All My Courageous Lies

Caffeinated Distractions

  I still had my headset on when my alarm went off. It was hard telling how much sleep I'd managed to get. When I looked at the app, slightly concerned I'd weirded out the boys, it said the chat had only ended two hours before. I couldn't remember much after Ayden and WarMachine got in a fight - something about his ex, Holly, and moving on too quickly. I wasn't really paying attention. With a big sigh, I pushed myself out of bed and tried to get dressed as fast and as quiet as possible.  
      My parents were still asleep when I finally snuck out the front door; which was a good thing. I didn't want to explain the massive bags under my eyes. But as tired and groggy as I felt, and as right as Ayden was, I was actually glad to get back to work. It was an enchanting feeling, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. Making caffeinated concoctions was like riding a bike. Besides, it wasn't like Sunday mornings were too busy before 8 am anyway. And it only took a few hours for Ayden and I's schedules to line up. Even he was looking a little worse for wear.  
      "Hey Ayden," I hummed as he made himself a triple shot right after clocking in, which was a long ways away from his surgery signature drink. "How're you this morning?" The smirk on my face leaked into my voice, giving away how entertained I was.
      He looked at me, almost confused but too tired for his face to fully commit to an expression.    "Well, somehow worse than you. And to think I was actually worried about you." He shook his head in exhausted disbelief and took a swig of his disgusting bean juice, trying to keep his face from twisting in disgust.  
      "Oh, come on. Don't you want something to go in that? That's just gross," I complained lightly.
      "No. Can't, cut, caffeine," he stammered, emphasizing every word with a larger than necessary breath between each one. "Must, drink, horribleness." He took another long swig and studied me in horror. "How are you even okay right now? You literally fell asleep on chat last night, like 3 or 4 hours before you were supposed to be here. How?"  
      I smirked, laughing internally at his cries. The truth was, I'd gotten used to barely sleeping. With all the nightmares and waking up in panic attacks, the intrusive thoughts were just easier to deal with ... most nights. "Did I creep you guys out?" I asked, wincing at the thought of them hearing snores from my mic.   
      He shook his head, forcing another gulp down before looking back at me. "No, but Jordan was pretty upset you didn't just call me to fall asleep."  
      "What?" I could feel my cheeks burning under his tired smirk.
      "He thought it would've been better for you to just call me and fall asleep to the sound of my voice that way, rather than subject all the guys to our mushy night time chats."
      I rolled my eyes, laughing at the obvious joke he was playing on me. I barely spoke when I was on. It dawned on me then, that WarMachine must've been Jordan's gamertag.
     "Sure, sure. It was totally that, not the fact that you're no longer with his sister."  
      "Oh, so you were up for that?"
      "Yeah, well I think so. I only remember bits. But enough to know that it wasn't me he was mad at," I graced, winking at him and then turning around to grab myself a second large caramel coffee for the morning.  
      "I'm serious," he whined. "He was mad that I'd gotten another girl so quickly. I tried to tell him you were the reason we broke up in the first place, but that didn't seem to help."  
      I turned back around to glare at him and lean against the counter. "Great, now I'm not going to be able to show my gamertag in that chat again! You really don't know when to stop joking do you? That was his sister. If someone did that to ... well me, you'd do the same."
      The first big, bright smile of the morning sat proudly on his face. "No, no, you can come chat. It's my party anyway. Besides, how else would you get to sleep, Angel?" He winked back at me and walked away. He always seemed to know when he'd won; and I hated it.   
      Luckily the crowd started to pick up soon after our little talk, which meant no more fake flirting from him, and no more getting myself all backed into a corner. There were so many fragile strings he kept tugging on. And sometimes, though I knew he was just kidding, I was afraid of what would break me. I still didn't want to tell him what happened. But I could feel him quickly becoming my band aid for everything that was wrong. His voice helped me sleep; his presence helped me think; his jokes helped me breathe. Part of me was beginning to worry I'd have to find another way to cope, even if I didn't want to.  
      More employees came, as per the schedule, but still Ayden and I kept our stride. We always worked really well together - he'd zig, I'd zag; I'd take the order and he'd make it, or we'd make opposite halves of the same order. There was always an unspoken balance we'd strike in the random coffee rushes. It could've come from working so much together, or maybe the fact that I trained him. But what ever it was, it made the work day go by smooth, and so much better. However, the way we worked and the way we spoke earned some eyes from the other employees around us - especially the ones who weren't used to seeing me work.   
      There was this newer guy, Lucas. He was tall and blond, and he had a quiet, keep to himself way about him. He was working the front counter while Ayden and I were working the drive through. But whenever we were slow, I could feel his studying eyes, watching us, trying to decipher what we were.
So it didn't surprise me when he nudged Ayden after one of our goofier chats. He asked for his help with something up front, but I could tell by the whispered snickering that he'd also asked Ayden the all-too-popular question. A small smirk played on my lips when I looked at the clock. 
      "Hey Ayden, I'm about to leave. Wanna come check on something in the walk-in before I go?" A devilish smile played on my lips at the thought of what Lucas could've been thinking.
      "Coming Princess," Ayden sang from the front counter of the store.
      When I saw them come around the corner, I opened the walk in door, gave him a wink, and stepped inside. To my surprise he actually got close to me when he took his step in.   
      "So you could tell, huh?" His whispered breath smelled of coffee and citrus; a weird but cute aroma designed just for him. His eyes were mocha but his personality was anything but sweet and calm. "Well, yeah. Every new person asks. Plus, he's been dying to ask you all day," I giggled back.  
      "So, what's your plan?" He leaned down, hovering closer to my face. "Let him catch us making out?" I laughed at him and lightly punched his shoulder, taking a small step back.
     "Gross, no. I just thought we'd make him feel awkward and see what he says to Tess tomorrow. Wait; what'd you tell him, anyway?"  
      A half sincere smile grew on his face as he straightened himself back out. "I told him that all he needed to know is that you're off limits."  
      I let out a single, breathy laugh. How did I find a guy friend so perfect? "Thank you," I whispered sincerely. I could feel my chest swell at the thoughts crowding my head. I needed to change the subject. "So, am I calling you tonight or are you calling me?"  
      A big smirk spread out on his face. He pushed the door open, letting me walk out before him. "I'll call if you want, Angel. But I'd better see you before then."
      I turned back at him, watching his satisfied smile as I backed my way to the employee exit. My lips smiled at him playfully and said, "Guess you oughta think of a good reason then." I held onto that playful smirk of his, cloning it to my face, casting it in my memory and backed out of the door. I turned around and landed in the outside world. I guess I don't have to look for a different band aid right this instant...