It was Hank's birthday, the first of our birthdays that we would celebrate together. We'd just moved in together two months before, and I was making a cake. The traditional birthday cake in my family is the best cake in the world, so of course I was making it for Hank. It's dark, dark chocolate, with a fluffy, shiny icing to go with it and I couldn't wait for him to try it. As I cracked eggs and sifted flour, I kept trying to imagine the look on Hank's face when he took the first bite. I wanted to make his amazing blue eyes roll back in his headβthat was my goal. Nothing less would do.
As I stirred, I asked myself, "Why did I have to fall in love with a guy with an August birthday? It couldn't have been in February, when stirring up a cake in a kitchen warm from the preheating oven would be a pleasure, oh no." I had already put my hair up on top of my head with a clip, but still was sticky with heat. So I stripped to my panties and tied my white chef's apron on top. No one could see. We lived in a third-floor attic apartment, and you couldn't see in the windows from the street. I'd checked.
So there I was, stripped down, sweaty, stirring up cake batter, when Hank walked through the door, home from work three hours early! I had hoped to have the cake done by the time he got home, but the sight of his big solid body in the doorway made me so happy, I forgot to worry about the ruined surprise. I called, "Happy birthday!" and he took three big strides and was in the kitchen. He swept me into his arms, and planted a big kiss on me. He squeezed me so tight that he almost lifted me up, and then turned me loose. Hank has the most amazing looks. His hair is really dark and it's curly, but you can hardly tell because he keeps it so short. He gets a tan easier than anyone I know, and now he had a great tan. The most amazing thing about him is his eyes. They are almost a turquoise blue, and against the darkness of his summer face, they stand out like you wouldn't believe.
"Look at you, making a cake for me! And hey, I love your outfit. Is that the official cake-baking outfit?" he teased. I laughed, and he said, "I want a taste," and tried to grab the wooden spoon out of my hand.
"No!" I held on to the spoon. "Let me get you a clean spβ"and then he let go of the spoon, spattering me β my chin, my neck, down one arm β with cake batter. Well! I don't know what kind of look was on my face, but Hank saw a need to immediately kiss it away.