Flour.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m not going to help you bring everything back?” Candace asked, frown on her face. Sutton shook her head.

“Dude, it’s fine.” She promised. “You’d be useless anyways. You’re tipsy. You helped me clean-up, which is more than enough. Now, go Leo is waiting outside for you. If you’re going to have sex, please do it before I get home. I’d like to get some sleep tonight.” Candace smirked, cheeks turning pink. “But just so you know, I don’t approve of using your longtime boyfriend as a booty call. Just get back together already. This is not healthy.”

“I’m going to tell him I flirted with Harry Styles all night, to make him jealous.” Candace joked, slipped her leather jacket over her shoulders. “Just kidding, if anyone did that, it was you. I saw the way you kept looking over at him all night. And I’ll see you when I get home. I love you. Be safe. Don’t stay at Flour too long!” Candace leaned over and kissed the top of her best friends head before leaving the venue. Sutton retreated her transportation cupcake boxes from the back kitchen of the venue, and started to pack up what was left of the cupcakes. She grabbed the attention of a one of the workers and asked if they knew where any small boxes were, and they steered her in the right direction. She carefully packaged four cupcakes into a box and grabbed a sheet of paper and a marker to write a note.

To Steve: thank you for your sweet words! Dessert is always on the house at Flour for you.
xx Sutton Mitchel, Flour Bakery

“Sutton! The cupcakes were fantastic; they were such a hit.” Anna, Harry Styles’ personal assistant gushed as Sutton smiled. “The press and the guests were all raving about them. So glad everything worked out. I am definitely going to book you for my next event!”

“Thanks for the opportunity Anna. It truly meant the world to me and Candace. I’m glad you liked the cupcakes. Please take some home with you!”

“Oh that’s so sweet, tomorrow I’m starting a vegan, plant based and gluten free diet and cleanse so I better not.” Anna explained and Sutton tried to keep a straight face and nod understandingly. “Harry adored them though. You’re going to have great write up in the magazines! The photographers got such good pictures of the displays and Harry talking to you all. You’re going to see a lot of traffic in the next couple of weeks.”

“Thank you again, Anna. This was great. We met so many nice people.” Anna nodded and said her goodbyes, before rushing off to deal with the crew taking down decorations, shouting about how they need to be careful not to break any of them. Sutton stacked up her bins after making sure she packed up everything, and turned in search of her bag. When she turned around, she was met with a tired looking Harry Styles with a crooked smile on his lips.

“Mr. Hot Shot Rock Star,” She greeted with a smirk. “Isn’t this the point in the evening in which you destroy a hotel room and sleep with an obscene number of women? Or men, whatever’s cool.” She teased and he laughed, running his fingers through his hair before tucking his hand into his front pocket.

“I think I’m going to hold off on that, maybe that’ll happen when I get to play and sell out Madison Square Garden on my own.”

“I have a feeling that dream isn’t too far off.” She said, reaching for her leather jacket from the nearby chair. Harry’s hands reached out and grabbed it first, holding it open and gesturing for her to turn around. She let out a laugh and rolled her eyes, turning around and slipping her arms into the jacket, feeling his hands linger at her shoulder before she turned to be face to face once again. “You are an extremely charming man, Mr. Styles. It’s very dangerous.” A smirk rose to his lips as he tried to shrug off her accusation.

“I actually found you with hopes of stealing Steve a cupcake, he is quite the fan of yours. He has a serious sweet tooth.” Harry explained and Sutton nodded with a grin, reaching for the box on the table behind her.

“I’m already a step ahead of you,” She passed the box over to him and he sent her a smile, impressed by her genuine kindness. Sutton could easily imagine that smile all over magazine stands in a few weeks, when his album tops the charts. “I quite like Steve, he’s a kind guy. He had such nice things to say about my baking. I love a man who will boost my ego and praise my baking.” She joked and Harry nodded with a laugh.

“He’s the very best.” He took the box out of her hands. “Are you heading home?” He asked, looking at her packed up boxes.

“Back to the bakery, actually.” She corrected and he nodded.

