cupcakes treat sweet

Hey, everyone! How’s NaNo going? I’m super, super behind!

Eh, I’m not going to be hard on myself about it. One of my projects at work fell back on me because a contractor didn’t come through, and another thing took me way longer than I expected.

Anyway, making overly ambitious plans is kind of my thing. As long as I make a lot of progress on this draft this month, I’ll be happy!

Whether you’re hitting your word count like a champ or trailing behind like me, share an excerpt of your work in progress! Keep it 500 words or less, without sexually explicit content. As always, no critiquing, though cheering people on is more than fine!

Here’s mine! In this scene, my heroine is buying pretty much all of the cupcakes in the café. My hero was in line behind her, and he tried to talk her out of it, because he wanted to buy them for his sister’s birthday party. However, he was unsuccessful.

 

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He asked, “So what is it, one of your students’ birthdays?” She nodded. “Aren’t the kids supposed to bring those?”

“Some kids come from homes where…” She shook her head. “There’s either not enough money or not enough paying attention. Or both.”

That hit him right in the gut. He knew very well about homes like that, because he’d grown up in one.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his memories transported him back to the first grade, when his best friend at the time loudly asked him why he hadn’t brought treats for his birthday. After his mom had died, his dad had been distant, sleepwalking through life, not keeping track of even some very basic things. Of course, he’d been too young to process all that at the time. He’d just felt embarrassed and angry.

He hadn’t even remembered that in years. The fact that this woman looked out for children like that made something turn over in his heart.

“That’s very kind of you,” he said.

The lady behind the counter said, “That’ll be eighty dollars and twenty-five cents.”

Dismay flashed across her features. It was more than she’d expected, Dylan guessed. Well, she was a teacher; she probably didn’t make a big salary. Without even thinking about it, he said, “I’ll get that.”

She gave him a puzzled frown and the bakery lady said, “She was here first.”

He said to the teacher, “No, I—I just thought I’d get it for you.” Her eyes went wide, as though he’d taken leave of his senses, and, well, maybe that was the case. “For the kid, I mean,” he added.

She shook her head, though a smile played at her lips. “I can’t let you do that.”

“I insist.” Maybe he was being overbearing. “I mean, unless you say no again.”

That made her laugh. “Okay, since it’s for the kids, I’ll let you.” He loved her voice, with its wry drawl: it was like smoked honey. Her cheeks flushed pink. Wow. She was really pretty when she blushed.

He pulled out his wallet, counted out the money, and handed it to the lady behind the counter. “Thank you,” the Rainbow Woman said, picking up the box of cupcakes as Dylan took his change. “That’s very generous.”

Embarrassed, he shrugged it off. “My good deed for the day.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You do a good deed every day?”

“Um…no,” he said honestly. “Almost never.”

“Oh.” She appeared to be at a loss. “Well, I should go.”

“Yeah. Nice meeting you.—I’m actually heading out too.”

She nodded and they both moved toward the exit. Ugh. There was nothing more awkward then essentially saying good-bye to someone and then continuing to walk alongside them. To diffuse the weirdness, he said, “I’m Dylan, by the way.”

 

cupcakes treat sweet

 

Go ahead and share yours–whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo or not–or just comment on how things are going! If you prefer to lurk, well, that is fine, too. Thanks for being here. And in any case, happy writing!

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