Not So Sweet Happenings - Open tag

[Riley Adams]

Feeling accomplished after booking a backup caterer, Riley thought he should treat himself to a something sweet. Of course, he could have made it himself but it was such a nice day and he wanted to go to the park later on and making it himself would probably take up half the day.

Stopping in front of a bakery that had such wonderful smells wafting from it, he pasted a huge grin on his face before stepping in and going straight for the pastries. "Oh my, oh my." He whispered to himself in glee as he took a tray and tongs to pick out what he wanted.

Maybe he should pick some for Danny later...

Once his tray was laden with baked goods, Riley walked over to the cashier to pay for his purchases. Unluckily, he looked away for just a little while to look at the breads on display, which caused him to completely overlook the person in front of him, bumping into them enough to drop a few pastries from his tray to the floor.

"Oh no." He looked at the person with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" He asked, concern in his voice.

[Robert Cook]

Bobby had been driving all morning and decided it was time to stop for a little treat for himself. So with Charlene safely parked outside, he headed into one of the local bakeries to see what he could find. Sure, a pastry wasn't exactly lunch, but he was off in a few hours anyway so he just needed something small to tide him over til then.

He was looking at the displays and finding it hard to make a selection when someone bumped into him from behind. He toppled into the glass case in front of him. But it wasn't enough of a collision to harm either him or the display.

"Don't worry about it," Bobby said, already bending over to pick up the pastries on the ground. "It's my fault for standing in the way."

Bobby gave a smile to the other man, "It's just had to make a decision," he continued, hoping that was an acceptable excuse for taking up the area near the register.

[Riley Adams]

Riley quickly bent down to help the other man pick up the dropped goods. He winced slightly when the other man decided that it was his own fault for being in the way. "Not at all. I should have been aware of my surroundings." He apologised once more.

Chuckling lightly at the other man's statement, Riley nodded before showing him his own tray of assorted goodies. "When in doubt, just stock up." The landscape artist responded with a dimpled grin.

[Robert Cook]

"No, you were distracting with carrying all these," Bobby continued, gesturing towards the assortment of treats the other man had picked out. He smiled though, glad that the other man wasn't upset for the collision. It was so nice to meet someone who wasn't quick to flip out over something as small as a dropped pastry.

Though from the smell filling the shop, if a dropped pastry was something to fret about, it was certainly a pastry from this shop. Everything smelled and looked great. Bobby found himself salivating a bit and thinking maybe he should have found something more substantial to eat that day.

"That sounds like great advice," Bobby said. "Looks like you've followed it yourself. Do you come here often enough to have a favorite?" Because while he'd love to stock up, since it was just him there wasn't much stock needed.

[Riley Adams]

Riley chuckled and looked down at his tray. He did have a lot. "Ah well...yes but still, I should hold at least some form of responsibility over this." He insisted, grimacing when a young man came over with a mop.

"I'm so sorry." Riley apologised to the young man who gave him a shake of the head and a smile. Wasn't he lucky, bumping into very nice people.

"Ah! Well, no actually. This is my first time over. I'm usually the one doing the baking at home but I decided I should venture outside of my own baked goods. And besides, if I bake, I tend to go overboard and then I won't know what to do with the extra I've baked." Riley laughed lightly. "But I guess you can never go wrong with danish. So if you were to pile up on something it would be those."

[Robert Cook]

"Well alright," Bobby said after the other man insisted. "I'll let you have half the blame. But really, don't be sorry. I can see why you'd want to stock up from a place like this." Not that Bobby had been here long enough to really know how good the treats were. But if the smell was anything to go by, then he was sure that customers often had trouble leaving with only a single purchase.

"Well if you're baking is anything as good as this, then I'd be glad to take some extras off of your hands," Bobby said. Looking of his shoulder and hoping the store owner wouldn't be upset for him making suggestions about whose baking was better. "I always end up burning everything myself. So anything is better than slightly sweetened charcoal."

"Sounds good. Thank you, Mr...." he paused leaving the question of the other man's name hanging in the air.

[Riley Adams]

Riley gave the other man a chuckle before shrugging a little.

"I'm okay." He responded, ducking his head lightly. It did nothing to change his height. Chuckling sheepishly at the other man's recount, Riley shook his head a little. "I'm sure you're not that bad." He reassured him, though he obviously didn't know the man enough to know his skills. But how could you say anything bad about someone you barely know?

"Oh! Riley! I'm Riley Adams. Pleased to meet you." He balanced the tray in one hand and offered his other hand to the other man.

[Robert Cook]

"Oh I'm horrible alright," Bobby said, laughing a little at himself. "If it doesn't go in the microwave, chances are I can't make it without setting the smoke alarm off." He was sure this man was way better than him in the cooking department. After all, pretty much everyone was. Still if Riley made anything that smelled like the treats in this shop, Bobby would definitely have to get a sample.

"Do you have a shop as well?" Bobby asked, again checking over his shoulder to make sure the shop owners weren't getting upset about them discussing other options while in their store.

