You're My Caffeine

Jade smiled back, but inwardly, she could not help but think, 'I wish I could be as relaxed about it as you, Bern, but I just can't. I don't like leaving something this serious to chance, to "it will all work out in the end".'

Ting ting!

'Huh? A customer? How did I not hear the door?'

Rushing through the kitchen door, Jade saw Liam with his hand hovering over the service bell on the counter, threatening to hit it a third time.

"Ah, Liam, welcome. The usual?"

Liam nodded and added, "To go."

"Coming right up." With a smile Jade turned to brew his drink.

Normally, Jade would complete the order without chatting too much with the customer, unless they instigated the conversation.

However, unlike with most customers, Jade found the silence between them awkward, so she started some light conversation. "So, you've been coming here earlier recently. Is your work easing up so you can finish earlier?"

Liam smirked at the question, the dimples on his cheeks an odd contrast to his sharp jawline. "Regrettably, it's the opposite. I've been working late recently, so I have to sneak out while I can. I've got to get my daily dose of caffeine somehow."

'And by caffeine,' he thought, 'I mean you.'

As he watched her work, his smirk ever so gradually shifted into a genuinely contented smile.

When Jade looked up and saw this, her face became warm, and she quickly looked away, the words she was about to say crawling straight back down her throat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she observed his smiling face while trying to think of something to say to break the lingering silence. Strangely enough, his smile made the silence all the more unbearable for her.

A pain that she had not felt in a long time gnawed at her heart.

"Ahem…" Liam coughed lightly, breaking the silence, to cover up the smile that had crept onto his face. Jade turned to look at him, thinking that he had something to say. As she did so

So as to not disappoint her, Liam quickly tried to think of something to say. He thought back to the conversation he had overheard early, and an idea formed in his mind.

"Does your cafe host events?"

"Pardon?" The abrupt question from left field had surprised Jade.

"Does your cafe host business events? Like a room out back we can rent?"

"I see. No, I'm afraid not." Jade smiled at him, grateful that he would think of Night Cafe for such an affair. "What you see is what you get with us; we haven't been hiding away any rooms."

"I have a small meeting coming up, and it would have been nice to come here. Oh well…"

"By all means, feel free to use our cafe, but I fear it won't be fitting for a formal meeting."

"No, I will have to reconsider." During the conversation Jade had handed over the coffee and Liam had paid. Thus, after thanking her, he turned to leave with his coffee.

'I hope she took the hint. In this district, such a venture should be quite profitable.'