It was heaven itself.
Oh, I could already feel my mind racing to think of how we could start to use it.Namely for double espressos pre-shift, but there were a hundred work-related uses as well.I’d been thinking recently about a possible drink with cold brew (chilled espresso wasn’t the same thing, but I’d make do), triple sec, and tonic.Any orange liqueur would work, but I’d need to test a few recipes before I settled on a style, and here was the perfect opportunity.
Installation complete, the two laborers packed up their tools, and one went into the office.I sidled up to the other, eager to learn what I needed to operate the machine.
“Any tips for me?”I asked.
The young guy was fit, his t-shirt a size too small and stretched across his prominent pectorals.He crossed his arms across his chest in a clear move to accentuate his muscles.I wasn’t unappreciative.
“A few,” he said suggestively.
“How about we start with the coffee, then we can see.”
Movement near Sam’s office caught my eye, and I was suddenly all too aware of Sam watching us.Me.His arms crossed, leaning against the door frame, stoic as ever.
Tim, the coffee guy, walked me through the machine, flirting the entire time.“You know you’re lucky,” he said.
Not the best line, but he was young.“Oh?Why’s that?”
“We weren’t meant to deliver this for a few weeks.But apparently, your boss called us first thing this morning and paid a lot of money to make sure this was installed today.”
“Oh.”Oh, Sam did that?I resisted the urge to look over at him.
Shit.
I was going to have to be nice to him now, wasn’t I?
Thirty minutes and two double espressos later, I felt more human.Devon arrived for his shift while I was practicing on the machine, and I spent the next twenty minutes teaching him everything (as little as it was) that I knew about it.He then schooled me in milk art, the talented little shit.
Soon, he moved on to prep work for tonight while I switched gears and checked out inventory, ensuring we had enough stock on hand so that we wouldn’t need to venture to the storeroom for anything later.
“Everything working out?”
Turning, I realized Sam was beside me.Feeling unnaturally nervous, I nodded.“Great job on the coffee machine.”
He sighed tiredly.“Are you going to now tell me you don’t think the bar needed it?”
“What?No, I mean it.Thank you.It was really sweet of you.”
He stared at me, face pinched, blinking.It was really rather disconcerting, and I could feel the hairs pick up on my neck under his unwavering gaze.
“Hello?Sam?”
“Yes?”He asked, tentative.I didn’t know what the hell his problem was.
“I said thank you.”
“I heard you.”He was still eyeing me suspiciously.
“Ok.Well, I’ll just get back to work now, unless you needed anything?”
He pinched his nose, confused.“What are you doing?Stop.”
I threw my hands up.“I can’t be nice?”
“No.It’s not normal.”
“Fuck you, too.”
“Much better.”When his smile appeared, it took me a moment to realize what was happening.It felt momentous.A firm shift, more so than last night, from the cold antagonism we had to whatever this was.
The sight of his grin was unique for me.I was so used to seeing it directed at others that I only just realized he had dimples.
They were gorgeous.
Oh, no.
A spark of excitement rippled through me.Those damn smiles of his were a weapon, softening my insides like warm cocoa.How dare he.He was becoming so irritatingly hard to hate.
And increasingly difficult to ignore.Fuck.
