After the morning rush, Kassie checked in with Mel. She said she was fine, and Kassie believed her. She wasn’t snapping at everyone like before, and she seemed to be at peace waiting for her test results. 

During the mid-morning lull, Kassie went on the hunt for soap. During their wait at the clinic the previous day, Kassie researched soap. She now had a wealth of knowledge about soap. She had to look in a few stores, but now the men’s bathroom had liquid soap and bar soap that should help remove oil from Derek’s hands. 

By the afternoon, she still hadn’t heard from Aaron. She had sent him a message in the morning. It was fine. She was completely mature and chill about it. Mostly. 

Derek was on time today. He looked a little out of place in the brightly colored bakery. He wore dark-wash jeans with a hole in one knee. He had a dark green flannel layered over a black shirt. The friendship bracelet was burning a hole in her pocket, and she was excited to show him the soap. 

She grabbed him on his way to the employee's break room. He was good-natured as she pulled him by the wrist to the bathroom. 

“This is assault.”

“Nah, this is friendship.”

She pushed him to the staff bathroom and made a “ta-da” motion with her arms. 

He looked around the room, eyebrows raised. “It’s the bathroom.”

She nodded excitedly. He looked around the room again before giving her a once-over. His slightly bewildered expression dropped into a confidant smirk. 

“You changed your mind, baby girl? I’m sure we can find a better place to hook up than the bathroom.” He took a couple of languid steps towards her, but he abruptly stopped when she mimed throwing up. 

“That’s disgusting,” She fake gagged.

 “ Don’t ever call me baby girl again. I will drink bleach.”

Red spread across his cheekbones. He threw his hands up. “Then why the hell am I in the bathroom with you?”

He was embarrassed. Good. 

“Look under the sink.”

Derek huffed and rolled his eyes before crouching to look under the sink. She could see the moment he found his basket; his body froze. She had taped a notecard to the front, with his name messily written and a couple of little hearts surrounding it. He carefully pulled the basket out and placed it on the sink. He stared at it for a few moments before looking back at her. 

“What the hell is this?”

She rolled her eyes and started taking items out of the basket. She held up a bar of soap and a small mesh bag. “This is walnut soap with pumice. It’s supposed to get oil off your hands,” She shook the little bag. “This is a soap saver. You put the little pieces of soap in it so you can use it when it gets small or breaks.”

She grabbed the liquid soap. She popped the lid, smelled it, then held it up for him. He obediently smelled it. “This is more heavy-duty soap. It works well, but it can be rough on your hands.” 

She put the soap down and picked up the lotion. “This is an intensive hand cream because the soap might dry out your hands.”

Kassie put everything back in the basket and pulled out the last item. “I also got you Chapstick because when you ambushed me with your mouth,  I noticed your lips were chapped.” 

He touched the basket with his fingertips and stared at her blankly. Might as well go all in. 

She grabbed the friendship bracelet out of her pocket and shook it. The beads jingled. She grabbed his hand. His skin was warm and rough. Kassie slipped the bracelet on his wrist. He was still for a moment before he threw his head back and howled in laughter. She took a step back, a sick feeling in her gut. She didn’t expect him to laugh at her. He must have seen something in her face because he pulled her into a rough hug. He hadn’t stopped laughing, and she could feel his body shake. Derek gave her an awkward pat on the back before releasing her.

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a bracelet. He spun it around his finger before he gently took her hand and slipped it on her wrist. He pulled the strings and tightened them. A flush warmed his cheeks,  and his eyes were still crinkled with laughter. “Now we match.”

Kassie took a good look at her new bracelet. It was made from green and black cord braided together. Two black beads were braided into the soft material, a D and a K. She took one look at his bashful expression and burst into giggles. She threw her arms around him. “Yes! We’re friends.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Or whatever.”

“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’. “Definitely friends, but if you ever call me baby again, I will fire you.”

“This friendship sucks.”

**

Kassie and Mel were washing dishes when Mel reached over and gave the bracelet a sharp tug. 

“You’re a friendship slut.”

“You are a literal slut.” Kassie shot back dryly. 

Mel splashed dirty sink water at her. Kassie sprayed her in the face with the sink’s hose. 

Abe came in to investigate the shrieking coming from the kitchen. He froze when he saw the water mess on the floor, then turned and left when Mel smacked Kassie in the face with a handful of soap.