“Sure. Thank you,” I said. I took a small sip, tasting the warm whipped cream they put on top.
Shane’s eyes narrowed as he smiled. He reached out--not touching me, but hovering close--and pointed to my upper lip. “You have something there.”
“Ah, thanks,” I said, flushing a little as I tried to lick it away.
He chuckled. “It’s still there.”
I dabbed my mouth with a napkin. “Sorry. I’m a little clumsy.”
“Don’t be,” Shane said, resting on his elbow as he took a sip of the latte, never taking his eyes off me. “It’s cute.”
My heart rate increased, but not because I was excited. Even though Shane wasn’t being rude or creepy, I felt myself growing strangely uncomfortable.
What’s wrong with me?I asked myself.We’re not even doing anything intimate. This is part of my job.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Shane wanted something from me. I wasn’t naive enough to think that a lot of our alpha customers probably had dirty thoughts about the employees, but acting on them in any way was strictly banned, and I had no doubt the owners would get the cops involved without a second thought if any alpha tried anything nasty.
Shane wasn’t being nasty, though. He was just a regular customer being a little flirty. Hell, he wasn’t even hard on the eyes.
But the longer I sat there with him, the more and more my mind kept roaming towards someone else.
Someone whose skin and hair were a little darker. Someone whose smile was a little more crooked. Someone with a lazy but charming layer of stubble across his jaw…
“Skylar?” Shane prompted.
I realized I’d been zoning out again. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. What were you saying, Shane?”
His perfect smile didn’t let up. I was starting to think it looked a littletooperfect, like he was a magazine cut-out instead of a real human being.
“I was asking if you wanted another sip,” Shane said, pushing the drink towards me again.
This time the answer came easily. I smiled and said, “No, thank you.”
If he was disappointed, it didn’t show on his face. He only shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”
* * *
I wasglad for the end of my shift to finally arrive, but less excited to have to participate in closing. After eight hours, plus an hour for my break, I was exhausted and ready to pass out in my bed, and my patience for stacking chairs and cleaning up was thin.
When everyone else had gone, I finally finished up. I shut off the lights and sighed, already daydreaming about the bag of chips I had leftover from Rafael.
Rafael…
Despite our last meeting ending in an argument, the thought of him and the giant bag of chips he’d got me brought a smile to my face.
I did feel a little guilty for blowing up at him like that. My emotions were roller-coastering lately, and it was easier to take my frustration out on him than solve my own problems. The memory of him slinking out of my apartment with his tail between his legs like a kicked dog made my chest ache.
Maybe I should apologize to him,I thought.
I mulled the thought over, picking my phone out of my pocket as I left the café building behind. As I was wondering if ten o’clock was too late to text him--after all, I knew he worked too and he was probably tired at this hour--I heard a voice coming from behind me.
“There you are.”
Shane’s voice sent a shudder up my spine. I turned to face him. Now that he wasn’t sitting down, I noticed how much taller than me he was.
I smiled at him, trying not to let the irritation show on my face. It wasn’t the first time a customer had tried to talk to me outside of work, but at least they usually had the decency to do it on my break--not after the store was closed and I was ready to pass the hell out at home.
“Oh, hi, Shane,” I said mildly. “I was just heading home.”
