56 Days (Black) Read Online Free

breathing Jack in before erasing my hangover with a six-hour nap.
    * ****
    Monday morning came too soon.  My alarm went off at 4 am.  The downside to working in a bakery?  We started prepping at 5 in the morning.
    I rolled into the shop a few minutes late.  Gemma was used to my tardiness.  I hadn’t been on time in years.  Although my behavior was tolerated, she still ragged on me with every shift.
    “My my, Princess.  You’re looking extra haggard today.  Sister keep you up all weekend?” she teased.
    “Oh, Gem, I got so fucked up on Friday.  She ended up going home on Saturday morning.”
    “ Really?”
    “Yeah, but it wasn’t because of that.  She has a new boyfriend and I think she just wanted to go back.”
    Gemma flipped on the lights and started to wipe down my post.
    “Wait a sec.  Didn’t her husband die a few months ago?”
    “Yep.”
    “And she’s already with someone else?”
    “I know it sounds messed up, but you know how love is.  It bites you in the ass when you aren’t looking.  I guess this guy is her ‘one’ or something.  Honestly, I haven’t seen her this happy in years.”
    I grabbed my apron, pulled my hair into a tight bun and snapped a plastic cap over it. 
    “I hate these things,” I murmured.
    Gemma smiled, pulling her own cap on. 
    “I know.  They blow, but you know what blows more?  Biting into a hairy cookie, so it’s the price we pay.”
    “You’re gross.”
    “Ew, no, you’re gross.  Is that a hickey?” she asked, touching my neck.
    Yes .  Disgusting.  When Jeremy bit me, it had left a mark.  I had to relive that memory again this morning while trying to cover it with tattoo cream.
    “Yeah… like I said.  Friday night was pretty fucked up.”
    She laughed under her breath.
    “Ah, the life you lead, Princess.  I’d give my left tit to step into your shoes for one night.  The last time Dan gave me a love bite was our first date... twelve fucking years ago.  You gonna see Mr. Hickey again?”
    I flinched. “Definitely not.”
    “Well, get rolling, woman.  Mondays suck a ball and the crowd starts in an hour.”
    I prepped my station and started rolling fondant.  I fell into a fast groove, finding peace in my favorite thing.
    * ****
    “El, you’ve got a visitor,” Gemma yelled to me.
    Who would be coming to see me?  In all of the years I had worked at the bakery, I hadn’t had one visitor.  Well, I’d had one .  Charlotte.
    I peeked out the door.  Fucking Jack !
    I made my way into the little back bathroom, pulling my hair out of its cap and doing a quick shake through it with my fingers.  I washed my hands and tried to act natural, taking deep breaths and practicing a smile in the mirror.
    Oh, just fucking get out there.
    “Hey , what are you doing here?” I asked, slowly making my approach towards him.
    Jack gave me a big grin.   “Wow, that’s some outfit for baking,” he said, eyeing my super-short teardrop miniskirt.
    “So… what do you want, Jack?” 
    “Can’t I have just wanted a cupcake?”
    “You can get a cupcake in Edgewater,” I replied.
    “ I wanted to see you.”  He reached up and dragged his thumb across my cheek.  “A little flour.”
    Impossible.  I just did a once over in the bathroom.  I would have seen it.
    “You could have seen me when I wasn’t at work.”
    “Are you go nna get in trouble?” he asked.
    He looked good .  Like stupid good.  He was wearing a white David Bowie t-shirt, tight(ish) jeans, those blue Docs and a thin black beanie pulled loose across his head.  He donned a different pair of grayish, chunky glasses.  A simple enough outfit but, with that body, it looked insane.
    Gemma gave me a wink .  “Take a break, sweetie.”
    Goddamn her.
    Jack smiled and gestured to a small table.  “Just a second and then you can go right back.”
    I sat across from him, studying the top of the table. 
    “What’s up?”
    “I just wanted to ask you something.”
    Yes.