Bittersweet Memories

Alyssa's Point Of View

I stood in the kitchen of Sweet Dreams, my hands covered in flour, trying to ignore the lingering scent of Sage's cologne. 

It had been three days since our encounter in the park, since I'd helped him with supplies, and I still couldn't shake the memory of his earnest blue eyes, the way his unruly dark hair fell across his forehead, the...

No. I shook my head, sending a small cloud of flour into the air. I couldn't let myself go down that road again. Sage Holloway had made his choice four years ago when he left Maple Grove - and me - behind. 

The fact that he was back now, with his charm and his apologies and his ridiculously perfect jawline, didn't change anything.

"Earth to Alyssa!" Mia's cheerful voice broke through my reverie. My assistant baker was peering at me over a tray of cupcakes, her purple hair escaping from its bun in wispy tendrils. "You okay there, boss? You've been staring at that dough like it personally offended you."

I forced a smile, trying to shake off my Sage-induced funk. "I'm fine, Mia. Just... thinking about the upcoming collaboration."

Mia's round face lit up, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "Oh my gosh, yes! I still can't believe we're working with Sugar Rush. It's going to be amazing!" She lowered her voice conspiratorially, leaning in closer. "And, you know, it doesn't hurt that their head baker is totally dreamy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Marco? I thought you were more into the 'starving artist' type."

Mia giggled, her cheeks flushing pink. "No, not Marco! I mean, he's nice and all, but I'm talking about Sage. Those blue eyes, that messy hair... total hottie alert!"

I felt a surge of irrational jealousy, which I quickly tamped down. "Sage is... he's just Sage," I said, my tone sharper than I intended. "Let's focus on the baking, okay?"

Mia's eyes widened slightly at my tone, but she nodded, turning back to her cupcakes. I immediately felt guilty for snapping at her. It wasn't Mia's fault that Sage's return had thrown me for a loop.

Just then, the kitchen door swung open, and Luna strode in, her blue hair a striking difference to the warm tones of the bakery. 

"Hey boss," she said, her multiple ear piercings catching the light as she moved. "We've got a situation out front."

I groaned internally. "What kind of situation?"

Luna's lips quirked into a smirk. "The kind that involves your best friend, the new English teacher, and what I can only describe as the world's most awkward attempt at flirting."

Despite my mood, I couldn't help but smile. Raine had been not-so-subtly crushing on Oliver, the new high school English teacher, ever since he'd wandered into Sweet Dreams last week. 

With his mop of curly red hair, freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks like constellations, and his endearing habit of quoting Shakespeare at random moments, Oliver was exactly Raine's type.

"Alright," I sighed, wiping my hands on my apron. "I'll handle it. Mia, can you keep an eye on the oven?"

As I made my way to the front of the bakery, I could hear Raine's distinctive laugh - a little too loud, a little too forced. Oh boy.

I pushed through the swinging door to find Raine leaning against the counter, twirling a strand of her teal hair around her finger. 

Oliver stood on the other side, his lanky frame hunched slightly as if trying to make himself smaller. His face was almost as red as his hair.

"...and then I said, 'To bake, or not to bake? That is the question!'" Oliver finished, looking equal parts proud and mortified.

Raine burst into another peal of laughter, while Luna, standing nearby, looked like she was physically restraining herself from rolling her eyes.

"Raine," I said, stepping forward. "I didn't expect to see you here this morning. Don't you have a class to teach?"

Raine straightened up, her green eyes wide with feigned innocence. "Oh, you know, I had a free period. Thought I'd stop by for a muffin." She gestured to Oliver. "And look who I ran into!"

Oliver gave an awkward wave. "Hello, Alyssa. I was just telling Raine about my, uh, baking sonnet."

I raised an eyebrow. "Baking sonnet?"

"Oh, it was hilarious!" Raine gushed, placing a hand on Oliver's arm. I noticed his eyes widen at the contact. "Oliver, you should totally perform it at the next open mic night at The Rusty Nail!"

Oliver's freckled face lit up. "Really? You think people would like it?"

"Are you kidding? They'd love it!" Raine turned to me, her eyes pleading. "Lys, you'll come too, right? It'll be fun!"

I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to be a third wheel on Raine's awkward flirting session. But then I caught sight of Oliver's hopeful expression and found myself nodding. 

"Sure, why not?"

Raine clapped her hands together, beaming. "Perfect! It's a date!" She froze, realizing what she'd said. "I mean, not a date-date. Just a... friend date. A frate? No, that sounds weird. A..."

"I get it, Raine," I said, taking pity on her. "We'll be there."

Oliver's smile could have lit up the entire bakery. "Great! I'll, uh, I'll see you both there then. I should probably get back to school now. Those sonnets won't teach themselves!"

