Coffee for Charlie

Little Excuses

"Eva! EARTH TO EVA!" Lily screamed in my ear, startling me from my intense stare at the boy in the corner.

"What?" I looked at her quickly before glancing back over at him. Charlie. I smiled and a shadowy hand waved in front of my face. I batted it out of the way before turning fully to face Lily.

"Look, I know you got a crush on one of the regulars but we do have orders waiting." Lily had a hand on her perfect hip and the look on her face told me everything. She was annoyed.

"I get it. Stop giving me "the look"." I rolled my eyes before scooting past her to read one of the orders. Lily was your typical beautiful woman who could stop a man in his tracks. She didn't even have to try! The perfect white-blonde hair that looked so soft that you automatically wanted to reach out and touch it. Those perfect blue eyes like the ocean. The tan, the long legs, must I go on?

"You've been like this for the past month practically." She was nearly shouting at me while she ground up the coffee beans. My mind drifted to the book in my bag that Charlie had given to me. The smile returned to my lips and I turned to look at Lily.

"Please, you're just jealous that I like someone." I bumped her with my hip as I walked past her to pull out a few cookies.

"Why would I be jealous of you?" She said sarcastically. I placed the cookies and the order on a platter and called out the number. A large egg shaped man approached and grinned at me at me before dashing away to his table with his new found love. When I looked at Lily she had a disgusted look on her face. I shrugged at her. She judged too quickly.

"So, you and Kaleb?" I questioned her before walking to the back to stack mugs.

"How did you know?" She dumped a load of dirty dishes into the sink beside me, causing me to jump.

"Talk spreads like wildfire when you make out against someone's car in a very public parking lot." I winked at her before walking out to check on customers. An excuse to see Charlie.

His leg was stretched out on the other chair and a new book was in his hands. I couldn't see what it was but when he saw me approaching, he automatically put it aside and smiled at me. His brown hair flopped over his eyes and he quickly blew it out of the way.

"Hi, Charlie." I could feel my face heating up and I quickly took the seat before him.

"I heard someone yelling in the back. They weren't yelling at you were they?" Charlie has these big green eyes that light up practically every time he talks. They were the most captivating things to watch.

I shrugged in response.

"I was slacking off." I grinned and tapped the table softly. His eyes glanced down briefly before meeting my eyes again.

"We still on for today?" He asked. I had almost forgotten that I promised him I would take him to the new restaurant that was freshly built. It had been a nearly a month since I introduced myself to Charlie. He never failed to show at the cafe. I could practically count on him being there every time I came in. I never questioned it or thought too deeply about it. It just seemed to bring me a satisfying feeling knowing he'd be there.

"Of course! Are you still going to be here when I get off from work right?" I raised a brow at him. He smiled his perfect smile; little dimples forming in his cheeks.

"Please, where else would I be?" He looked over at his book for a quick second before sitting back. "Did you finish The Hobbit?"

I gave him a nervous smile.