Chapter 9: Tangy Lime
The next day at Dark Heaven, Tristan watched as Issy opened the front door, and there was a sudden flood of customers. Tristan had had his chin propped in his hand but at the sight of the mob of women rushing into his shop his elbow slipped on the counter. There were as many young women inside of the store as he’d had on Valentine’s Day! It was unreal.
“Epp!” Issy squeaked as she stepped out of the way before she could get run over. “Goodness gracious.” She murmured as the customers all made a line at the display case while others took seats at the tables and waited to be served.
“I’ll handle the register. You and Mina can handle the tables.” Tristan called out as he began to help a female customer.
Issy saluted Tristan. “Righto, Boss.”
“Yes, Brother.” Mina said.
Michael was busy practicing his chocolate making skills in the kitchen, and could be seen through the glass in the main shop area. Like clockwork, Tristan handled the women buying assortments of chocolates and prepackaged boxes of chocolates at the register while Issy and Mina handled taking orders at the tables for tea, coffee and chocolates. Tristan couldn’t help but be impressed by how he and his friends handled things so efficiently.
“See, here it is, Becca Thorn’s blog: Gourmet Dessert Trends.” A young brunette who was seated at one of the tables had her laptop open before her, and was pointing at the screen while her friend, who sat next to her, looked at the screen curiously. “That’s how I found out about this place. Becca is the Gourmet Trend Setter. And here is the blog post that she wrote about Dark Heaven.”
Issy’s ear twitched with interest and she peered over the young woman’s shoulder curiously. She saw a nicely written blog post that was all about Dark Heaven and the chocolates Tristan and Michael made. Becca reviewed the chocolates, commenting on their flavor, quality and appearance. She also made sure to tell her followers about the latest chocolates available.
The blog also included pictures of Tristan, Mina, Michael and Issy. Her eyes widened as she wondered when those photos had been taken. How did she take our photos without me noticing? As a professional stalker she had to give kudos to Becca for her photo-taking skills. She was also surprised to see that the blog referred to Tristan as the ‘Chocolate Sex God’ and even went on to explain Tristan’s urban legend that was running rampant on the net.
“Hey, Tristan, Mina, you guys have got to see this.” Issy exclaimed as she waved the two of them over.
Tristan and Mina were instantly at her side. “What is it, china doll?” Tristan asked.
Issy pointed at the laptop screen. “It’s a blog post about Dark Heaven. Apparently this ‘Becca Thorn’ is known as the Gourmet Trend Setter. Her blog is called: Gourmet Dessert Trends. Have you heard of her?”
Tristan looked at the blog post intently and a smug expression came to his face. “Becca Thorn. I met her formally at the Epic Taste Party. She’s one of our regular customers.” Tristan grinned as he recalled the fashionable outfit she’d been wearing. “It was nice of her to do this. She’s also a total babe.”
Mina whacked Tristan over the back of his head for his lewd comment.
“Ow.” Tristan rubbed the back of his head and pouted at Mina.
Issy gave Tristan a skeptical look. “Nice? Maybe…” She didn’t sound so sure.
Tristan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
“She means it’s obvious this Becca person probably wants something from you. No one does anything for free, Brother.” Mina warned with a hand on her jutted hip.
Tristan waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “You girls are too paranoid. Girls do nice things like this all the time.”
“What world are you living in?” Mina asked dryly.
Issy gave Tristan a look of disbelief. “He’s living in La La Land.”
“More like Kinky Sex Land.” Mina countered. The two girls giggled while Tristan found himself blushing.
Most of the female customers in Dark Heaven were looking at Becca’s blog on their laptops, iPads, tablets, and smart phones. Apparently, Becca’s blog was extremely popular. She had thousands of followers.
Tristan watched as the amount of chocolates inside of his display case began to dwindle into single digits. “Whoo! I’m going to have to make more chocolate! We’re going to be sold out at this rate. I better go help Michael make some more. Issy, handle the register while I’m busy, and Mina, continue to handle the floor, please.” Tristan returned to the kitchen and began to make some more chocolates with Michael’s help. An hour later, Issy entered the kitchen to inform Tristan that Becca and her entourage had arrived - whatever that meant.