“Let me help you carry this stuff to your car.” He offered.

“It’s fine, don’t worry Harry. It’s dark out, I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything with one of your many handlers.” She half joked, not imagining the kind of restrictions that were in place for someone of his fame. There were young girls lingering outside of the party the entire evening, hoping for a miracle to be let in or have Harry casually stroll by.

“It’s dark, you shouldn’t be going out alone.” He countered, reaching for one of the boxes as she sighed with a weary look. “I’ll have Steve accompany us.” He said and she agreed with a nod. He looked around and caught Steve’s gaze and sent him a nod, soon Steve was standing with them, thanking Sutton for her cupcakes. The three went out to Sutton’s delivery van, a white van with her logo printed across the sides, very simple, just like the interior design of Flour.

“Thank you for your help,” Sutton said, turning to face Harry and Steve after she shut the back doors to her van.

He shrugged, hands in his front pockets. “I’d love to see a tour of your kitchen one day, where all this magic happens.” He said causing her to let out a laugh. “I’m sure Steve wouldn’t mind following us over to take me home afterwards, if you’re up for a private tour.” He said, raising an eyebrow. “Afterwards, I’d like to buy you a drink. To say thank you.” Sutton chewed on her lip as she contemplated it, while it was undeniable how attractive Harry was, she was fearful of the imminent outcome of spending more time with him. His charming personality was intoxicating, and once she realized he wasn’t as strange as he seemed in her bakery last night, she immediately recognized the appeal of his and why he was one of the more popular members of his boy band (a fact Candace shared with her this morning). She tried to imagine what Candace would advisor her to do in this situation, which most likely would consist of her encouraging Sutton to request to sleep with him, right then and there. Sutton let out a sigh before nodding, watching as the smirk made its way back onto his lips.

“Get in, Rock Star.” She said, moving around to the driver’s side of the van and getting into the car. “If I didn’t know any better, I might think you were trying to come home with me.” Sutton teased with an arched brow as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of her bakery. When glancing in the rear view mirror, she could see Steve following behind in a black Land Rover.

“No, I’m just trying to get free deserts. My intentions are pure, only in search of another delicious éclair.” He said with a smug smirk. He looking around the car, finding a pile of CDs sitting in the side panel, he pulled them out to look through. “This a strange collection.” He commented, flipping through CDs to see Black Flag, Emmylou Harris, No Doubt, Fleetwood Mac and My Bloody Valentine. “Is this Lil Yatchy? The rapper?” Sutton just shrugged in response.

“I value having a vast and inclusive taste in music, car rides can be long and I often forget the AUX cable.” Was her only explanation before pulling to the parking lot behind her building. She turned off the car and got her keys out, going to unlock the back door of the bakery before getting the boxes out of the van. Harry and Steve helped to carry them inside, in order to reduce the amount of time in which they had to be out in the dark, and leave the car and bakery doors unlocked. After bringing them in, Steve went back out to the Land Rover to enjoy one of his cupcakes.

“This is fancy.” Harry commented, as he walked around the perimeter of her kitchen. His fingers brushed against the marble counter tops and the large stand mixers. There were multiple ovens and huge cooling racks. “I worked in a bakery a long time ago, before the whole music thing. Was quite small in comparison to this one.” He said, circling back around to where Sutton stood. “Go on, give me the full tour, I can tell you want.” She rolled her eyes but nodded, beginning the lap with a giddy smile. Flour was her livelihood, she spent more time here than her actual home.

“Well, that’s my office back there. It’s kind of small.” She said with a shrug, pointing to the room in the corner. Harry stepped inside, looking at the pictures were pinned to a corkboard, and the stack of cookbooks that lined a shelf. “I usually only answer emails and stuff back here, or eat dinner when I’m here really late. Like last night. I nap in that chair sometimes.” She said with a light laugh.

“Are these your parents? Who meet at the Stones show?” Harry asked, in reference to a photograph of Sutton and her parents standing on either side of her, in front of the bakery. Sutton had a huge smile on her face, her happiness clear in her eyes. Other pictures on the wall contained pictures of Sutton and Candace, various cakes, a few magazine and newspaper articles about the bakery, and a few others of Sutton and friends.

