Unexpected Shift
By Seki
How sad was it that the last five minutes of my break were spent looking at the time literally ticking away on my phone? Five minutes left until I had to drag my ass back to the front of a very deserted and lifeless cafe to serve... no one? I was dreading going back up front but I also dreaded being on break. What a waste of time... I knew the holiday craziness was over, but this was ridiculous. And here I was, doom scrolling on my phone, picturing a hundred different places I would rather be instead of rotting away in a break room. O
n top of him, on top of him, under him, under him in... is that Barcelona?
I sighed.
Stupid rent. Stupid adult responsibilities...
Hopefully this year was the last year I had to work in a godforsaken mall before being able to switch to my actual field...and maybe go on a first vacation in four years...
I sighed again.
Three minutes and forty one seconds...
"Jay! Come up front," yelled Erika as she burst into the backstore almost causing my non-existent pacemaker to go off.
"I still have three minutes and thirty seconds left. Chill, woman," I whaled back, my eyes fixed on yet another candidate, this time from Greece?
Mmm
... She simply smiled at me, grabbing my traps from behind, almost pressing me down onto my chair, peeking at my screen.
"So I guess you don't want to see an actual sexy hunk in person?"
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a major beat as I turned to face her.
"He's here?!" I asked, leaping out of my seat, wrapping my apron around my waist and giving myself a once over in the reflection of one of the stainless steel fridges. I desperately tried adjusting my hair into somewhat presentable cute curls under this god awful hat as I tongued at my labret piercing nervously.
This had become my daily ritual since first seeing him: the brief sighting, the internal freak-out, the slow calming (and tightening) of my heart as he left. I hated it and loved it. This small interaction was what kept me sane during the most boring shifts of the year. That punch of dopamine was more than enough to fuel me until the next day. Sometimes the freak-out also came before the sighting.
"You look fine, dude," she teased, setting her drink on the table, yanking off her apron and sitting in my chair.
"Fine?! I'm a fucking mess. Why do I even bother? Have you seen him? Have you
heard
him?!" I cried out, almost defeated, flashes of his face springing in my head.
"Oh c'mon Jay, just tell him you find him cute. Worst case, he's straight but flattered, you make his night and you can finally move on with your life. Best case, you get his number or something!" she argued. I kept listening to her as I ogled at the mere possibility of a good outcome. I was already trying to imagine what he was wearing tonight.
"What could possibly happen? Very worst case he's an ass and you won't have to keep switching shifts with Dmitri to see him." She eyed me as if the concept alone of me taking extra shifts just to see a hot guy was complete lunacy. I ignored her glare. However, she was making all the sense in the world and the thought of being able to get cute hunk's number and text him was getting me tingly all over.
I walked out of the backstore, casually making my way to the cash register and asked Shayna to trade places with me. She winked and moved over to the espresso machine to start on drinks.
I subtly looked out at the customers and there here was. The guy who had been living rent free in my head for the past week. I struggled to keep my giddiness in check as he spotted my familiar mug and smiled. I fidgeted with my index ring and stayed calm, giving him a quick nod, acknowledging at the same time he was wearing an impeccable dark navy suit, then turned to the customer in front of me and took her order.
"Hi, what can I get you?" I smiled with glee, which translated to "What the fuck do you want, bitch, hurry it up."
I painstakingly served the next two customers, my eyes peeking over their shoulders to where he stood, my patience wavering.
C'mon... C'mon...
Finally, he was up next, that perfect smile shining through even more by the gleam of his canines. I could tell he was older than me, but not by much. His smile had been doing things to me for the last week and I consciously had to put in the effort to not look like a complete moron in front of him.
"Hey Brooks," I exclaimed, probably overexcited, yet making him smile. His name just rolled off my tongue, my mind not at all putting together a montage of the number of times I'd be moaning that name out and picturing that face as I jerked off again tonight...
"Oh hello. You again. Don't they give you breaks? I feel you're always here," he asked, smiling, that delicious low British accent cutting through me. I simply chuckled nervously at the question and shrugged.
"Uh, the usual?" I asked, trying to stay somewhat aloof.
"I've become that predictable, have I?" He grinned.
"I mean after almost a week, I can say regular, right?" Of course I knew his order. If I were paying any more attention I would have known the specific region of his accent and his blood type.
