Does This Pastry Make Me Look Fat? (Anjali)

[Deleted]

Oriel stared intensely between the two pastries. Oh, how this battle never seemed to resolve, every time it was the same as the last time. Should he pick strawberry? ....or raspberry?

It was a life altering decision, it was. It was true, Oriel preferred raspberry over strawberry, but if he always only ever chose raspberry, then he would never get to enjoy the taste of strawberry, which was equally delicious! Then again, if he chose strawberry, then he'd have to wait until his next visit in order to get the raspberry, and Oriel wasn't certain he could wait that long. Who knew when it was he would be back here?? (a/n: a week) Therefore, like a crusading knight searching for The Cup of Life, The Holy Grail, The Eternal Chalice, aka The Fountain of Youth...Oriel must choose wisely.

Or he could just get them both. Dur, why didn't he think of that?

Oriel rolled his eyes at the obvious and straightened himself from the glass display case, telling the cute attendant what his selections were. Yes...he'd get both....but then one of the would most certainly have to go to Phoenix once he got to his (father's) house. That meant...that Oriel would have to choose then which one he was going to keep and which one he was going to give to Phoenix!

What a dilemma! Oriel had never in his life dealt with such a conundrum!

He received both danishes wrapped in wax paper and held one in each hand. Oriel looked longingly at one. Then at the other. Then he turned around to face the person behind him, holding each out in front of him. "Question," he said casually, as if this were all completely normal. Oriel held out the left. "The red one?" He held out the right. "Or the reeeed one?" Oriel hovered both in front of him, raising up one then the other and giving the girl the crazy eye.

[Anjali Kedar]

There were certain hard truths in life that Anjali had reconciled with.  Baking was one of them.  She liked baking, but just because you enjoy doing something didn't mean you were good at it.  Like with all things, practice made perfect, and in time she did get better.  For instance she seldom burned the cookies she made, but they still refused to spread, or more often, they spread too much.  It wasn't uncommon for her to but a dozen balls of dough on a tray and pull out paper thin cookies that had all melted together into a crispy sheet.

It was this reason that Anjali made her way to the bakery.  She had plans with Chris and she wanted to bring cookies, but baking them was out of the question.  She decided she would be sneaky; buy the cookies and then place them on her own sheet and cover them with tin foil, passing them off as her own.  She already knew Chris probably wouldn't buy it, but that made little difference to her.  The real question was which kind should she get? If she got more than one she would give herself away.  So did she want to pretend she could make chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin or sugar cookies? Or should she simply say screw it, get all three and not even bother pretending she could bake.  Chris would find out sooner or later.

The boy in front of her pulled her from her thoughts, looking up at him quizzically.  He presented two danishes, one she recognized to be strawberry, the other raspberry.  Now that was a difficult decision.  Or was it?  She knew which she would pick.  She liked strawberry, it was one of her favorites, but really it couldn't stand up to Raspberry if it tried.  There was only one clear winner there.

"The reeeed one.  Definitely." She gave a firm nod, starting to wonder if maybe she should get danishes.  Or danish. Singular. To enjoy on the way home.  "Your turn.  Chocolate chip, sugar or oatmeal?" If she was going to help him make a decision, the least he could do was help her.

The red one?" He held out the right. "Or the reeeed one?" Oriel hovered both in front of him, raising up one then the other and giving the girl the crazy eye.

[Deleted]

The reeed one? Oriel looked at the reeeeed one, scrutinizing it delicately. Yes, that did seem to be the proper choice, didn’t it? And…Oriel was probably just going to eat the other one right after anyway, so there was actually little point in debating. Sorry, Phoenix! Your boyfriend is a glutton, no pastries for you~

Oriel immediately took a bite of his lovely raspberry Danish, practically melting as the flavors spread across his tongue. “Mmmm….oh, god, yes…!” he moaned like it was an orgasmic experience. He did truly love danishes with all his heart. Sorry, Phoenix! Your boyfriend has found another lover, no sex for you~

“Excellent choice,” he garbled with a satisfied nod. Oriel was about to take another bite when the girl posed her own question to him.

Chocolate chip. Sugar. Oatmeal. An equally tough decision!

