Chapter 6

Everett

"Hey, Mrs. B? Do you have a jar thing?" I shout across the shop as I watch my boss shuffle towards the brownies I made earlier.

"A jar thing?" She asks, grabbing a couple and putting them on a napkin as she ambles towards me.

"Yeah. The kind you put flowers in?" I explain and understanding flashes across her face before she nods.

"You mean a vase." She says. "I'll go grab one. Wait, what do you need one for?" She asks and I show her the small bouquet I bought from the flower shop down the street.

"For a girl." I say with a grin. Mrs. B. giggles before she heads back towards the book store.

"I'll bring it right down." She says.

I throw the white tablecloth over the table, adjusting it so it looks nice just as the oven goes off for the quiche I made. Working in a coffee shop, breakfast is really all I know how to make.

"Here you go, sweetheart." Mrs. B. says, handing me a pretty glass vase. I put the flowers in and try to arrange them so they look nice. "Send it home with her." She says and I turn to face her.

"The whole vase?" I ask and she nods in return.

"Yes. I don't have much use for it. And it can be a little memento for this sweet thing you did for her." She says, looking at the table wistfully, like she's imagining a time someone did this for her.

I decide to buy her flowers every week from now on.

"Thank you." I murmur, wrapping her in a hug. She pats my back before sighing and turning over the sign on the door to close it.

"Have a good time." She says with a grin as she passes me back into the store.

"Enjoy your brownies." I say teasingly.

"Calories don't count on days that end in 'y', dear. You remember that!" She shoots back before she disappears through the door, locking it behind her. My heart starts to pound hard in my chest, nerves bubbling up in my stomach as I wait for Harper.

I wash my hands to try and stop them from sweating and take extra care to keep my shirt clean, since I changed it after the last customer. I'm just setting her coffee down when I hear a little knock at the door. I look up to see Harper smiling and waving through the window. A grin spreads across my face as I hurry across the room, trying not to trip over my own feet from the excitement. I unlock the door and open it, snatching her and pulling her inside before locking the door again.

"Something wrong?" She asks.

"No. Sorry, if Betty from the bank across the street sees me letting you in she'll stand here and pound on the door until I make her a caramel frap and I do not have the patience for that shit today." I respond and she giggles at me, pulling her hat from her head.

"What smells so good?" She asks.

"I made food." I say, motioning towards the table I set up. When she sees it, her eyes light up, bouncing between me and the table.

"You did this?" She asks. I nod and nudge her towards it. "For me?" She asks and I nod again.

"Well, I definitely didn't do it for Betty." I tease and she laughs again, a warm look spreading across her face as she watches me. She goes to sit and I remember what the book club ladies said so I pull her chair out for her and help her out of her coat, hanging it on the back of her chair.

"This is amazing." She says, eyeing the food.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be hungry so I just did like snack stuff." I say, feeling myself starting to get nervous. I wipe my hands on my pants and sit down across from her, watching as she takes a drink of her coffee.

"How are you?" I ask, putting a big slice of quiche on her plate. "Shit. I should have asked if you're allergic to anything. You're not allergic to anything are you? I mean, you've never said anything but I've never really made you real food before. I can-" I ramble as I reach to pull her plate away, but she cuts me off.

"No, I'm not allergic to anything. Put that back down I'm starving." She says firmly.

"Yes, ma'am." I respond and she gets a weird smile on her face that I've never seen before.

"I'm doing much better than the last time I was here." She says.

"Good." I answer, putting food on my own plate. She takes a bite and her eyes widen as she looks up at me smiling widely.

"Holy shit, Ev. This tastes amazing." She praises and I feel myself light up from the inside out.

"Yeah?" I ask and she nods.

"You need to make this all the time. You wouldn't be able to keep people out of the shop." She says, taking a few more large bites. The timer dings again and I hurry up from my chair to the oven.

"I made lemon loaf too." I say, looking from the pan to her as she continues to shove heaping forkfuls into her mouth.

"Bring it!" She says excitedly and I chuckle, cutting a couple of pieces and putting them on the table. "I'm sorry, I'm just so hungry. I've been cramming trying to catch up on my classes. I really needed this break. Thank you so much." She gushes and the sincerity in her tone is clear.

"Of course, sweets." I respond, patting her hand that's resting on the table. She goes still at the touch and I think I fucked up, but she smiles again before her eyes turn mischievous.

"I'm ready for my joke now." She says and I chuckle before reciting the moon joke Gwen suggested. It's a hit and she cracks up laughing.

"Okay, okay now I want the dirty one." She says. I sit and stare at her for a moment, watching as happiness splashes across her face.

This is how she should always look.

"Alright let's see... Why couldn't Miss Piggy talk?" I ask her. She contemplates for a moment then shrugs.

"I don't know. Why couldn't she talk?"

"She had a frog in her throat." It takes her a beat to get the joke but when she does her eyes go wide and she gasps in shock before tilting her head back, her laughter filling the coffee shop.

"Holy shit. That's a good one." She says, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

After my initial nerves, I settle into a comfortable rhythm and am able to maintain a pretty good conversation with her. She tells me about her classes, how she hopes to eventually be a vet. She starts telling me about helping a horse give birth, and it kind of grosses me out, but I enjoy seeing her so excited talking about it. She asks me what my major is, what I like to do in my spare time.

I leave out the dirty book reading for now.

I almost forget how nervous I was at first, just enjoying spending this much time with her. Eventually an alarm goes off on her phone and she grabs it from her bag, shutting it off and scowling at it.

"Damn it. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I still have so much work to do and promised myself only a two hour break." She says.

"It's been two hours already?" I ask, looking at the large clock on the wall to see that she's right. She stands from her chair, but looks like she doesn't want to leave.

"This was so much fun. Can we do it again?" She asks and I nod.

"Hell yeah." I answer with a wide smile and she giggles again. She moves closer to me and wraps her arms around my neck. I hold her close, pulling her tight against me. She tucks her head under my chin, pressing her face into my neck and I swear it's the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen. We stand like that for awhile until she pulls away.

"Thanks again, Ev. I mean it. This was amazing." She says warmly. I feel my heart patter in my chest, tingles shooting through me and I want nothing more than to kiss her.

Instead I grab the vase of flowers and hand it to her.

"These are for you. Take them with you." I tell her.

"Really?" She asks and I nod.

"Yeah. I got them for you." I say. I swear I almost see tears gather in the corner of her eyes, but she leans forward and pecks a kiss to my cheek before turning on her heel and heading towards the door. I follow her and unlock it, pulling it open for her.

"Bye, Ev." She murmurs. I reach up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, smiling back down at her.

"Bye, sweets. Text me when you get home. Let me know you're safe." She grins shyly and nods before walking out the door. I shut it and lock it behind her, letting out a nervous breath.

I smile as I clean up the table, the spot where she kissed me still tingling on my cheek.