Tempers & Kisses

“What’s up buttercup?” A familiar voice came from behind me, interrupting my thoughts about the competition that was about to start.

“Vivian Blake, meet your competitor Eli Greyson” Natalie, the stage manager’s words sliced through my already anxiously clouded mind as I heard his name. I turned from the hair and makeup station to face them.

“I looked at the lineup of competitors Eli wasn’t on it, if I had known you would be here I never would have come. “I huffed, feeling the calick near my bang spring free from the extra hold hairspray I had bathed it in.

I met Eli’s amused eyes as Natalie fumbled with her clipboard.

"Yes, well, Sebastian Reid had to resign after he had a kitchen accident this last weekend while cooking for a private bachelor party in L. A, so Eli is the replacement. Is that going to be a problem?” She asked hesitantly, looking stressed.

“No, it won’t be a problem, will it V”

“As long as you don’t call me V and stay out of my way, no it won’t be a problem,” I gritted out. The last time I had to hear his deep but arrogant voice was at graduation from culinary school.

“Right well, everyone, to their stations we are filming in 10”

"It's good to see you, V, I mean Vivian. Congratulations on your win in Vegas that dessert looked decadent”

“Wish I could say the same, and thank you it was my grandma’s recipe”

“Vivian, you can’t hold the graduation cookoff against me forever.“

“Eli, we aren’t in high school, I’m not mad about the cook-off anymore I’m more upset at how you treated the women you dated, my best friend included. Let’s just get to our stations, let the best chef win “I smiled, walking away from him to my cooking station.

I scanned the workstation as the countdown to filming began. I flattened my apron, frowning at my reflection in the mixing bowl I realized that my hair never got fixed after Eli’s surprise participation took me off guard. I pulled two wispy pieces from near my forehead to hide the wild piece of untamed hair as the buzzer rang through the studio loudly.

“Contestants from across the US are here to prove who’s the next great baker. This contest will give contestants only 4 hours to create, bake, frost, and serve a cake fit for winning. There are no requirements except that your cake must include chocolate. Bakers, your clock starts, now “Natalie’s voice rang through the studio. I knew exactly what to make as soon as she said chocolate and cake. Thinking back to the memories of baking with my mom in the kitchen. She taught me nearly everything I knew.I grabbed cake flour, carefully measuring 2 cups into my sifter. I twisted the handle, sifting the flour into the bowl. As it fell like snow. I saw the cameras move to Eli’s station. I glanced up, but regretted it as we made eye contact. He was still as attractive as he was in culinary school, if not more so. He grinned at me while breaking up chocolate and putting it into his double boiler. I smiled back, remembering the cameras, then went back to business.

Eli always made me agitated, and I was never really sure why. Part of it was his ego, the other was probably because he was a really talented chef and until he came around, I was the best in class. It didn’t take him long to earn that title for himself. Getting even the strictest of instructors to love him. He dug himself a deep hole of hatred in my mind when he broke my best friend’s heart before graduation. Then had the audacity to make the same dessert as me at the cookout then asked me out that same night.

Looking down at the cold butter in my bowl, I realized I had made a mistake and was letting myself get distracted. I set the cold butter aside and started measuring sugar. 1 1/4cup I mumbled to myself as I dropped it in the bowl, grabbing room-temperature butter what I needed the first time. I plopped it into the bowl. I watched as a camera got up close to me and my station while I broke chocolate, setting it into a double boiler to melt. Greasing my cake pans, I tapped flour along the edges then set them aside readying them for the cake batter that I was about to pour into them.

I watched as the butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs grew into a fluffy mixture of my bowl. I stirred my chocolate, carefully tempering it over the double boiler.

Folding the tempered chocolate into my batter. Glancing at the other contestants. Catching Eli’s swift movements, I noticed he was hand grinding his cocoa just like I had done earlier.

My interest in what he was making grew. I quickly pushed my thoughts away and pulled my baking pans to me. Batter fell into the pans in beautiful ribbons of chocolate.

