1 Chapter 1

The aroma of coffee drifted all throughout the shop, along with the sound of the occasional bell.

I purposely made my task draw out longer than it should have, just to stay in the back where there were no customers.

Silently, I continued to stack the coffee beans into the numerous containers. I wish that Managers had special privileges, so I could slack off a bit.

'If I draw this out for 10 more minutes, I can take a break...'

I let out a small smile. That smile was quickly wiped off my face when I saw the familiar face of my co worker pop his head in. Terrance, or Terry as I call him.

'I take that thought back...'

If anyone were to see him on the streets, they would think he was a gang member. His arms were covered with tattoos, and he had one ear with a few piercings. He was well built, for a barista. His light brown hair looked sprawled all over his head, and his face seemed to get even more tanner in the dimly light storage room.

"Ash, could you give us a hand up in the front? We've just hit rush hour."

I stared into his blue gray eyes, that seemed to scream exhaustion. I gave a firm nod, placing the coffee bag down, and making my way to the front of the coffee shop.

Both lines had at least a minimum of 5 people. There were only two baristas working on orders at the moment, Ally and Carrie.

In my opinion, their fast paced moves, almost seemed to move in slow motion. I honestly didn't want to spend my time making the drinks. Meaning I was stuck on Cashier Duty.

Hurray.

With Terry right behind me, we made our way to lessen the ever growing lines of customers.

Plastering a small smile on my face, I lifted my head to greet the customer.

"Hi. Welcome to Avery's Sweets and Coffee shop, what would you like", I asked in a lazy, yet cheerful, tone.

The man ordering had gray hair at the roots, and a pair of dingy glasses sitting on his nose. He seemed to be going bald in a few spots, and appeared to be in his mid-fifties.

After a few minutes, and a couple of annoyed groans from the customers behind him, he finally figured out what he wanted.

"May I get a black coffee", he asked, as he scratched behind his head.

"That'll be $2.19", I stated, waiting for him to give the amount. After he did so, he left the line.

"Coming right up."

Quickly writing that down, I hung it on the line where the rest of the orders were placed.

Turning back to the line, I almost froze in surprise. I could feel my face light up on fire.

Standing in front of me, was an old friend, and current crush, of mine. Rebecca still looked the same as always, with her short dark chocolate hair. Her blonde tips were no longer as bright as they used to be, in fact, there were nearly invisible, almost dark chocolate with the rest of her hair.

Her Caribbean eyes seemed to glow a vibrant blue almost. Her cheeks seemed a bit chubby, but a cute chubby. Her normally thick lips were in a thin line. As my eyes begun to trail down, I felt a jab in the side from none other than Terry.

He let out a low laugh, letting it rumble through his body.

"If you're done checking her out, could you maybe take her order?"

Quickly composing myself, as if I didn't just check out my crush with her staring at me, I faced her with a small, genuine smile.

"Hi. Welcome to-"

"You don't have to say that. Just give me a Mocha Frappe", she hurriedly said. Damn, even her rushed voice sounded beautiful.

"That'll be $4.50."

She swiftly handed me the crisp bills and quarters, making her way out of the line.

Placing the paper on the line, I watched from the corner of my eye as she went and sat at a table in the far corner. The light coming in from the windows brighten her honey kissed skin.

As I finished the rest of the line, I begun to hand out the orders. Many of the customers left once they got theirs, but a few stayed.

One of those few being Rebecca.

Terry watched me, as I wiped down the counter while watching her. He hesitated to say something a few times, then just stopped all together.

Or at least I thought he did.

"Why don't you go make some conversation with her. She keeps glancing this way", Terry said, shifting his head in her direction.

It was then I noticed he was right. She did keep looking in this direction, but I could tell instantly it wasn't at me.

I huffed, finishing up the counter, and made my way to the employee room.

"Dude, where are you going?"

Terry followed me, not letting me out of his sight.

"I'm going on break. I need some fresh air."

He rolled his eyes, as I grabbed at the box of cigarettes I had in my bag. Placing one in my mouth, I attempted to walk back out the door, only to be stopped by him.

"What did I say about these cancer sticks?" I begun to nervously tap my foot.

"You said, very clearly, that I should stop using them as my way of releasing stress." He smiled and clapped his hands.

"Exactly. And what are you about to go do?" I let out a low grumble. I answered, annoyed.

"I was about to go get rid of my stress. Is there a problem?" He nodded.

"Give me those." He reached for the cigarette in my mouth, and grabbed the box. I watched as he took them and threw them away.

I silently placed myself on the couch. Terry walked over to his bag, and pulled out a pack of gum. He offered me one. I took it, popping it straight into my mouth. He then placed the pack in my bag.

"These should help stop the urge to smoke. I hope you use them instead of using the cancer sticks, it would make me happy if you did", Terry spoke softly.

I nodded, and made my way out of the room. I just wanted to go home.

I checked the time.

7:36 pm

'I get off at 8:00, it's not that long until then'.

I begun to hum to myself to pass time. Ally and Carrie were in the corner, talking amongst themselves. I was never close to the female employees. Even though they tried to get close to me, I would usually push them away.

Ally was an average height chick, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was about as white as her skin let her get. She's actually the palest chick I've ever seen. Ally is very quiet.

And she was best friends with Carrie. Carrie is, what I would call, a stuck up bitch. Carrie has long sandy blonde hair, with bright green eyes. She swears she's the prettiest girl on this planet. Carrie acts like she owns the world, and it gets annoying real quick.

It's quite weird that her and Ally are best friends. They do say that opposites attract.

I felt my eyes drift back over to Rebecca, only to see she was already staring back at me. Normally, when caught staring, a person would look away. But for some odd reason, Rebecca just kept staring at me. I could feel my face ignite into flames.

Terry slapped his hand on my back, pulling me out of her captivating stare.

"Yeah?"

Rolling his eyes, he pointed towards the clock.

8:03 pm

It was time for me to leave. I grabbed my things from the employee room, and made my way out.

"Ally, since you're closing up tonight, make sure all the doors are locked and the food is put away."

Ally gave me a curt nod, Carrie giggling at her side. Terry joined my side, as we both left the shop.

"Just to let you know, that chick you kept staring at was just watching you", Terry said, opening up the drivers side of the black Mustang.

I quickly gave a swift glance in her direction, to see her reading a book. Plopping myself in the passengers seat, I let out a low grumble.

"Just take me home, dude", making Terry laugh.

"Your wish is my command."

★~