As he left, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste, Raine turned to me with a dreamy sigh. "Isn't he adorable? Like a sexy, freckled giraffe."

Luna snorted. "Yeah, real smooth operator there. I thought he was going to spontaneously combust when you touched his arm."

Raine stuck out her tongue at Luna. "Oh, like you're one to talk. I've seen the way you look at Ash when you think no one's watching."

I blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? Luna, you like Ash?"

Luna's cheeks flushed, clashing spectacularly with her blue hair. "I don't... it's not... shut up, Raine!"

I looked between my best friend and my manager, feeling like I'd missed a crucial piece of information. "When did this happen?"

Raine grinned, clearly enjoying Luna's discomfort. "Oh, it's been brewing for a while now. You should see them when Ash comes in for his morning coffee. It's like watching two porcupines try to flirt."

Luna glared at Raine. "At least I can string two sentences together around my crush. Unlike some people I could mention."

As the two of them bickered good-naturedly, I felt a pang in my chest. Was I so caught up in my own drama with Sage that I'd missed these developments in my friends' lives?

Just then, the bell above the door chimed, and I looked up to see the last person I wanted to deal with right now. Sage walked in, looking unfairly handsome in a simple white t-shirt and jeans. 

His eyes met mine, and for a moment, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Alyssa," he said, his voice soft. "Can we talk?"

I felt my defenses go up immediately. "I'm working, Sage. Some of us have a business to run."

He winced at my tone but pressed on. "Please? It's about the collaboration. I had some ideas I wanted to run by you."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't put this off forever. "Fine. Five minutes."

As I led Sage to a quiet corner of the bakery, I could feel Raine and Luna's eyes boring into my back. Great. I'd never hear the end of this.

Sage sat down across from me, running a hand through his hair - a nervous habit I remembered all too well. "Thanks for hearing me out," he began. "I know things have been... tense between us."

I snorted. "That's one way of putting it."

He nodded, acknowledging the understatement. "I deserve that. But Alyssa, I meant what I said before. I want to make things right. Not just for the sake of the collaboration, but... for us."

I felt my heart rate pick up, but I forced my voice to remain steady. "There is no 'us,' Sage. You made sure of that when you left."

Pain flashed across his face, but he didn't back down. "I know. And I'll regret that decision for the rest of my life. But Alyssa, we were good together once. Great, even. Don't you think there might be a chance...?"

I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor. "No, Sage. I don't. You can't just waltz back into town and expect everything to be the same. I'm not the same girl you left behind."

He stood too, his blue eyes intense. "I know you're not. You're stronger now, more confident. And it only makes me... it makes me realize even more what I gave up."

For a moment, I wavered. The sincerity in his voice, the longing in his eyes - it was almost enough to make me forget the pain of the past four years. Almost.

But then I remembered the nights I'd spent crying myself to sleep, the dreams I'd had to rebuild from scratch. The walls I'd put up to protect my heart.

"I can't do this, Sage," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I can't let you in again. It hurts too much."

Before he could respond, the bakery door burst open, and in strode a woman I'd never seen before. She was tall and willowy, with long blonde hair and piercing green eyes. 

Everything about her screamed 'city girl,' from her designer clothes to her perfectly manicured nails.

"Sage!" she called out, her voice carrying across the bakery. "There you are! I've been looking all over this quaint little town for you."

Sage's eyes widened in surprise. "Chloe? What are you doing here?"

The woman - Chloe - sashayed over to us, her heels clicking on the tile floor. "Surprise!" she said, looping her arm through Sage's. 

"I thought I'd come see this charming little bakery you've been talking about." Her eyes landed on me, assessing. "And you must be Alyssa. I've heard so much about you."

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. "I'm sorry," I managed to say, my voice sounding strained even to my own ears. "But who exactly are you?"

Chloe's perfectly painted lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, how rude of me. I'm Chloe Sinclair, Sage's fiancée."

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. I looked at Sage, searching his face for some sign that this was a mistake, a misunderstanding. But all I saw was shock and... guilt?

"Fiancée?" I repeated, the word tasting bitter on my tongue.

Sage opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked torn, his eyes darting between Chloe and me.

I didn't wait to hear his explanation. I couldn't. Without a word, I turned on my heel and fled to the kitchen, ignoring the concerned calls of my friends.

As the kitchen door swung shut behind me, I leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. My mind was reeling. 

Sage was engaged? After everything he'd said about wanting to make things right, about regretting leaving me... it had all been lies?

I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes, but I blinked them back furiously. No. I wouldn't cry over Sage Holloway. Not again. Never again.

But as I stood there, surrounded by the comforting scents of vanilla and cinnamon, I couldn't help but feel that my carefully reconstructed world was crumbling around me once more.

And this time, I wasn't sure I had the strength to pick up the pieces.