“That is…..” he started pensively. “….the toughest decision(other than the danishes one) that I’ve come across today.” Oriel nibbled upon the reeeed danish, licking up the raspberry jelly oozing from the inside. He hummed in contemplation. “I…….will have to say….chocolate chip.” You could never go wrong with chocolate chip! Besides, he didn’t like oatmeal, which made it between chocolate chip and sugar cookies, and everybody knew that chocolate chip always came first. Oriel nodded, satisfied in his decision. And took another heaping bite of his reeeed Danish. It was almost gone.

[Anjali Kedar]

She watched somewhat amused as the boy looked between his treats and then finally decided on that raspberry one.  It really was the only way to go.  He'd have been a fool to choose the strawberry, which would have been tasty but didn't quite hold a candle next to raspberry.  The way he moaned at that first bite made a smile crack her lips again, totally understanding that feel.  There was nothing like satiating a sweet tooth.  She gave a nod.  "You're welcome."  Though he didn't exactly thank her, just simply complimented her stellar choice.  She took it as gratitude anyway.


"Right?!" Anjali's hands slipped on her lips as she looked at the cookies again.  There were those peanut butter ones with the chocolate chips that made her simply salivate to think about, but no way would anyone believe she could do that.  As it was she was pushing it.  She might as well fess up that they were bought from the bakery.  Who was she kidding, anyway?

"Chocolate chip." She agreed slowly, eyeing the cookies pensively before nodding her head just a little.  They were a safe bet.  Who didn't love chocolate chip cookies? No one she wanted to associate with.  If you didn't love chocolate chip cookies, you didn't love life and you were boring and uninteresting.  It was a fact she'd just made up and decided was true.  Absolutely, positively, factually true.

"I think you're right.  I mean, they're the clear winner. Oatmeal seems to healthy and sugar just doesn't have that excitement.  People do love sugar cookies, though.. but chocolate chip.." She licked her lips, salivating at the thought of them in her mouth.  She might have to eat one on the way out.  Or two.. or five..  "Yeah.  Yeah, definitely chocolate chip."

[Deleted]

Raspberry. Nothing better, not even strawberry could compare. Though the order didn’t really matter since he planned on eating both of them anyway. Because he was a glutton. His poor waist was going to start expanding again, wasn’t it? Well, if he just kept up with his routine it shouldn’t be a problem, but things have been interrupting that routine a lot lately and once that happens, it like pulling teeth trying to get back into it.

Anyway, back to pastries and a pretty woman standing in front of him. Yes, she was pretty and yes he was allowed to look, at least.

A woman with a cookie problem. He continued to munch on the pastry as he looked them over with her. “Yeah. I don’t know a single person who don’t like chocolate chip.” But he knew plenty of people who didn’t like oatmeal. “On the other hand….if you get a thing of frosting, you can frost the sugar cookies in to massive sugar bombs.” Hopefully she wasn’t getting these for kids, because that was a potential nightmare.

With that as a factor, it made the decision just that much harder. Oriel stroked his freshly shaven chin in a deep state of pondering. “What’s the occasion?” he asked, taking finishing off the raspberry pastry. It never took him long to scarf these things down. At this rate, he might decide he needed another two…or three. Gah! Self-control Oriel! Exercise it!

[Anjali Kedar]

His suggestion pulled her dark eyes back on him, her brows raising with intrigue.  It was a really good suggestion! Who didn't love frosted sugar cookies? If that were the case she could definitely claim partial credit for their creation as she would have actually had a hand in it.  Then again she was already thinking about those chocolate morsels melting in her mouth.  

She hummed softly in contemplation, her brows now lowering over her eyes as she looked between the chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies.  "How do I even choose?"  She could always just follow the danish dudes lead and get a few chocolate chips and pick up sugar cookies for her hang out date with Chris.  That would work! Chris would probably be all about frosted cookies! Maybe she would even go get some sprinkles for on top of the frosting. 

Her mouth started salivating and she had to swallow before she drooled.  "A date." She said casually before realizing what she'd said, shaking her head quickly to try and take back her words.  "Not like a date date, like.. like a date with a friend, yah know?  We're just chilling and chatting.  Girl talk, I dunno." She laughed a little nervously.  "We're not dating.  She's just- we're friends."  She nodded sagely before turning back to the cookies, grateful as always for the dark tint of her skin which did a phenomenal job of keeping her cheeks from flushing.  Not that I would mind a date with her.. She thought to herself, not wanting to admit that last bit out loud.  She still wasn't entirely 'out' yet.