Tristan exited the kitchen and made his way back into the main shop area. He spotted Becca seated at one of the round tables surrounded by several young women who were dressed similarly to Becca, as if they were copying her taste. They were all wearing the latest jewelry trend - bohemian charm cluster necklaces.
Becca was wearing dark denim jeans, a low-cut red shirt, a brown leather jacket, red high heels, and a Gucci fedora. A Gucci handbag was slung over the back of her chair. A pair of red sunglasses sat on her head like a headband. Tristan noted that her nails had been painted red as he watched her drumming one of her hands on the table impatiently as she waited for him to arrive.
Tristan approached Becca smoothly, not intimidated in the least by the group of girls like some men would be. Being surrounded by women was when Tristan was in his true element. “Hello Becca, it’s nice to see you.”
Becca stropped drumming her fingers when she looked up and spotted Tristan. “Oh, hello Tristan, how are you today? No, don’t answer that. I’m sure you’re doing great, and that’s all thanks to me, of course! I wrote a blog post about your chocolate shop, and told all my followers to come here. And as you can see-” Becca waved her hand around the shop. “They obeyed me - like always. Never underestimate the power of a blogger, sugar.” She boasted in that sexy southern accent, and tilted her chin up in a haughty manner.
Tristan just smiled. He liked confident women. “Yes…you’re amazing, Becca.”
“I-” Becca stopped short as Tristan’s words sunk in and she blushed. The surprise was evident on her face. “Ah…yes, of course I am!” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder.
“Really though, thank you for all your help…everything you order is on the house today.” Tristan offered amiably.
Becca’s followers tittered excitedly at that. Becca smiled, with a holier-than-thou expression on her face. She thrived off of this kind of attention. “Thank you, that’s very generous of you, Tristan. But did you really think that would be enough to satisfy me?” Innuendo was dripping from her husky voice.
Tristan gave Becca a confused look. “What would you like from me? Whatever you wish, if it’s in my power to grant, then so be it.” He tilted his head at her.
“A date.” Becca said, a mischievous smile curling her glossy lips. “I want to go out on a date with the infamous ‘Chocolate Sex God’ Tristan Savant.”
Mina had overheard Becca and immediately became angered by her words. “I knew it! I knew she was up to something! I knew she didn’t write that blog post out of the goodness of her heart. She wants to force you into going on a date with her, Tristan!” Mina said as she stomped towards Becca and her table of followers.
“I don’t mind.” Tristan quickly interjected, still smiling. Tristan’s words had Mina skidding to a startled halt. “In fact…I would be honored to get to go on a date with you, Becca.”
Mina fell over.
Becca blinked at Tristan in amazement. “You would?” She coughed into her hand as she quickly composed herself. “I mean, of course you would! Then…how about tomorrow afternoon? I can tell that you’re going to be too busy to leave your shop today.”
“Sounds good.” Tristan agreed.
Becca gave Tristan a suspicious look then. It was
unexpected that she’d gotten a date with Tristan Savant so easily. “I suppose it’s true what they say about you - you never say ‘no’ to a woman who asks you out.”
Tristan’s smile faltered but only for a moment. “That’s right…I don’t really have a reason to say ‘no’. Every woman has her own appeal, her own beauty to behold, and unique personality to savor. But sometimes I get lucky and a beauty like you asks me out.”
Becca’s cheeks pinkened and she cursed her pale complexion, which revealed her emotions so easily. “So…we’ll only have one date together, right?”
“I…can do better than that. I can promise you this entire week. This entire week I am yours, Becca Thorn.” The chocolatier announced loud enough that everyone inside of the chocolate shop heard.
The young women sitting with Becca tittered and ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ with excitement.
“A week, huh?” Becca said, a glint in her lime green eyes. That’s what he thinks. I have one week to make Tristan Savant fall for me…and I always get what I want. I’ll blog about my dates with the Chocolate Sex God of New York City and the posts are sure to be super popular.
