Evoke

Chapter Eleven

Ash's Pov~

"Honestly, if didn't know any better, i'd say you haven't a clue as to where you're going."

"Oh would you cut it out already! It's just around this corner."

Handsome and has a body for days but this man knows too well how to get under my skin! I suppose that he doesn't mean to but sometimes, I really think he does it on purpose!

Kuro turned his head to look around as we walked while Matt and Davie, intelligently might I add, stayed quiet behind us. "I'm just saying, I think i've seen a few of these buildings just a few minutes ago."

I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the tenth time during this walk. I know exactly where i'm going, and I didn't need to ask for directions because unlike most men, I double check my info first. The little coffee shop was actually just around the bend of the old business buildings that were still operational. Though, of course he was only making such a fuss just to get under my skin.

Heh

My eyes reflexively glanced at the small bands of light being reflected off of his long hair that was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. If there was anything more to make him look dapper, this would be one of those things.

Mm... but wasn't his hair.. pale blonde? I could've sworn...

Looking towards the subtly gleaming strands, my brows furrowed with slight confusion, but I immediately dismissed it.

Maybe it's always been.. silver..white.

Just as we came to the corner, the little cafe came into view, making me smile at it's familiarity. With a push of my hair over my shoulder, I turned to the three with a smirk, "You were saying?". I'm sure he could they all could hear the satisfaction in my voice, but the moment was cut short when my body was suddenly struck with more weight to carry.

"Oh Ashley! We knew you were right all along, but you know, us strong men can't ask for directions." Matthew teasingly purred into my ear. The corner of my lips pulled back into a droll smile at his words. "That may be why women are beating us then, don't you think?"

With a flip of my hair I led them up the sidewalk to the entrance of the tiny establishment. As soon as Kuro opened the door, the very smell of the escaped and found refuge within my nose.

Cinnamon!

I ducked inside as we all walked up the bar, my stomach slightly tightening at the smell of food, but now wasn't the time. It was however, time for a drink. Tapping the counter space in front of me, I looked toward the savvy looking waitress.

"One sprite mixed with raspberry syrup please"

She looked at me with a coy yet mischievous smile and began wiping the the counter. "All customers who want a drink have to get the materials themselves. You have to know what you're putting in your mouth."

The grin on my face was prevalent but Matt and Davie had other plans.

"Ah...are you sure you want him to do it?" Matt inquired as he leaned beside me. Davie snorted and raised a brow in faux boredom. "I mean, he isn't the most coordinated turkey in the coop."

I slapped his shoulder in detest, "Ow!"

Reaching over the counter, I got the raspberry syrup and the sprite and placed on the counter with a smirk. The glasses were a little farther away so I had to crawl on top of the counter just to get my reach to barely hit its mark. When the tips of my fingers grazed the edge of the glass, my knee slipped, causing my hand to shoot out to the shelf holding the glass I was going for. My heart quietly raced in my chest as I ensured in that second I wasn't going to fall. Back on track, my hand tentatively reached up for the glass again before I was swept against a hard chest. The sharp sound of glass breaking sounding off in my ears and I looked up to see a frowning Kuro furrowing his brows in worry.

"Be careful", he exasperated and I bite my lip in silent apology.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok? I didn't really believe them when they said you were clumsy. I'm Tessa by the way." The waitress said as she hurried to the spot where a glass bottle had fallen. My nose scrunched at the potential pain in my head that could've caused.

"I'm fine just a little startled, and I am not clumsy. Didn't have a better grip is all. Nice to meet you, I'm Ash, this guy is Kuro, and the goofs over there are Matthew and Dave" Kuro let me down from his grasp and smoothly reached over to get the glass I had been struggling to get. With a turn of his wrist he also adeptly scooped three ice cubes into the cup and sat it down to pour in my mixture. Once he'd made sure I was stable in my seat, he placed the sweet concoction in front of me and thoroughly wiped up any condensation that had collected on the counter with a rag he'd taken from the sink behind the counter.

As Matt stole a few sips from my glass while I was watching, Davie was mini fangirling over how cool Kuro looked as he tended to his tasks.

"You....are...AWESOME. I mean, I know it's just sprite and sticky flavor stuff, but dude! You looked so...professional!" he declared.

Kuro, in humble fashion, merely replied with a, "It was nothing" and seated himself right next to me.

Tessa placed her hands on her hips with a imploring smile, "You know...we could use someone like you around. To be honest, I'm the only one working around here other than my bum of a cousin who never shows up. The boss is going to fire him so..that'll be one spot open. What do you say?"

I jumped up, slapping my hands against the counter top and leaning towards her in earnest. "Really?! He can have the job?"

She chuckled in amusement and nodded her head. "Yeah, as long as he takes it that is. He looks more than capable, and with his quick reflexes and adaptiveness, he'd be perfect for the job." Turning towards Kuro, I tugged lightly at his arm, my eyes softening at the turn of events.

"I haven't even filled out an application, or gone through an interview. How can you possibly know i'm good for the job." he asked.

"Well, for one we're a small private owned cafe so applications aren't needed, just an interview. What I just saw shows me that you have quick reflexes, that's good for our rush hours. You have some knowledge in preparing drinks efficiently too by the looks of it, and if you're still not satisfied then answer these questions. Do you live here, are you at least sixteen, and do you have a criminal record?" I'm beginning to like Tessa, she wouldn't let him get out of this with excuses, even if he was going to take the job anyway.

"Yes, yes and no."

She smirked and handed him an iced cookie from the jar beside the cash register, "Great, you're hired! You can start anytime during the week or this weekend. Little warning, open mike night is every Tuesday and karaoke night is every Saturday." We all looked at the cookie and made faces of varying degrees of confusion. Tessa shrugged in nonchalance, "For good luck."

With small snort Kuro stood and placed his hand at the small of my back, making an involuntary shiver run up my spine. "Thank you, i'll be here sometime in the week." With a nod, she let us make our way out after giving Matt, Davie, and I similar iced cookies under the pretext that it was on the house. Walking out of the cafe, all the two goofs could say was, "We totally should've gotten her number". I could only roll my eyes lovingly at their antics.

As we began our walk back to my house, I reached up towards the sun and stretched my arms. "Well, hows it feel to officially be a contributing citizen to our quant little town?"

He put his arm around my head, sinking his fingers into my hair and giving me a small nuzzle to my crown. "I can get used to this."

Authors Note~

Go check out @theCuppedCake because her stories are phenomenal. All of her books are wonderful, but what really puts the icing on the cake is her "Baked Love" which consists of her story "Baked Love" and it's ongoing sequel, "Brave Love". The characters in those books are so well thought out, you really feel like you know them and watching them grow and go through life just makes your heart all the more close to the words. Please do your Saphri a tiny favor and check those out ok? All of this is being said from the bottom of my heart. No trades, no payments, this is all my complete and honest opinion. I love you guys.
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