She turned back to the guy and nodded towards the uneaten strawberry danish.  "And who's that for if you don't devour it?"

[Deleted]

Of course, Oriel was the master of good ideas, especially when it came to pastries. In fact….why hadn’t he thought of the frosted sugar cookie idea earlier?? He could have done that for Phoenix or someone or someone else already for something….

He might do that for someone now…a certain bird man…with a fangy boyfriend….

Anyway, distracted! There was a pretty girl in front of him asking him about cookies. He leaned his arm up against the display case and looked down over those beautifully delectable assortments, trying too see if his stomach could point him in the right direction. “Very carefully, I suggest,” he muttered, eyes dazzling down at the cookies.

Oriel opened his mouth, about to say something smart about her admission of it being for a date, but then she corrected herself quickly. “…..a girl date?” Oriel tipped his head and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “What happens at those things, anyway? Like, the fuck constitutes ‘girl talk’? I never understood it.” In his mind, ‘girl talk’ was silly stuff like jewelry, make-up, and dresses….not that Oriel didn’t have an interest in those, but when girls said ‘girl talk’, did they actually mean all those stereotypical girl-like topics, like boys and periods?

His thoughts had drifted into imagining sexy-pillow fights as a type of ‘girl talk’ when she pointed out Oriel’s other danish. Mmm, strawberry. He haughtily lifted his chin and smiled. “What makes you think its for someone other than ‘yours truly’?” The act lasted all of three seconds before he shook his head and took a healthy bite of the now unreserved pastry. “Mmm, i’s for Phoenix,” he offered with a cheek full of flaky, strawberry deliciousness. “My boyfri—my fiancee.” It’d been nearly six months since Oriel proposed, and he still caught himself calling Phoenix something other than ‘fiancee’. Not that it made a difference, but…well, Oriel was proud of it and he wanted people to know. Self-centered much? He took another monstrous bite. This one was going to be gone as quickly as the first one was.

[Anjali Kedar]

Very carefully indeed.  She sighed as she contemplated the major decision at hand.  As he asked about girl talk she looked over at him and raised a brow.  The way he asked was a bit rude, but she supposed it came from a place of pure curiosity so she let it go. She wasn't the type to get all up in arms over the way things were worded, and he seemed genuinely kind enough, so no need to get annoyed.  The feeling washed over her as quickly as it had come.

"I dunno, like.."  She thought about it for a moment, twisting her mouth up a bit as she pondered.  "Like, things we wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable talking to guys about, or like, guys wouldn't care about hearing, yah know? I mean, you're a guy, there's no way you're interested in all the weird things we talk about, especially when it's PMS related, but we're not going to talk about that because seriously I don't need to discuss that topic.  I live that topic, that's enough." She realized she was probably offering too much information, but it was already out there and there was no turning back now.  "Seriously, isn't there stuff you wouldn't wanna talk about with girls? There has to be guy stuff that's off limits as far as chicks are concerned."


She couldn't help but grin at the smirk he gave her, holding up the other danish.  "Well, you asked which one you should eat, and when you ate the better one first that told me the other wasn't for you.  Everyone knows you save the best for last." There was no truer statement.  Why would you leave the less good taste lingering in your mouth when you could have the better one? Not that the strawberry wouldn't be savored, but if she had to pick between them she would want that sweet raspberry in her mouth for longer, and something told her the guy was the same.  

"Phoenix?"  He explained who it was and she gave a nod.  His boy friancee.  "Well, it was for him.  Might want to get another one.  I'd be ticked if my fiancee at half my danish."

[Deleted]

Rude and obscene was Oriel’s double middle name, though she was right in that he was merely curious. He’d never believed in curbing his speech for the sake of tackling ‘delicate’ topics…well ‘delicately’. The girls he knew back in NYC growing up were raunchy as fuck, so the idea of ‘girl talk’ was actually completely foreign to him. Because those chicks weren’t shy about a lot of things. So he didn’t really get why girls here liked to censor themselves like they did. It was pretty cute sometimes though, seeing them be all shy like the ‘good girls’ they were.

Oriel shrugged. “If you’re on the fucking rag, I say just say it and be done with it,” he said, taking another bite of his danish. “That kind of thing don’t bother me.” Like she said, she lived that topic. It was a reality. Why pretend it didn’t exist just because some people couldn’t fucking handle it?