As the Gourmet Trend Setter, Becca got everything for free at the best restaurants, bakeries, and chocolate shops in the city. She planned to take Tristan to these places and make him realize just how special she really was. The blogger had thousands of friends on facebook and her page had thousands of ‘likes’. Becca was practically a celebrity. She felt that she deserved a man like Tristan Savant at her side. I can just picture him on my arm. He’ll be the perfect, trendy accessory for me because he’s so ‘in’.
***
The next day at Dark Heaven, when afternoon arrived so did Becca Thorn. Tristan watched her enter the shop and was surprised to note that her entourage was absent. She was wearing another trendy outfit. A royal blue blouse hugged her shapely curves, beige pants showed off her long legs, and beige high-heels completed the look. Becca had a beige handbag in her hands. For jewelry she wore a green gemstone necklace with matching earrings.
Tristan strolled over to greet her at the door. “Good afternoon, Becca. You look nice.”
“Afternoon, Tristan.” Becca greeted casually as she looked Tristan over with a critical eye. Tristan had dressed up for his date with Becca and wasn’t wearing his usual chocolatier outfit, but a stylish, trendy one. Tristan was wearing a blue t-shirt, an open gray blazer, beige pants with a braided, dark brown leather belt and brown dress shoes. A gray scarf was casually draped around his neck. The clothes looked expensive, classy, and yet exuded a casual date look. Her lips twitched. “We match.”
Tristan chuckled as he realized that they’d both decided to wear blue shirts and beige pants. “I suppose we do.”
“Scarves and braided leather belts are definitely ‘in’ this season. Well done, Tristan.” Becca nodded her approval.
Tristan was feeling chagrined since he hadn’t really done it on purpose. A saleswoman at the mall had simply recommended this outfit to him while he’d been shopping for Rachel’s party dress. “Uh, thanks?”
Becca’s eyes zeroed in on the gold box Tristan was holding. It had also been tied with a red silk bow. “Is that for little ol’ me?”
“Ah, yes, I made these chocolates especially for you. You could say that the necklace you were wearing yesterday inspired them.” Tristan explained as he handed her the box.
“The bohemian charm cluster necklace?” Becca questioned as she took the box, undid the bow, and opened it curiously to get a peek inside.
“Uh, yes, I guess.” Tristan said as he scratched the back of his neck. He knew chocolate, but he’d be lying if he said he new fashion.
Becca looked at the assortment of chocolate bonbons that were all different shapes, just like the charms on her necklace had been. There were crescent moons, stars, hearts, and four-leaf clovers. Some of the chocolates were square or rectangular shaped with a glob of icing on top. A small decoration made out of fondant icing in the shape of a charm of some kind had then been placed on top of the icing. “Ooo, these are really beautiful. They look delicious. Thank you.”
“Not at all. Feel free to try one-”
“Just a sec.” Becca interrupted him as she whipped out her cell phone and took a picture of the open box of chocolates and uploaded the picture to her blog and facebook pages. She then began to type in a quick comment: ‘Chocolate Sex God Tristan Savant gave me a box of chocolates that he said were inspired by me.’
Tristan peeked over her shoulder to see what Becca was doing and his eyebrows rose as he read her comment. It was slightly embarrassing to be called a ‘sex god’. “Ah…” Tristan didn’t know what to say.
Bing. Becca’s phone beeped at them. “Oh, goody, someone already commented on the photo.” Becca informed Tristan before bringing up the comments on her cell phone screen and showing Tristan. More comments began to appear in real time:
‘Those chocolates look as trendy and amazing as you Becca!’
‘Cool.’
‘Oh, you go girl - keep reeling him in!’
‘Becca’s caught the elusive Chocolate Sex God - don’t let him go!’
‘Nomnomnomnom.’
‘Drool. Those chocolates look yummy!’
‘You’ll have to go to the gym after eating all those chocolates’
Tristan’s eyes widened at all of the comments Becca was receiving so quickly. Social media was such a strange phenomenon these days.
