Page 42 of Tailwhip
Grabbing his hand to head into the bakery, I say, “I do always have a sweet tooth, but let’s get dessert for the cookout. I think Nash’s mom would appreciate that.”
As soon as we step inside, the smell that hits me is sweet. I want to bottle it up into a candle scent to always have it. We walk up to the counter to check out all the goodies; I notice Anthony’s hand never wavers from my lower back, which is comforting. “Everything looks so good! What should we get?” I ask him.
Kissing my temple, he says, “Baby, get whatever you want and however much!”
The lady behind the counter looks at me and says, “Now that’s a good man right there; not getting in the way of a woman’s sweet tooth!”
This makes Anthony blush and I turn to her. “He is a good one, for sure!”
Anthony gives us a shy smile and looks relieved when his phone starts to ring. “I have to take this–it’s Chase. Get whatever and meet me outside!”
Anthony hands me his credit card and turns to walk out.
After Anthony steps out the door, I turn my attention back to the owner of the bakery. She talks to me while gathering the pastries and putting them into a box. She came from Munich, but always wanted to own her own bakery. When she heard of Leavenworth, it was a no brainer for her. All the recipes are passed down from family members. She says she loves living here because it feels as close to home as anything can. She asks where Anthony and I are visiting from, and I let her know I am from Colorado, and he is from North Carolina. Then, it dawns on me that I don’t know what we are going to do about our living arrangements. Hilda finishes boxing all the desserts. I pay for the items and walk out the door with one full box of a mixture of desserts and another box with a whole black forest cake. Since all the guys will be at the cookout, I know none of this will go to waste!
Stepping out the door, I spot Anthony talking to a couple of young kids who are asking for pictures. I hang back and let them get what they need. While walking up to him, he smiles at me. “Dang! Did you max out my credit card by buying the whole bakery? They are going to have to shut down for the rest of the day.”
Laughing at him, I say, “No, but almost! I also didn’t use your credit card. I got this myself! You don’t have to pay for everything!”
Grabbing the boxes from me, he says, “Yes, I do! Remember, she said I was a good man! That’s what we do. I want to dote on my girl!”
“Oh man, you are going to let that go to your head!”
Throwing his arm around my waist and pulling me in, he whispers in my ear, “You said it, not me!”
Back on the interstate, we head to Nash’s house. We will be a little early, but Anthony assured me Valerie will not mind at all. Coming back into the city seemed like it took no time; traffic moved along at a steady speed. We turn into a very nice high-end neighborhood, where all the houses look like they are on the water’s edge. “Wow, these are nice houses. I bet all the girls wanted Nash because of where he grew up!” I say while looking out the window.
Turning another corner, I see the whole team in the street, riding around, and once we pull up to the house, I notice they have a couple of mini ramps out! After putting the car in park, Nash comes up to my side and opens my door to help me out. “Hi again, Ashlynn! How are you feeling after the boat ride?”
“I feel much better, thank you for asking!” Before I can go to open the back door, the rest of the team comes up and tells me hi.
Then, out of nowhere, both Noah and Mateo run up on me into a sandwich between the both of them. “Yeah, Ashlynn is here!” they both say.
“Hi guys! Happy to see me?”
Backing away from me, both Noah and Mateo say “Yes,” in unison. Opening the back door, I grab the pastry boxes and follow Nash and Anthony up to the house.
This house is immaculate! As I look around, Nash yells. “VALERIE, BARRETT, Anthony and Ashlynn are here!”
I give Nash a weird look, wondering why he calls his parents by their first names. “I do it to piss them off!”
As we walk further into the house, I hear his mom shout, “Nash Michael Philips, how many times have we told you to call us mom and dad!”
Turning the corner into the kitchen, Nash’s mom makes an excited sound and comes up to Anthony and me, “Oh my goodness, so this is Ashlynn! I am happy to meet you, dear. I have heard a lot about you from the boys! Anthony, you did good with this one! She is a looker.”
Now, I am the one blushing. “It’s very nice to meet you, thank you for having me–us!”
Smiling and clasping her hands, she says, “Oh dear, it is our pleasure! It’s nice to have another woman around!”
Smiling at her, I say, “I don’t know how you both have the patience with these rowdy bikers hanging around!”
A loud, boisterous voice comes up. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. The house is too damn quiet when they are all gone. I am Barrett, very nice to meet you, Ashlynn.” Barrett turns and leads us out to the deck, which has the most amazing view of the water.
Out on the deck is Grandpa Dave at the grill, cooking away. As soon as he spots me, he gets a giant smile on his face. “Ashlynn, darling! Are you feeling better today?”
I give Dave a small wave. “Yes, so much better. Thank you again for taking us out. I can’t even explain how happy that made me.”
Dave walks up and pats Anthony on the shoulder. “Don’t thank me, it was all your boy’s idea.”