“Yup, that’s them. That’s a picture from when they flew out here for opening weekend they were so excited.” She said with a fond smile. “They love the Stones so much; my middle name is Angie. And my brother’s name is Keith. They are a little crazy.” She said with a laugh.

“Is this your brother Keith?” He asked, in reference to a picture of Sutton and a man with dark features. She shook her head and scoffed.

“No. Keith is that guy.” She said, gesturing to a photograph of a man with blond hair like Sutton’s and holding a cake in his hands that read “Happy birthday Asshole!” in red frosting. “That guy is Leo. He’s a popular Italian chef here in New York. He has the best restaurant in town, I swear. I’ve been friends with him since I first moved to New York.” Noticing a different look on Harry’s face, she arched an eyebrow. “He’s Candace’s boyfriend.” She clarified as the look washed away. She turned and walked out of her office, waiting for Harry to catch up as she started to move around the spacious kitchen.

“So, there’s four ovens. Two huge mixers. That metal counter over there is for decorating, that why there’s a shelf full of sprinkles and edible flowers. The marble counter top is good for making dough and stuff because it stays cool and the dough won’t stick as easily. It’s not near the ovens, because the heat would cause the marble too warm.” She would occasionally stop in front of certain things and go into more depth. Sometimes during these stops Harry’s hand would rest on the small of her back or on her hip. Every time she glanced at him, he was listening intently to everything she said. “This is the walk in fridge. Keep all the important stuff.” She explained opening the door and peaking her head in to the large closet sized refrigerator, filled with eggs, milk and various other supplies. “Next to it is the freezer, where I keep the ice cream and stuff we make. And beside that is a blast chiller, which is really cool and helps to cool things down when in a hurry.” Her words started to trail off when she started to feel his breath on the back of her neck and one of his hands grazing down her arm, the cool metal of his rings causing goosebumps to rise. her breathing hiked causing her to have to step away from him in an attempt to create distance. Everywhere his fingers casually grazed left tingling feelings. It was dangerous. Sutton moved to the front of the shop, trying to stay collected. Never ever had she been alone, with someone as attractive or charming as Harry. Yet, she was concerned. It was likely she would never see him again, but in theory he did just pay her for her catering, and sleeping with her boss was never the type of scenario Sutton was into.

“You’ve see the front of here before, but uh,” She stuttered, trying to refocus her thoughts. “This is the back side. Where I keep the to-go boxes, plates, cups and stuff. That’s the register and the shelf with cook books.” When she turned around they were face to face, with what felt like centimeters between them and keeping them from touching. “Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Water maybe?” She asked, a small smirk turned up on the corners of his lips, noticing how flustered she was getting.

“Have anything stronger than coffee?” He asked and she nodded slowly, side stepping and walking into her office located in the back of the bakery, Harry trailed behind stopping in the kitchen leaning against a counter, waiting for Sutton to return. She walked back out, smile on her lips and a bottle of red wine and two glasses in her hands.

“Candace’s boyfriend brought this back the last time he was in France.” She said, Harry reached for the bottle opener before she could, and took the bottle from her hands. “It’s really good. I drank it all the time when I was living there.” She watched intensely as his muscles flexed as he pulled the cork out of the bottle and poured the wine into the glasses.

“When did you live in France?” Harry asked, handing her one of the glasses.

“For pastry school, I studied in France for about two years. Then I spent a year after I graduated being a pastry chef in a few different restaurants and bakeries before moving to New York.” She explained and he smiled, clinking their glasses together before they both took a sip.
“What made you want to release a solo album instead of doing the boy band thing for a little while longer? Did you get too old for the thirteen-year-old girls?” Sutton asked, leaning her hip up against the countertop. Harry laughed a little and took a sip of his wine.

“You went straight to a personal question, huh.” She just shrugged, waiting for his response. “I love music, obviously. I wanted to make something that felt genuine and personal, sing stuff that I wrote, rather than stuff that somebody wrote for me, I guess.” He shrugged. “Back to you, what made you want to open a bakery?”