“And now I’m going to take a selfie.” Becca picked up a heart-shaped chocolate, held it up to her mouth, and then took a picture as if she were about to bite into the chocolate. After she took the photo she put the picture up on her blog and facebook page along with the comment: ‘Tristan wanted me to try the heart-shaped chocolate first. I wonder why? (winky face)’
Tristan’s eye twitched as he read her comment. “But I didn’t say that.”
There was a mischievous look in Becca’s green eyes. “Yes, but they don’t know that. Now, let’s take a few romantic pictures together.” She put the chocolate back into the box uneaten. Becca stood next to Tristan, struck a pose, and took a picture of them together.
“Lean in like you’re going to put a kiss on my cheek, Tristan. They’ll love that.” Becca directed next.
Tristan was bemused by the request and so he complied. “Okay.” He leaned over to put a kiss on Becca’s cheek.
Becca snapped the photo, and pulled away from Tristan before he could complete the kiss. He ended up kissing thin air and watched as Becca obliviously checked out the photo. “Oh, that looks good. I’m uploading it!” She exclaimed as she busied herself with uploading the photo and commenting on it.
Tristan kissed the air comically with puckered lips. The chocolatier wondered if Becca acted this way on all her dates? He cleared his throat to get Becca’s attention away from her smart phone. That was getting harder and harder to do on dates with women these days, and he had pheromones. He felt sorry for normal young men. “Ahem…should we get going?”
Becca was still busy writing comments using her thumbs to type on her phone. “Okay…just a second and…done!” Becca finally put her phone away, closed the box of chocolates, and stuck them into her shoulder bag.
Tristan pouted at her actions. He’d worked hard on those chocolates all last night and had looked forward to the Gourmet Trend Setter’s opinion of them. His spirits fell and this feeling of disappointment settled in the pit of his stomach.
“Let’s go, sugar.” Becca looped her arm around Tristan’s and they headed out the door.
The feeling of Becca’s chest pressing into his arm snapped Tristan out of his funk. “So I was thinking we could go to the park.” He began.
“Dates at the park are so passé.” Becca tsked. “Let’s go and check out your competition instead.”
“My competition?”
“Yes, the top ten best chocolate shops in New York City. They know me at each shop and
so we’ll get to sample their latest products and chocolates - for free.” Becca bragged. “It will be romantic, and I’ll also be able to get some sweet information for my blog. It will be like killing two birds with one stone. I love multitasking.”
“Multitasking.” Tristan repeated dryly. Romantic multitasking? “O-kay. Whatever you say, babe.” Becca is a little strange…but she’s still smoking hot.
According to Becca the top ten chocolate shops in New York City were: Jacques Torres (where one could watch chocolate being made), Kee’s Chocolates (the shop featured creamy, not-too-sweet chocolates with unique fillings), Black Hound (the shop featured handmade chocolates that had elegant, simple packaging), Li-Lac Chocolates (the shop featured chocolates in memorable shapes like the Empire State building), Martine’s Chocolates (featured chocolates being made using Belgian chocolate, French butter and American cream), MarieBelle, The Chocolate Bar, Vosges Chocolate, Richart Design, and lastly number ten was La Maison du Chocolate.
Tristan drove Becca in his Corvette to the first chocolate shop on her top ten list: Jacques Torres. He’d wanted to have the top down since it was nice out, but Becca had refused saying that her hairstyle would get messed up. She claimed that they still had lots of selfies to take. Tristan parked a block away from the shop, and it wasn’t long before they were entering the chocolate shop. The shop had a warm ambience and its color theme was dark orange and brown.
The first thing that caught their eye as they entered the shop was the glass-shelving unit that displayed orange boxes of chocolates that had been tied with brown bows. Tristan wanted to take a peek into the display case to see the chocolates closer, but Becca grabbed his hand and led him over to one of the small round tables that was free. A server greeted them a moment later.
“Hey, Becca, long time no see.” A blonde greeted amiably. She was dressed in a polo shirt, khaki pants and was wearing a brown apron overtop for her uniform. Tristan wished the uniform were a little sexier. But that was just his opinion. “It’s good to see you again! Are you here doing research for your blog?” She gave Tristan a curious sidelong look.
