Sweet Tooth

Chapter-10

Emma's POV

"Oh my God! Oh my God! And what did you say??" Caitlyn asks me jumping on the ball of her feet.

"You're not gonna like it" I say slouching.

"Don't tell me. What did you say?"

"I said I don't see him the same way and it's for the best if we remain friends. Don't blame me Caty. You know how difficult it is for me to make friends. I don't know what is it in me that repels people who can be my potential friend! And finally I get someone who is close to being a friend. I don't want to blow this up by having anything else other than being just friends."

"Aww honey don't worry about that. You're absolutely right." She says hugging me.

I won't lie about not feeling attracted to Jon. Who wouldn't want him? He has everything that a girl would want in her man. But right now what I crave for is a simple friendship. Someone with whom I can rant about how my day was, Someone to whom I can go for advice, someone who'll be by side so that the next time I go through a break down, I won't be alone. All I crave for is some sort of company. Yes, I have Caty, but there is a limit to which I can bother her. She's got her own family to worry about.

And even if I consider us dating, how far will we last? 6 months? 10 months? Maximum a year. And after that, there is no way we can go back to being friends. I lose a friend just like that and go back to square one. I can survive by not being romantically involved, but I can't survive without solace. Jon is my solace. And I will be the same to him.

****

"So where did you grow up?" I ask him as I take a bite from my sandwich. Apparently I don't own a car and nor do I know how to drive one. I was planning to walk all the way till Jon's place but he came to Sweet Tooth before time. He didn't want me to walk till his workplace.

"I was born and brought up in Jacksonville. I stayed there with my parents till I was 18 and then I moved out and came to Arizona. I did my uni in Flagstaff. But then I dropped out of college."

"Oh why? You didn't get your dream course?"

"Hell no! It was the best I could get. But then the college fee had started to become unaffordable and I didn't have a stable job either. So I dropped out."

"How about your parents? Didn't you go to them for help?" I ask intrigued by his choices. Jacksonville is one of most the developed cities in America and yet he came to Arizona which is around 30 hours away from his hometown.

"Uhm we aren't in good terms. And I don't wanna burden them with my problems."

"Why did you leave Jacksonville? You had a better scope there."

"Uhh well.....I-" he started stuttering, getting uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I'm sorry you don't have to answer that. I shouldn't be prying on your private matters this way. How about we about something else?"

"Yeah sure. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"Well I was born here in Winslow, my parents met in Phoenix, my mom's family was quite well off and my dad didn't have one, until he met my mom. But as you know, being from a respectable family, my mom wasn't allowed see someone below their class. So they eloped and got married in Winslow. They had one thing in common and that was baking, so they opened up a confectionery which is Sweet Tooth. And a few years later I was born." I say with a bright smile, reliving the memories I had with mom and dad.

"So you never got out of Winslow?"

"Nope."

"Not even for vacations?"

"No not really. Our family weren't financially stable because not many people were into confectioneries that time like how they are now. So we had the money just enough to satisfy our basic needs. Moreover, who would wanna leave Winslow? This place is so beautiful."

"What about college?"

"Mom and dad had some savings for my college. But after their demise I just had one motive and that was to perfect Sweet Tooth. So I used their money to look after the bakery."

" That's really impressive."

"Well, Thank you. I was never really smart academically so it was just wise enough to spend the good money on things that actually matter to me. How did you end up owning a workshop though?"

"I started working there for Samuel Mathews, the then owner when I was around 20 years. Being a nice man, he gave his garage to crash on since I didn't have a stable roof over my head. He taught me everything about cars and thats how my passion grew towards it. He was like a father I never had, and what I am today is solely because of him. He passed away from lung cancer 3 years ago but before he did, he made sure to write down the repair shop on my name."

"So he didn't have any children of his own?"

"He did have a daughter, Leah. But she eloped with her boyfriend. You see, ever since her mom left her for an other man, she had turned into a complete rebel. She would blame Sam for everything that had happened. So one day she packed everything and left. And Sam had way too big of an ego to search for her. So he dwelled in me, claiming me as his own son."

From what Jon said, I could conclude that he had a very messy relationship with his parents. He would get really awkward when it comes to his family. It's like as if he is ashamed of them. I was very curious to know more about him. But it's common decency to let him have his space regarding such matters. I dropped the topic as soon as I realized the tension was thickening around us. We started talking about other stuffs such as our favourite food, movies, hobbies, relationships.