“I’ve been doing it since I was like, 9 years old?” She said, pausing for a sip. “And I love baking, but I didn’t love working at places where there were creative restraints. I wanted to make whatever I wanted. If I want to make chocolate cake today, I can. If I wanted to make nothing but cream puffs, I can.” She explained simply and Harry smiled, both of them realizing the shared need for creative freedom, just in two different aspects. “I would never have been able to do it without Candace though. She’s a genius with numbers and branding. I’d be bankrupt and my doors would be shut without her. She organized so many interviews and photo ops that have really helped us out. I absolutely hate them, but I can’t complain because they were essential to helping us find success early on. That, and stuff like Instagram.” Harry nodded in agreement.

“I feel the same way, I don’t love the interviews and press stuff, but it’s necessary I guess.” She nodded and lifted her glass.

“Cheers, to selling out to the man!” She joked, both clicking glasses again before finishing off their glasses. “Honestly, Harry Styles.” She began as he refilled their glasses. “Did you come here with the intention of sleep with me?” She questioned, and he raised an eyebrow at her bluntness.

“No, Sutton Mitchel.” He began, lifting the glass to his lips. “I came here with the intention of getting to know you as more than just the cupcake girl.” He took a sip and smirked. “If I end up sleeping with you, I’d say that’s an added bonus.” He smirked as Sutton pretended to gag and roll her eyes.

“You know, when you walked into here last night, I had no idea who you were. I just figured you were some Brooklyn hipster or something. When you walked into you own party, I told Candace that you were here last night, and she freaked out and told me it was in fact you, the Harry Styles, and I was very confused because I thought you were such a weirdo.” Sutton explained and a small smile formed on his lips. “I also thought Steve was your sugar daddy or something. It seemed odd to me that you have a middle aged adult friend who was well dressed following you around. Clearly, the only logical answer was he would be your sugar daddy.” Sutton said, breaking her straight face with a giggle and Harry let out a loud laugh.

“For some reason, that makes you even more attractive to me than before.” He said, and Sutton raised an eyebrow as he smirked. “Tell me about your family, how your parents met at the Stones show.”

With a smile, she did. Talking to Harry was easy, he listened and shared just as much. It probably helped their glasses rarely got close to being empty. She liked the way Harry was always so engaged in conversation. It was part of the reason she found him so goddamn charming. When there was a lull in conversation, Harry stared down at her thoughtfully, eyes darting between her eyes and lips. With a deep breath, Sutton closed the gap between the two, Harry’s hands finding her hips immediately. His gripped tightened as he pulled her in closer to his chest, her fingers resting on the back of his neck. He parted for a second to look at her. “Are you alright with this?” He asked, and she nodded, reconnecting their lips. The voice inside Sutton’s head said to stop, random one-night stand with an extremely famous pop star would not end well for her. But the other part of her brain, was too caught up in the moment to pull herself away. Harry shifted, so her back was pressed up against the cool metal counter, smirking when she shivered, lighting biting at her bottom lip. He took the light gasp that left her lips as an invitation, and lifted her up and sat on her the counter. She wrapped her legs around him tightly, brining him closer as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“We should go… somewhere else.” She whispered breathlessly, when Harry’s lips moved from hers to trailing down her jaw and neck. He nodded and she slid off the counter, reaching for her jacket, slipping it on quick. She grabbed her bag and keys, following Harry out through the back door. She tried to lock the door, with Harry’s arms around her waist and his mouth moving against her neck. “Harry, cut it out for a sec.” She said with a giggle, as she tried to lock the door. When she finally managed to lock it and make sure it was tight, she turned around and faced him, he pushed her back against the door and kissed her long and hard. When he pulled away with a smirk, Sutton was breathless. He grabbed her hand and lead her into the back seat of the Land Rover.

“Back to the hotel please, Steve.” He smirked, resting his hand on her thigh. Sutton looked over at him as she bit down on her bottom lip. So damn charming.