Caffeine

This story follows

The Craft So Long To Lerne

,

Breakout

and

Entanglement

. Readers of the latter two may be disappointed by the lack of explicit lesbian content, but there are references you may like anyway.

Caffeine

It was the new hire's first day, or I would have been ready for the prank. But it was the peak morning rush, and I was showing her how to tamp down the ground coffee in the filter handle. It's ironic that training someone new to ease the workload doubles the workload, at least for the short term. But she seemed to be picking everything up quickly and had been enthusiastically following my work since I opened the shop.

So I didn't notice the name on the latte I was brewing, or give it any thought before I called it out. At a glance it seemed like an Asian name, and I didn't even try to sound out the words before reading them aloud. Only after I'd cried out "Mari Mi!" did the words register.

Some of the customers in the small crowd around the pickup counter chuckled, while Josh - of course, it would be Josh, the class clown - sauntered up to the counter from the table where he'd been sitting with a pair of attractive girls.

"I knew you'd finally come around, Cyndy," he said, taking his coffee. Brown, intelligent eyes and a lopsided grin were insolent without being unkind. On anyone else I'd find the look pleasant, particularly with his short, dark hair, which was never quite tidy.

On Josh, I just found it irritating.

"Josh, you know how much I love you," I said - meaning not at all, as he well knew - "but I wouldn't marry you if we were the last two people on the planet."

"You wouldn't need to then, though, would you? There wouldn't be anyone around to care." He glanced over at my new employee. "And since when were there two gorgeous redheads working here? Are you twins? How will I ever be able to tell you apart?"

I glanced at the new girl, who looked

nothing

like me. She had over half a foot on me in height, and where my hair's fire had the same genetic roots as my freckles and green-hazel eyes, her auburn waves were perhaps a little too perfect, though I wouldn't bet money that the color wasn't nature-given. If she was aware of her beauty, she didn't show the confidence that the understanding would imply. She seemed nervous that she might be or do something not acceptable. Her clear, pale skin colored easily, doing so as she heard our conversation.

"This is Heather. She's new," I said, "and don't you dare start hitting on her."

"You know I only have eyes for you," Josh said, then grinned at her before taking his coffee back to his table.

I glared at my friend Dylan, who was taking orders and had written the name on the cup. The blonde girl gave me a "What can you do?" shrug and returned her focus to her customer.

~~~~~

Foot traffic always dropped off sharply at nine. By nine-fifteen it had fallen enough that we could talk. I was showing Heather how to make a blended ice drink when Dylan wandered over.

"Why do you encourage him?" I asked her.

"Josh? I don't want to be rude to him," she said. "He's a nice enough guy. I did try to wave the cup at you to give you a heads up, but you were showing Heather something at the time."

"Sorry," interjected Heather. "It was funny, though," she added, with another "Sorry" when I turned my glare on her.

"If you appreciate him, maybe you should take him off my hands," I suggested. "He does seem to have a thing for red hair."

"Oh no," the tall girl replied, her cheeks coloring. "I couldn't do that."

"I think he does like you," Dylan said, "and he's quite persistent."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's the problem."

~~~~~

Hiring Heather had been my first big decision as the shop manager. The owner, Pam, had been trying to ease out of day-to-day administration, and had given me the position a couple of months earlier. And it was Heather's first job, so her success was important to both of us. So far, neither of us was regretting the choice. She was a fast learner, even if she was too shy to be comfortable with customers. She pushed herself to deal with them anyway.

I had known her slightly as a customer before she applied for the job. That didn't tell me what her work would be like, but it did at least show that she was comfortable with the atmosphere.

She seemed to be bonding well with Dylan, which pleased me. Dylan and I had worked together for almost two years, and I had been concerned that there might be some friction, but they had been chatting about the comic book project Dylan and her boyfriend Austin were working on. Dylan showed Heather the faerie queen posters he'd made as detailed character art of the primary antagonists, one of which she'd modeled for, which Heather declared "amazing."

