Your morning coffee

You loved walking into the cafe in the morning; the smell of freshly brewed coffee always perked you up before you needed to make your pilgrimage into the office. And you’d gotten up extra early so that you could call Hannah to tell her about your date, so the coffee was extra needed now.

Paula spotted you from behind the counter as you walked in and broke into a big smile even though she was busy with some other customers. She motioned you around to the side counter, handing off the till to one of her baristas, and you followed her.

“Good morning, Ollie,” she said, that grin not slipping as she came around the counter entirely and gestured for a hug, which you gave her happily. Paula was a tall, almost willowy woman with a cute awkwardness to her that made you think of the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope for some reason, even though she wasn’t manic at all. It was mostly in her smile that looked a little too big for her face. Maybe if she dyed her hair a wild colour or something she would fit it better.

“Morning, Paula,” you said, squeezing her tightly in the hug for a moment before stepping back. She slid around the counter again, immediately starting on your regular morning order. “How’s business?”

“Bustling,” she said. “Part of me wishes we could have a slow day once in a while, but that would be bad in the long run. How about you?”

“Same old, same old,” you said. “For work, at least.”

“Oh?” Paula asked, looking up from pouring his coffee. “Something new on the personal front?”

“I… might have gone on a date that went well,” you grinned.

Paula raised her eyebrows and a moment later she smiled. “That’s great for you, Ollie,” she said. She swept some of her messy bangs out of her face and reached over to snag a pastry from inside the display. Paula, outside of work, had a bit of a grungey style and kept her brunette hair in a sort of messy, loose look that suited the awkward combo of her round face with her tall, thin stature. Since the Cafe wasn’t a franchise, she and her parents allowed the staff to dress casually as long as they wore the branded aprons. In the summer that often meant Paula wore a cute pair of jean shorts that exposed her long, slender legs and some sort of baggy t-shirt - she’d complained once that to keep shirts that fit her long torso she needed to buy larger sizes. “Did you hear the latest about the break-ins?”

“No,” you frowned. “Was there another one?”

“Mhmm,” Paula hummed as she slid his order across the counter to you. “The pawn shop over on 3rd. Honestly, Ollie, I can’t thank you enough for helping install the cameras and the alarms.”

“It was nothing,” you said. “Just an afternoon hanging out in my favourite cafe.”

“Well, I’m going to keep pumping you with as much free coffee and pastry as you want, so don’t you dare think of taking out that wallet,” she said.

“Fine,” you sighed. You’d had this argument with her already. You’d put a fiver in the barista tip jar when she wasn’t looking. “How are your parents?”

“On vacation for a month,” Paula said. “They are touring Canada, of all places. Rented an RV and everything. First time they’ve taken a real vacation in twenty years, I think, and I’m in charge here. I think it’s my Dad’s way of testing whether I can take over the Cafe permanently and let him go down to as few hours as possible.”

“That’s great, for you and them!” You said. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” she said, then looked over your shoulder. “Looks like your friend is here. Have a good day at work, OK?”

“You too,” you said, smiling back at her for a moment before turning to find a table.

Margot eventually joined you after Paula got her order done separately, though Margot paid. The two of them were talking, and you couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride that Margot and Paula had hit it off - you’d introduced them, and seeing your two friends getting along like that was nice. You were just taking your first bite of the cherry tart that Paula had given you when you noticed a weird look pass between them, though neither seemed to react to it, and then they were smiling again and Margot was coming over and planting herself across from you at the table.

“So, now I want the real details,” she said without even a ‘good morning.’ Her Texan accent stood out, not quite as thick as it had been when she moved to the city but still a musical twang compared to most people you met.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you said, flushing a little and trying to keep a straight face. “I told you and Hikaru everything last night.”

“Not a shot, buster,” Margot said, taking a sip of her coffee. “You dodged out when talking about the end of the date. Where did you end it?”

You worked your jaw for a moment, trying to think of a logical answer and coming up short.

“Did you kiss her?” Margot asked, reaching across the table and putting her hand on your arm.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” you said a little lamely.

“So that’s a yes,” Margot said, smiling sweetly and rubbing your arm. “Good for you, Ollie! What else happened?”

You scowled a little, though you couldn’t really hold it. “I’d rather not say,” you said.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Margot said. “If you want.”

“I know,” you said, feeling a little guilty about hiding something from her, along with Hannah. Margot knew almost everything about you, and Hannah definitely did, but you weren’t ready to talk about losing your virginity yet.

You changed the subject, and Margot let you, and the two of you slipped into your usual banter as you took your twenty minutes before you both had to head to work. She was deep into her classes now and you liked hearing about her ups and downs at the University, missing your own time there even though you were much happier now that you were established. You admired Margot for chasing what she wanted, even if it hadn’t been the usual path.

The weird thing was, as you talked, you realized that there had been a physical change between the two of you. Neither of you had been overly shy about telling each other things before, but now Margot seemed to be more comfortable with physical contact a lot like Hannah was. You weren’t sure why that would be, but you’d always been a hugger and Hannah was sure that one of your love languages was touch.

You also, for the first time, realized how gorgeous Margot was. Like, you’d known it before, but as she sat across the table from you, leaning on one elbow as she laughed at something you’d said, her bright blue eyes twinkling… She was hot. Like, really hot. She had grown up on a ranch down south and had the fit build of someone who had done real, hard manual labour as a teen and then kept herself up as an adult. She had the sort of pretty, open face that every TV show depicted cheerleaders as, with apple cheeks and a bright smile. She kept her blonde, wavy hair long and loose but styled, and did her makeup every day without fail. The fact that she dressed in short-sleeved button-downs in the summer didn’t detract from her casual airs at all, and on a morning like this when she was heading to work at the University library she wore a tight pair of jeans that hugged her hips and a pair of cowboy boots that she said she liked the sound of as she walked across the tile floors of the building.

You wondered what kissing her would feel like.

That was weird, and you had to shake it out of your head. Margot was your friend, she wasn’t April. You didn’t want to think of her that way because it felt like a betrayal of the trust you two had built up.

As you ran out of time, the two of you drained the last of your coffee and stood up. As usual, you hugged, but you were surprised when Margot kissed you on the cheek as well. “Have a good day, Ollie,” she chirped happily before winking and walking out of the cafe.

“Bye,” you said, smiling as you watched her go. It wasn’t the first time she’d kissed you on the cheek, but usually she reserved that for when she was thanking you for something you’d helped her with. This had just been a ‘See You Later’ kiss though.

She was happy for you. Happy you’ve found someone. Comfortable with you being friends. That was definitely all it was.

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