“Yep, I’m also on a date. I’m multitasking. This is the Chocolate Sex God - Tristan Savant. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?” Becca introduced Tristan with a wave of her hand in his direction.
The server gawked at Tristan and blushed. “Ehhh? He’s the real Sex God? Like from the Urban Legend? Tristan Savant! Here? Eeee! And you’re on a date with him?” The blonde was practically jumping up and down at this point. Tristan wasn’t too surprised by her wired behavior though. She did work in a chocolate shop and chocolate did contain caffeine. “You’re so lucky!” The server clasped her hands together.
Becca looked very pleased by the young woman’s reaction and a wide smile spread across her face. “We’d like to try your latest chocolate.”
“Oh, yes of course! Right away, Becca, and it will be on the house, of course. For you and for Tristan. Would you like coffee or tea with your chocolate?” The server asked.
“I’ll have orange tea, please.” Becca said.
“Coffee for me.” Tristan informed the blonde. “Black.”
“I’ll be right back with your orders.” The blonde said before she sped off. Becca was smirking as she watched her go.
“You weren’t kidding about the VIP treatment. Is being a blogger a lucrative business?” Tristan asked with interest.
Becca nodded. “I make most of my money through the banner ads on my blog. Once a blog hits more than ten thousand followers you’re usually eligible for advertising. I also monetized my blog with Amazon. I can pick out products sold on Amazon that I think my fellow Gourmands would be interested in and put up the links right on my blog page. I usually put the links to recipe books that I think my followers would like to read.”
“I see.” Tristan stroked his chin in thought. “Impressive. It must be a lot of work, keeping a blog popular.”
“Oh, it is. I have to stay ahead of the other gourmet bloggers in this city. I also have to decide what the top gourmet trends are. The information on my blog has to be accurate or my followers would all turn against me.” Becca shuddered at the thought.
“Sounds vicious.” Tristan put his chin in his hand as he stared at Becca, admiring the way her green eyes flashed with passion when she spoke about blogging.
Becca shrugged. “That’s blogging.”
At that moment, the server arrived holding a tray with the tea, coffee and two plates of assorted chocolates. The waitress set the cup of tea down before Becca, and then the cup of coffee before Tristan. After that she set the plates of chocolate down before them. “Chocolatier Jaques sends his regards, Becca, and hopes you enjoy his latest creations.”
“Thank you, Sally.” Becca said.
Immediately, Tristan selected a chocolate to try. He popped the bonbon into his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed. “Mmm, sour…with a hint of lime…dark chocolate…the filling is incredible. What do you think, Becca?” Tristan looked up at Becca expectantly.
“Hold on just a sec. I have to get a picture first.” Becca whipped out her cell phone and was soon taking a picture of the plate of chocolates and writing comments about them.
Tristan frowned as he leaned over the table to see what she was writing about the chocolates. “Shouldn’t you try the chocolates first before commenting on them?”
“What? Huh? I’ve had the chocolates here before…they pretty much always taste the same.” Becca shrugged.
Tristan’s eyes narrowed at the blogger. “I see…but what if the chocolatier was trying to change his taste, and you miss the subtle changes and nuances of his creations.” Tristan chided in a stern voice. When it came to chocolate, Tristan Savant took things very seriously.
Becca’s thumbs stilled on her phone when she noticed that Tristan had sounded almost angry. And Tristan Savant did not get angry with women. She set her phone down on the table and gave him an apologetic look. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think that I’m not giving this my all. I just wanted to spend more time with you talking…so I was rushing through the work part.” She blushed at her admission.
Tristan looked relieved by her admittance instead of angry. Oh, so that’s how it was. “No, worries, I understand. I want to spend more time getting to know you too, Becca.” The chocolatier reached across the table and placed his hand on Becca’s.
Becca’s cheeks pinkened until they had a rosy glow.
“THE HELL?!” There was a sudden commotion at a nearby table.
Instantly curious, Tristan and Becca turned their attention towards the table, but the couple had menus raised in front of their faces before Tristan could get a good look at them. Tristan supposed the other couple probably had acted out of embarrassment due to their outburst, shrugged it off, and returned his attention to Becca.