He shook his head and shrugged again, his face one of honest nonchalance. “Not really. I don’t believe in censorship.” He’d gotten used to censoring himself in Dr. Sean’s office and in front of a few girls who asked for it, but for the most part, he didn’t like it. There were only so many ways he knew how to say something, and he didn’t like having to think about the “proper” way to do it when his way worked just as well, if just a little bit cruder. As for the ‘guy talk’…what the fuck was there for guys to talk about anyway that they’d want to keep from the ‘delicate’ ears of girls? Oriel had to really think about that one. “Well…maybe if I had a bruise on my dick, but knowing me, I’d probably share it anyway.” Unsolicited even.

Oriel’s smug smile just grew into one of amusement. “Aww, drat. You are too good for me Miss Detective, you and them keen powers of deduction of yours.” Yes, he was playing and acting like a dork. But her reasoning wasn’t off either. In the instance they were both for himself, Oriel would have done it the way she said. You always save the best for last. Oriel shrugged again, taking the danish down to the last bite. “Meh, he’ll be fine. He only likes 'em 'cause I do, he don’t got much an appetite ever. If I brought it to him, he wouldn’t eat supper.” That said, Oriel got back in line to get another two. “You figure out what you’re doing cookie-wise?” he asked.

[Anjali Kedar]

How brows knit at his crass statement, but her lips curved slightly anyway as she shook her head.  She couldn't expect him, or any guy, to be delicate about a woman's monthly visit from aunt Flo.  "Well, I guess that's good, but I still wouldn't want to whine to you about it.  Even if it didn't bother you, you don't know what it's like."  A wicked sort of grin crossed her lips.  "Just like I'll never know what it's like to get a prostate exam."  She'd heard about those, and was glad she'd never have to experience that.  "And why would you even want to tell anyone about a bruised dick?" She asked before thinking it over again.  "How do you even get a bruised dick?"  She didn't have one, heck she'd never seen one in person, so how could she possibly know how one could get bruised?

His taunting made her shake her head again, hands popping on her hips.  She would have been a great super sleuth in one of those books she'd loved as a girl, but he was being sarcastic now and she was no fictional character.  Now she simply took it as a compliment, even if it was a dorky, playful insult.  She was sort of dorky, and certainly playful herself, so it suited her as almost a compliment.  

"I bet." She rolled her eyes.  The guy as probably only suggesting that because he wanted both danishes for himself.  Not that she blamed him! It looked and sounded good.  She wanted one herself now, though she was going to hold out for the cookie.  "I think I'm doing the sugar cookie and decorating.  It'll be the most believable, yah know? And I would have actually done some of it myself so I wouldn't exactly be a liar.  And of course I'm going to get get a couple chocolate chips for myself because, seriously, have you seen them? How could I not?"

“Meh, he’ll be fine. He only likes 'em 'cause I do, he don’t got much an appetite ever. If I brought it to him, he wouldn’t eat supper.” That said, Oriel got back in line to get another two. “You figure out what you’re doing cookie-wise?” he asked.

[Deleted]

Delicate? What was that? Oriel knew it not. The boy was as straightforward as can be, crass or not. It usually was, in his case. And concerning this topic, he didn’t get why it was such a fucking big deal, it was just biology, right? “….feels like crap cramps, right?” Or something like that. Not his words, but the words of some vulgar acquaintance of his when he was still young and impressionable and…still not-so-innocent. Oriel looked at her blankly. “What’s a prostate exam?” What was a prostate? Yes, he knew what it was; no, he did not know what it was called. Oriel smirked and snored out a short laugh. He stepped up, hands at the ready to explain. “Well, sometimes, when you get a little too over excited, things just don’t quite fit right where they’re s’pposed to. And sometimes you get a little too rough and just plain slip and fall, and I’ll tell you, it hurts like a bitch.” Oriel thought for a moment of another time when it’d happened. “Or, when someone thinks to kick you in the nuts and their aim’s a bit off.” She probably didn’t really want that explanation, but hey, she asked.

This girl was alright, Oriel decided. She liked pastries and could hold a conversation and not get completely annoyed by him throughout it….probably. Oriel might just be seeing what he wanted to see again, but he was pretty sure she was chill with him so far. Probably.