He pondered, looking up at the menu, revealing a little more of his stretched out neck muscle, which I leered at with no subtlety whatsoever, picturing my teeth marks on it.
"I think I might have the title revoked though. Tonight's my last time here,"
What did he just say?
"Why's that?"
"I'm from out of town and they had me fly out here for all these big meetings all week long. Tonight was my last meeting. I finally get to go home," he answered, as if sharing a confession, a sigh of relief. I could feel the churn in my stomach, giving me the urge to puke.
"Oh... And you're leaving tonight?" I pretended not to feel ill.
"Tomorrow morning, actually," he corrected. The pit was growing in my stomach. He was unaware of the conflicted ultimatum he had just thrown at me. My heart was racing and I swallowed hard before talking.
"Oh, cool. Tomorrow. You must be happy."
"Yeah, I miss my bed," he sighed. "And hotel coffee is complete rubbish." he winked. I screamed a little on the inside.
"Yeah, there's nothing better than your bed- your
own
bed," I smiled, mentally kicking myself for even trying to imagine his perfect naked body on his perfect bed at a time like this.
"Agreed!" he cheered. He looked at the menu again, but then looked straight at me.
"Since it's my last drink here, what are
your
recommendations," he asked, looking down momentarily. "Jamie?"
If the news wasn't enough to kill me, that staggering smile was doing it. Plus the fact that he uttered my name, even if he
was
just reading my name tag, had me melting.
Fuck...
"What do I recommend?" I repeated, swallowing my sorrow. He looked deep at me, my eyes drawn in by the color of his, making me forget where I was for a second.
"Yeah, what do you prefer?"
Your dick down my throat.
"I... I like chocolate," I screamed at myself to behave. I bit my inner cheek as he read the syrup list on the menu.
"I mean you can't go wrong with chocolate... surprise me."
"Alright then. Worst case I can make you something else. Do you mind sweetness?"
"I do not mind," he confirmed, taking out his wallet.
"Oh it's on me. Last drink and all," I smiled, hoping my flushed cheeks weren't showing.
"Cheers, mate," he replied, placing the five dollar bill in the tip jar. I started on his drink. At a glacial pace. He on the other hand simply took out his phone and scrolled.
And that was it...
This was the last time I was going to see that face. How did I even continue a convo with that information? I concentrated on the syrups I squirted into his cup and frothed the milk in silence.
"And how's your evening going?" Brooks suddenly asked, surprising me.
"Well sad now, knowing I'm losing a regular," I tried to joke while dying a little on the inside. He gave me this adorable apologetic frown.
"No worries. I will perhaps be coming back in six to eight months," he informed me, still making me want to cry.
I kept looking over the espresso machine just so I could stare at him. My brain was in full battle mode with my nerves and my anxiety.
I should tell him
... I should at least try to say something...
Shouldn't I? His face was all I could think about all week. He was leaving tomorrow... Despite Erika's words of wisdom, my anxious ass kept weighing in all the conceivable outcomes and none of them screamed 'You've got this!'.
Just suck it up and tell him for fuck sake.
"
Nutella
latte," I called out as I handed him his drink. "Let me know what you think."
"Not much can go wrong with a
nutella
latte. Thank you, Jamie." My name came out of his mouth again and I could have whimpered.
"My pleasure," I hesitated.
"Take care."
As he started turning away to go grab a seat, a ball formed in the pit of my stomach and it ate at me... all this debate and I was just not gonna tell him he's cute?? I wanted to speak up so bad. I'd miss that mouth smiling at me. I kept going through it in my mind.
He won't be here tomorrow. Think about that as you wuss out!
How was I so bad at this? I had flirted before. I had probably been drunk, but it worked on occasion! He was clearly out of my league, which explained my constant catastrophizing. Yet I had... I had to try something. Anything.
"Hey Brooks?" my nerves jolted through my body as he looked up at me.
"Yeh?"
Fuck, here goes nothing...
I gulped, fiddling with my ring again. A sudden burst of courage took over me and I opened my mouth, praying I wouldn't pull a Jamie and completely tank it. My palms were already clammy.
"Alright, hear me out..." I paused. Then when my pause got a little too long, I panicked just a hunch and said the first thing I could think of.
"You're hot. I mean really hot. And... I haven't been able to get you out of my mind for the past week,"
I started, knowing I had already fucked up, my soul cringing at the overshare. But I was on a roll, so might as well burn the bridge
and
