After pouring the last of the froth into the to-go coffee cup, the young barista with a pixie-cut sealed the heat of the coffee in with a lid and passed it to the elderly customer. She smiled, turning to the next customer, the only one left in the cafe after the elderly man left. “Good afternoon. What can I get for you?”, she asked.

The customer was a number of years older than herself. He was formal in dress, wearing a navy blue business suit, yet, with scruffy hair and stubble. He had this look going for him, titled “Bad Boy Becomes An Accountant”. The man’s emerald eyes penetrated hers as he opened his mouth to speak, his voice as smooth as velvet, “Can I be the cream to your coffee?”

The barista was shocked. She couldn’t deny how good looking he was, but that was rather forward for this early in the morning. It wasn't even lunchtime yet. “Uh, sir, I… I don’t drink coffee.” It was the best she could come up with. “What would you like? Uh, what can I get for you?”

He stepped forward, leaning his hands on the counter. “I’ll have a latte to go. Hold the sugar, please, you’re sweet enough for the both of us.”

She blinked, unsure of how to take that.

"Th-Thank you," she spluttered out, trying to hide any blushes that were creeping onto her cheeks. Not knowing what else she could say to him, she decided to just go make the latte he wanted without saying another word. She walked over to the coffee machine and released enough of the grounded coffee to fill the portafilter, making sure to tamper it before sliding it into the machine. With the milk in the jug and a cup under the portafilter, she pressed the two shots button for the coffee and frothed the milk. 

She waited for the milk to heat up the palm of her hand, where she balanced the jug, while rhythmically drumming her fingers on the counter. It was something she always did when she was nervous, and the stares from this man definitely made her that, which was hard to ignore. She didn’t even know why she was nervous in the first place, it wasn’t the first time a customer was, well, flirting with her. It was just something about is confidence and being alone with him in the cafe that gave her an uncomfortable feeling.

Finally, the milk was finished and she could pour it into the cup. Putting the lid on it, she handed it to the man and told him, "That’s 4 doll-" 

Before she could finish her sentence the man had already put a 20 dollar bill in her hands and he said with a smug smile, "Keep the change." 

No sooner than a second later, was he walking in the direction of the door with the cup in his hand. At that moment a new customer entered, not that she exactly saw them, as she was too busy watching the man walk away. She blinked, looking at the note he had given her. It took her a few minutes before realising that he had not only tipped her 16 dollars, there was also a little bit of paper folded within the 20 dollar bill. It had a phone number and a cheesy message on it;

"I like my women like I like my coffee, HOT! So give me a call, that way I can have a taste of how sweet you really are."

Looking down at the note that she had just received from the probably pestilential man, who seemed like a walking STI, she felt sickened. 

Suddenly her eyes were covered, leaving her unable to dispose of the note, nor put the bill away. They were fingers that masked her vision, a woman’s fingers, and she knew exactly who it was by the honey-like voice in her ear. “Hope you’re not going to use that number, 'cause when it’s your break, I’m going to show you what you missed out on early this morning.”

The voice's fingers dropped onto the barista's shoulders as she spun around. She was face to face with the honey-voiced Daphne, the Goddess herself. "When is your break, Viv?", Daphne added, her dark, coily hair bouncing in the breeze of the Air Conditioner.

That question immediately made the barista, Viviana, aware of where they were and she stopped grinning like a fool, looking around the empty cafe. "I'm working," Viviana hesitated. "You're not supposed to be behind here." 

"No one's here," Daphne sighed. She unwrapped her arms from Viviana's neck and stepped back. "Happy?" Viv nodded, feeling a little embarrassed about telling off her girlf- well, hopefully, soon-to-be girlfriend. "So what are you going to do about that number?"

As if remembering she was still holding the note and bill, Viv looked down at her hand as it scrunched the note into a ball. "Trash it," she answered, hoping that this would show Daphne that she wasn't looking to seduce anyone else. 

Daphne shook her head. "No, don't do that." Viviana's heart sank at those words, as this meant they weren't going to be serious. Despite Viv's sunken shoulders, Daphne hadn't noticed and continued, "I have a much better idea for what we can do with it." She held out her hand, palm up.

"What's that?" She dropped the note into Daphne's open palm, making sure to hold onto the 20. 

"Just a bit of fun." She winked, straightening out the note casually and reading it. "Geez, did he really think this would work on you? If someone is going to hit on my girlfriend, they better use better lines than this."

"Yeah..." Viv found herself nodding along in agreement until it clicked. The word girlfriend. Did Daphne just call her girlfriend? Were they in a relationship? Was this a serious thing and she hadn't known? Viv hoped so, she'd been hoping so for a few days now but how are you supposed to bring something like that up in conversation. Apparently rather easily she realised, after all, Daphne had just done that. "I'm your girlfriend?"

"Hm, well, aren't you?"

YES, Viv wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Though she refrained and instead, answered calmly, "Yeah, we probably are."

"Good. So how about you use his little tip there to make us both a coffee so that I can get onto writing him a little text." Daphne smirked, as she got out her phone from the back of her tight jeans and turned to find a seat. 

Viviana blushed, looking quickly down at the bill to hide her face. "In 10... I will in 10, Natalie should be back by then so that I can take my break." Daphne didn't respond and so Viviana added three coffees to the till and dropped the change to the tip jar. Staring out of the front windows, she couldn't stop grinning and thinking. I have a girlfriend now, Daphne is my girlfriend. I have a gorgeous woman who not only wants to be with me but stand up for me too. What if this leads to love? No, not yet, it's too soon to think about that. But I do have someone. Someone who wants to be exclusive... Wait. Is this exclusive?!