Hold Me Tight

0.1: Bliss Café

"In this world of overrated pleasures
And underrated treasures,
I am glad there is you."
-Julie London (Glad There Is You)

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The smell of grounded coffee overwhelmed me as April took a step into the place hercould now call my own. Her feet moved one in front of the other, as my eyes roamed through the entire space, taking in every little detail, a small grin couldn't help but escape her lips as a warm feeling engulfed me.

Finally... She let out a happy sigh making my way to the main counter, taking a moment to admire the delicate details all around, the plants that gave it a feeling of freshness, the wood floors which matched the feeling of newly grounded coffee. The white walls painted carefully to make sure the place looked full of light and life. The twinkling lights stuck the the black ceiling which gave it that little spark every place needs to make you feel at home. The soft music playing through the speakers sending you into a completely different world the moment you step into the café. The counters and serving area, or in other words, where all the magic happens, where all the equipment was clean and ready to make someone smile.

And her favorite part of this was the tables. She quietly sat at one of the tables that had no customers at the moment, admiring the view of a couple sitting in the outdoor area. April watched intently as the girl took a sip of her latte and the man drank from his cup of black coffee they had ordered. Smiles and laughs were shared, every now and then it was obvious to her eyes that he was complimenting her even though she  could not hear their conversation, but it was obvious, by the way the girl giggled as she delicately brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. They were in love.

And don't think she is a creep, April was quite the observer, she enjoyed watching people sitting at the tables and smiling while sipping on their drinks, with the belief that a cup of coffee regardless of its presentation as simple as it may seem can brighten someone's day, if it comes with the right company.

That is how she made sure the space was small enough to have people be close to each other, but of course also big enough to get plenty of people come in and enjoy the time spent here throughout the day.

Bliss Café had its grand opening just a week ago, and everything still felt very new. Of course the sales were not huge, but it made her very happy with the attention they had been getting and so far, people had made great comments about the experience, the food and drinks and the place, so there is really no place for complaining.

Getting ready for the day, April tied her hair in a tight ponytail and putting on her apron which had a design of the café's logo on the right side, a smile coming up to her lips followed by a sentiment of pride from the accomplishment.

"You are really having an internal monologue at 9 am aren't you?" Her thoughts were stopped as Olivia, the cafe's barista laughed from the distance while preparing an iced americano for the person that was currently waiting at one of the tables.

A soft giggle left the females lips as she grabbed a cloth and wiped carefully the counter which had gotten some syrup from a previous order. "I can have an internal monologue anytime of the day if I want to." She spoke, followed by her sticking her tongue out once Olivia was visible which caused her to gasp in an offended manner.

April shook her head and continued wiping every little corner as her mind drifted off to the memory of Olivia and her when we first met in college.

It was a random day in a random class when they were paired up to do a project for a class they had together but Olivia was too shy to even speak so April ended up giving her every single assignment until the very end. Which was a bit exasperating but in the end it worked out and we became good friends, she later found out she had taken some courses to become a professional barista and immediately contacted her once the whole café idea came to mind.

Since the place had just opened it was mostly just them throughout the day and in the evenings a part time college student named Johnny, no matter how busy he was, he would always be ready and on time for his shift,  which made April feel thankful for both of them.

Her thoughts were interrupted out of a sudden when she realized she had been wiping the same spot for a couple of minutes when she heard her name being called.

"April? Someone's looking for you." Her eyebrows furrowed, her face expressing confusion as Olivia led her to the way were this person was looking for her.

She walked a few meters to the main counter where the register was and saw a young lady, most likely the  same age turning her way to towards April and waving with a big grin plastered on her face.

April could only give a smile back, but by the awkwardness, the other could tell how confused she was. Her face did seem familiar but April just couldn't find out who was this person at all.

"You're April Hart right? We were in the interior design department together! We worked took some courses together a couple of times, don't you remember?" that's when it finally clicked.

"Oh I'm so sorry, of course I remember you! You're Riley, right?" April spoke enthusiastically as she tried to match her tone to Riley's as she gave her an enthusiastic nod. "I'm happy to see you! Would you like anything to drink?"

"Oh totally, I heard you opened your cafe and came as soon as I could, a cappuccino will be fine, but that is not the only thing I came here for. The guys from our department were thinking about doing kind of a reunion to catch up with everyone and we thought you definitely should come along!" Within a second, Olivia had disappeared to take care of the cappuccino order. Meanwhile, smile became wider as she spoke and it brought April back some old memories.

Riley was always the nice girl and made sure everyone felt welcomed whenever a group interaction was happening. April was never much of a party goer in college or just to have many friends in general, since she had to spend most of the time with part time jobs and studying or doing projects. So she never really got to meet everyone in the department.

"I- thanks, I really appreciate it, I will definitely think about it." It was useless, as April tried to keep her hesitant expression hidden, everyone knew she was the worst at hiding my emotions since my face always gave it away but she always tried. I know I will someday ace this.

"Sounds great, you should really come, I'll make sure to text you the date and location." With that Olivia handed her a cappuccino to-go and she waved at both of them then turned her heel to walk out of the Cafe.

"You really should go." Olivia mentioned almost immediately after they had lost Riley's sight. Damn I didn't even get time to think.

"You know these events are not really my thing, besides I don't want to leave you and Johnny alone. Or what if someone comes looking for me? I will get famous because of this café you know?" April chuckled giving Olivia a satisfied expression as she attempted to avoid the 'you should go out and have fun' speech she knew was coming.

" Come on, you should go out and have fun. " And there it is."you know Johnny and I will be just fine, it will maybe just be a couple of hours. Besides if anyone should becomd famous here, should be the batista, right?" Olivia gave her a smirk before walking off with a triumphant smile as her hands held some cups that needed to be washed.

I guess it would be fun seeing the people I graduated with...

But to April, those people were not even her friends really. The weight in her shoulders of the café just being opened stopped her and made her feel it would be too irresponsible of her to just leave it.

Guess it's decided then.

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Sooo that's that! We have been introduced to our main character April. We will learn more about her as the story goes!

But I want to know what you guys think, should she go to the dinner? Or not go?

Please give this chapter lots of looovee