Heather's appreciation of Austin's work led Dylan to collect her high resolution tablet from the back room, to show her the portrait he'd created of Dylan. It was a very sensual picture, crossing the border into erotic, showing the blonde girl studying the brightly colored tattoo on her arm, her top pulled down to expose both the complete tattoo and her left breast. Her expression was seductive and entirely believable.

"Oh, my," was Heather's comment as Dylan passed her the tablet. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed more deeply than I'd yet seen. After a moment, seeming to realize she should say more, she added, "That is an incredible painting."

"Isn't it, though?" Dylan said, taking the tablet back. "He's great. His story idea for the comic is good, too, but I've had to do a lot of rewriting to keep the tension high. We complement each other."

"You

complement

each other," I said, stressing the word with a dramatic pause. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

Dylan sniggered, while Heather colored in embarrassment.

~~~~~

On the third day I allowed Heather to brew her first espresso, then had her make us each a coffee. For testing purposes, of course. Josh made an appearance after the rush. He quizzed Heather about why I was so hostile to him. Heather blushed and said she had no idea. Which was true, but her embarrassment made it look like she was hiding something. So he interrogated her more, though not unpleasantly, while she insisted he talk to me.

"She really doesn't," I finally broke in. "Don't pester the girl." Josh sighed and took his coffee to a table. There were no girls with him, for once. He opened his notebook and began working.

Though I griped about his pranks and flirting, Josh confined his annoyances to when he was interacting with us. When he was at a table consuming his purchases, he didn't interrupt us, either working by himself or conversing quietly with one of the girls who usually accompanied him. So as far as the shop was concerned, he was an ideal customer.

I had a class at the community college that morning. Barry, one of the part-timers, arrived just before eleven to take over coffee duties, while I entrusted Heather to Dylan for training in ordering. Josh waved to me as I left, and I gave him a passably-friendly nod.

~~~~~

Later in the week, we let Heather brew espresso and steam milk, though Dylan or I blended them to create the latte foam designs. We trusted her with americanos and drip coffee, while one of us took care of frozen drinks.

By the following week, she announced herself ready to do it all, and other than a few false starts with foam art, she proved quite competent.

On Wednesday, she was handling the espresso machine alone. I was at the register, while Dylan handled pickup and extras. The morning rush was dying down, and I was about to congratulate Heather on making it through the toughest part of the day, when several people entered the shop. I thought they were all together, but a trio of young women arrived at the counter first.

It must have started raining lightly, because the tall girl's blonde hair glistened with droplets of water. "If I order the most complicated drink on the menu, will she have to make it?" she asked, lifting her chin to indicate Heather. Her two companions grinned.

"No, she won't, Margot." The redhead spoke for herself, having looked up at the sound of the blonde's voice. "One of my friends here will take pity on me, and relieve me."

The tall customer pouted, and ordered a latte. After her companions had ordered, she paid with a credit card, leaving a good size tip for a student, and the three of them retired to a table.

"Friends of yours?" I asked Heather.

She gave a warm smile, not quite directed at me, her eyes low. "M-more than friends," she said. "Well, Margot is. The other two, Tiff and Emma, they'll be our roommates in a couple of weeks."

"Oh... I see," I said. "Your girlfriend?" Heather nodded. I suddenly thought I understood why she'd flushed so deeply at Dylan's portrait. I grinned. "You'd best not screw up her coffee, then," I said.

She returned my grin tentatively, then turned back to the machine.

"Well, I can't top that, I guess," came a voice from the counter. I looked back to find Josh standing there, with one of his usual female companions, who was giving me an amused smile.

"The day is looking up," I replied, returning his smile. "You know what? I'm in a good mood this morning. Your coffee's on the house. Both of you," I amended, glancing at his companion. "Maybe that will convince you I don't hate you."

"Or maybe you're using the free coffee to mask your hostility," he returned, raising an eyebrow.

"You got it," I agreed, and took their orders.

~~~~~

A few minutes later we had completely cleared the backlog. The rain had picked up, dissuading casual drop-ins, and Heather and Dylan were both leaning back in poses of well-deserved relaxation.

"Are your friends here making plans for the move?" I asked Heather.

"Yeah," she replied. She glanced over at the blonde girl, sitting at a table by the window.

"You want to take a half-hour?" I suggested. "Go join them. You've earned it. Dylan and I can cover."

Dylan gave her an encouraging nod.

"Really?" Heather asked, her eyes lighting up. "Alright, thanks!"

She hung up her apron and scampered to her friends' table.

