Audrey| Which one?
Theo| John Wick—the first one.
Audrey| The best one, you mean
Violet groaned as she watched Audrey frantically type her responses. “You’re going to go off and get yourself a boyfriend who worships the ground you walk on and then never spend time with me again, aren’t you?”
“I am not going to abandon you and you know it,” Audrey shot back while still staring at her phone screen. God, what a rush. Theo had said more words to her today than he had in the six weeks he’d been a regular at the café. Was this what being high felt like? Had she actually managed to crack him open a little? “But you do need to let me have this. You know how chronically single I’ve been.”
“Understatement of the century.”
Her phone buzzed again. Theo had sent her a photo of a new drawing in his little black notebook. She expanded it and a sketch of a tree-lined street filled with leaves soaked in blazing, fluid watercolors of red, orange, and gold filled her screen.
Theo| I drew this one today. Fall in the city’s my favorite season.
Theo| What’s yours?
Her heart beat faster.
“All right, fine.” Violet pulled herself back inside her makeshift bedroom and started to close the curtains. “Have fun texting your new mystery man.”
She flashed her roommate a smug look as her face disappeared in the seams of the fabric. “I am and I will.” Violet shut herself inside for the night, and Audrey turned back to her messages.
Audrey| What a gorgeous sketch.
Audrey| Fall’s my favorite too.
Just like always,Theo slid inside the café at 8:17 a.m.
Fridays were magnificent, if only because Audrey didn’t have class and she actually had weekends off these days. She was missing out on the extra income from those shifts, but she’d wanted to dedicate herself to adjusting to a more typical workweek schedule in anticipation of finally graduating, not to mention needing to catch up on homework and reading for school. So for the first time in years, Fridays actually were the beginning of her weekends. And this one was even better than they normally were.
He waited in line and sidled up to the register like he always did. But rather than hesitating this time, his eye had already crinkled beneath the shadow of his hat.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Audrey grinned so wide, it was almost painful. But shecouldn’t help it. The thrill of seeing him again in front of her now was too intoxicating, and the way his gaze seemed to brighten when he looked at her only made it worse.
It was a delicious sort of ache, one to linger on and savor.
He had to have been grinning just as widely under that mask as she was now. But the suspense of not knowing for sure was killing her.
Josh banged some packed espresso on the counter a little more aggressively than strictly necessary, jerking her back to reality. Audrey cleared her throat.
“Would you like something different today, or just the usual?”
Theo thought for a moment before reaching into his satchel and pulling out his travel mug. “Can I have what you like? I want to try your drink.”
“A flat white? You got it.”
She took his mug from him and rang him up, but she didn’t even need to signal to Josh to switch this time. He was already hovering behind her at the register. Theo dumped the rest of his change in their tip jar like he usually did, plus an extra twenty, while Audrey stepped over to the espresso machine. He waited quietly at his usual table for her to join him, tapping his hand on his leg anxiously.
Same time, different drink, same nervousness.
She hung her apron on a hook and slipped out to the lounge, setting his mug down in front of him while she slid into the empty seat across.
“You know, you’re going to have to let me show you some latte art sometime. I can make you a good coffee in your tumbler, but I can’t make it pretty. The foam’s too delicate, and there’s not enough room.” She gave him a wry look over her cup, and a blush crept up his cheeks from under the mask.
“You don’t have to go to the trouble to—”