Placing them in the oven. I looked at the clock. 3 hours left I cleaned my station quickly then started on my frosting. Time was moving fast. I almost let the cakes burn as I concentrated on my frosting. The first batch went into the trash. The stage lights were hot, the ingredients were too cold, causing the frosting to break. Making more work for me, I scrambled grabbing ingredients. I noted that one contestant was having a worse time than me and she sobbed over her half raw cake, knowing she had no time to re-bake a cake. She pulled herself together though and made a 20 minute texas sheet cake she was letting chill in the blast freezer so she could layer it and make it look as fancy as possible. Meanwhile, Eli looked like he was thriving. Cleaning his station as if he had all the time in the world. I looked down at my fluffy frosting and quickly placed it in the fridge. Grabbing my cold cake layers I began slicing each layer in half so when done I would have four layers. I began stuffing frosting between layers, added dowels for support than did a crumb coating. I took the last 20 minutes to clean up. Then used the last 10 minutes to put the last layer of frosting around the cake and added chocolate roses around the border. I wanted to add leaves, but didn’t have time as the final buzzer rang through the filming set.

“Competitors, it is time for judging please bring your creations to the judging podium” I was happy with my work. My heart hammered. I needed the prize money. It was essential to continue care for my parents and saving my bakery truck. As I set my cake on the table, I saw red as we sat identical cakes down. I followed the tattooed forearms up to meet Eli’s eyes.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I spat out looking at him, irate as the judges gasp.

"We are still filming Chef Vivian,” a judge said in a shock ridden voice.

“Yeah, well, explain how he did that then”

“I guess, great minds just think alike?” He shrugged innocently.

“There’s no way”

“Exactly, there is no way I would’ve known what you were making, so no reason to be upset. Still completely possible yours tastes better”

“That's not the point Eli!”

“What’s the point then?!”

The judges and other contestants were far more interested in our tiff than the cakes and creations in front of them.

“You’re infuriating, you know that is my great grandmother’s cake recipe. How did you make it!”

“Vivian, your grandmother, and my grandmother used to hang out all the time. I’m actually still surprised you didn’t remember me all those years ago. We used to play together every Sunday while they baked together. That recipe was originally my grandmother’s.” He finished calmly.

I frowned, thinking back to childhood summers. My grandmother had a friend she had come over and she did always bring her grandson and we played together for hours. Then one summer they stopped coming. I looked at Eli more carefully. Sure enough, he was that little boy. I recognized the light scar on his forearm, mostly hidden from a tattoo. Two summers before he stopped coming over he had broken his arm in the treehouse in our yard.

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry, maybe we can talk after the competition?” I offered, now embarrassed by my anger and outburst.

“I think that would be best, yes?” Natalie interjected.

“So are we going to edit all that out, can we let the judges finish this please?” Stacee, the competitor who had the catastrophe, asked.

“Yes, we edit that out, and absolutely,” Natalie said with excitement.

“Stacee, why don’t you go first, then we will judge the others. Eli and Vivian yours will be judged last ” a judge said in a light and feminine voice.

“I have created an espresso dark chocolate 9 layer loaf cake frosted with a caramel buttercream and topped with crushed pretzels and chocolate ganache”

The judges each had a slice in front of them, they turned their plates taking in all the aspects of the dessert. One judge tasted each component individually, then lastly together. Another took a bite, then a second. The third took an extremely small bite, then pushed it toward the end of the judging podium. Each judge gave their critique, then moved to the next person repeating their same judging behavior. Until finally they reached my cake and Eli’s.

“I’ve been a judge on this show for 5 years and I’ve never seen someone bake the same thing,” He said, slicing it

The woman judge interjected with a question. “Are you sure you both didn’t plan this?” She asked, accepting her place with two slices of chocolate cake on it. One mine and One Eli’s

“Absolutely not,” I said immediately

“I wouldn’t do that. The last thing I want is her to hate me more“ He laughed, nudging me with his elbow. I grimaced at his comment. I didn’t hate him, he just wasn’t always my favorite person.

“I don’t hate you,” I said quietly

“I know buttercup, I know” I looked at him and for the first time realized I wasn’t mad at Eli for being a good Chef or even being overly confident in times or charismatic. I didn’t like Eli and got mad because I LIKED him and didn’t want to.

