Holy crap, there's a new business in town.

[callmeemily]

Nevermind that it looked pretty run-down. Nevermind that there was a thick layer of dust on everything, that there was peeling wallpaper, that the floors had peeling linoleum.

This.... this was going to be home. Raleigh knew it the moment she and Joel had walked inside; the run-down storefront had been a cupcake shop three years ago before it'd gone bust, and it already had some of the requisite items for a bakery - luckily, a lot of the most expensive ones like a walk-in fridge. It just hadn't had a tenant since 2011, but Raleigh'd managed to cut a deal with the landlord; she'd fix it up, no rent was due until they opened, and she'd have a discounted rate for a year.

It was more than she could have hoped for, although that meant that her days would be full of dust and elbow grease for a while. The doors and windows were wide open, country music pouring out onto the street as Raleigh - in a tanktop, cut-offs, work gloves, and sneakers - perched on top of a tall ladder. She was stripping off wallpaper in big swathes, letting it fall on the floor - not caring that she was a sight, with dirt smearing her bare legs and arms. It felt hot as hell in the tiny store, but that probably had a lot to do with what she was doing.

She's singing to herself as she pulls free more paper, but her glove catches on a nail and she frowns. "Hey!" She leans down a little as she sees somebody passing by, even though from how high she is, she can't see who it is. "Can you pass me that hammer?" It's on the floor, and she doesn't want to have to get down if she doesn't have to.

Comments

[satore]

Shrugging out of his jacket, Tonio cursed the American weather before tugging his zia's present for studying so hard closer to his chest. He was still struggling to juggle work and study but at least he didn't have his younger cousins pulling on his curls when he worked out of the house. And apparently studying so diligently despite all of that meant he was getting rewarded with pastries, honestly he thought his zia was just trying to fatten him up.

Hearing a voice call out from inside one of the new opening venues, Tonio poked his head in and smiled. Now, there was a sight for sore eyes. Letting his gaze travel up long, beautiful legs Tonio went to help Raleigh.

Placing his portfolio up against a counter, he deposited the flash of coffee and pastries on top of it before wandering over to pick up the requested hammer. Placing his hand on the ladder, he held up the hammer for her to take.

"Sure thing bella." Tonio finally said with a beaming, warm smile just for her.

[callmeemily]

Raleigh rolls her eyes as she leans down and snags the hammer, and takes care of the nail, pounding it back in with a satisfying whack. "I have a name, Tonio." She looks down at him with raised brows, and she leans forward, her calves pressing against the top of the ladder for leverage as she grabs the top corner of already peeling wallpaper, and with a long rip it finally comes down in a wilted mess on the floor.

Moving back down the ladder Raleigh actually stops when she's at the same height as he is, leaning against the ladder, her lips curving into a smile. "Your food's going to get a hell of a lot of dust in it, if you leave it there." She doesn't know if he realises just how much he flirts with her, but at the very least, he's nice - and that's worth a hell of a lot.

[satore]

"Ah but how often do I get to call you beautiful? I could call you by your name any time," Tonio replied, steadying the ladder as she pulled a long streak of paper off the wall. Watching her legs as she came down the ladder, he looked up at her a little guiltily before smiling when she stopped at the same height as him. "I heard a damsel in DIY distress, I came to assist although now I am here maybe they won't get so dusty if you help me eat them. A gift for my hard work from my zia. Pastries."

[callmeemily]

"Every time you talk to me?" She shakes her head with a laugh, but the laugh dies when she realises that he's looking at her legs, and she misunderstands. She misunderstands, her brows furrowed as he looks guilty, and then smiles. "You could just ask, y'know." She says it quietly, her brows furrowed together.

She's got a mass of scar tissue wrapped around the front of her right calf, one huge, horrible scar flanked by many straight, simple ones from the surgeries she's had. He says she's a damsel in distress - DIY or no, and her brows shoot up even higher. Distress is something she's not in, she just hadn't wanted to climb down the ladder and back up just for a hammer. Still, she perks up when he says he's got pastries. "What kind of pastries?" She's always interested; especially because she doesn't know most Italian pastries from a hole in the ground.

She scrubs off her hands with one, then another wet-wipe, the first one discarded once it's black.

[satore]

"Yes, everytime I talk to you but talking to you is not as often as I would like... bella." Tonio teased with a smile. He looked at her confused then blushed, just a little, when he realised he'd been caught. "I didn't think Americans were as liberal as that. So, I only have to ask if I want to look at your beautiful legs then?"

Tonio beamed at her when she asked the question about pastries before he peeled back the waxed paper bag. "Ah let's see cannoli, sfogliatelle, bocconotto, pevarani, biscotti. I'm such a good boy, I think she wants to fatten me up though."