Chiron

I’m positively giddy that he’s happy to see me. My cheeks are sore from the wide smile stretching across my face. He was looking for me. Maybe the feelings are more mutual than I thought? Butterflies flutter wildly in my stomach at the thought. After all the disappointment and unanswered questions in the last two weeks, I’m overwhelmed now that he’s here in front of me.

We’re just looking at each other, smiling like idiots, when someone clears their throat. I startle at the sound, a blush igniting my cheeks for ignoring my surroundings, and peek around Leo’s wide frame, which is blocking the way of any potential customers. I relax when it’s just one of my regulars, grateful I didn’t make another person irritated at me.

“Hey Derek, the usual?” I ask, already turning to start on his vanilla chai latte.

“Yep. You know me, a creature of habit. 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 playfully swat him away. “I’ve got lemon drizzle cake and vegan caramel pecan cheesecake. There are also vegan dark chocolate chunk cookies and apple danishes. Oh, and almond biscotti left from yesterday. You want something with your chai?”

He debates with himself, humming and hawing over the decision. I tap my fingers on my leg with impatience, trying not to audibly sigh. I like Derek. He’s a nice guy, but is it asking too much to just order and go? Just this once?

Leo is standing behind him, having stepped back to give Derek space to order. He’s holding back a laugh with a hand pressed over his mouth, his eyes swimming with mirth, and his shoulders shaking. 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 from the effort of holding back my laugh. Derek looks up at me with concern.

“You okay Chi?” 

I beat my chest twice, faking clearing my throat.

“Yeah, definitely, just swallowed wrong.” I throw Leo a stern look to stop him from continuing. He just grins, with no remorse whatsoever. Effecting the sweetest voice I can muster, I ask him, “Leo, do you want anything while Derek is deciding? 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’s head pops up like a meerkat.

“Ooooh, that actually sounds fantastic! Can I have that instead of my usual?” I stare at Derek with my mouth hanging as Leo bursts into laughter behind him. My teasing has backfired in my face. Leo might think he’s won this round, but when his deep, rumbly laughter rolls over me like thunder on a hot night, I know I’m the real winner here. Derek looks back and forth between us with worry and confusion. “Is that okay? I won’t have it if you weren’t serious, Chi.”

“No, no, it’s okay Derek, I don’t mind making it for you. I was just teasing Leo, and you got caught in the crossfire. 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 and a cookie today and I’ll try the iced coffee when I come in tomorrow.” 

“You’re sure? I don’t mind making the coffee. It was my fault for making the latte before you finished making your decision.”

He shakes his head and waves the words away.

“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, heading for his usual table. Leo scoots back up to the counter as soon as he’s gone, still smiling from 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 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 sound tasty, though. I’d try any of them.”

A smile stretches my lips. Called it! I pull my hands from his grip and start making an Americano.

I glance over my shoulder and 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 in front of him. Then, I pull down the big glass jar full of biscotti, fish one out for him, and set it on the saucer next to the cup. 

“I think you’ll like them. It’s an Italian cookie. They’re dry and crunchy and you dunk them into the coffee to soften them up. They go well with Americanos. Why don’t you try it?”

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. Great suggestion Angel.” I blush at his compliment and shuffle my feet as I bite back my growing smile.

“Thanks. You can sit and enjoy it while you wait for Ky. You don’t have to stand here with me. I think my mom has waylaid her, or maybe she got lost in the shop. There are lots of little nooks and crannies full of weird stuff.”

He crinkles his eyebrows together and does a little frowny pout. “But I wanna stand 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. I drop my head to hide the fierce blush overtaking my face and pick at the polish on my nails so that I don’t break into a happy dance like Ky did. Biting my lip isn’t keeping the manic smile down, so I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek instead.

“Oh, um, okay. You can stay here if you don’t mind moving when a customer comes up.” I glance back at his face to see his pout morphing back to a smile now that I’ve told him he doesn’t have to move. “We should probably get to know each other better since you guys are living upstairs.”

He nods enthusiastically. Just then, his phone beeps from his pocket. He groans and pulls it out to swipe away the alarm. Cracks spider web across the surface of the broken screen.

“I don’t want to keep you if you need to go.” I say, failing to keep the dismay from lacing my voice.

His head snaps up. “Trust me, I’d stay with ya all day if I could, Angel. It’s important though, Ky has a doctor’s appointment. Can I get your number? I wanna see you again soon. Whatcha doin’ tomorrow?”

I fiddle with my fingers and look down at my feet again, dreading his disappointment when he learns I’m busy all 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. But I can give you my number.”

I shrug and 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. My cell number, the cafe’s 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 lift the phone up at arm’s length to take a selfie. I give an exaggerated wink and push my lips out to make them extra big and silly looking. Then I save the picture 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. “I gotta find Ky, but I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

He grabs my hand, brings it to his lips, and smacks a kiss onto my knuckles. Then he backs towards the double doors, lifting his hand in a small wave when he reaches them, and disappears into the shop.