Chiron
My cheeks are sore from the wide smile stretching my face, giddy that he’s happy to see me. He was looking for me. Maybe this feeling is more mutual than I first thought? Butterflies flutter wildly in my stomach at the thought. After all the disappointment and unanswered questions in the last two weeks, I’m a bit overwhelmed now that he’s actually here in front of me. We’re just looking at each other, smiling like idiots, when someone clears their throat from behind Leo. He’s still leaning on the countertop, his wide frame blocking the way of any potential customers. I jump a little in surprise at the sound, peering around Leo to the customer behind. But I relax when it’s just one of my regulars.
“Hey Derek, the usual?” I ask him, already turning to start on his vanilla chai latte.
“Yep. You know me, a creature of habit, I am. What’s the cake today?” He presses his nose up against the glass of the display case, squinting at the placards in front of the cakes. I tsk at him, waving my hand to shoo him away.
“Hey! Don’t smudge the glass man! I’ll tell you if you can’t see.” I playfully roll my eyes at his silliness. “Today I’ve got lemon drizzle cake and vegan caramel pecan cheesecake. There’s also vegan dark chocolate chunk cookies and apple danishes. Oh, and almond biscotti left over from yesterday. You want something with your chai?” He hums and haws over the decision, heatedly debating with himself. I tap my fingers on my leg with impatience, trying not to audibly sigh. I really like Derek, he’s a nice guy, but is it really too much to ask for him to just order and go? Just this once? Leo has stepped back a bit to give Derek space to order. He’s standing behind him, holding back a laugh with a hand pressed over his mouth, his eyes swimming with mirth. Then, he gives a big exaggerated eye roll and waves his hand at Derek’s back in a ‘come on, come on’ gesture, which makes me snort trying to hold back my own laugh.
Derek looks up at me, concerned. “You okay Chi?”
I beat my chest a couple of times, faking clearing my throat. “Yeah, definitely, just swallowed wrong.” I throw Leo a stern look to stop him from goofing off, but he just gives me a shit eating grin with no remorse whatsoever. Effecting the sweetest voice I can muster, I ask him, “Leo, do you want anything while Derek is making his decision? Let me guess,” I bring my hand up to rub my chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “A vanilla caramel iced coffee, almond milk, vegan double whipped cream with chocolate shavings and a cookie?” I raise my eyebrow at him and smirk. Derek pops his head up excitedly from looking at the display case.
“Ooooh, that actually sounds really good! Can I have that instead of my usual?” I stare at Derek in incredulity, my teasing backfiring in my face, as Leo bursts into laughter behind him. Leo might have won this round, but I don’t care. I’m too busy basking in his deep, rumbly, laughter as it washes over me like thunder on a hot night. Derek looks back and forth between us, confusion and a bit of worry on his face.
“Is that okay? I won’t have it if you weren’t serious Chi.”
“No, no it’s okay Derek, I was just teasing Leo and you got caught in the crossfire. I don’t mind making that for you. Are you sure you don’t want the chai?” I point at the mug of chai latte I already prepared. He furrows his brows, looking at the cup, and biting his lip with indecision.
“Oh shoot, you already made it. You’re so fast, man. Ya know what, I’ll take the chai today and I’ll try the iced coffee when I come in tomorrow. I’ll have one of the cookies as well though.”
I nod my head at him and double check, “You’re sure? I don’t mind to make the coffee, it was my own fault for making you the latte before you had finished deciding.” He shakes his head at me, waving his hand.
“Nah, it’s okay. Thanks Chi.”
I hand over the chai and a cookie and take his payment. He gives me a grateful smile as he walks away to occupy his usual table. Leo scoots back up to the counter as soon as Derek steps away, still grinning ear to ear. He takes my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles and making my heartbeat quicken.
“Nice as that drink sounded, I don’t usually bother with all that extra faff, ya know? I like plain ol’ black coffee, or an Americano if ya wanna be fancy. All those treats sure do sound good though, I’d take any of them.” I can’t help but grin. Yes! I knew it! I pull away from his grip and start making him an Americano.
