Inbetweener (Completed)

Part 2

"Ask me anything," he says, looking through long, dark lashes as he perches on the edge of the chair.

Nyora leaves, winking obscenely and sticking her tongue out. I pretend I don't see and hope my blush isn't too obvious. Luckily, he's watching his hands now, twisting his long, elegant fingers around each other. I take a surreptitious breath. Not good at people: worse with people I'm attracted to. I probably shouldn't hire him on that basis alone.

"Okay." I sit, shuffling papers. "Finlay, right?"

He nods briefly. "Or Fin's cool, yeah?"

"Okay, Fin. So do you like the smell of coffee?"

He wrinkles his nose. It's fucking adorable. "Yeah? I mean, yes, I do."

"And when can you work?"

"Pretty much whenever you want. Just let me know. The advert said availability was needed so I was hoping it would be a lot of shifts."

"Okay." This is going amazingly well, and I'm proud that I haven't flaked yet.

I glance down at his resume. "So, you have experience of being a barista."

He blinks rapidly, staring at his fingers again.

"What? You don't?"

"Listen, I just need a chance, mate, yeah? I drink a lot of coffee."

"But," I gesture at the paper, where it clearly says he's been a barista for the last two years and before that was at uni, "it says you do."

I should have known it was due to go to shit. I'm about to stand when he leans forward, soft fingertips landing gently on my forearm.

"I'm being serious." There's a determination in his eyes. "I know all the ingredients. And I'm a really fast learner. Let me show you."

I gulp because his fingers feel good against my skin, but I can't afford to be distracted.

"Let's do the rest of the interview first, and then we'll see. Should I throw your resume out then? Is all of it crap?"

He flushes angrily, which I think is unfair, and also a little hot.

"Listen, most of it's fine," he insists, his full lips curling into an angry pout. "I'm not dumb you know. I just need a chance," he says again.

I can't afford to be fussy, but I can't afford to be stupid about it either.

"So, your experience isn't real. What have you been doing?"

I'm worried he's been in prison or something, but this time when he blushes, he just looks embarrassed, even if his voice is snappy.

"I've had the kind of income I don't really want to put on a resume, alright?"

I open my mouth to ask, but he squeezes my arm a little, his eyes going panicky.

"Nothing illegal, I promise. I'm just trying to move away from some bad decisions I made when I was younger."

I can fill in the blanks easily. I won't pressure him to explain - I'm the last person to judge someone for making decisions they later regret, and I will get a police check just to be sure he's being honest about the legal thing. Besides, there's something genuine about him. Nyora might laugh at me later for just accepting his explanation, but I have a feeling she's going to like this guy almost as much as I do.

"Fine. If you're telling the truth about being a quick learner, you're the best candidate I've managed today, so show me."

He jumps up, relief obvious on his face, flashing a smile that almost stops my heart it's so stunning despite its ephemerality.