the top of the cake. He took into account what my favorite berry is; that’s thoughtful of him. I guess this is why he asked me about it last night.

“Thank you,” I say before grabbing the silver fork next to the dish, prepping to cut into the cake.

“It’s my treat,” his smile grows wider and sits down.

Michael interrupts me from slicing into the cake and clears his throat. “Ruth, why don’t you go back into the kitchen with me?” he requests. “You can take the cake with you and we can talk about what I mentioned yesterday.”

Ah, I almost forgot. Maybe he found a place for me to live. In all honesty, I hope he did because when I searched online, there was practically nothing available in my price range.

I place the fork onto the plate and stand up. Ashton looks disappointed that I am leaving with Michael and Serena makes the same confused face at me again. “He’s helping me find a place to move into,” I tell her and her eyes grow solemn. She’s still upset, but I give her a pat on the shoulder to assure that it’s okay and help her not cause a scene. “Just let me know when you guys are done. I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with.”