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Buck had been feeling antsy all day. Maddie had reached out almost a week ago saying that she was leaving Doug and coming to LA. She was driving a car she bought with cash from someone at the hospital and was driving- trying to stay under the radar so he couldn’t find her. She was supposed to arrive that morning, but it was already 3pm and she wasn’t answering her phone and she was nowhere to be seen.
Karen had tried to get him to work in the kitchen instead of the front, but Buck needed to be able to see the door. He didn’t want to miss the moment she arrived. He saw the tow truck for Kinard Auto drive by and pull in next door with an old beater. In the brief look he got of the car, Buck wondered why anyone would even try driving that thing.
With it nearing closing, Buck started cleaning up and boxing up the pastries to sell half off the next day when the bell rang signalling someone just walked in.
“Maddie!” Buck dropped what he was doing and went around the counter to wrap her in a big hug.
“I’m so sorry for not calling! My car broke down in the desert and I didn't have signal,” Maddie explained, “I found a gas station and they called a tow truck for me. They gave me a list of garages that go out that far and one was on the same street as your shop- I had no idea it was right next door, but I’m so happy it was. I was going to call you from the garage, but I was already here.”
“I’m so happy you’re safe.”
“Is this Maddie?” Bobby asked as he emerged from the office. Bobby was Buck’s business partner. He was one of the first guys Buck met on his journey around America and they stayed in touch. When Bobby moved to LA, he asked Buck about starting the bakery together and BB’s Bakery was born. Bobby handled most of the business side of the shop while Buck ran the kitchen. They had a good team- Karen and Ravi had been with them since they opened and more recently, Bobby’s step-daughter, May, joined part time as she goes to college.
Buck introduced her to the team who was in that day and then practically shoved Buck and Maddie out the door.
She crashed pretty much as soon as they got to his apartment. He had already taken the following day off to help Maddie get settled, so when he woke up the next morning and got in the kitchen, his usual baking itch took over and he made cinnamon rolls for them as well as two batches of cupcakes.
“I’m not eating all of this,” Maddie said.
“I know. The cinnamon rolls can be eaten over several days, but I was thinking about taking the cupcakes to the mechanics as a thank you for getting you here safely.”
Maddie nodded her approval and then shortly after breakfast they drove to Kinard Auto. There was an asian man behind the counter comping on a piece of gum and flipping through a magazine. Buck recognized him as a somewhat frequent customer, but couldn’t remember his name.
“Hey! It’s the baking guy! And yesterday’s damsel in distress!”
“Yeah, I’m Buck and this is my sister, Maddie,” Buck said, “I made some cupcakes this morning and wanted to bring the by as a thank you for what you did yesterday.”
“I’m Chimney- don’t ask, I won’t tell you the story,” Chimney gave them both a pointed look, “It’s literally our job, but everyone here has a sweettooth, so we won’t say no to free cupcakes. Let me get Tommy for you guys. He’s the owner and was the one who drove out yesterday- he’ll be able to tell you what’s going on with the car.”
Chimney grabbed the cupcakes and then disappeared into the back. Not too long after that, a guy who was the same height as Buck walked in. The guy had brown hair, sparkling eyes, a cleft, and he was built. Buck wondered what his workout routine- he would have to see about getting some tips.
“Maddie, it’s good to see you again,” Tommy said. And damn, his voice was nice, too. Some guys had all the luck, “And thank you for the cupcakes, Buck.”
“Evan,” he said for some reason, “Buck is a nickname, but I’m, um, Evan.”
Tommy nodded, “Evan it is, then.”
And wow. Normally Buck wasn’t fond of his name, but hearing that voice say it wasn’t that bad. Quite the opposite, actually. Maddie gave him a strange look, but didn’t comment on anything.
“I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think that car is salvageable,” Tommy said, “It would cost more to fix it than it would to buy a different one- a safer, more reliable one.”
“I still can’t believe you drove here from Boston in that thing,” Buck said.
“It’s not like I had much of a choice. It was the only car I could afford with the cash I’d squirreled away. If I wanted something more reliable, I would still be there.”
Buck pulled Maddie into his side and a serious look came over Tommy’s face, “No charge for the tow- happy to do it. I know a guy who would love to repurpose it, so don’t worry about needing to get it to a junk yard.”
“Is that person you?” Buck asked.
Tommy smirked, “You caught me, I have ulterior motives.”
Buck smiled and let out a little laugh. Tommy seemed like a cool guy. They left not too long after that, but his mind kept going back to Tommy for some reason. Over the next week, Maddie got more settled and Bobby’s wife, Athena, who was a police sergeant helped Maddie get an order of protection against Doug and a job at dispatch. It was nice seeing Maddie still being able to put her nursing skills to good use, but in an environment she felt safer in.
As Buck’s brain wandered to Tommy again while he was baking, he decided to try out a new cookie recipe and decided to bring them over to the auto shop for them to be his taste testers. With all the money Tommy would have spent on gas to get Maddie, it was the least he could do. And it was always better to get a good sample size before adding something to the menu.
Karen was working the counter again so he let her know he was stepping out and brought the box of cookies to the shop.