She wasn’t far off with her assessment of Oriel’s motivations, but neither was she entirely correct either. Phoenix’s appetite was still small as shit and had trouble finishing a fucking salad, much less a box full of pastries. “You don’t believe me,” he accused, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ll call him up right now, he’ll tell you himself he don’t eat much.” Oriel wasn’t going to do that, not unless she insisted, but I was to prove his point. Because he had to prove it, no matter what. It was that important!

He was happy with her final decision on the cookies, though. “Mm…sounds good. I might have to do that myself sometime.” And decorate the cookies at home with Phoenix. He could see Phoenix having a grand time with it now, getting pink frosting all over his fingers and cheek and a tuft on the tip of his nose. What a cutie! Oriel mused over that image for a moment. “….actually, think I’mma follow your lead and get the cookies with the frosting combo myself. Phoenix’ll love it!” Most definitely, yup! Oriel gave the girl a supportive pat on the shoulder. “Thank you very much for your hard work and support. My sex life appreciates it.” Because exactly what else was he planning to do with that frosting? Oh, myyy.

[Anjali Kedar]

Oh my God.. "Oh my God!" Anjali felt an awkward, nervous sort of laugh rumble in her throat. Was she seriously talking to some stranger about crap cramps? No! Not crap cramps, ew, they were just gas bubbles in the intestines.  That sounded much cleaner than.. A hand shot to her face and she smacked her left eye and forehead in one awkward motion.  This had to be one of the strangest conversations she'd ever found herself in, which was saying a lot since she often found herself in strange situations.

"Ask a dude whose had one." She wasn't about to explain to him what the test entailed, especially in a bakery.  She would only stutter over her words and get all hot and weird about it.  She didn't need to yammer on about something she didn't really know all that much about anyway.  

The guy just kept talking and she actually groaned a little, the noise mixed with a laugh.  "Oh my God, you have to stop. Like, seriously.  For reals." There was laughter in her voice, but her cheeks felt hot.  Thankfully her darker complexion hid her embarrassment, though her actions did not.  She didn't really want to know how you got a bruised dick, after all.  Still, she was sort of glad that her vagina didn't get bruised like that.  Though she imagined it could.  Sex could bruise a girl, right? Not that she would know.  She'd never had sex, not with a man or otherwise.  Hell, she didn't intend to have sex with a man in the foreseeable future either.  Someday she knew she probably would, but it wasn't a day she looked forward to. That day meant she decided to go against her nature and be someone she wasn't for the sake of her family and her lineage.  It was a sacrifice she was willing to make, though unhappy about it.  She could love a man if she wanted.. she was sure of it.  

Anjali let her hand slide and down and rolled her eyes.  "I don't want to ask your fiance if he likes danishes.  That would be the weirdest phone call pretty much in the history of phone calls.  Hi, I met your fiance at the bakery and he said you wouldn't care if he ate your danish, is that true?" She shook her head again and sighed.  This had to be one of the strangest encounters she'd ever had, but not in a bad way.  "Yeah, I think I'm definitely going with those sugar cookies.  It was a good idea."  She looked the boy over again before looking back at the cookies, feeling him clap her shoulder.  "She'd like that for sure."

[Deleted]

This girl’s response to his crudeness had Oriel grinning from ear to ear. Yes, he liked seeing how uncomfortable people got over something that…well, in his opinion wasn’t that big a deal. Everybody shits. That’s a fact. Though for some reason after people got out of diapers, it suddenly because a completely taboo subject and nobody was supposed to know that it happened. “Well,” he asked, amusement coloring his voice, “am I right? Or completely off base? I just know a bunch of chicks back home would complain about that shit as easy as the fucking weather. Blame them, it’s their description.” Oriel snickered, wondering how she’d respond to that now. Oh, she was cute when she was flustered.

But not when she was stubborn. Humph…fine, he’d ask Phoenix’s dad about the prostate thing. He should know, right? Being old and all.

“For reals? For whyy? This is real shit that happens. The dick ain’t some sort of magical unicorn that sprays out pixie dust…though that would really depend on who you ask.” The point was that it was real, and gross, and everybody got to see a dick sometime, so again, why pretend that it was some foreign and rare thing. “Though seriously….it’s pretty hard to bruise a dick.” Pretty hard to break it too. You had to be really doing something wrong to accomplish that.