~~~~~

Dylan and I handled the few customers who braved the rain for the next half hour, when, precisely on schedule, Heather returned to work, and her friends took that as their cue to depart. The rain had eased off, which was good, because I would have to walk to the community college before lunch.

Heather seemed like a new person. Spending the time with her friends - or maybe just spending time with her partner - had refreshed her after the gruelling rush hour.

We talked about different roasts and purposes, and about coffee origins, which may not be required for creating drinks, but which many of the customers would chat about with us.

Barry arrived dripping water, and I realized that the rain had re-intensified into a storm. I collected my umbrella, bade goodbye to the crew, then stood for a moment at the door, trying to decide how best to avoid the rain over a mile-plus walk.

"Where are you going?" came a voice from a couple of tables away.

I looked up to see Josh studying me. "Community college," I said. "Trying to decide if there's any way to bypass some of the rain."

"There is," he said, folding his notebook closed. I noticed that he was alone. I hadn't seen his companion leave. "Let me give you a ride."

There wasn't a good reason to refuse. He was offering real help. Still, I found myself reluctant to accept.

I guess looking at his concerned expression convinced me that I was being ridiculous. "Sure," I said. "That would be awesome, actually."

"I'm parked out the back," he said. "Or I can come around to the front to collect you."

I shook my head. "I'll come with," I said, and waited for him to pack his bag, ensuring his notebook was protected from the rain.

~~~~~

Josh had parked his blue Civic very close to the back door. He beeped the lock as he stepped into the rain, and we both dashed to the car. Even in the thirty yards between the back door and Josh's car's passenger door I felt like I'd gotten soaked through. The full mile and a half would have been beyond miserable.

"Thanks for this," I said, as he leaned into the back seat to set his bag down, then prepared to start the car. "I wasn't expecting it."

"It's cool," he said. "Happy to help. You know, I have a class pretty soon myself, so it's a convenient run. I could give you a lift every week if this is a regular thing."

"Mmm, let me think about that," I said. "And what happened to the girl you were with?"

"She took advantage of the lull in the rain. Left when your co-worker's friends did." He glanced over at me as he drove carefully out of the parking lot, windscreen wipers on high. "Is that why you warned me off Heather?"

It took me a moment to realize what he was asking. "Oh, because she's with a girl? No," I said. "I didn't know before today. I just didn't want you upsetting her.

"Like I upset you, you mean?" he asked, sounding amused.

"You don't upset me," I said. "Annoy, yes, not upset."

"I don't

try

to be annoying," he said, "only to bring cheer and merriment."

"I'm sure your girlfriends appreciate it," I said. "I've been wondering why you have so many of them."

"They're not girlfriends," he said, wryly. "Just classmates."

"So why are all your classmates female?" I asked. "Are you taking women's studies or something?"

Josh laughed. "Nursing," he said. "Even in this enlightened age, there are still very few men training for the field."

I felt my eyes widen. "Oh my god. Now I feel like I'm totally the asshole. You're going to be a nurse? I'm impressed, and I'm sorry I mocked your class choices. And your friends."

"Yeah, I am," he said. He was turning into the college parking lot. "I'm aware it's a stressful job, but I think it's worthwhile, and something I think I'll be good at."

"I'm sure you will," I said.

"This has to be pretty early for you if you'd planned to walk," Josh remarked as he found a parking space. "Want to wait in the car to see if the rain lets up?"

"Sure," I said. "I'll give it a few minutes." After he navigated the car into the space, I added, "This really is very good of you, considering how rude I am to you at the shop."

He shrugged. "It's okay. I like talking to you, but I guess I can be like nails on a chalkboard."

"Nah, it's not that," I said. "It's just timing. And the rain seems to be lightening, so I should probably go. Listen, Dylan and I are going to her boyfriend's bar on Friday. O'Neill's. You want to join us? I feel like I owe you an explanation, at least, after you saved me from drowning. Bring your girlfriends, if you like," I added, grinning.

"Sure," he said. "What time?"

I checked my bag and pulled my jacket closed, then took my umbrella, ready to make a dash. "Seven?" I said.

"I'll be there," Josh replied.

