Michelle scurried into the coffee shop, pulling her apron over her head and tying it as she walked. Sarah watched her from behind the register as Michelle made her way towards her. Thankful that she had finally arrived, yet slightly perturbed by her habitual tardiness, Sarah was cut off as she began to speak.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry Sarah, really, I tried to get here on time, it’s just,” Michelle’s voice trailed off as she searched for an excuse she hadn’t used in the past week or so.
“Don’t bother making up a story on my account,” Sarah teased, in a mockingly, raising her eyebrows for emphasis.
“Aw, come on, you know I try,” Michelle countered, typing her identification number into the cash register beside Sarah’s. “Besides, I’m the best help you have!”
Sarah let out a sigh of frustration and amusement as she silently conceded Michelle’s point. The girl certainly did have her finer points. Her eyes meandered over Michelle’s profile, admiring her long sleek black hair as it crawled over her shoulder and silhouetted her ample breasts. She knew as her manager she should remind her to tie it back, but Michelle would remember soon enough on her own, why should she ruin such a lovely site prematurely.
The line of customer’s began to grow longer, and she centered her attention back on taking latte orders and getting through the morning rush. Still, she was drawn to her. Smiling widely, joking with the regulars, men and women alike, you would have never known it was 6:22 AM, and that she had probably only pulled herself out of bed 16 minutes ago.
As it neared 9 o’clock, Sarah logged out of her register, turning to Brian at the coffee bar and said “I’m going to go in the back and work on next weeks schedule, have Michelle page me if you need any help up here.’
“Ok,” he answered, looking up from the containers of steamed milk that surrounded him.
Walking deliberately over to Michelle, she innocently put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in just close enough to appear professional, while managing to deeply inhale Michelle’s perfume. Nearly intoxicated by the girls scent, she spoke succinctly to cover her growing infatuation.
“I’ll be in the back for awhile. I told Brian to have you get me if it gets hairy out here. Keep an eye on him for me, ok? I don’t want him to get burned out his second week here.”
“Sure thing boss,” Michelle responded in a serious tone, as her beautiful lips spread into a guileful smirk.
Shaking her head, Sarah turned and walked away, allowing her hand to lightly touch Michelle’s soft hair as she removed it from her shoulder.
Sitting back in her office, Sarah busied herself with paperwork and other administrative tasks, as attempted to keep her mind from wandering to the thought of Michelle. She had worked with her for a little over eight months now, and while she had annoyed her when she first started. The last four months, she had really come to grow on her, in more ways than one.
Her girlfriend had dumped her about 5 months earlier, to run off with some guy she had dated in college. She had been a mess at the time, and Michelle’s cavalier attitude and effervescent charm had kept her spirits afloat.
In the last month or so, as the breakup became a distant memory, her attraction to Michelle had increased exponentially, and she often wondered if she succeeded at all in hiding it.
“The other employees must know,” she thought to herself. She was their manager for god’s sake, and she never disciplined Michelle for being late. Granted, she was an exemplary employee in every other respect, still, she feared her façade was fading.
“Hey, Sarah?” shaken from her contemplation, Sarah looked up to see Michelle’s petite frame filling the doorway to her office.
“Hey, you guys need help up there?” Sarah responded with as much concern as she could muster.
“Oh, no. We’re fine,” Michelle answered. “But I was wondering, there’s this film I have to watch for class tonight, and we’re supposed to get someone to watch it with us, and then write a paper on our reactions and points of view and such. And well, I don’t have anyone to watch it with me, and I was wondering, if you weren’t doing anything later, if maybe, you wouldn’t mind helping me out with it.”
Sarah’s heart leapt in her throat at the invitation. She and Michelle had hung out several times. Michelle’s apartment was only two blocks from the café, so after a long day, it was an obvious choice. But recently, with the start of the new semester, they hadn’t spent much time together outside of work.
“Um, sure, I’d be happy to help,” Sarah said nonchalantly.