"Pleased to meet you Riley," Bobby said, grinning as he took the other man's hand. He loved meeting new people around town, especially people who were as nice and talented in cooking as Riley. "Robert Cook, but everyone calls me Bobby."

[Riley Adams]

Riley laughed sympathetically and shrugged. "I'm sure you've got many other talents up your sleeve. And besides, there's always takeout." He smiled lightly.He personally loved eating out simply because tasting other people's foods is a good way to makes yours an improvement the next time you tried your hand at cooking.

"Oh no." He shook his head with a small laugh, not at all thinking he was good enough to open one. Besides, he already ran a business doing what he loved. Baking was just his hobby. "I would have way too many competitors in this town," he replied humbly.

Shaking Bobby's hand, Riley smiled widely. "The pleasure is all mine...Bobby." He nodded. "I was actually heading over to the park with these before going home. Would you like to join me?"

[Robert Cook]

"Yes there is always take out," Bobby admitted, smiling. Truthfully at lot of Bobby's meals tended to be done that way. Either he was grabbing something to take home at the end of a shift, or actually going in somewhere to eat. Because there was only so many things you could make in the microwave that were healthy. And as he was getting old, Bobby was trying to take care of himself and do better than a microwave pizza every night of the week.

"Can't say that's a bad thing, means ya got a lot of great places to get inspiration, right?" Bobby said. "Though I wouldn't say no to sampling some of your cooking, which I'm sure is great, sometime." He chuckled, a little nervous at his openness. He always had trouble riding the line of friendliness and pushiness.

Bobby opened to mouth to veto the idea of this meeting being all Riley's pleasure, but stopped himself before realizing that would only repeat the 'I'm sorry' discussion. "It's both our pleasures," he said, smiling at finding a middle ground.

"That sounds great. If you're sure I'm not bothering you. Let me just grab some treats for myself first, if ya don't mind." He grabbed a few of the recommended danishes and heading to pay for them, unable to stop smiling at how wonderful this afternoon was turning out.

[Riley Adams]

Riley chuckled at Bobby's agreement. "If you're looking for some ridiculously good food for a good price, Honest Abe's has that and amazing service. The owner is a really nice person too." He recommended with a big smile.

"Absolutely!" Riley agreed immediately, only so he could introduce Danny to this joyful man. He didn't even take it as anything but friendly.

Noting the intent behind Bobby's hesitation, Riley couldn't help but smile and nod at his response. "It may be so." There was no use arguing that fact, anyway.

"Not at all. I'll just pay for these and wait for you outside." Riley nodded and went to pay before waiting for Bobby outside just like he had said.

[Robert Cook]

"Honest Abe's..." Bobby said, pausing for a moment to recall the location. "I've been there before. I can't remember what I had, but I do remember it being amazing." He smiled. It seemed Riley had excellent taste and not just for sweets. "I don't think I met the owner though. Unless I met him and didn't know it." He offered a shrug and a smile.

Bobby grinned more at Riley's enthusiastic response. "Great!" This day was just getting better and better. First a collision that didn't end in someone yelling at him. Now an invitation for tasty treats. Why couldn't every interaction go so smoothly?

"Be right there!" Bobby said, heading to the cash register to pay for his treats. He took a bite of one to try out, smiling at the sugar filled his mouth.

"Great recommendation," he said to Riley as he walked out of the shop to join his new friend, holding up the danish with a bite missing.

[Riley Adams]

Riley smiled widely when Bobby revealed he'd been there before. They had that in common at least! "Oh I don't know him personally but I have seen him around and his employees are always happy. I say that's a sign of a good working environment and a good boss." He nodded.

When Bobby came out, Riley beamed again. "Thanks." He responded as he walked them over in the direction of the lake. "Have you been in Pilot Ridge for long?" He asked conversationally.

[Robert Cook]

Bobby was no mind reader, but he had a feeling that he and Riley had at least a few things in common. Still it was nice to have something ready to discuss on hand. It always made getting to know new friends easier.

"Definitely," Bobby agreed. He hoped that his workers felt the same way about him. Of course he didn't have many other drivers, Pilot Ridge didn't need that many drivers because of it's size, but Bobby tried to keep them all happy. It helped that driving a cab meant you didn't have a boss looking over your shoulder all day.

"Six years now, if my math is right," he answered flashing a smile. "You may have seen me around, that's my ride." He pointed out his cab as they walked past it on the way to the lake. He smiled at his cab, his lady, his Charlene.

"What about you? What do you do when you're not helping people out with tasty treats?"

[Riley Adams]

Riley grinned and continued walking in the direction of the lake. He too hoped his workers have been satisfied with him. So far, there hadn't been any major complaints that he had to deal with. Then again, Rina usually dealt with a lot of the human resource. And boy was she good at her job.

"Mm...I might have!" He offered with a small chuckle. "But I don't usually take the cab anywhere. Thankfully I have my truck. Or I walk." The landscape artist explained with a nod.

He paused before laughing at Bobby's question. "I've got a landscaping business in town. It's called Patching Adams." He responded with a large and proud smile. "I've had it for half of my life."