~~~~~

It was dry and cool on Friday evening. Dylan had picked me up from the shop and driven me to O'Neil's. I was wearing my long coat, while she was in heavy sweater and jeans.

Josh arrived as I was hanging my coat on a stand. He wore an open jacket over a black Jefferson Airplane tee. Dylan turned and gave him a surprised look. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you I invited him," I said. "Gonna buy him a drink as a peace offering after the car ride."

"Good," said Dylan, with a frown at me that said, "It took you long enough. I told you he's a good guy."

Heather and her girlfriend, whom we'd also invited, were waiting for us at a table. Heather had a glass of white wine, while Margot had a coke. I frowned at that.

"She doesn't turn twenty-one for another couple of weeks," Heather muttered.

Her partner laughed. "It's true, but I'm driving, too. I borrowed Heather's roomies' car so she doesn't have to leave to catch the bus."

"Heather's roomies?" I asked, puzzled. "I thought you were together."

Margot answered for them, as Heather stared at the table, her face pink but wearing a nervous smile. "We're

together

," she said, "but we're not living together yet. We will be when we move into the new place with our friends."

~~~~~

We'd just started on a second round, when Josh asked what I'd meant by "timing."

The bar wasn't especially noisy, but it was loud enough that it would be easy to keep our conversion completely private. I didn't try, though. This wasn't a secret. Although I didn't know if any of the other three would be paying attention. Heather and Margot were having an intense sotto-voce discussion, occasionally questioning Dylan about something.

"When you first showed up at the shop," I said to Josh, "I was still with my ex, Devin. He was an abuser and a bully, and he was constantly putting me down. He called it humor, but it was manipulation. Snide comments about my freckles, or I was too short, or my hair too frizzy, or my boobs were too big and too.... see above comment about freckles," I finished, realizing I was straying into territory Josh didn't need to hear. "My nose is too short and my eyes are too far apart. I'm stupid, which is why I'm at community college when everyone around me is at the U. Always in the form of a joke, so he could deny that he'd intended it to be mean."

"None of those things is true," Josh said. Eyes carefully raised to mine, he added with a slight smirk, "That I've observed, that is."

"I know," I agreed, "but they're all close enough to the truth that it was easy for me to buy into. He was making me hate myself, and I hated any jokes about me. Then you showed up, and you were always making jokes. Not mean ones. You weren't insulting me or Dylan or the shop, but they made me resentful."

"I see," he said. "Wow. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," I said. "Just a product of the time."

"What happened to Devin?" asked Josh.

"I finally decided I couldn't take how he made me feel, and I dumped him," I said. "It was hard. I'd already dumped him twice and taken him back twice. He was very persistent. Telling me he understood, that he'd change for me. And he would, for a week or two. He'd be affectionate and funny for a couple of weeks. Then the meanness and the control would start to resurface."

"Jesus," Josh said.

Across and down the table a little, Margot was staring at a picture on someone's phone. Dylan's, I thought. From the awed expression she wore I had a good idea what picture it must be.

I turned my attention back to Josh. "So there was that, too," I said. "You persisted. You didn't take hints that I wasn't interested. It reminded me of Devin not letting me alone. Always trying to get around me."

"Shit. You should have said something," Josh said. "Well, something more explicit. I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

"You were a customer," I said, "and I'd just been given more responsibility at the shop." I grinned at him. "Think of the business we'd lose if your harem took a dislike to me."

He laughed. "Harem?"

"Harem," I confirmed. "Tell me your relationship with them is entirely platonic," I suggested. "Let me see how bad you are at lying."

"It could be!" he said.

"Mm-hmm."

"It's hard for them in a field with so few men," he said. "You wouldn't blame a guy for helping them out, would you?"

I chuckled. "No, I wouldn't. But it makes me wonder why you feel the need to flirt. Or am I misreading that in my irritation?"