This time when he walked in, instead of Chimney behind the counter, it was Eddie and Christopher was next to him doing his homework. Eddie and Christopher were frequent customers at BB’s bakery and Buck had developed a solid friendship with them. They’d also let Chris hang out at the bakery instead of the autoshop because it was easier to work at the tables and Buck had also started teaching him how to bake.
“Buck! Good to see you, man,” Eddie smiled.
“Are those cookies?” Christopher eyed the boxes Buck was holding.
“Yeah- new recipe and I wanted to see if they were any good.”
Eddie’s eyes narrowed, “You usually wait for us to come to the bakery or you bring them with you for game night. You never come to the shop.”
Buck shrugged, “It’s also a thank you. Is Tommy here?”
“Tommy,” Eddie said slowly, “Yeah. Let me get him for you.”
It took a little longer than when Chimney got him last week, but soon, Eddie and Tommy both came back to the front. Tommy was wearing coveralls that were tied off at the waist with a tight, white tank top underneath. He had grease on his hands that he was wiping off with a cloth that has seen better days. For some reason, Buck’s mouth was very, very dry.
“Evan,” Tommy smiled. Buck felt a little faint- had he drank enough water that day, “Eddie said you brought cookies? You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” Buck assured him, “When Maddie came here… she barely had enough money to make the trip. I would have been happy to cover the cost of the tow and everything, but not having to means I’m able to help her get set up here. I was trying out a new recipe anyway and thought I could hear if it was any good while also saying thank you.”
“You already said thank you with the cupcakes,” Tommy’s eyes flicked down for a second, “But I’ll never say no to a sweet treat.”
Yeah. Buck must be dehydrated with how he was feeling, “Well, you should stop by the bakery later and let me know what you think.” He looked away from Tommy because he realized he had been staring and saw a very amused looking Eddie and Christopher, “You all should.”
“Are we still on for game night tomorrow?” Eddie asked.
“Is it okay if Maddie comes, too?”
“Of course,” Eddie smiled, “You haven’t stopped talking about her since you said she was coming. Would love to meet her.”
“Great, I, uh, I’ll see you around, Tommy.”
“See you later, Evan.”
Buck shivered. They should probably turn their AC down.
It was nearing the end of the day and Buck was in the office looking over their upcoming supply order when May knocked on the door, “There’s someone here to see you.”
He was slightly confused, but was delighted to see it was Tommy, “Hey, how were the cookies?”
“I wouldn’t have thought about earl grey cookies, but it was really good and it would be something unique to offer.”
“Do you think they were too soft or too hard? I think I may have put in too much butter, so I’ll probably fix that on the next batch-”
Tommy laughed and it was such a wonderful sound, it made Buck stop talking, “You’ll have to ask your coworkers those technical questions. All I know is if I think something tastes good.”
Buck smiled and was he blushing, too? “Sorry, I get so passionate I forget not everyone is as into it as I am.”
“I love hearing people talk about their passions,” Tommy had a soft smile on his face and it was making his eyes crinkle, “Maybe you could tell me about it over dinner sometime? Like, maybe Saturday?”
“Saturday,” Buck echoed, “Yeah, that sounds great.”
They exchanged numbers and then Tommy left. He couldn’t wait until Saturday. But it turned out he didn’t have to wait because Tommy was at game night at the Diaz house- along with Chimney and Hen, who also worked at the auto shop.
“If I knew this was going to become a party I would have invited Karen, May and Ravi.”
“Not Bobby?” Maddie asked.
“He and Athena have date night tonight.”
“You could still invite them,” Eddie said, “Bigger teams are great for pictionary and charades.”
All three of them came and Hen and Karen hit it off right away. They split into teams- bakers vs mechanics. It was fun at first, but the way Eddie and Tommy were basically reading each other’s minds was really grating on Buck for some reason.
He had thought he was doing a good job hiding what he was feeling, but when he went to the kitchen to get a beer between rounds, Tommy followed him.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped tonight,” Tommy said, “When Eddie mentioned game night I thought it sounded fun, and with Maddie coming I thought it was more the merrier- that’s what Eddie made it seem like. But it’s your guy’s thing.”
“What? No. I was happy to see you here tonight.”
“Then why have you been glaring at us the entire night?” Tommy asked.
“I- I don’t know,” Buck admitted, “You and Eddie seem to really be clicking and I don’t know why it’s getting under my skin.”
“Would you…” Tommy trailed off and while his face looked neutral, he couldn’t hide the sadness in his eyes, “Would you rather be going out with Eddie on Saturday?”
Buck’s eyebrows pinched as he tried to figure out what Tommy was saying, “What? Of course not! I want to spend time with you and get to know you! I-”
Tommy moved closer and there were fingers under his chin and then lips on his. Oh. OH! He wanted to melt into the kiss, but Tommy kept it brief.
“Was that okay?”
“Y-yeah,” Buck breathed. It was more than okay. He wanted to do that again. He never wanted to stop doing that.
“Good,” Tommy smirked, “And for the record, Eddie may be hot, but I don’t want to kiss him- just you.”
Buck was blushing, “Yeah- same here. Just you.”
“We should get back out there before they send a search party.”
Buck pouted, but he knew Tommy was right. He was looking forward to Saturday even more now.
Everyone looked at them like they knew exactly what happened in the kitchen. In retrospect, everyone else probably knew he had a crush on Tommy before he did. But he didn’t care. He had a date with a hot mechanic.