Her Song (Florence Pugh)

Boyfriend

Today is Friday, which means tonight we're doing live music. Ash and I named it 'VIP Night' when we were drunk...it may or may not secretly stand for Very Inappropriate Performances. It's not an event we hold every week, but I try to book bands as often as possible. If we can't find anyone, then I host a karaoke night, which most people love. The only downside is that I can't sell booze.

Bummer.

Since there's less than an hour until VIP Night starts, Syd and I are currently moving the shop around. We rearrange all the tables so they face the small stage in the corner of the store; it's only big enough for a few people at a time, but it's all we need. There's not a lot else we can move because of the aisles, but we make it work. I turn the chairs so they face the right way, too, and then sweep off the mini stage.

Syd cleans off the tables while I grab the microphone and tech gear from the back room. As I'm setting up the mic stand, the music abruptly changes from Patsy Cline to Big Time Rush.

Sighing, I give the culprit a 'really?' look and shake my head at her.

"Love you, Momma," she says sweetly.

"Love you too, you little Satanist. And you're only playing this until people start arriving, okay?"

"Deal!"

"Thank you," I say, returning to my task.

"Hey, Momma?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"What's a Satanist?"

"You."

"That isn't a valid definition. Please elaborate. Feel free to use the term in a sentence."

"What- oh my god. Bring me the box of cords, please. This one is done for," I say, tossing the clean-cut cord to the side.

She drags the box of extra cords out of back room and sets it in front of me. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome, sir," she replies as she plops down on the stage next to me.

I rummage through the box, but the cord I need isn't there. "Damn. I guess we'll have to splice the one we have. We can get a new one tomorrow. Do you know where the wire strippers are?"

"Yup. In the toolbox under the shelf with the boxes of cups and napkins. I'll go get them."

"Thank you, Syd."

She skips away and quickly returns with the small tool. I strip both ends of the wire and grab the two halves to twist them together.

"Hi, Y/N!"

The sudden loud voice scares me and my body jumps. One end of the wire, which was apparently very sharp, slips and nicks my finger.

"Oh my god! Can everybody please stop scaring me like that," I breathe out as I stand up.

"Sorry," Florence apologizes sheepishly. "I just heard that you're doing a special night here and I wanted to see if you need any help before it starts?"

"Oh, well, I really appreciate that. Thank you, Florence. But I think all we need to do is fix this wire and set up the mic."

"Momma, is that blood?" Syd cuts in. I look down at my hand and, sure enough, there's a steady stream of blood running down my finger.

"Huh," I say. "I'll be right back. Talk amongst yourselves."

I go into the bathroom and grab our first aid kid, doing my best to not drip blood everywhere. The first aid kit has a latch on it, which is very difficult to open when one hand is covered in blood.

Florence walks in and closes the bathroom door behind her. "Hey, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you and make you cut your hand and- why is it bleeding so much?"

"I think the wire, like, punctured my skin. It's fine, it's not a big deal. And it's definitely not your fault, so don't apologize. I'm very accident prone."

"And apparently extremely easy to sneak up on," she adds, taking the first aid kit from me and digging out an antiseptic wipe. "Wash the blood off first," the blonde instructs.

"Yes, ma'am."

She watches me closely as I wash and dry my hands, but I pretend not to notice because I'm too awkward to say anything. When I'm finished, I jut my hand out for her and she takes it with a playful eye roll. She dabs it with an antiseptic wipe and I wince. "Hey! Be gentle, jeez. That shit burns."

"Oh, suck it up you big baby."

"This is all your fault, remember."

"You literally just said it wasn't my fault!"

"I was lying to make you feel better about yourself. In reality, I'm in a great deal of pain because of you."

She smacks my arm and we both burst out laughing. Looking into her captivating hazel eyes, our laughter slowly fades and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, and I'm sure mine look the same. She quietly clears her throat and breaks eye contact, wrapping a bandaid around my index finger.

"There you go. I think you'll live."

"What, you're not even gonna kiss it better?" I joke. She grabs my hand and quickly kisses my finger before turning around and leaving the bathroom. "Huh," I say in the empty room.

I can hear more voices coming from the shop as people begin to show up for VIP night, so I quickly place the first aid kit back on the shelf and rush into the main area to finish fixing the cord.

The mic is fixed and set up within the next five minutes, so now we're just waiting for the band to show up. For tonight, we booked a small band whose members go to a local college. They're pretty good, and I think Florence will love their music.

I scan the room for Ash since she was supposed to clock in ten minutes ago, and I see her greeting the band as they enter the store. Waving them over to the stage, I help them set up.

One everything is ready to go, Ash dims the lights and I step into the stage, grabbing the microphone.

"Hey, y'all! How are we feeling tonight?" A series of claps and cheers comes from the small crowd in the store. I make eye contact with Florence and send her a small smile, to which she waves. "Thank you guys so much for coming to VIP night. I'll get out of here so the band can introduce themselves. Enjoy the show!"

Hopping off the stage, I join Ash behind the cafe counter to help her with the orders. I assist her with making the drinks and grabbing pastries while David carries the orders to people's tables.

"Y/N, come here," I hear Florence say from the end of the counter. "I want to introduce you to someone."

I look up and see Florence standing there with a guy. He's older, brown hair. Conventionally attractive, I guess. "Uh, hi. I'm Y/N," I greet him.

"I'm Zach, Florence's boyfriend. It's good to finally meet you. Flo hasn't stopped talking about you," he says, sticking his hand out for me to shake, which I do, giving him a polite, tight-lipped smile. The boyfriend. I always forget about the boyfriend.

"It's good to meet you, too. Although Florence hasn't mentioned you at all," I reply with unintentional malice.

Ash, overhearing the conversation, coughs loudly as if saying be nice. I remind myself that it's not my place and I have no right to be upset. "I've gotta get back to work. Have fun," I say with an (almost) genuine smile.

I do my best to ignore Florence's quietude and clenched jaw. She seemed guilty. She had no reason to be. I should've known she had a boyfriend and that she was just being nice. That's on me.