Their menu has new winter drinks they didn’t have thelast time we visited the café, so once again I have a difficult decision to make.
“Do you want a recommendation?” asks the same blonde barista who helped me before.
“Yes, that would be great!” I say.
“The frosty iced latte is a blonde roast with a creamy vanilla flavor, the cranberry cappuccino is strong and fruity, our ribbon candy espresso is a classic, and this one, the gingerbread man latte, comes with a little cookie. We also have a toasted s’mores mocha and a snowball cookie latte. I think those are all of my favorites from our fair menu.”
“They all sound good…” I say a bit forlornly.
If they only sell them during the fair, I don’t know if I’ll have room to try them all.
“We can get one of each and share,” Magnus says.
“Yes! That’s a great idea,” I say, and hug him before I remember we’re not supposed to do that in public.
I gasp and quickly pull back.
The barista is already working on our drinks, so hopefully she didn’t notice. It’s not that weird for teammates to hug anyway, right?
I keep my distance while we wait, tucking my hands into my coat pockets so I don’t slip up again.
This is going to be harder than I thought. I didn’t realize I’d gotten so used to touching them already, like I’ve been doing it forever. It feels so natural being with them that not being allowed to touch seems wrong.
The blonde hands us our drinks and says, “Thanks for stopping by! Let me know whenever you want suggestions, I’m always happy to talk coffee. My name is Seph, by the way.”
I thank her and introduce myself, already mentally planning on more coffee chats.
Before we leave, Seph leans over to whisper to me, “If you come by the shop and see the manager, Marlene, I’d keep your guys away from her. She’s a big flirt.”
I stutter, attempting to deny they’re mine, but unable to make myself say it. But Seph is already smiling and waving goodbye, turning to help another customer.
I usher my mates away with a red face, hoping no one else heard her comment.
Charm pulls us to the side and asks, “What did she say?”
“Nothing,” I say, avoiding eye contact.
I should confess that someone is onto us, but I don’t want this to stop. I don’t want to break up.
I shouldn’t have hugged Magnus.
I’ll just be extraextracareful from now on and make sure no one else suspects anything.
“Are you sure? Is something wrong?” Orion says.
“I’m fine, it was just some girl advice,” I say.
“Okay. You know you can tell us anything,” he says, briefly stroking my hair.
We’re hidden between stalls, so no one should be able to see our secret touch.
I nod and they drop it. We decide to browse the trinket booths and start down the nearest row.
There’s so much to look at, and right when the caffeine hits is a dangerous time to shop. It makes me fall in love with everything I see and want to buy it.
Although there’s always the risk of getting overstimulated by all the things to look at. Currently, though, I’m staying on the right side of jittery.
As usual, my alphas are happy to get me anything I like, which is good because this fair haseverything. Any kind of wintery thing you could think of, practical, decorative,whimsical, they have it. There are booths selling preserves, jams and jellies, spiced nuts, panettone, caramel popcorn, and dried fruits. Then there are the boutiques with clothes and art and toiletries.