I watched in what felt like slow motion as the judge’s fork sliced through my cake, then use a spoon to slice through Eli’s. The only difference between our two cakes being the toppings used on it.

The judges murmured amongst themselves. I believe in this case the best thing to do is announce a tie.

They will split the prize money. The next great bakers are Eli Greyson & Vivian Blake. Stacee, you are being offered a second chance at our next competition in L. A next year! Stacee squealed in excitement.

“As an extra prize for all 8 of you competitors generously given by Kitchenaid. You can each take home the mixer on your stations. Thank you for competing and next season we will do our best to vet our competitor’s a little differently. The judge finished glancing between myself and Eli.

I smiled $5,000.00 was still helpful in my life, even if I had to split it. I sighed, thinking of all the time I had spent being mad at or angry with Eli for my own feelings.

“Vivian, I want you to keep the prize money. You know, making the same thing was pure coincidence. I didn’t plan it at graduation either.” His deep voice came from behind me.

“Eli, you earned that. Keep it. I appreciate the offer though. I’m also sorry for how I’ve been toward you the last year of school and throughout our careers. I just really hate what happened with Abigail and everything”

“Vivian, did you even get the entire story with Abigail, or have you spent the last 5 years hating me for nothing?”

“What?!”

"I broke up with Abigail because she was cheating on me and I wanted to see someone else. I was in love and not with her. It wasn’t fair to either her or me to stay in that relationship and I’m truly sorry her relationship with Kris didn’t work out but that isn’t my fault”

“She cheated on you?!” shocked I continued “She told me you just came home and left her for someone else.”

“Yeah that is not how it happened”

“I’m sorry”

“Apology accepted, but prove it. Have dinner with me. Give me the chance I never got back then,” Eli said boldly

“What?”

“You heard me. Me and You, dinner, tonight at 8 I’ll pick you up at your hotel.”

“Eli I don’t know if that’s that best idea”

“Do you have any idea how cute you are when you’re mad?”

“Excuse you?” I said, glancing up at him as I gathered my belongings and unplugged the mixer from my station.

“You heard me beautfiul, you’re crazy cute when that temper of yours gets the best of you,” He chuckled

His laugh sent tingles down my spine and forget butterflies. I was feeling a whole damn zoo in my stomach.

“Dinner sounds good, but I am not cute when I’m mad,” I said firmly.

“Yes, you are.” He said stepping toward me grabbing my hand and bring it to his shoulder setting it there.

“Makes me want to just grab you and kiss you every time I see it spike through. Your cheeks turn red , your forehead furrows and you get the cutest angry voice I’ve ever heard”

“Ok Eli now you’re just annoying me again” I said rolling my eyes

“It’s what I do best isn’t it” He playfully poked back

“Most of the time , yes.”

“You know what else I I’m good at?”

“What ?”

“Helping beautiful women get chocolate off their face” He laughed, reaching a finger toward my chin just below my lips.

I felt his thumb brush across my chin near my lips, wiping what I assumed was chocolate away before he sucked it off his thumb.

“Was that there the entire time!” I exclaimed, thinking about watching the competition later with chocolate splashed on my face.

“Nah, just the last 10 minutes of the competition” He grinned. He swept the wispy strands of hair off my face, cupping my cheek into his hand.

“I still want dinner with you but this - He leaned in placing a firm yet sensual kiss on my lips, sending fiery tingles throughout my whole body I kissed him back. Tasting hints of chocolate as his cologne surrounded me.

"Mmm" He groaned. “Yes, that kiss was absolutely 6 years overdo.”

I smiled as the studio lights flicked off they must've thought everyone had left by now. Grabbing my mixer, I waited as Eli gathered his things and we left together. That kiss tampered with our dinner plans. Instead of going out that night, dinner turned into us with room service in our now joint hotel room. We found out later in the year that our episode on The Next Great Baker was never edited everything was in the episode, including our off-camera first kiss that somehow was capture allowing them to include it at the end. The studio didn’t stop there, though. They even named the episode Temper’s & Kisses which couldn’t have been more appropriate and the perfect ending to a newly formed perfectly imperfect couple.