A threat?

It was the first time Thomas looked at me that way. Others had, but not him. It nearly triggered some sort of PTSD, making my chest freeze and almost made me want to sink in my chair. But I had spent enough time with the guy to at least be able to ask him.

“W-What’s with that look?” I tried to speak firmly, but I still stuttered a bit.

Thomas shook his head, swallowed and looked towards the counter before quickly returning his gaze to me. With a small grimace, he asked, “What did you talk to her about?”

“Huh?” I blinked.

“I… I heard you both laughing. W-Were you… flirting with her?”

Flirting? What the hell? Confused, I looked at Ms. Mar… I looked at Maria again, seeing things I’d been too nervous to notice before.

She was beautiful, yeah, and in a more… mature way than Mila, Grace and Sarah. She was wearing a black apron over a beige colored sweater, but her chest was still very noticeable. Perhaps as big as Sarah’s? Yes, she was certainly attractive, but…

“I went to ask about the job offer,” I told him.

“Job offer?” Thomas asked, now blinking himself.

“There’s an ad at the door, and I told you I’ve been looking for a part time job.”

“O-Oh.” Thomas straightened up. “But then… Why was she laughing?”

I winced. “She… overheard me asking the girls out. She remembers me for the little stunt I pulled in her shop.”

“Oooooh…” His shoulders seemed to loosen. I hadn’t even noticed they were tense. He looked at the counter again. No, not at the counter. At Maria. “S-So… you don’t…” He shook his head hard. “W-What do you think… of her?”

I had never, in the short time we’d been friends, heard him stutter so much or act so strangely. And the way he turned his eyes every so often, it was like…

Oh.

Oooooooooh.

A smirk slowly began to creep its way across my face, making Thomas flinch. I didn’t say anything because Maria was bringing over our orders. A mocha and a slice of lemon pie for me, and a sandwich and a medium coffee for Thomas. My friend seemed to struggle between looking at her and avoiding her gentle smile.

“Enjoy your meal, boys,” she said.

“Thank you,” I told her.

“T-Thank you!” For the first time, it was Thomas who sounded nervous.

When Maria returned to her seat behind the counter and away from us, losing herself on her phone, I returned my smirk to Thomas.

“Going to ask her out?” I spoke softly.

It’s hard to describe how satisfying it was to watch his face go pale in one second and completely red the next.

“W-What? What are you talking about?” He asked, but when my smirk didn’t fade and I didn’t ask any further questions, he gave up. “I can’t. How old do you think she is?” he whispered. “At least five or seven years older, right? I’m just a brat in comparison.”

“You’re already 18.”

“That’s not the issue!” Thomas dragged his hand down his face, his eyes going back to Maria every chance they had. “Anyway, it was just a passing thought, alright? Forget about it.” He tried to play it casual and hurried to take a sip of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process.

I would’ve laughed at that if not for my sixth sense kicking in again and making my chest hurt. This was happening more often with Thomas. It was random and less frequent than with the girls, but there were times when I could swear I understood what he was thinking. This was one of those times, and it felt like a knife in the gut.

Thomas was afraid of me. Or it would be best to say that he was afraid of what I could do. To him, I was the guy who had three girls wrapped around his finger, and if I wanted a fourth one… I could have her. If that fourth one happened to be Maria…

What is this damn world where someone is afraid that I of all people will steal a girl from under them? God fucking dammit.

Thomas sighed. “So? Did you get the job? Or do you have to come to an interview or something?”

“I got the job.” I looked him directly in the eyes. “But I can tell her I reconsidered if it makes you uncomfortable. I can look somewhere else.”

Thomas almost dropped his cup. “W-What? No! Dude, why would you?”

I kept my eyes firm on his. I felt like I didn’t have to say anything for him to understand. He already did.

He groaned and shook his head again. “Take the job, Oliver. Look, I’m just being dumb, alright?”

I nodded. “You are.”

Thomas chuckled at that. His eyes went to Maria again. “I bet she has a boyfriend already. I mean, look at her.”

“I’ll ask her if she’s single.”

Thomas flinched. “A-At least let me do that myself, okay? If I do. I won’t ask her out. Not now. This could be a sudden thing, right? I’ll forget about it tomorrow.”

“For what it's worth, you don’t look like you’re 18 years old. You look like you’re 21 at least.”

“You calling me old?”

“Old Man Thomas.”

“You’re like a month and a half older than I am.”

I laughed. That was always crazy to remember.

My phone suddenly buzzed. I checked it just in case it was urgent, but seeing the picture attached to the message made my own face begin to heat up. It was Thomas’ turn to smirk teasingly at me.

“Can I see?”

“No.”

It wasn’t that risque a picture. It was a photo of Sarah in front of a mirror, trying on a black leather jacket inside the changing room of that boutique the girls liked. Still, she was wearing a white t-shirt underneath that fit her tightly and showed most of her stomach. She looked stunning, as always.

Two more pictures came, showing herself from different angles. It was still hard to believe this sexy girl was my girlfriend, but it was nearly a daily reminder with how many pictures she sent me. I quickly saved them to my ‘Sarah’ folder and typed a reply, telling her how amazing she looked before putting my phone away.

“You still type as slowly as my grandma,” Thomas said.

“I’m not used to using my phone, okay? I work better with computers. Anyway, sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind. At least you put your phone away. Too many people can’t let go of the damn thing.”

“I’d reply later, but Sarah gets mad at me if I see the picture and don’t answer,” I said, laughing. She got mad, yeah, but it was the endearing sort of mad.

“You know you can set it so it doesn’t show when you read the message?”

“Can you?” It would help, but… “No, better not. I get the feeling that would get me in trouble.”

“Yeah it would.”

We laughed some more, ate our meal and parted ways. I said my goodbye to Maria and she sent me off with a smile, promising to email me the details later that evening.