Divine by B.L. Teschner Read Free Book Online Page A

idea better.” I grabbed a single
cupcake off of the plate and pulled out the extinguished candle.
    “ You don’t
have to eat it now if its too early for sugar,” my dad added.
    “ Its okay, I can
handle it,” I joked with a smile as I unwrapped the paper and
bit in to the chocolatey deliciousness. I could tell right away that
my dad had made them, because they were moist and perfectly
concocted.
    He waited for me to
swallow my first bite before chiming in, “Pretty good, huh?”
    “ Yeah, they're
great. You really did a good job, Dad.”
    His posture stiffened;
he took pride in his cooking ability. He was no Divine, but his
culinary magic was close to being that of a super ability.
    “ Are you excited
for tonight?” my mom asked, still grasping the plate of
cupcakes in her hands.
    “ Absolutely . . .
It’s going to be really fun.” I scooted off the edge of
my bed and stood up next to them. “Let me know what time we're
leaving so I can make sure that I'm ready on time; I want to get
really fixed up for the occasion.”
    “ Okay, honey,”
my mom said with a smile. “We'll leave so you can get ready.
Have a good day at work.”
    “ I will.”
    “ Happy Birthday,”
they said almost in unison as they left the room and quietly trotted
downstairs.

    * * *

    When I got to work I
found myself groggily knocking on the locked front door once again.
This time it was Kevin who came to the rescue.
    “ Hi,” he
said in a chipper tone as he held the door open for me. “Fox
wants to see you in the kitchen.”
    “ Really?” I
asked, surprised by the news. I felt my stomach churn and wondered if
I had done something wrong the previous day that he needed to address
with me.
    Kevin stayed behind as
I walked back to the kitchen and hesitantly pushed open the black
swinging door. The lights were off, so I knew he wasn't in there
anymore.
    He must be in his
office.
    I was getting ready to
leave when my eyes were awakened by the unexpected flash of bright
lights turning on. “Surprise!” three voices shouted
across the room.
    I jumped with
bewilderment and looked toward the source of the shouts. Brittany,
Fox, and another man whom I didn't recognize stood next to a metal
table that held a candle engrossed pie.
    “ Oh man, you
scared me!” I panted; that surprise definitely woke me up.
    “ Happy Birthday,”
Kevin said as he walked in behind me and joined the group next to the
pie.
    Fox grabbed a knife off
of the cooking line. “I hope you like cherry. We don't serve
cake here, so we had to improvise.”
    The stranger shot him
an irritated look. “If you would have told me that the new girl
was having a birthday I would have thrown one together.”
    That must be Steve.
    “ Hi, I'm Steve,”
the man said to me, confirming my suspicion. He raised his ebony hand
up in a small wave and then put both hands into the pockets of his
black, slack-like pants.
    “ Hi,
I'm Summer. And the pie is perfect; I love cherry.” Even though
I liked cherry pie a lot, the thought of another dessert
so early in the morning made my stomach churn. However, since they
had made the gesture, I really wanted to show them my appreciation. I
walked up to the metal table and grabbed a small white plate,
catching a smile from Fox as he stuck the knife underneath a slice
and lifted it out of the tin. “Thank you,” I said as he
carefully slid it onto my plate.
    “ You're welcome.”
    Jeez, Fox. You're no
Jonah, but you do look incredible today . . .
    Kevin put a plate in
front of Fox and waited for him to plop on a slice. He then turned
and gave the plate to Brittany who, to my surprise, seemed to be
blushing at the gesture.
    Once the pie was served
and eaten we all went back to work. Brittany showed me some more
things that I needed to learn, but I pretty much had the job down
already. I spent the rest of the day keeping myself busy so the time
would pass more quickly and I could go out to dinner with my parents.
    That night we
celebrated my