Looking back at him from over my shoulder I gloat, “I thought as much. I had you pegged as a plain coffee drinker and I’m usually right about these things. Have you ever tried almond biscotti?” He shakes his head.
“Can’t say I have. What is it?” I finish up his coffee and set it on the counter, pull down the big glass jar full of biscotti and fish one out for him, setting it on the saucer.
“I think you’ll like them, they go well with Americanos. It’s an Italian cookie. They’re dry and crunchy and you dunk them into the coffee to soften them up. Why don’t you give it a try?” He picks up the biscotti and dunks it into the coffee, holding it there for a couple of seconds, then brings it to his mouth and bites into it. His eyebrows lift, his expression changing from wariness to delight. He takes a sip of coffee to wash it down, humming in appreciation.
“You’re right, I really like that. Good suggestion Angel.” I blush at his compliment, biting back a smile and shuffling my feet.
“Thanks. You can sit and enjoy it while you wait for Ky, you don’t have to stand here with me. I think she might have gotten waylaid by my Mom. Or possibly lost in the shop. There’s lots of little nooks and crannies full of weird stuff.”
He crinkles his eyebrows together and does a little frowny pout. “But, I wanna stay here and talk to you. We got interrupted last time. I want to know everythin’ about ya. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again and I don’t wanna mess it up this go round.” A zing of happiness shoots through me at his words. Dropping my head to hide my face, I bite the inside of my cheek to stop my smile from growing too wide.
I keep my hands busy picking at the polish on my nails so that I won’t break into a happy dance like Ky and mumble out a reply, “Oh, um, okay. You can stay up here if you don’t mind moving when a customer comes up.” I glance back up to his face and see that his pout has changed to a smile now that I’ve told him he doesn’t have to move. “We should probably get to know each other better if you guys are going to be living upstairs anyway.” At this he nods his head excitedly. Just then his phone starts beeping from his pocket. He groans and pulls it out, looks down at it, and swipes away the alarm. The screen is badly cracked, with lines spider webbing across the entire surface. Doing my best to sound nonchalant and not incredibly disappointed, I ask, “Something important? I don’t want to keep you if you need to go.”
His head snaps up, his gaze direct. “Trust me, I’d stay with ya all day if I could Angel, but it is important. Ky has a doctor’s appointment. Can I get your number? I wanna see you again soon. Whatcha doin’ tomorrow?” Looking down at my feet again to hide my growing blush, I fiddle with my fingers, afraid he may be disappointed that I’m busy a lot of the time.
“Well, I’m working again tomorrow. The cafe is open Monday through Saturday and I’m the only employee, so I have to be here.” I shrug. “But, I can give you my number.” I hold out my hand for his phone so that I can input my number.
He opens up a new contact and hands it to me, the name already filled in with ‘Angel.’ I insert the rest of my details; cell number, the cafe name and number in the company field, and my full name in the nickname field, just in case. His new contact form has an option to add a photo, so I tap it to take a selfie, lifting the phone up at arm's length. I look up to the camera, pulling an exaggerated wink and smoochy face, pushing my lips out to make them extra big and silly looking. I press save and hand Leo his phone back. “I’ll have to retake that picture when I’m not in my work clothes and a bandana, but it’ll do for now so you don’t forget who I am.” He slides his phone back into his pocket, shooting me a sly grin.
“I’d never forget you Angel, not in a million years. You’re stuck with me forever I’m afraid.” He slurps the end of his coffee and pops the last bit of the biscotti into his mouth, chewing quickly. “I gotta go find Ky, but I’ll see ya tomorrow.” He grabs my hand, brings it to his lips and smacks a kiss onto my knuckles. He backs towards the double shop doors, lingering a bit longer. When he reaches them, he lifts his hand in a small wave and says, “Bye Angel.” Disappearing into the shop a moment later.
Comments (19)
See all