His grin grew wider when she refused the offer to make that phone call to Phoenix over such a silly reason. Oriel couldn’t help but dip his head and chuckle. “Trust me….we’ve have stranger conversations.” Especially via text messaging. Oriel was so awkward when it came to texting, if anybody were to read them….Oriel wondered what they’d think? Well, didn’t matter since he wasn’t going to be showing those transcripts to anybody anytime soon ever.

Oriel nodded. “Of course it was a good idea. It was mine!” Vain much? He gave her shoulder a friendly shake before releasing it and stepping back from her again. “So…hurry up and get ‘em, you’re holding up the line!” he heckled like some random annoying patron. Oriel was still smiling though.

[Anjali Kedar]

Anjali had never had a conversation like this with anyone, and she'd had some pretty nitty gritty, off color conversations in her life.  This probably topped the cake, though.  Not necessarily just because it was gritty, but also because it was with a guy, one she didn't know no less, and in a public place surrounded by some seriously delicious goodies. "You are.. I mean--"  Her voice faltered a moment as she tried to think of what she could even say to that.  "It's just not how I would have explained it.  More like someone grabbing your ovaries and just squeezing and twisting.  Like.. an Indian burn on the inside.  Anyone ever give you one of those as a kid? Internal Indian burns."  He knew some really crude chicks.

Her nose wrinkled as he went on about male anatomy.  It was more than she ever cared to know about what was between a man's legs, though the magical unicorn comment was amusing and coaxed a chuckle from her throat.  "Because it's not my intention to play with one, hopefully ever, but uhh.. if that changes or something I'll keep that in mind.  That they don't bruise easily.. but can be bruised." Knowing her luck if she ever came in contact with a dick she'd surely bruise it.  Maybe she should just stick to women.  Her family could always assume she's just some crazy old spinster.  With a roommate..  Maybe she should get some cats to pull off the look.

"I bet you have." She agreed.  "Considering you've known me for, what, three seconds? And we've already had one of the strangest conversations I've ever had.  I'm sure you and your fiance are old pros at weird convos." She was sure anyone this kid was friends with would have had plenty of weird conversations given the context of some of what he'd said already.

"Wow.." She shook her head.  "Modesty is definitely your best virtue."  The shoulder shake was unexpected but not unwanted.  She rolled here eyes with a little "Okay, alright!" before moving forward.  She placed her order, getting a dozen sugar cookies and two chocolate chips for the road.  She would skip her own danish for today.  Cookies would be plenty enough.  "You gonna get more danishes or is that fiance of yours just out of luck?" She asked peeking over her shoulder.

[Deleted]

It was true, Oriel had some pretty crude female role models. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn’t really have very many male role models in his life until just before he came to Hammel. Them being so open about themselves - or rather, reality - gave Oriel some really good insight to the troubles of being a woman. They were the ones who taught him how to take care of his hair. One of them was his first time…yes, the whole lot of them were hookers, so sue him, he didn’t judge, some of them had some pretty sob stories for how they ended up there. Oriel snorted at her description, though. “Sorry, I don’t got ovaries, so the cramps is the closest I’ll probably ever experience.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Indian burns do hurt though…”

To be honest, Oriel was having a hell of a time talking about these things if only to see how uncomfortable they made other people, such as this girl who apparently had no intention of ever coming in contact with a dick ever. “Best of luck to you, if you ever do, then,” he said with a salute. What else could they talk about to make her squirm and blush?

Oriel laughed and shook his hair in amusement. “Well, you’re not wrong. Though it’s probably still mostly me, there just ain’t a whole lot that bugs me. And Phoenix is pretty…he just goes along for the ride, most of the time.” Though….no, Phoenix had his own amount of weirdness, considering some of the things he draws. The both of them had some pretty unconventional childhoods, they were generally immune to a lot of harsh and crude subjects. His friends, the few he had, had more-or-less gotten used to it. AJ handled him like a pro. Kodi snapped back at him, literally. Erik just rolled his eyes and snarled.

His friends loved him soooo muuuuch~

“No, honesty’s my best virtue. For everything else, I’m shameless.” And clearly wasn’t shy in admitting it. Oriel laughed and watched as she completed her order, then moved aside. “Mmmm…” he hummed in thought. “I think I’m going to have to exercise self-control from here on out, ‘least ’til I get home.” Or rather, back to Phoenix’s Dad’s house. When she moved aside, Oriel placed his own order for one strawberry danish, to go, packaged up nice and neat. His wallet would suffer a little for his gluttony…but that was his own fault, now wasn’t it?