Flirting with a God (Sean)

Charlie let her arms lean against the counter, tilting her head up; she had forgotten just how tall the psychiatrist was. "Glad to hear, love!" she replied, still smiling brightly. She and Dani had spent some time a couple nights ago putting up decorations and lights around the shop, although it had taken a little longer than it would have otherwise if they hadn't - ahem - gotten distracted quite so much. Still, the place had a festive cheer, and equally festive limited-time flavors of donuts that would hopefully soon have a wider range of options.

"I'm good! The shop's been doing well, although today's been a bit slow, I'm not sure why. Still, I don't have any complaints." She wasn't going to mention anything about her personal life, considering she had a feeling he might not approve of her being involved with a girl over six years her junior, who had only recently turned 18. She hoped he wasn't reading her mind, though, and quickly changed her thoughts.

"Take your time!" she assured him, giving him a quick wink as she motioned to the limited edition area. "We have a couple flavors just around for the holidays, if you're interested - eggnog, red velvet, plum duff. But of course, there's always the usual as well." There was a menu on the counter for him to look over if he needed to.

Charlie should probably know that Sean knew more than she would prefer him to, and perhaps she did, but she liked to think that her little 'flings' with Dani (or whatever they were) were still quite secret, unless her lover had told any of her friends. She wasn't one to typically keep things to herself, but she didn't feel quite right making this relationship really public yet. At least he wasn't judgmental. "How's Josh?" she asked curiously with a mischievous grin, hoping belatedly that they were still together. She didn't keep up with these things, but they had seemed to be going pretty strong, the last she heard. Still, that wasn't enough to keep her from a bit of flirtatious behavior if the opportunity arose.

"Oh, yeah, plenty of time. It usually gets busier in the evenings when people are getting off work anyway. I'm actually glad it's not too busy - I'm the only one working here until later tonight. Cam and Dani are coming in." She adored each of her employees - Callie, Cameron, and Danielle were all great young adults, and always worked hard; still, she tried to make it as fun for them as she could.

"Ah! That was a recipe I came up with myself. It doesn't actually have plums, just dried fruit like raisins and cranberries. It's sweetened with molasses, and it's quite rich. Oh, and it has lemon cream on top!" She was pretty proud of that concoction - it had turned out better than she had hoped. "I won't be offended if you don't want to try it though," she finished with a laugh. "I think it's sort of an English thing." As far as she knew, they were the only donut shop that had such a flavor.

Charlie smiled back as Sean did, a more genuine warmth in it now. "Good to hear. It's not pleasant being around someone that's grumpy during the holidays." It was a time for celebration and family time, after all. She was going to spend Christmas with her own family, but only for a few days - she had to come back to run the shop, of course. She trusted her employees, but not enough to let them run the place while she was away, so it was going to be closed during that time.

"I think they're scheduled for 5:30," she replied, thinking back on the day's schedule. "I'll take a break then. It's not bad, though. I love working here." It was true - the only thing she would rather be doing was working on her novel, but that was something she could work on when she got home. She loved chatting with customers, and making people happy with her products. It was a great place to be.

Apparently raisins had been called plums back when the recipe was invented, which was why the term was used for the concoction. Charlie beamed at Sean as he showed interest in her design, going to pick out a couple of the mentioned items. "Fantastic! I'll get those packaged for you." She grinned at him as he mentioned the English-ness. "Oh darling, you're going to love them, I'm sure."

"What other flavors would you like to finish off your order?" she asked. He had four to go, after all. The two he had ordered so far were nestled safely in a company box placed on the counter.

"It definitely is," Charlie agreed. She was really glad to be heading home for a few days to spend time with her family, as much as she liked it in Pilot Ridge. Her parents still lived in New York, so it wouldn't be too long of a trip. At least they weren't visiting her home country of England this year.

And she was planning on coming back in time to celebrate New Year's with her friends, too. Namely, Dani.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," she agreed; her feet were aching slightly from being on her feet all day, but she wasn't going to complain. "I could use some help coming up with more holiday doughnut flavors too, and those kids always have such... Inventive ideas." Cam especially came up with some of the strangest combinations she could imagine, but sometimes they turned out surprisingly well.

She smiled at his confidence in her products, before nodding at his next selection and bending down to the glass case to pick out the next type he had chosen. "Eggnog's always a good choice," she agreed, standing back up to wrap it and place it in the box as well. Since he still had three left to choose, she offered,"My personal favorite are the Raspberry Romeo's. It's just a regular glazed doughnut with raspberry jelly inside." Of course, she had others that she liked as well, but she had a personal preference for the kinds with creams and jellies inside them.

"That they are," Charlie agreed with a light chuckle. She was about to add that they were teeming with other things as well - sometimes the sexual tension in the shop was almost unbearable - but she decided that might not be an appropriate thing to say.

Instead, she dipped her head and reached down once more, selecting a particularly plump-looking doughnut from the case before depositing it in the box. "Two to go!" she chirped, and smiled brightly at his last two choices, picking each from their stands and filling the box with them before shutting the lid down with a flourish.

"That'll be..." she quickly rung up the price. "$5.95!" She didn't tell him that she was only making him pay for five - that would be her own small secret Christmas gift to him. Once he paid for them, she slid the box over the counter along with his change, before giving a cheery wave. "Thanks for stopping by! It was wonderful to see you again. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!"