One Cup of You

Part 12

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This is a raw, unedited version of this book. You may see some grammar, spelling and continuity mistakes. One day, I might turn this into a paperback, but for now I just need to share my story !

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I still hadn't bought a new battery for my car and the walk to work put me in a foul mood. The warm front from the Southern States made its way toward Ontario; but in the middle of January, it brought humidity instead of warmth. I stepped outside and felt the cold, wet air seep underneath my clothes and settle under the collar of my coat. It wasn't raining or snowing, but the misty air clung to my hair and eyelashes. Overcast, misty and cold. The weather was insulting. I would have rather a blizzard or thunderstorm. Just get it over with, I thought. Stop threatening me with these little misty droplets of crappy weather and just do it already. Rain! Ruin my day!

I stomped muck and slush off my boots before I went into the cafe, and was greeted by the warm glow inside. Both the cold in my bones and the bitterness thawed on the threshold. I breathed in and welcomed the scent of fresh bread and coffee.

The smell of brewing coffee is important to me. You'd think that I'd be sick of it after working at the cafe for so long, but I love it regardless. I loved my job, after-all, even on the hardest days, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee reminded me of home. It was the central smell of my house as a kid, with a pot always on from the time I woke up till dinner. I could drink a large cup of coffee and go straight to bed without so much as a stir. I wasn't a coffee snob, either. I liked everything from the fanciest cappuccino in the most expensive restaurant to the crap they serve at derelict diners on the outskirts of town. But nothing beat the coffee we had at work.

I checked in Katie with first before sneaking away into my office, but she reminded me that the next person on shift would be Jamie, and he was still learning and would need my supervision. For a moment, a tingle of excitement jolted me between the legs, but only briefly until I felt a twinge of dread.

Not that I didn't want to be alone with Jamie; because I absolutely did. We hadn't been alone together since that kiss. And being alone together at work was worse. It had been two weeks of texting and flirting, but no more kissing. I was confused and vulnerable.

Jamie had been working mid-shifts at least three days a week to get comfortable during one of the busier times of the day. Since his trainer, Katie, worked with him, it left me closing every night, usually by myself. I'd come into work just as he was finishing, take a few moments to flirt, and then he and I would text all night until I left the store at round 10. When 10 o'clock rolled around, I'd get the same text from Jamie.

(Jamie) Got any plans after work?

And every time, I'd politely decline, way too exhausted for company. At work when I was with him, even for just those two moments, it felt like the world stopped spinning. Like everything going on with the store, or my dreams, or my hurt and pain just stopped for a second and I could be still with him suspended in the heat and desire not having to consider anything else but how badly I wanted another kiss.

If you've ever been in a hurricane, you know what this feels like. The wind starts and it whirls around and pulls trees from their roots and knocks over signs; but then you end up in the storm's eye and everything goes still. Being with Jamie was just like that; he brought me into the eye of the storm and made me feel still. But like a hurricane, the eye of the storm is only the precursor to impending disaster.

I shuddered for a second, daydreaming about Jamie. When the door chimed, I looked up and my heart dropped into my belly. Jamie barreled through the door without shaking off his boots and made a beeline to the back room. I clicked my tongue at the mess of slush over the floor, making a mental note to ensure he was the one who mopped the floors tonight.