❝And you ain't gotta worry

'cause you know I got it

Know I got it, babe❞

- Zara Larsson, Ty Dolla Sign, So Good.

Wednesday, I met up with River at the bakery. Since I didn't have to work today, I'd somehow convinced River to come shopping with me for the cupcake ingredients and even stay with me while I bake them.

"So, what do you have to get?" He threw a quick glance at me as he drove. "What kind of cake is it? Tell me it's a chocolate cake."

"No, dork, it's a vanilla cake. I'll need some eggs and milk, but we've got that at home. So, I'm getting butter, sugar- Tanner will roast me for using all the sugar at home, uh, some vanilla flavoring, flour and baking powder." I paused. "Yeah, that's about everything."

We walked into the supermarket and River grabbed a cart and followed me through the aisles until I stopped at the aisle for baking items. I bit my lip, my eyes furrowed as I looked at the different brands of each item I needed.

"They're all the same thing, right?" River queried.

I chuckled, knowing what he was getting at, "Yeah."

"Then, just pick one each of what you need and let's leave."

"Impatient, aren't we?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"You can't blame me. Anytime I go out with my mom to get stuff, we spend like an hour in a store."

I laughed, "Now, you're exaggerating."

"I'm really not," his face broke into a smile. "Sometimes I make Riley go with her. Makes me feel like a douche when I do it, but I don't know, you girls understand each other."

I laughed at what he said and took a pack of flour off the rack and put it into the cart. "Speaking of Riley, is she excited for her party?"

"You bet she is. Now, she's all about my birthday this, my birthday that."

"She's so cute." I sighed, taking a tub of baking powder off the rack too.

"Is there really a difference between baking powder and baking soda?"

"Apparently," I nodded. "Baking powder is stronger. It can work without baking soda."

"I see," he ran his fingers through his hair. "Hey, wouldn't you need to get cupcake liners?"

"Yeah, I do. I forgot to write it," I said, immediately grabbing some cupcake liners.

*

"How did you convince me to come with you again?" River asked as he pulled up to my house.

"I'm a charmer like that," I stuck a tongue out. We both got out of the car and River grabbed the things I'd gotten from the back seat.

"Aw, look at him being a gentleman," I teased and he rolled his eyes.

We got into the kitchen and River sat on the counter, watching my every move.

"If I make these cupcakes and they flop, I'll be so upset," I commented, arranging everything I'd gotten on the counter before going to bring out a hand and stand mixer Tanner always kept in the drawer.

"Even if it does, you could just get her cupcakes."

"Remember what I told you? I just want to do something for her," I said, pouring in some sugar and adding butter in a bowl, starting to mix it with the small machine in hand.

"Is there anything I can do?" River asked above the noise from the mixer.

I nodded, "Could you please help line the cupcake pan?"

"Sure. Where is it?"

"In the drawer where I got the mixer from," I kept on mixing the butter and sugar which was already changing into a creamy paste, while he lined the pans. We both worked in silence. Not entirely in silence, though, because the noise from the miser was cringe-worthy. After mixing for a while, I stopped the machine to turn the mixture with a spatula.

"I remember when I was growing up and my older siblings would help my mom bake in the kitchen, I would act like I was sick or asleep."

I chuckled, "Jeez, River you were such a sneaky child."

"It was all worth it, though. I wasn't about to be locked in so much noise and heat from the oven."

"Would your brother and sister be coming for the party?"

"Unfortunately, but fortunately, no. They have college on their hands."

"Why'd you say fortunately, then?"

"I've told you once those ones can be devils. It'd be really cool if you met them, though. They're cool devils. How's it going with what you're doing?"

"I think now's the perfect time to add in the eggs," I looked at him.

"Oou," he wiggled his eyebrows. "Can I help crack them?"

"Why do you look so happy to do it?"

"Because cracking eggs make me happy," he answered.

"Weird flex, but okay," I laughed and handed him an egg and with a boyish grin on his face, he cracked the egg in the butter and sugar mixture.

I looked into the bowl and gasped, "River, you got some shells in it!"

He chuckled, "No way," he looked in and his eyes went wide. "I could swear I was a pro at cracking eggs."

Despite myself, I laughed, "Well, clearly you're not. I knew I shouldn't have let you do it."

"I promise, I really am good at it. Let me crack the second egg," he looked eager.

"Nope. There's no way I'm letting you do it again," I chuckled and washed my hands before using a finger to drag out some shells from the bowl. Satisfied, I grinned evilly and rubbed it on his jacket.

"Renée, those things are nasty!" He exclaimed and I had to listen to him rant on and on about how he was going to go about smelling like raw eggs, while I added in two teaspoons of vanilla flavor, some milk and a little oil into the mix. After a while of mixing, I threw in some flour and baking powder and continued to mix. Careful not to over mix everything, I stopped and grabbed two spoons and with a sly smile on my face, asked River, "Do you want to help me scoop batter into the liners in the pan??

"You're lucky I really like you," was his reply, and together, we put two spoons of batter each in every liner.

After putting the pan in the oven, I dipped my hand into the bowl of remaining batter and put some in my mouth.

"Tastes good?" River asked.

"I think the cakes will be hella sugary."

*

I took a bite of one cupcake after they came out of the oven and chewed slowly. "It is way too sugary. I messed it up."

River took one bite and then shrugged, "I promise it isn't bad. Yeah, it's sugary, but at least it's not the actual cake for Riley's birthday. You should just reduce the sugar when you're making them, but it's not bad."

The front door opened and I knew Tanner was back from work, "Renée!" He called.

"In the kitchen!" I called back.

"God, damn, what smells so sweet?" He groaned out loudly and I looked at River, "See? Even Tanner can tell it's really sweet just by smelling it."

River chuckled the same moment Tanner came into the kitchen. He looked surprised, but pleased to see River, "Hey, what's up, River, how are you doing? It's good to see you again."

How Tanner greeted people and usually didn't wait for a response amazed me, but I was just happy he liked River and I watched him give River a handshake. He came to me and ruffled my hair when his gaze averted to the pan of cupcakes, "Hey, did you two make those?"

"We did," River had a sly smile on his face.

"Lies!" I pointed out. "All he did was crack egg shells into them."

Tanner laughed, "No way."

"Exactly the same thing I said. I could swear I was an expert at cracking eggs."

Tanner reached for a cupcake and took a huge bite, chewing on it, "Yo, this is good," he reached for another one.

"Not too sugary?" I looked at him.

"I mean it is, but it's perfect like that."

I looked at River, "See, Tanner here has a goal to be diabetic at the age of 26."

"I don't think having too much sugar is the main cause of diabetes, though," River said, while Tanner laughed, "Educate her, please."

"I mean, what did I expect from someone who I know has a wild sweet tooth, but come on River, you had just one job. That was to be on my side," I shook my head at him and he chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.

"Why'd you just randomly bake cupcakes? No, the question should be, how and when on earth did you learn to bake?"

"Well, it's Riley's birthday on Saturday and I just wanted to do something for her so I learned to make vanilla cupcakes," I explained and he gave me a hug, "Hey, I'm so proud of you Renée." He then turned to River, "Renée told me about your job at the bakery. How's it going?"

"It's great," he replied, smiling.

"I can't wait to see it," I quipped before leaving them to talk asit was nice to see them get along so well. After a while of me being on my own, I heard Tanner say to River, "Why don't you stay over for dinner?"

His eyes sparkled when he looked from Tanner to me, "I'd love to."

*